Obama to remove Cuba from terror list
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, the White House announced Tuesday, a key step in his bid to normalize relations between the two countries.
The terror designation has been a stain on Cuba’s pride and a major stumbling block for efforts to mend ties between Washington and Havana.
In a message to Congress, Obama said the government of Cuba “has not provided any support for international terrorism” during the last six months. He also told lawmakers Cuba “has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.”
Cuba will officially be removed from the terror list 45 days after the president’s message was sent to Congress. Lawmakers could vote to block the move during that window, though Obama would be all-but-certain to veto such a measure.
Christie proposes Social Security change
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie proposed pushing back the age of eligibility for Social Security and Medicare for future retirees Tuesday as part of a plan to cut deficits by $1 trillion through a decade, an approach he said would confront the nation’s “biggest challenges in an honest way.”
In a speech in New Hampshire, the New Jersey governor also proposed reducing Social Security benefits in the future for retirees earning more than $80,000 a year and eliminating them for those with annual incomes of $200,000 or more.
Hope for Nigerian girls’ return waning
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — They have been gone a year, the hundreds of girls abducted by Islamic militants from their school in northeastern Nigeria.
While the cry to “Bring Back Our Girls” remains a worldwide cause, the new president Tuesday would not repeat his predecessor’s failed promise to find them.
A solemn march was hosted to remember the 219 girls seized from their boarding school in Chibok by gunmen from the Boko Haram extremist group.
In Nigeria’s capital of Abuja, 219 girls paraded in the streets, with each carrying a placard bearing the name of a kidnap victim.
