Today in History

Walt Disney's first television program, titled "Disneyland" after the yet-to-be completed theme park, premiered on ABC.
http://www.kentucky.com/2015/10/27/4106864/today-in-history.html

How to Pick the Right National Park for Your Next Vacation

The Everglades has well-preserved relics of the Cold War, including a Nike Missile Base that was created soon after the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Located just 160 miles off of Cuba's coast, the anti-aircraft missile site was used until 1979. And ...

http://travel.usnews.com/features/how-to-pick-the-right-national-park-for-your-next-vacation/

Cuba Refuses to Pay Doctors Sent Abroad to Fight Ebola

The estimated 460 Cuban doctors deployed to west Africa to participate in the fight against the Ebola outbreak developing there last year have not been paid the car, home, or World Health Organization (WHO) salaries they were promised if they returned ...

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/10/26/report-cuba-refuses-to-pay-doctors-sent-abroad-to-fight-ebola/

Cuba: A nation gets connected

HAVANA, Cuba - On a recent Sunday afternoon, entire families - grandparents, newborn babies and teenage girls snapping selfies in their most-fashionable clothes - were gathered on the steps, walls and curbs of a plaza in the Playa neighborhood.

http://www.redding.com/news/wire-news/cuba-a-nation-gets-connected

Cuba, S

. Africa to diversify economic ties HAVANA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cuban and South African leaders on Friday pledged to strengthen and diversify the economic and trade relations between the two nations.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-10/24/c_134745533.htm

Don't ignore Cuba's role in human trafficking

The inquiry was prompted by reports that in compiling its latest report on human trafficking, high officials within the State Department exerted undue pressure on staff to improve the rankings of several countries, including Cuba, Malaysia and Russia.

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article44278917.html

The Cuban Missile Crisis for Dummies

The Cuban Missile Crisis for Dummies

http://youtu.be/Snc4g8yAURo

Ramaphosa visits Cuba to strengthen ties

In a statement released by the Presidency, Ramaphosa said: "We hope to utilise the visit to Cuba among others to learn from the Cuban expertise to improve on primary health-care, child mortality and specialised training; discuss and share South Africa ...
https://www.enca.com/south-africa/ramaphosa-visits-cuba-strengthen-ties

14 crazy facts about the Brooklyn Bridge, one of New York City's most iconic ...

... filled with tons of water, 352,000 packets of crackers, and blankets. There was a label that said "FOR USE, AFTER ENEMY ATTACK.

http://www.businessinsider.com/brooklyn-bridge-strangest-facts-2015-10

Chinese Navy Ships Dock in Cuba for the First Time

The Chinese Navy docked in Cuba Tuesday night for a five-day trip celebrating the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/11/11/chinese-navy-ships-dock-cuba-first-time/

Russia to supply generators to Cuba

Inter RAO - Export, a subsidiary of Russian energy producer Inter RAO will team up with Energoimport, which is a part of Union Electrica of Cuba. Union Electrica is a Cuban state energy company with a total capacity of 3.7 GW specializing in the ...

https://www.rt.com/business/319081-cuba-russia-power-plant/

Russia to supply generators to Cuba

Inter RAO - Export, a subsidiary of Russian energy producer Inter RAO will team up with Energoimport, which is a part of Union Electrica of Cuba. Union Electrica is a Cuban state energy company with a total capacity of 3.7 GW specializing in the ...

https://www.rt.com/business/319081-cuba-russia-power-plant/

Commissioner Hopeful of 2016 Spring Training Game in Cuba

Since President Obama announced his intention to normalize relations with Cuba in December, administration and M.L.B. officials have been involved in talks with Cuban officials on a number of issues. Last month, several baseball officials traveled to ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/sports/baseball/major-league-baseball-roundup.html

Cartoonist Herblock captured fears of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Oct 1962 https://t.co/47y2AChu0N https://t.co/ENN26DOqdG

Cartoonist Herblock captured fears of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Oct 1962 https://t.co/47y2AChu0N https://t.co/ENN26DOqdG

http://go.usa.gov/3Sr2A

Veteran signed up, then made a career out of it

He retired in 1982 a first sergeant after deployments in Puerto Rico during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, North Carolina training for the Cold War, California training at Douglas Aircraft factory school, Washington, D.C.

http://lompocrecord.com/news/local/veteran-signed-up-then-made-a-career-out-of-it/article_1a1709ef-ea67-5215-98b1-547cc33d6540.html

Health tourism boom in Cuba

Patients from all over the world have poured into Havana seeking treatments in five-star resorts - which are not always available to native Cubans. Opponents say this private medical tourism creates a two-tier system but others argue that the ...
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34605734

