President Obama Touches Down In Cuba, Commencing A Historic Visit 
 
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 One of the last vestiges of the Cold War was buried Sunday, when President Obama set foot in Cuba. He's the first American president to visit the island since Calvin Coolidge, 88 years ago. 
 
 "Que bola', Cuba?" Obama tweeted in an informal greeting, moments after Air Force One touched down at Havana's Jose Marti Airport. "Looking forward to meeting and hearing directly from the Cuban people." 
 
 Holding an umbrella against a light rain, Obama and the first family were greeted by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla. The motorcade then made its way to a meeting with staff of the U.S. embassy, which re-opened last summer after a half-century of official isolation. 
 
 Obama and his wife and daughters planned to visit the Havana Cathedral on Sunday evening and meet with Cardinal Ortega — recognition of the prominent role he and Pope Francis played in encouraging the Administration's surprise thaw with Cuba that was announced in December 2014. 
 
 The president was to be joined in Cuba by more three dozen members of Congress, including several who accompanied the first family on Air Force One. Several U.S. business leaders will also take part in the visit, including an executive from Starwood hotels, which just inked an agreement to manage three Cuban properties. 
 
 The history-making trip is designed to cement the Administration's diplomatic outreach to Cuba, making it hard for any future president to return to the half-century old policy of isolation that Obama and his team consider a failure. 
 
 Only Congress can lift the trade embargo against Cuba. But over the past 15 months, the Administration has been chipping away at it, easing restrictions on both travel and commerce. 
 
 The number of Americans traveling to Cuba jumped nearly 80 percent last year. That's expected to increase as airlines resume scheduled service later this year, with up to 110 flights a day. 
 
 Thus far, the U.S. overtures have been met with little reciprocal movement by the Cuban government. Obama is expected to press Cuban President Raul Castro to do more open both Cuba's economy and the political system when the two leaders meet on Monday. 
 
 The White House says Obama will also raise the issue of Cuba's human rights abuses and he plans to meet separately with anti-government activists on Tuesday. A weekly demonstration by the Ladies in White group was quickly silenced Sunday afternoon, and more than 50 dissidents were hauled away, hours before Obama's arrival. 
 
 A happier demonstration is expected Tuesday at Havana's Estadio Latinoamericano, where the Tampa Bay Rays will play an exhibition baseball game against the Cuban national team. The contest is a nod to the popular passtime the two countries share, and comes as Major Leage Baseball is negotiating a deal to let Cuban ballplayers sign with big league teams without having to defect. 
 
 In Havana'a central park, where baseball is a frequent topic of conversation, residents are looking forward to the matchup. Narcis Vallant says no matter which team comes out on top, both countries will be winners. ||||| Haley to UN General Assembly: U.S. does not fear isolation 
 
 The United States voted against a UN resolution condemning America's economic embargo against Cuba on Wednesday. The embargo resolution was overwhelmingly approved in the 193-member General Assembly by a vote of 191-2, with Israel joining the U.S. UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said the American people had chosen a new president and the United States would vote against any resolution calling for the lifting of the embargo "as long as the proceeds from trade with Cuba go to prop up the dictatorial regime responsible for denying those (human) rights."
– President Obama made history today by landing in Cuba—the first visit there by a US president in almost 90 years. Obama arrived with first lady Michelle, their two daughters, his mother-in-law, and dozens of business executives seeking opportunities, but not everything went smoothly in the hours before Air Force One touched down at José Martí International Airport, the New York Times reports. Members of the dissident group Ladies in White were arrested today during their weekly march in Havana, confirming the endurance of repressive government tactics. "We thought there would be a truce, but it wasn’t to be," says Elizardo Sánchez, who heads the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation. The activists were nabbed "in the moment that Obama was flying in the air to Cuba," says Sánchez. What's more, nine of 27 Cuban migrants died of dehydration in a harrowing attempt to reach Florida, the US Coast Guard said after a cruise ship rescued the survivors on Friday, the Miami Herald reports. "It’s crazy how desperate they were to get to the US," says a videographer who shot apparent footage of the migrants. "It makes me feel so grateful for being an American." On the bright side, the Obamas plan to walk around Old Havana today (where buildings on their route have been repainted in fresh pastels) before the president visits Cardinal Jaime Ortega, who aided the rapprochement with Cuba in 2014. Obama is slated to meet President Raùl Castro on Monday and attend an exhibition baseball game Tuesday between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team, NPR reports.