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.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Lawmakers Agree to Ban Toxins in Children's Items
Congressional negotiators agreed yesterday to a ban on a family of toxins found in children's products, handing a major victory to parents and health experts who have been clamoring for the government to remove harmful chemicals from toys.
(By Lyndsey Layton, The Washington Post)

Calif. Field Goes from Rush To Reflection of Global Limits
(By Steven Mufson, The Washington Post)

Kaine in 'Serious' Talks With Obama
(By Michael D. Shear and Shailagh Murray, The Washington Post)

Internal Justice Dept. Report Cites Illegal Hiring Practices
(By Carrie Johnson, The Washington Post)

Four Women Kill Dozens In Suicide Blasts in Iraq
Kurdish Protest Hit in Kirkuk; Shiites Targeted in Baghdad
(By Sudarsan Raghavan, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
Internal Justice Dept. Report Cites Illegal Hiring Practices
For nearly two years, a young political aide sought to cultivate a "farm system" for Republicans at the Justice Department, hiring scores of prosecutors and immigration judges who espoused conservative priorities and Christian lifestyle choices.
(By Carrie Johnson, The Washington Post)

Kaine in 'Serious' Talks With Obama
(By Michael D. Shear and Shailagh Murray, The Washington Post)

Lawmakers Agree to Ban Toxins in Children's Items
(By Lyndsey Layton, The Washington Post)

Sen. Reid Thwarted On Bundle Of Bills
GOP Sides With Coburn on Spending
(By Paul Kane, The Washington Post)

Record $482 Billion '09 Deficit Forecast
Next President's Options May Be Limited
(By Jonathan Weisman, The Washington Post)

More Politics

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NATION
Lawmakers Agree to Ban Toxins in Children's Items
Congressional negotiators agreed yesterday to a ban on a family of toxins found in children's products, handing a major victory to parents and health experts who have been clamoring for the government to remove harmful chemicals from toys.
(By Lyndsey Layton, The Washington Post)

Record $482 Billion '09 Deficit Forecast
Next President's Options May Be Limited
(By Jonathan Weisman, The Washington Post)

Rampage Attributed to Hatred of Liberalism
Police Say Suspect in Tennessee Church Killings Left Note in His Car
(By Duncan Mansfield, The Washington Post)

Mother Ship Unveiled for $200,000 Place in Space
(By Karl Vick, The Washington Post)

DHS Urges Vigilance Over Next 12 Months
Vulnerability to Terror Seen in Big Events
(By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
Four Women Kill Dozens In Suicide Blasts in Iraq
BAGHDAD, July 28 -- Wearing their flowing black garments, they can carry hidden explosives past most checkpoints because customs of modesty prevent male guards from frisking them. On Monday, four female suicide bombers in two Iraqi cities used this tactic to enter areas defended by hundreds of...
(By Sudarsan Raghavan, The Washington Post)

Plagued by Terrorism, Indians Voice Frustration
(By Emily Wax, The Washington Post)

Push to Rebuild Brings Protest in Georgia's Capital
(By Tara Bahrampour, The Washington Post)

Moving Past Life as a Rebel Slave
Young Ugandan Woman Cares for Daughter Born in Captivity
(By Ben de la Cruz, The Washington Post)

Turks Mourn Blast Victims; Rebels Deny Culpability
(By Christopher Torchia, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
Area Food Pantries Try To Watch What They Mete
It was the maraschino cherries that did it. "Are you trying to kill me?" the woman asked Ted Pringle, director of food and clothing for Bread for the City, the District's largest food pantry. "I'm a diabetic. I can't have these."
(By Lori Aratani, The Washington Post)

Panel Hears of Inequities in Death Penalty
Unabomber's Brother Is Among Witnesses Before Md. Commission
(By John Wagner, The Washington Post)

D.C. Is Sued Again Over Handgun Rules
(By Del Quentin Wilber and Paul Duggan, The Washington Post)

Barbs Traded on Va. Voter Drives
(By Tim Craig, The Washington Post)

Judge Orders New Trial in Toddler's Slaying
(By Tom Jackman, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Treasury, Banks Promote 'Covered Bonds'
The nation's top financial regulators and four of its largest banks announced plans yesterday to expand a method for financing mortgages, called "covered bonds," in an effort to reinvigorate the frozen housing market.
(By David Cho, The Washington Post)

Air Travel Failings Exposed Again by Weekend Storms
(By Sholnn Freeman, The Washington Post)

Calif. Field Goes from Rush To Reflection of Global Limits
(By Steven Mufson, The Washington Post)

Record $482 Billion '09 Deficit Forecast
Next President's Options May Be Limited
(By Jonathan Weisman, The Washington Post)

Area Food Pantries Try To Watch What They Mete
(By Lori Aratani, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
Digital TV Budget Sufficient, NTIA Says
In response to criticism from key lawmakers, the federal agency in charge of preparing viewers for the switch to digital television said it has enough money to meet consumer demand.
(By Kim Hart, The Washington Post)

Mother Ship Unveiled for $200,000 Place in Space
(By Karl Vick, The Washington Post)

Clay Whitehead, 69; Changed TV Landscape
(By Adam Bernstein, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
A Pair of Punters Vie To Be the Guy
Veteran Derrick Frost and square-jawed newcomer Durant Brooks are engaged in a battle to be the Redskins' punter ¿ a zero sum game in which one stays, one goes.
(By Mike Wise, The Washington Post)

Injuries Force P. Hamm To Quit
(By Liz Clarke, The Washington Post)

Cordero Confident He Can Reach His Way Back
(By Chico Harlan, The Washington Post)

Inspired by Grandfather, Toler Battles to Win Job
(By Mark Viera, The Washington Post)

U.S. Hoops Team Arrives In China
(The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
Singing and Zinging
How low can you sink and still achieve nirvana? You can find the answer in "Jerry Springer: The Opera," which, in Studio Theatre's thrillingly down-and-dirty production, brings an audience to something like a state of musical-theater bliss.
(By Peter Marks, The Washington Post)

The Reliable Source
(By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts, The Washington Post)

The Extreme Reality Makeover Show
(By Hank Stuever, The Washington Post)

Robert Novak In Hospital for A Brain Tumor
(By Howard Kurtz, The Washington Post)

Hip-Hop Legends Rock On With Old-School Vibe
(By Sarah Godfrey, The Washington Post)

More Style

LIVE DISCUSSIONS
Book World: 'A Path Out Of The Desert'
Foreign policy expert Kenneth Pollack discusses his new book 'A Path Out of the Desert,' its recommendations for U.S. strategy in the Middle East and how and why he changed his mind about the war in Iraq.
(Kenneth M. Pollack, washingtonpost.com)

Girl Talk/Gregg Gillis On New Album, Music Industry
(Gregg Gillis, washingtonpost.com)

Freedom Rock
(J. Freedom du Lac, washingtonpost.com)

Science and Medicine: Bacteria
(David Brown, washingtonpost.com)

Station Break
Today's Pop Culture
(Paul Farhi, washingtonpost.com)

More Live Discussions

Justice Besmirched
THE LATIN phrase on the seal of the Justice Department loosely means "he who prosecutes on behalf of justice." During the reign of Monica Goodling and D. Kyle Sampson it also should have read, "Democrats need not apply."
(The Washington Post)

Zimbabwe's Talks
Robert Mugabe's campaign to stay in power continues by other means.
(The Washington Post)

Mr. Novak Takes Leave
Leaving a hole on our op-ed page
(The Washington Post)

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