Obama Returns to Father's Homeland With History, Security on His Mind

President Barack Obama will land in Kenya on Friday with a mission to strengthen U.S. security and economic ties, but his personal connection to his father's birthplace will dominate a trip that Kenyans view as a native son returning home. Kenya is a critical Western ally in the battle against the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab, which massacred 148 people in April at a Kenyan university near the Somali border. Obama is likely to focus talks in Nairobi on security cooperation. He will also spend private time with family members but will not travel to the village that is most closely associated with the family name, White House officials said.