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.

Friday, June 13, 2008

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Earmark Spending Makes a Comeback
More than a year after Congress pledged to curb pork barrel funding known as earmarks, lawmakers are gearing up for another spending binge, directing billions toward organizations and companies in their home districts.
(By Robert O'Harrow Jr., The Washington Post)

ANALYSIS: Administration Strategy for Detention Now in Disarray
(By Michael Abramowitz, The Washington Post)

Medical Fraud a Growing Problem
Medicare Pays Most Claims Without Review
(By Carrie Johnson, The Washington Post)

China's Olympic Turnabout on Knockoffs
Fake Games Merchandise Targeted
(By Maureen Fan, The Washington Post)

Va. Mosque Reaches Out, Joining Immigrant Fabric
(By Pamela Constable, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
Primary and Secondary Choices
Enough about the candidates, what about the staffers?
(By David Montgomery, The Washington Post)

A Republican Congressional Candidate's Lonely Voice
James Brings Unusual Monetary Views to 4th District Race
(By Rosalind S. Helderman, The Washington Post)

Federal Investigators Given Files in Currie Case
(By Rosalind S. Helderman, The Washington Post)

Earmark Spending Makes a Comeback
Congress Pledged Curbs in 2007
(By Robert O'Harrow Jr., The Washington Post)

ANALYSIS: Administration Strategy for Detention Now in Disarray
(By Michael Abramowitz, The Washington Post)

More Politics

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NATION
Justices Say Detainees Can Seek Release
A deeply divided Supreme Court yesterday ruled that terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have a right to seek their release in federal court, delivering a historic rebuke to the Bush administration and Congress for policies that the majority said compromised, in the name of national s...
(By Robert Barnes, The Washington Post)

Medical Fraud a Growing Problem
Medicare Pays Most Claims Without Review
(By Carrie Johnson, The Washington Post)

Iowa Mourns the Deaths of 4 Boy Scouts
Tornado That Hit Camp Was One of 57 in Four-State Area, Storm Center Reports
(By Kari Lydersen, The Washington Post)

Detainees Now Have Access to Federal Court
(By Josh White and Del Quentin Wilber, The Washington Post)

Obama Campaign Dispatching Thousands
(By Peter Slevin, The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
Opposition Official Arrested in Zimbabwe
HARARE, Zimbabwe, June 12 -- The Zimbabwean government's crackdown on political opponents took an ominous turn Thursday with the arrest of the opposition party's No. 2 official, who was charged with treason and could face the death penalty.
(The Washington Post)

In a Centuries-Old Plaza, the Quiet Hum of Electric Typewriters
An Hour or So With a Mexican Scribe
(By Manuel Roig-Franzia, The Washington Post)

China's Olympic Turnabout on Knockoffs
Fake Games Merchandise Targeted
(By Maureen Fan, The Washington Post)

China Steps Up Pressure on Sudan Over Darfur
(By Edward Cody, The Washington Post)

Ability to Challenge Transfer to Foreign Custody Is Limited
(By Carrie Johnson, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
Putting Heat on a Cold Case
In 1974, at the end of her eighth-grade year at Parkland Junior High School in Montgomery County, Kathy Beatty signed a classmate's yearbook. "To a real sweet guy," she wrote. "Too bad we had to get stuck with Rodman for math. See ya' next year."
(By Dan Morse, The Washington Post)

Md. Couple Indicted In Fraud Probe
Scam Allegedly Cheated Lenders And Homeowners
(By Ovetta Wiggins, The Washington Post)

Va. Mosque Reaches Out, Joining Immigrant Fabric
(By Pamela Constable, The Washington Post)

Planning Board Votes Down 16-Story Project At Bethesda Metro Stop
Officials Say Tower Doesn't Fit Outline For Area, Won't Rule Out New Proposal
(By Miranda S. Spivack, The Washington Post)

Black Bears Make Presence Known in 'Burbs
Sighting Near Elementary School Is Latest in Ashburn Area Over Few Days
(By Sandhya Somashekhar, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Earmark Spending Makes a Comeback
More than a year after Congress pledged to curb pork barrel funding known as earmarks, lawmakers are gearing up for another spending binge, directing billions toward organizations and companies in their home districts.
(By Robert O'Harrow Jr., The Washington Post)

Data on Housing Relief Questioned
(By David Cho and Renae Merle, The Washington Post)

Time for a Transition, and a Thank You
(By Stephen Barr, The Washington Post)

FCC Chief Pushes New Rules on Phone Fees
(By Cecilia Kang, The Washington Post)

Let Us Now Praise Power Brokers
(By Steven Pearlstein, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
FCC Chief Pushes New Rules on Phone Fees
The nation's chief telecommunications regulator said yesterday that he will push to establish a federal policy on the early cancellation fees charged by cellphone and other services as early as July.
(By Cecilia Kang, The Washington Post)

