In the midst of the largest Cuban migration to South Florida in a decade, the U.S. embassy in Cuba is renewing its visa and consular services.
The embassy is set to start processing immigrant visas as the U.S. looks to aid in the reunion of families that were broken up in their quest to leave the communist-run island country.
The announcement comes on the heels of at least two dozen Cuban migrants being rescued from small boats by commercial cruise liners. The past weekend alone saw more than 300 migrants from Cuba touching down on the continental United States.
According to NPR, the embassy will process 20,000 visa applications, which would provide many more people with a legal and safe route to enter. In November, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol encountered Cuban migrants 34,675 times along the Mexican border, which was a 21 percent jump from October when 28,848 migrants were stopped by officials.
Efforts by the U.S. to quell migrant tensions with Cuba have been ongoing and officials have conducted several talks in recent months surrounding migration with Havana.
"Engaging in these talks underscores our commitment to pursuing constructive discussions with the government of Cuba where appropriate to advance U.S. interests," the U.S.Embassy in Cuba said in a statement.
Unionized health care workers have struck a tentative agreement with Kaiser Permanente after the biggest health care strike in U.S. history.
American citizens in Israel can start leaving the country on charter flights starting Friday after the State Department said flights will take Americans and immediate family members to either Athens, Greece or Frankfurt, Germany.
A former Barclays bank boss has been banned from UK banking over misleading regulators about ties to the disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Cheddar News checks in with your coast-to-coast weekend weather forecast for Friday, Oct. 13, 2023.
A shooting at Philadelphia International Airport Thursday night left one police officer dead and another wounded and in stable condition.
The Israeli military has ordered the 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza to evacuate to the south within 24 hours as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel.
The U.N. says Israel’s military has told some 1 million Palestinians living in Gaza to evacuate the north.
New York now is trying to restrict algorithms that target young users on a number of social media platforms.
Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone was ordered to pay $803 million to the UK's tax authority after he pleaded guilty to fraud.
One Good Thing: Extinct Turtle Born at Zoo