In Cuba, searching for a lost past and finding a family

My family left virtually everything behind when they fled Cuba in the early 1960s. They decided exile was preferable to communism and vowed never to return until Fidel Castro left power.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/world/article/In-Cuba-searching-for-a-lost-past-and-finding-a-6626335.php

Michigan State course to bring US medical students to Cuba

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan State University course will bring U.S. medical students to Cuban hospitals to learn about the country's medical system starting next year.

http://www.wtol.com/story/30360105/michigan-state-course-to-bring-us-medical-students-to-cuba

Laughing along the campaign trail - why candidates and comedy don't always mix

Reagan's most famous quip came during a 1984 debate against his Democratic challenger, Walter Mondale. Noting that JFK had gone for days without sleep during the Cuban missile crisis, a reporter asked Reagan - who was already the oldest president in ...

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/thats-history/87416-laughing-along-the-campaign-trail-why-candidates-and-comedy-dont-always-mix

New York's Asia De Cuba Reopens With A Real Taste Of Cuba

In its previous incarnation as a bi-level scene restaurant attached to Morgan's Hotel in New York, Asia de Cuba became more known for its crowd and noise levels than the fusion dishes created there.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/lauriewerner/2015/10/29/new-yorks-asia-de-cuba-reopens-with-a-real-taste-of-cuba/

Purdue profs visiting Cuba for planned study-aboard program

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - A group of Purdue University agricultural professors are visiting Cuba to set the stage for a planned student study-abroad program on the Island nation.

http://wishtv.com/2015/10/26/purdue-profs-visiting-cuba-for-planned-study-aboard-program/

The time is now to ban nuclear weapons tests: William Lambers (Opinion)

The world was on the brink of a nuclear holocaust in 1962 when the Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, both the Soviets and Americans also test-exploded their nuclear weapons. Just one year after the missile crisis ...

http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/10/the_time_is_now_to_ban_nuclear.html

Commerce with Communists - Doing Business in Cuba

Howard Kass, Ubaldo Heurta and Hiram Centelles already are doing business in Cuba. They hope to do more next year as relations thaw and the Communist island opens itself up to more commerce with the United States.

http://news.wgcu.org/post/commerce-communists-doing-business-cuba

Cuba, S

. Africa to diversify economic ties HAVANA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cuban and South African leaders on Friday pledged to strengthen and diversify the economic and trade relations between the two nations.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-10/24/c_134745533.htm

Dying Cuban grandmother gets loving message from Miami just in time

"It's very emotional, because it's like this family that I know, but don't know," said the chief photographer, who was born in Miami and has never been to Cuba. The Local 10 News crew visited Damas' mom in Miami and her sister in Rafael Freyre. He is ...
http://www.local10.com/news/cuba-coast-to-coast/dying-cuban-grandmother-gets-loving-message-from-miami-just-in-time/35971782

How To Follow Penn State in Cuba

There appears to be lots of interest Penn State's trip in Cuba, particularly in Sunday's game against Industriales.
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/112015aab.html

Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia sees parents for first time in 4 years

Orioles Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia, who is playing winter ball in Venezuela for Caracas, received a long-awaited visit from his parents this week.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-henry-urrutia-cuba-reunites-with-parents-20151110-story.html

GUEST COMMENTARY: Cuban Missile Crisis lessons today

After U.S. U-2 aircraft reconnaissance photos revealed the Soviet Union was placing offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba, despite contrary assurances, President John F. Kennedy and his advisers spent a week debating options.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/guest-commentary/guest-commentary-cuban-missile-crisis-lessons-today/article_1435e088-df15-5c96-822b-5695ef3fe1e0.html

Health tourism boom in Cuba

Patients from all over the world have poured into Havana seeking treatments in five-star resorts - which are not always available to native Cubans. Opponents say this private medical tourism creates a two-tier system but others argue that the ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34605734

OU administrators take a trip to Cuba for a collaborative learning workshop

“In addition to learning from the presentations both by US and Cuban academics, US participants gained an impression of the town and university of Cienfuegos, Cuba,” Cushman said. “Participants also gained an overview of opportunities for partnerships ...

http://www.thepostathens.com/news/ou-administrators-take-a-trip-to-cuba-for-a-collaborative/article_01ffe66c-8f03-11e5-9ffa-d3060be494e0.html

Cuba Vibra!

