With winter almost upon us people are spreading more than holiday cheer. We cover the flu season around the state. We also hear about today’s historical deal between the United States and Cuba, and check in on the latest news out of Congress.
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Obama Relaxes Travel, Trade Restrictions On Cuba
President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday that the U.S. has reached a historic deal with Cuba, easing travel and trade restrictions with the Communist island country and paving the way for improved relations.
In a nationally televised statement from the White House, the president also said a U.S. embassy will be reopening in Havana for the first time in more than a half century.
“In the most significant changes in our policy in more than 50 years, we will end an outdated approach that, for decades, has failed to advance our interests. And instead, we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries,” Obama said.
Besides the complicated history between Cuba and the U.S., which hardened in the depths of the Cold War, a major obstacle to improving relations had been the imprisonment of Alan Gross. Gross is an American who in 2009 was arrested for delivering satellite equipment to Cuba, as well as several intelligence agents on both sides.
“This is really big news and welcomed news to change a policy that really has not been effective for 50 years,” said Jennifer McCoy, director of the Americas Program at the Carter Center.
Today’s deal also released Gross on essentially humanitarian grounds after it was reported that his health had been deteriorating. It also set free an American intelligence agent who was largely unknown to being held in Cuba over the past decades. In exchange, Obama released three Cubans who were accused of spying in America more than 20 years ago.
The New York Times reports that the deal had been negotiated during 18 months of secret talks hosted largely by Canada and encouraged by Pope Frances.
McCoy said that the prisoner exchange satisfied needs on both sides and opened the way toward a normal diplomatic relationship in which both countries can talk about issues of mutual interest like immigration, counterterrorism and drug trafficking, and climate change.
While Obama’s executive action relaxes trading restrictions, the U.S. still has embargo on Cuba. McCoy said the president doesn’t have the authority to lift the ban on his own. That authority moved from the presidency to Congress in 1996 under a law signed by President Bill Clinton.
“It will take congressional action to completely lift that embargo,” McCoy said.
Some lawmakers have criticized the move, and have called on Obama to strengthen the embargo. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who is the son of Cuban immigrants, told reporters on Capitol Hill that Obama is the “single worst negotiator we have had in the White House in my lifetime.”
That kind of rhetoric will make it tough to lift the embargo, said McCoy.
“It will be sticky. It’s not going to be easy,” she said. “But the momentum is towards change. Public opinion, even among Cuban Americans in Florida, now favors lifting the embargo.”
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President Obama Announces Historic Overhaul Of US-Cuban Relations
President Obama has announced an historical deal with Cuba, easing travel and trade restrictions with the country, and paving the way for improved relations. An expert on US-Cuba relations discusses what’s in the deal, and what it means for citizens of both countries.
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This Week In Congress – December 17, 2014
USA Today Politics and Congress Editor Paul Singer joins Central Time for his weekly update on happenings in Congress.
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Flu Season Hits Wisconsin
As flu season hits Wisconsin, we’ll find out how effective this year’s flu vaccine is, and what we can do to treat flu symptoms.
Episode Credits
- Veronica Rueckert Host
- Cynthia Schuster Host
- Rob Ferrett Host
- Chris Malina Producer
- Galen Druke Producer
- Jennifer McCoy Guest
- Paul Singer Guest
- Jon Temte Guest
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