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"Russian warships leave Cuba, with next stop unknown."

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By Sarah Naffa June 18, 2024

In the news today: A fleet of Russian warships leaves Havana’s port; Biden's new immigration plan could affect upward of half a million immigrants; and BNSF Railway must pay nearly $400 million to a Native American tribe. Also, centuries-old cherries have been found at George Washington’s Mount Vernon home. The Olympics are a little more than a month away and we're launching a pop-up newsletter to keep you posted on all the action. Sign up here for Postcards from Paris, your daily dispatch from the Summer Games. People watch the Russian Navy Admiral Gorshkov frigate arrive at the port of Havana, Cuba, June 12. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley) WORLD NEWS Russian warships leave Havana’s port, with their next stop unknown A fleet of Russian warships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, left Havana’s port on Monday after a five-day visit to Cuba following planned military drills in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s unclear what the fleet’s next destination is or where it will dock next in the Caribbean. Read more.

Why this matters: The exercise has been seen by some as a show of strength by Moscow against the backdrop of tensions as U.S. and other Western nations support Kyiv in Russia’s war on Ukraine. Officials with the Biden administration have said that they were monitoring the vessels and confirmed that they did not pose a threat to the region. Still, the United States docked a submarine, the USS Helena, at its Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Russian military and defense doctrine holds Latin America and the Caribbean in an important position, with the sphere seen as under U.S. influence acting as a counterweight to Washington’s activities in Europe, said Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Putin arrives in North Korea for the first time in 24 years State Department removes Cuba from shortlist of countries deemed uncooperative on counterterrorism Afro-Cuban drums, Muslim prayers, Buddhist mantras: Religious diversity blooms in once-atheist Cuba POLITICS Biden’s new plan could grant half a million immigrants US citizenship In an aggressive election-year action on immigration, the White House announced Tuesday that the Biden administration will, in the coming months, allow certain spouses of U.S. citizens without legal status to apply for permanent residency and, eventually, citizenship. Read more.

Why this matters: The policy will allow roughly 490,000 spouses of U.S. citizens an opportunity to apply for a “parole in place” program where, if a qualifying immigrant’s application is approved, he or she would receive a temporary work permit,  have three years to apply for a green card and be shielded from deportation in the meantime. Earlier this month, a restrictive border policy passed by the administration angered many of Biden's allies, with critics calling the clampdown similar to those pursued by his predecessor, Donald Trump. This announcement is a significant marker for Biden, as he will also announce new regulations that will allow certain DACA beneficiaries and other young immigrants to more easily qualify for long-established work visas.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump blasts immigrants for taking jobs as he courts voters at a MAGA event in Detroit Some Mexican shelters see crowding south of the border as Biden’s asylum ban takes hold Secret Service agent robbed at gunpoint during Biden’s Los Angeles trip, police say U.S. NEWS Judge orders railway to pay a Washington tribe nearly $400 million BNSF Railway must pay nearly $400 million to a Native American tribe in Washington state, a federal judge ordered Monday after finding that the company intentionally trespassed across the tribe’s reservation. Read more.

Key points: “We know that this is a large amount of money. But that just reflects the enormous wrongful profits that BNSF gained by using the Tribe’s land day after day, week after week, year after year over our objections,” Steve Edwards, chairman of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, said in a statement.  The tribe, which has about 1,400 members, sued in 2015 after BNSF dramatically increased, without the tribe’s consent, the number of cars it was running across the reservation so that it could ship crude oil in and around North Dakota to a nearby refinery. The route crosses sensitive marine ecosystems along the coast, over water that connects with the Salish Sea, where the tribe has treaty-protected rights to fish.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Toxic garlic should have prompted EPA to warn against gardening near Ohio derailment, watchdog says Report finds Colorado was built on $1.7 trillion of land expropriated from tribal nations US Catholic bishops approve outreach to Native Americans and acknowledge boarding school ‘traumas’ ADVERTISEMENT IN OTHER NEWS READ Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu dissolved his war Cabinet. How will that affect cease-fire efforts? UNESCO report: AI could spawn a new surge in Holocaust denial Historic ship: SS United States is ordered out of its berth in Philadelphia. Can it find new shores? Overtourism: A gate is being installed on a Mount Fuji trail to control crowds Record NBA title: Celtics win their 18th NBA championship Today in History: In 1983, the first U.S. woman heads to space WATCH Israel protests: Israeli police use water cannons to disperse protesters in Jerusalem High temperatures: Workers cope with extreme heat in Midwest Cicada emergence: This is what a cicada looks, sounds, smells and feels like Celine Dion: ‘I am already a little bit back’ Celebrity chef: Gordon Ramsay says he’s ‘lucky to be here’ after bike accident A CHANGE OF PACE Curator Lily Carhart stands next to 18th-century bottles unearthed in Mount Vernon, Va. (AP Photo/Nathan Ellgren) Centuries-old cherries are unearthed at George Washington’s estate George Washington never did cut down the cherry tree, despite the famous story to the contrary, but he did pack away quite a few bottles of the fruit at his Mount Vernon home. Dozens of bottles of cherries and berries — perfectly preserved in storage pits — were discovered during an archaeological dig connected to a restoration project.

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