Yahoo, Google To Partner on Advertising
Talks With Microsoft Fail
(By Peter Whoriskey, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
Celtics Counter Lakers' Punch
Boston rallies from a 24-point deficit and beat the Lakers, 97-91, on to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series and move within one victory of a 17th championship.
(By Michael Lee, The Washington Post)

Woods Recovers Nicely in 1st Round
Coming Off Surgery, He's 4 Strokes Back
(By Leonard Shapiro, The Washington Post)

Caps' Ovechkin Wins MVP; Boudreau Is Coach of Year
Team's Star Is First to Claim Four of NHL's Top Honors
(By Tarik El-Bashir, The Washington Post)

Mystics Travel to Chicago to Face the Sky
(The Washington Post)

Ravens Provide Fond Farewell For Ogden
(The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
Ovechkin's Next Goal: Most Fashionable Player
He's the highest-paid player in National Hockey League history, and was named MVP last night -- and now Alex Ovechkin has added another title to his formidable résumé: Fashion muse . . . or whatever you call celebrities with a clothing line named after them.
(By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts, The Washington Post)

GREEN LIGHT
'Incredible Hulk' Is a Go, Packed With Dramatic Muscle
(By Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post)

Primary and Secondary Choices
Losing Campaign Staffers Can't Switch Loyalties at The Drop of a Hat
(By David Montgomery, The Washington Post)

The King Of Beers, Bowing to a Belgian Throne?
(By Paul Farhi, The Washington Post)

Shyamalan's 'Happening' Lacks a Sense of Direction
(By Stephen Hunter, The Washington Post)

More Style

LIVE DISCUSSIONS
Boswell on U.S. Open, Baseball
Washington Post sports columnist Thomas Boswell takes your questions live from the course at Torrey Pines, site of this year's U.S. Open. He'll talk about golf, baseball and his latest columns.
(Thomas Boswell, washingtonpost.com)

On TV
Reality, Non-Reality and Everything In-Between
(Lisa de Moraes, washingtonpost.com)

Real Estate Live
(Maryann Haggerty and Elizabeth Razzi, washingtonpost.com)

At the Movies With Ann Hornaday
(Ann Hornaday, washingtonpost.com)

Carolyn Hax Live
(Carolyn Hax, washingtonpost.com)

More Live Discussions

The Justices' Refrain
THE SUPREME Court ruling yesterday that those held at Guantanamo Bay have a constitutional right to challenge their detentions in federal court is a welcome victory for due process and the rule of law. It completes a signal and totally avoidable failure by President Bush, who will leave office wi...
(The Washington Post)

Hope, at Last, for Metro
One small step for Congress; one large step, perhaps, for the region
(The Washington Post)

Equity for the Disabled
Tax-free savings accounts shouldn't be reserved for children with college in their future.
(The Washington Post)

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" During his first two and a half years in the Senate, Obama received Honorary Doctorates of Law from Knox College, University of Massachusetts Boston, Northwestern University, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Southern New Hampshire University. Through the fall of 2006, Obama had spoken at political events across the country in support of Democratic candidates for the midterm elections. He flew his wife and two daughters from Chicago to join him in a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near Kisumu in rural western Kenya. Together with Warren and Brownback, Obama took an HIV test, as he had done in Kenya less than four months earlier. " In an October 2006 interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family: "Michelle will tell you that when we get together for Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's like a little mini-United Nations," he said. " At the Save Darfur rally in April 2006, he called for more assertive action to oppose genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. Before announcing his presidential candidacy, he began a well-publicized effort to quit smoking. In Dreams from My Father, he ties his maternal family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, president of the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War. Obama left for his third official trip in August 2006, traveling to South Africa and Kenya, and making stops in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Chad. The book's last chapters describe his first visit to Kenya, a journey to connect with his Luo family and heritage. ABC News 7 (Chicago) reported Obama telling the students that "the U.S. will never recognize winning Hamas candidates unless the group renounces its fundamental mission to eliminate Israel," and that he had conveyed the same message in his meeting with Palestinian authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

In the memoir, Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother's American middle class family. Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 from the state's 13th District in the south-side Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park. Enthusiastic crowds greeted Obama's public appearances. " The chapter details how Obama, in his twenties, while working with local churches as a community organizer, came to understand "the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change. Obama's own self-narrative reinforces what a May 2004 New Yorker magazine article described as his "everyman" image. I am not opposed to all wars. In the memoir, Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother's American middle class family.

Obama also met with a group of Palestinian students two weeks before Hamas won the January 2006 Palestinian legislative election. An October 2005 article in the British journal New Statesman listed Obama as one of "10 people who could change the world.