It's probably no accident that Americans' fascination with Cuba has been growing of late now that the island's relations with the States have begun to open up.

http://www.theatermania.com/off-broadway/reviews/cuba-vibra_74999.html

Cuba's Raul Castro to make 1st official visit to Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Cuban President Raul Castro will make his first official visit to Mexico Nov. 5-7, marking a kind of reset in relations with a country that long backed the Cuban revolution before ties turned rocky a decade ago. Castro will join ...

http://news.yahoo.com/cubas-raul-castro-1st-official-visit-mexico-184849467.html

New guidebook on Cuba offers top attractions, advice

"Cuba As Never Before" by Louis E.V. Nevaer, looks at not just classic attractions like Havana's rum museum and Ernest Hemingway sites, but also offers a guide to some of the newest places of interest to tourists, including the contemporary arts scene, ...
http://www.lfpress.com/2015/10/28/new-guidebook-on-cuba-offers-top-attractions-advice

JFK & LBJ briefed in Blockhouse 34 at Cape Canaveral, month before Cuban Missile Crisis 1962: #NASA

JFK & LBJ briefed in Blockhouse 34 at Cape Canaveral, month before Cuban Missile Crisis 1962: #NASA

https://t.co/a7BNzg1DQb

Cuba's Top Pianist Pays Homage To The Band That Launched His Career

NEW YORK -- In 1973, a group of mostly classically trained musicians formed a band that changed the direction of Cuba's music and reached the American mainstream for the first time since the U.S. had severed diplomatic ties with the government of Fidel ...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/chucho-valdes-irakere_56413a79e4b0b24aee4b9234

Survey: Men want to go to Cuba

. Women, not so much The survey also found 43% of women said they would never visit Cuba, compared with just 37% of men. There were also significant regional disparities in Cuba travel preference: 50% of Midwestern residents said they would never visit the island nation, ...

http://fusion.net/story/234706/men-versus-women-cuba-travel-switchfly-survey/

2000 Cuban migrants remain in limbo

Cubans who can afford to avoid the treacherous Florida Straits are flying to Ecuador, where they are not required to have a visa.

http://www.local10.com/news/cuban-migrants-in-limbo-paralyze-nicaraguacosta-rica-border/36533398

Politics this week

Cuba's government released Danilo Maldonado, a graffiti artist, who was jailed ten months ago for making fun of Raúl Castro, the country's president, and his brother, Fidel, who led the Cuban revolution. Mr Maldonado was arrested ... However, America ...
http://www.economist.com/news/world-week/21676810-politics-week

Tampa businesses working to get into Cuba

President Obama's administration wants American companies to get into Cuba, making the shift more irreversible. His plea applies to Florida companies the most since they are so close to Cuba. Tampa Bay is just 330 miles from Cuba, a straight shot the Gulf.

http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/2015/11/10/local-companies-hoping-to-do-business-in-cuba/75501846/

Cuba launches shark protection plan produced with US group

Cuba announced Wednesday that it is launching a long-term plan to preserve its sharks in cooperation with a U.S. environmental group, part of a rapidly accelerating partnership between the two countries aimed at preserving their shared waters in the ...

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article40747173.html

US And Cuba To Collaborate On Marine Life Protection

The United States and Cuba are teaming up to safeguard marine life in protected areas in the Florida Straits and the Gulf of Mexico.

https://hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/10/21/us-cuba-marine-life-partnership

USDA Makes First Visit to Cuba Since 1961

“Today I had the opportunity to meet with Cuban fruit and vegetable farmers in the Antero Regalado Agricultural Cooperative in Güira de Melena, and hog and sheep producers in the Niceto Pérez Livestock Cooperative.
http://blogs.usda.gov/2015/11/17/usda-makes-first-visit-to-cuba-since-1961/

Cuba Coast to Coast: Santiago's musical history

More Local News · Investigates · U.S./World · Call Christina · Health · Video · Politics · Cuba · Money · Slideshows · Education · Mugshots · Seen on Local 10 · Wx/Traffic · Traffic · Weather News · Video Forecast · Hurricane Survival Guide · Max ...

http://www.local10.com/news/cuba-coast-to-coast-santiagos-musical-history/36514974

Report questions Ted Cruz's father's Cuba story

Some peers of Ted Cruz's father, Rafael Cruz, have come forward to dispute the credibility of his story about fighting and enduring torture as a 1950s Cuban revolutionary while the island nation was swept up by a young, charismatic Fidel Castro. Ted ...

http://www.chron.com/news/politics/tedcruz/article/Ted-Cruz-s-Fathers-story-of-fighting-for-Castro-6620810.php

Cuba frees artist 'El Sexto'

Cuban artist Danilo Maldonado, better known as “El Sexto” (The Sixth) was released from Cuba's Valle Grande prison Tuesday morning after being incarcerated without trial for 10 months.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article40534938.html

Western Pennsylvania leaders explore potential in Cuba

“Obviously, this country has needs for a lot of things,” Fitzgerald said Monday upon his return from a weekend in Cuba.
http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/9420091-74/cuba-pittsburgh-trip

In Cuba, searching for a lost past

My family left virtually everything behind when they fled Cuba in the early 1960s. They decided exile was preferable to communism and vowed never to return until Fidel Castro left power.
http://www.local10.com/news/cuba-coast-to-coast/in-cuba-searching-for-a-lost-past/36480080

America in Search of a Cause?

