Barack Obama

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas). Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party.

Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and transparency legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in an auto accident when the younger Obama was twenty-one years old.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Opposition Leader Tsvangirai Says He'll Take Part in Zimbabwe Runoff
JOHANNESBURG, May 10 -- Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai announced Saturday that he will soon return to his country to participate in a presidential runoff election despite a surge in political violence against his supporters.
(By Craig Timberg, The Washington Post)

Growing Deficits Threaten Pensions
Accounting Tactics Conceal a Crisis For Public Workers
(By David Cho, The Washington Post)

Incursion Crushed, Sudan Reports
Darfur Rebels Fail In Coup Attempt Against President
(By Stephanie McCrummen, The Washington Post)

Bittersweet Reunions Span U.S. Border
Mexican Mothers Get Glimpse of Kin
(By Ashley Surdin, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
The Talk Shows
Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows:
(The Washington Post)

Convention Chief Resigns Over His Firm's Work for Burma
(By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post)

As Losses Mount, GOP Begins Looking in the Mirror
(By Paul Kane, The Washington Post)

Memo Shows Frustration With Special Counsel
Staffers Hinted At Impropriety
(By Christopher Lee, The Washington Post)

In Oregon's Embrace, Obama Strikes a Victor's Pose
(By Alec MacGillis, The Washington Post)

More Politics

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NATION
Growing Deficits Threaten Pensions
The funds that pay pension and health benefits to police officers, teachers and millions of other public employees across the country are facing a shortfall that could soon run into trillions of dollars.
(By David Cho, The Washington Post)

On the Wedding Day, a Veil of Secrecy
(By Amy Argetsinger, The Washington Post)

Memo Shows Frustration With Special Counsel
Staffers Hinted At Impropriety
(By Christopher Lee, The Washington Post)

U.S. Jews' Relationship With Israel Evolves
Education of Young Is but One Example
(By Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post)

Thefts Rise With Copper Prices
States Boost Efforts To Catch Crooks
(By Kari Lydersen, The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
Incursion Crushed, Sudan Reports
NAIROBI, May 10 -- Darfur rebels launched an unprecedented attack on the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Saturday, crossing hundreds of miles of desert in an attempt to overthrow the government of President Omar Bashir, according to Sudanese officials and the rebels.
(By Stephanie McCrummen, The Washington Post)

Lebanon Struggles to Defuse Crisis
Armed Clashes Break Out in North and East as Capital Appears Calmer
(By Alia Ibrahim, The Washington Post)

Burma Starts Vote As Aid Trickles In
(The Washington Post)

System of Neglect
As Tighter Immigration Policies Strain Federal Agencies, The Detainees in Their Care Often Pay a Heavy Cost
(By Dana Priest and Amy Goldstein, The Washington Post)

U.S. Jews' Relationship With Israel Evolves
Education of Young Is but One Example
(By Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
No Skunks Isn't as Nice As It Sounds
Dressed from head to toe in black and gray camouflage, Greg Zell and Earl Hodnett checked their gear for the night's hunt: Thermal imager. Check. Night vision scope. Check. High intensity spotlight. Check. Hodnett climbed into the "sniper seat" of a souped-up golf cart, also tricked out in camouf...
(By Brigid Schulte, The Washington Post)

For These Stars, Mom Rules
(By Donna St. George, The Washington Post)

Influence of Unions Is Growing
Many Hold Sway, Bring Much Influence to County Budget Negotiations
(By Ann E. Marimow, The Washington Post)

Prince George's Police Face Trend of Killings 'for Nothing'
Officials Cite Crimes by Young Men Who Routinely Carry Guns
(By Avis Thomas-Lester, The Washington Post)

Local Election Season Quietly Kicks Off
(By Nikita Stewart, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Growing Deficits Threaten Pensions
The funds that pay pension and health benefits to police officers, teachers and millions of other public employees across the country are facing a shortfall that could soon run into trillions of dollars.
(By David Cho, The Washington Post)

Chilean Drought, Power Shortages Drive Up World Metal Prices
(By Saijel Kishan and Gavin Evans, The Washington Post)

Let's Make It Cool to Save
(By Michelle Singletary, The Washington Post)

Market Master's
U-Md. Students Bring Their Real-Money Fund Home to a Surprising Finish
(By Nancy Trejos, The Washington Post)

System of Neglect
As Tighter Immigration Policies Strain Federal Agencies, The Detainees in Their Care Often Pay a Heavy Cost
(By Dana Priest and Amy Goldstein, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
Rumor Has It
"I am suggesting that language evolved to allow us to gossip . . . to facilitate the bonding of social groups . . . it mainly achieves this aim by permitting the exchange of socially relevant information."
(By Dan Zak, The Washington Post)

U.S. Legal Work Booms in India
New Outsourcing Industry Is Growing 60 Percent Annually
(By Rama Lakshmi, The Washington Post)

Some Heroes Want to Get Real
(By Mike Musgrove, The Washington Post)

At D.C.'s Phelps High, A Return to the Future
Vocational Education Gets High-Tech Makeover
(By V. Dion Haynes, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
Rising to the Challenge
The U.S. Olympic softball team rallies for two runs in the sixth and manages a 2-0 victory over the Washington Glory, shedding light on how seldom the national team has been challenged.
(By Les Carpenter, The Washington Post)

O'Connor Fails to Provide Any Answers for Nationals
Marlins 11, Nationals 0
(By Chico Harlan, The Washington Post)

The Old Hands Hang On At Players Championship
(By Leonard Shapiro, The Washington Post)

Ankle Injury Leaves United Without Its Heart
(By Mike Wise, The Washington Post)

Saints Stun Little Hoyas In Semifinal
(By Jeff Nelson, The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
Out of Step
SAN FRANCISCO The ballerina dashed off a final volley of pirouettes and sprang toward her partner, who flip-flopped her neatly over his shoulder. With her legs splayed open across the underside of her wide-brimmed tutu, you'd think he was brandishing a big floppy pancake. It wasn't an elegant fi...
(By Sarah Kaufman, The Washington Post)

Folks, We've Reached an Awkward Age
There's One Perfect Word for Any Less-Than-Perfect Situation
(By Monica Hesse, The Washington Post)

Skill, Schmill. America Truly Idolizes Spunk.
(The Washington Post)

"Wasting energy is an appalling thing."
It's in David Attenborough's Nature to Explore the Environment -- and Speak Up for It
(The Washington Post)

CAROLYN HAX
(By Carolyn Hax, The Washington Post)

More Style

Free the Food
AMONG THE many negative consequences of the recent explosion in food prices is that more than 40 countries have taken steps to discourage grain exports -- or to stop them altogether. For hard-pressed governments in the developing world, this is a politically tempting and, indeed, understandable...
(The Washington Post)

Olympic Gag Order
Why should China's repression of free speech be imposed on athletes from the rest of the world?
(The Washington Post)

Maryland's Shady Operator
State Sen. Nathaniel Exum, servant of special interests
(The Washington Post)

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