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.
The Slate Dozen - Morning Edition |
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Al-Qaida Launches English-Language Magazine The editors hope that their new magazine, Inspire, will recruit English-speaking Muslims inside of the United States and European countries to carry out terrorist plots. Read original story in The Atlantic | Thursday, July 1, 2010 -
Leading Republican Calls for Increase to Retirement Age In an interview, the House minority leader said increasing the retirement age by five years is one way to fix the looming Social Security crisis. Read original story in Newsweek | Thursday, July 1, 2010 -
Police Reopen Investigation Into Sexual Assault Charges Against Al Gore A massage therapist who claims the former vice president made unwanted sexual advances said she called off the 2006 investigation because if she didn't, one friend told her, climate change would destroy the world. Read original story in Talking Points Memo | Thursday, July 1, 2010 -
Taliban Refuse To Enter NATO Peace Talks "We are certain that we are winning," the Taliban said in a statement. "Why should we talk if we have the upper hand?" Read original story in The Daily Telegraph | Thursday, July 1, 2010 -
Apple, AT&T Slapped With Class-Action Lawsuit The lawsuit claims several breaches of warranty, misrepresentation and fraud in the release of the new iPhone 4, which users have complained drops because of a faulty antenna design. Read original story in Gizmodo | Thursday, July 1, 2010 -
NBA Teams Battle For LeBron James For the next seven days, everyone, it seems, will meet with and try to court the basketball prodigy, hoping to lure him to their team. Read original story in The New York Times | Thursday, July 1, 2010 -
Senate Confirms Petraeus 99-0 One of Gen. David Petraeus' first tasks when he takes over command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan will be considering whether to revise Gen. Stanley McChrystal's strict rules of engagement. Read original story in The Associated Press | Wednesday, June 30, 2010 -
Lexus Drivers Complain of Faulty Engines Toyota is considering another recall. About a quarter-million cars worldwide, the automaker said Thursday, may have faulty engines that stall while the vehicle is moving. Read original story in The Associated Press | Thursday, July 1, 2010 -
Bob Bennett: Republicans Have Slogans, Not Ideas The soon-to-be-former senator expects Republicans to take control of Congress in November, but that doesn't mean they'll have any idea what to do when they get there. Read original story in Talking Points Memo | Wednesday, June 30, 2010 -
Is There a Woman in the Oval Office? Kathleen Parker says Barack Obama is our first female president. It is not intended as a compliment. Read original story in The Washington Post | Wednesday, June 30, 2010 -
Toronto Police Display "Weapons" Seized in G20 Protest Police officers spent the week stripping protesters of their bicycle helmets, tennis balls, and bandanas, then collected all the gear (plus some stuff seized from nonprotesters) and presented it to journalists as proof of how dangerous the dissidents are. Read original story in The Globe and Mail | Wednesday, June 30, 2010 -
Christopher Hitchens Cancels Book Tour The author is undergoing treatment for esophogeal cancer. Read original story in The Washington Post | Wednesday, June 30, 2010 | Advertisement | |
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