By and large, we stood together through the crises in the first decades of that Cold War -- the Berlin blockade, Stalin's atom bomb and the fall of China to Mao, the Korean War, the Hungarian revolution, the Cuban missile crisis, and on into Vietnam.
http://townhall.com/columnists/patbuchanan/2015/10/23/america-in-search-of-a-cause-n2069800

'General Hospital' Spoilers: Michelle Stafford New Baby Boy from Surrogate ...

Fans of the longtime soap "General Hospital" may notice that one of the stars is missing in action for a couple of weeks now, and that star is Michelle Stafford, who portrays Nina Clay.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/general-hospital-news-cast-spoilers-michelle-stafford-new-baby-boy-from-surrogate-finally-arrives-148464/

Orlie David Jacob “Sonny” “Jake”

Orlie attended Clay High School and following graduation enlisted in the United States Marines Corps serving his country honorably during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Orlie was a hardworking man and led his four children by example. For thirty years he ...
http://www.monroenews.com/news/2015/oct/22/orlie-david-jacob-sonny-jake/

An Enterprising Woman and Her Amusement Park in Cuba

Inflable 3 HAVANA TIMES - One of the many building collapses that have become common in Havana today took place at the intersection of Oquendo and Carlos III.

http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=114973

Floridians who want to do business in Cuba must first build relationships

Cuba has spelled out through laws and rules what it wants from foreign business: investment, technology, jobs, managerial skills, more renewable energy and projects that help reduce imports.
http://www.bradenton.com/news/business/article45030999.html

Angola-Cuba: 40 Years of Relations and Solidarity

"The tenacity of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro and President Agostinho Neto not only propitiated a declaration of national independence, but also the establishment of relations between the two countries four days later," Cuba's first Ambassador to ...
http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4349691&Itemid=1

Nicaragua closes border to Cuban migrants, rebukes Costa Rica

"We don't want to stay in any of these countries, our aim is to reach the United States, that's our objective," said 33-year-old Alexei Cabezas, adding he left Cuba nearly a month ago and was also held up at the Costa Rica-Panama border. Another ...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/16/us-nicaragua-cuba-idUSKCN0T502920151116

Why Cuban cab drivers earn more than doctors

On his worst days, Rafa, a Cuban taxi driver, makes $60 from all his rides. A doctor in Cuba makes around $45 in a month.
http://www.vox.com/2015/10/26/9593658/cuban-castro-taxi-driver-doctor-economy

What everyone who knows Apple thinks of Sorkin's inaccurate Steve Jobs movie

"It would be as if you made a movie called JFK almost entirely focused on Kennedy's womanizing and political rivalries, and said nothing about civil rights and the Cuban Missile Crisis," he continues. Other criticisms: "The movie mangles too many facts".

http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/apple/steve-jobs-movie-reaction-reviews-sorkin-boyle-fassbender-rogan-box-office-uk-release-date-3584183/

Q&A: Former US ambassador Matlock reflects on Cold War

The Chronicle: You were involved in translating messages between President Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile crisis—what was that like? Jack Matlock: I was at the embassy in Moscow, and at that time we didn't a have a means of ...
http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2015/10/former-u-s-ambassador-matlock-reflects-on-cold-war

Going to Cuba? Beware of popular swindles

The romanticism of the Cuban cigar is often exploited on the streets. There is a black market for counterfeit Cubans and this includes the Cohiba Explendido, which can be easily faked and sold outside of the Cuban cigar stores, where fraudsters look ...

http://www.local10.com/news/cuba-coast-to-coast/going-to-cuba-beware-of-popular-swindles/35971536

Close Guantanamo and Return It to Cuba

President Barack Obama has yet to fulfill the promise he made in his January 22, 2009 executive order to shutter Guantanamo "no later than one year from the date of this order.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marjorie-cohn/president-obama-has-the-c_b_8564766.html

Cuba Leading Eradication of HIV/AIDS, UN Says

"We are very proud of what Cuba has done in the fight against HIV/AIDS," said dirctoy Michel Sidibe, upon his visit to the Caribbean island.

