Father's Quest for Son Strains US-Brazil Ties

President Obama meets his Brazilian counterpart tomorrow, and a likely topic of conversation will be an 8-year-old boy, the Washington Post reports. Sean Goldman’s mother whisked him from Newark to Brazil 4 years ago without telling his father—an act both countries agree violated international law and is a matter for the Brazilian courts. But since her death in August, custody of Sean has become a political problem.

Sean's father, David, is on a media crusade, arguing that his ex’s new husband, a well-connected lawyer, is unfairly swaying the courts. He describes himself as "just a guy trying to bring my son home"; the stepfather, who reportedly has 70 lawyers working on Sean's case, criticized David Goldman for exhibiting "the calculated capriciousness of an absent father."