The regulations have been in place for decades. The new regulations, which let some Americans travel to the island without a license, go into effect Friday.
The Coast Guard has seen a spike in the number of Cubans trying to sail to Florida. The cause, it says, is a false rumor that the U.S. will soon change its policy toward Cubans who reach U.S. shores.
"I believe in diplomacy, I believe in dialogue, I believe in engagement," the president says of Iran and other regimes perceived as U.S. enemies. But he says restoring relations is a gradual process.
Cuban artist Tania Bruguera asked people to use a microphone to outline their vision of the country. Bruguera, however, was detained before the performance even started.
President Obama begins his administration's final phase the way he began several others: recovering from disaster, in this case the loss of the Senate. He's striving to show he won't be a lame duck.
A USAID official confirmed the payment to Alan Gross, who spent five years in a Cuban prison. It's part of a settlement with the Maryland-based company for which he worked at the time of his arrest.
The U.S. helped Gerardo Hernandez and his wife conceive through artificial insemination while he was in prison for spying. Hernandez was released last week as part of a prisoner swap.
Cuba is one of the least connected countries on Earth, with 5 percent of residents online. But it could become the Caribbean's largest market if the Castros open the nation up to the Internet.
The country's tiny Jewish community is embracing the breakthrough. But some Catholics feel betrayed by President Obama's overtures to Cuba's communist government.