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Cuba-Leading-Eradication-of-HIVAIDS-UN-Says-20151113-0039.html

Taiwan score three late runs to defeat Cuba

Taiwan captain Ngayaw Ake (also known as Lin Chih-sheng, 林智勝) led by example when he blasted a three-run homer against Cuba pitcher Danny Betancourt in the eighth inning to break a 1-1 tie to lead the hosts to a 4-1 victory over Cuba in World ...

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2015/11/15/2003632489

US, Russia sign Syria air safety deal but keep quarreling over war aims

30, 1963, at the urging of President John F. Kennedy after Moscow and Washington narrowly averted nuclear warfare during the Cuban Missile Crisis 10 months earlier. “We have a line of communication on the ground that serves as a backup and provides ...

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2015/10/20/4044809/us-russia-sign-syria-air-safety.html

Jeffrey Stacey on Russia, Putin, and Iran

May not be as dangerous as the Cuban Missile Crisis, certainly not, but what is very clear is that every major world power, speaking in relative world power terms, is now currently engaged militarily in the Syrian regional war with the exception of ...

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/audios/2015-10-19/jeffrey-stacey-russia-putin-and-iran

Cuba Leading Erradication of HIV/AIDS, UN Says

"We are very proud of what Cuba has done in the fight against HIV/AIDS," said Michel Sidibe, the director upon his visit to the Caribbean island.

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Cuba-Leading-Erradication-of-HIVAIDS-UN-Says-20151113-0039.html

'Building relationships': North Dakota ag group visits Cuba

BISMARCK - Cuba is a big potential market for North Dakota growers. Recent talks about lifting the trade embargo the United States imposed on Cuba in the 1960s prompted ag leaders from across the state to visit the country recently to make connections ...

http://www.inforum.com/news/3881167-building-relationships-north-dakota-ag-group-visits-cuba

Full house: Cuba tour operators struggle to find enough hotel rooms

There's scarcely any room at the inn for travelers heading to Cuba - and that was even before the winter high season really cranked up.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article44510043.html

Ask Joan - Cuba and exporing Europe by rail

When is the “best” season to visit Cuba, from the point of view of hurricane risk and excessively high temperatures? We would like a good hotel while in Havana for a few days but would also like to tour the island staying in “casas particulares”.
http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/travel/ask-joan-cuba-and-exporing-europe-by-rail-1.2425879

The End of Nuclear Testing?

Growing public concern about the dangers of nuclear explosive testing collided with a turning point in history - the Cuban Missile Crisis. As an important step leading us back from the brink of nuclear war, President John F. Kennedy called for a ...
http://www.state.gov/t/us/2015/248427.htm

In Cuba, Searching for a Lost Past and Finding a Family

This Oct. 1, 2015 photo shows a collection of family snapshots of Associated Press reporter Christine Armario, in Havana, Cuba. Armario's family left virtually everything behind when they fled Cuba in the early 1960s. Armario spent two weeks reporting ...

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/cuba-searching-lost-past-finding-family-35143878

Ag trade trip to Cuba authorized by local legislator's bill

As a result of a bill from a Mankato legislator, a delegation of state officials and agricultural producers will visit Cuba in December to explore trade opportunities. Though the Cuban embargo makes the trip more of an exploratory mission rather than ...

http://www.mankatofreepress.com/news/ag-trade-trip-to-cuba-authorized-by-local-legislator-s/article_7bc04840-8989-11e5-8659-d3647a0b4e8c.html

Cuban 'cuentapropistas' use ingenuity to persevere in Sancti Spiritus

At the province of Sancti Spiritus, the government reported there were some 20,380 registered "cuentapropistas" who paid 63,271,800 Cuban pesos ($2.38 million) last year, according to the Escambray, a government newspaper. The sector was growing, ...

http://www.local10.com/news/cuba-coast-to-coast/cuban-entrepreneurs-persevere-in-sancti-spiritus/35971492

10 things to know about Cuba's special immigration benefit

While Eisenhower was deporting Mexicans, Cubans, however, were allowed to legally enter the U.S. as part of a Cold War policy.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/10-things-to-know-about-Cuba-s-special-6628153.php

Cuban Peers Dispute Ted Cruz's Father's Story of Fighting for Castro

MATANZAS, Cuba - Since he was a boy, Senator Ted Cruz has said, all he wanted to do was “fight for liberty” - a yearning that he says was first kindled when he heard his father's tales of fighting as a rebel leader in Cuba in the 1950s, throwing ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/us/politics/cuban-peers-dispute-ted-cruzs-fathers-story-of-fighting-for-castro.html