Meanwhile, In Cuba...

Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the longest-running thorn in Uncle Sam's side, is stepping down from power. His brother Raul, who's basically been running things anyway, will likely succeed him.

Given the history of U.S.-Cuban relations, this is very big news. Look for the three presidential candidates-- out scoring last minute votes for today's primaries in Wisconsin and Hawaii-- to weigh in on this quickly. Personally, while this issue has never been a passion of mine, I hope that this will mean (though not overnight) the end of our ridiculously outdated anti-Cuba policy... and the end of the embargo. It's amazing that our leaders can't let go of the Cold War after all these years, and that the Cuban people have been made to suffer for that. We keep hearing how the world is changing, and maybe it's time that we did too.

[UPDATE: Here's a compilation of where the presidential candidates stand on this.]