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.

Saturday, June 07, 2008

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Record Oil Spike, High Jobless Rate Sink Stock Market
A soaring jobless rate, an unprecedented jump in oil prices and a sliding dollar sent tremors through financial markets yesterday and cast fresh doubt on how soon the U.S. economy would be able to break out of a pattern of feeble growth and financial instability.
(By Steven Mufson and Neil Irwin, The Washington Post)

In Money Race, Obama Has the Advantage
(By Matthew Mosk, The Washington Post)

In Venezuela, the Newest State Business Is a Dairy
Acquisition Embodies Chávez's Philosophy
(By Juan Forero, The Washington Post)

In Yemen, a Mostly Concealed Sectarian Fight Endures
Unrest Drawing Notice Of Saudi Arabia, Iran
(By Ellen Knickmeyer, The Washington Post)

1½ Miles From a Historic Feat
Triple Crown Within Reach for Big Brown
(By John Scheinman, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
The 'Obama Before Obama'
LOUISA, Va. -- Planted in the lawn at the courthouse on West Main Street here is a gray historical marker that draws little attention. It proudly proclaims that the country's first black elected official was native son John Mercer Langston, born in this central Virginia county, the son of a wealt...
(By Kevin Merida, The Washington Post)

In Money Race, Obama Has the Advantage
(By Matthew Mosk, The Washington Post)

Senate Leaders Pull Measure on Climate
Democrats Lacked Votes to End Filibuster
(By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post)

Former NRCC Treasurer Embezzled $500,000, Court Papers Say
(By Paul Kane and Del Quentin Wilber, The Washington Post)

News Puts Economy Atop Political Agenda
(By Jonathan Weisman and Robert Barnes, The Washington Post)

More Politics

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NATION
High Court Justices Cut Stock Holdings
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., whose investments forced them to sit out cases before the Supreme Court, have significantly reduced their stock holdings, their latest financial disclosures show.
(The Washington Post)

Pentagon Official May Head Air Force
(The Washington Post)

Senate Leaders Pull Measure on Climate
Democrats Lacked Votes to End Filibuster
(By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post)

Conviction Upheld in Terror Plot
Judges Send Falls Church Man's Case Back for Resentencing
(By Jerry Markon, The Washington Post)

Scandal Prompts WVU President to Resign
(By Robin Shulman, The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
In Argentine Drug Courts, A Shocker at Sentencing
BUENOS AIRES -- After getting caught with contraband like ecstasy tablets and marijuana, a few young Argentines have been asked by judges recently to pay an unexpected price for breaking the nation's drug laws: None at all.
(By Monte Reel, The Washington Post)

Meat-Counter Confusion in S. Korea
Shoppers Struggle to Sort Out the Truth About Risks in Chicken and U.S. Beef
(By Blaine Harden, The Washington Post)

In Venezuela, the Newest State Business Is a Dairy
Acquisition Embodies Chávez's Philosophy
(By Juan Forero, The Washington Post)

Record Oil Spike, High Jobless Rate Sink Stock Market
Dow's Plunge Casts Doubt on Recovery
(By Steven Mufson and Neil Irwin, The Washington Post)

In Yemen, a Mostly Concealed Sectarian Fight Endures
Unrest Drawing Notice Of Saudi Arabia, Iran
(By Ellen Knickmeyer, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
Power Still Out With Heat Wave Bearing Down
After the week's violent thunderstorms and torrential rain, residents across the Washington area braced for a second round of extreme weather: a heat wave.
(By Maria Glod and Jonathan Mummolo, The Washington Post)

Md. State Senator Was Subject of Complaints By Ethics Commission
(By John Wagner, The Washington Post)

Luxury Yachts Drop Anchor for Boat Show
(By Nelson Hernandez, The Washington Post)

New Talk of D.C. Community College
Leaders Say Timing Might Be Right for Oft-Discussed Idea
(By Susan Kinzie, The Washington Post)

FTC Challenge Blocks Inova Merger
(By Kristen Mack, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Record Oil Spike, High Jobless Rate Sink Stock Market
A soaring jobless rate, an unprecedented jump in oil prices and a sliding dollar sent tremors through financial markets yesterday and cast fresh doubt on how soon the U.S. economy would be able to break out of a pattern of feeble growth and financial instability.
(By Steven Mufson and Neil Irwin, The Washington Post)

News Puts Economy Atop Political Agenda
(By Jonathan Weisman and Robert Barnes, The Washington Post)

With Wegmans, Woodbridge Gets Its Taste Of Upscale
(By Alejandro Lazo, The Washington Post)

Lawmakers Seek Shortcut In Negotiating Housing Bill
(By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, The Washington Post)

In Venezuela, the Newest State Business Is a Dairy
Acquisition Embodies Chávez's Philosophy
(By Juan Forero, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
Icahn Suggests Price for Yahoo
Hoping to negotiate a compromise, activist investor Carl C. Icahn urged Yahoo to declare that it is willing to accept a takeover offer of $49.5 billion -- about $2 billion more than Microsoft's last bid for the Internet pioneer.
(By Michael Liedtke, The Washington Post)

Storms' Fury Cut Off Data Lines That Bind
In a Flash, Web Users Felt Disconnected
(By Kim Hart and Ellen Nakashima, The Washington Post)

Antitrust Inquiry Launched Into Intel
FTC to Review Firm's Practices
(By Peter Whoriskey, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
1½ Miles From a Historic Feat
ELMONT, N.Y., June 6 -- Richard Dutrow Jr. stepped up to the microphones outside trainer Bobby Frankel's barn Friday morning to address a wall of media representatives looking as if he had just rolled out of a backyard hammock.
(By John Scheinman, The Washington Post)

Ochoa's Second Round Feels 'Easy'
World No. 1 Leads LPGA by 1 Stroke After Shooting a 65
(By Leonard Shapiro, The Washington Post)

Bergmann Can't Keep It Going
Giants 10, Nationals 1
(By Chico Harlan, The Washington Post)

Ovechkin Could Be MVP, But He's Lost His Shirt
(The Washington Post)

Navy Pitcher Taken In the 13th Round
(By Andrew Astleford, The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
His Next Move
He is already one move behind. He's overslept on the morning of his big chess tournament. So Marte Garner slips on his bluejeans and a white T-shirt and races through his Barry Farms apartment. He passes his rook, his little brother, and his bishop, his older one. His mother, the king, is rushing,...
(By DeNeen L. Brown, The Washington Post)

Post-Primary Therapy: Our Candidates, Ourselves
(By Monica Hesse, The Washington Post)

NAMES & FACES
While Garry Trudeau is on a 12-week hiatus from "Doonesbury," The Post will test three new comics. The third is "The Knight Life." Please let us know how you like it. Visit http://comicsurvey.washpost.com; write Comics Feedback, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071; e-mail comics@washpost.com; or call the Comics Hotline at 202-334-4775.
(By Keith Knight, The Washington Post)

Color & Meaning Knit Together in An Abstract Yarn
(By Blake Gopnik, The Washington Post)

White Rabbits Go Down The Hole at the Black Cat
(The Washington Post)

More Style

Mr. Obama's Middle East
IN THE HEAT of the Democratic primary campaign, some on the left were inspired to believe that Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) offered a far-reaching transformation of U.S. foreign policy, "the most sweeping liberal foreign-policy critique we've heard from a serious presidential contender in decades," a...
(The Washington Post)

The Guantanamo Court
The trials of Sept. 11 suspects are a discredit to U.S. justice.
(The Washington Post)

In Virginia, a Key Primary
Our choice on the Democratic congressional ballot: Gerald Connolly
(The Washington Post)

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