President Donald Trump discusses regime change in Cuba, and Florida lawmakers discuss ways to handle affordabilty across the state.


Trump discusses regime change in Cuba

President Donald Trump has been eyeing Cuba as the next country for intervention if its communist leaders do not make a deal with the U.S. but he says he’s waiting for the end of the war in Iran.

“We will be taking over almost immediately. Now, Cuba’s, Cuba’s got problems. We’ll finish one first. I like to finish a job on the way back from what we’ll do on the way back from Iran. We’ll have one of our big, maybe the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, the biggest in the world. We’ll have that come in, stop about 100 yards offshore, and they’ll say, ‘Thank you very much. We give up.’” Trump said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the government plans to “address” Cuba in the future.

“We have 90 miles from our shores a failed state that also happens to be friendly territory for some of our adversaries. So, it’s an unacceptable status quo, and we’ll be addressing it, but not today,” Rubio said.

Back in January the U.S. successfully captured former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and has forbidden Venezuelan oil from going to Cuba, which has been dealing with nationwide blackouts and worsening economic conditions.

Although the Trump administration has put pressure on Cuba’s current regime, it still remains intact.

Unlike Maduro, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel does not face criminal charges in the U.S.

“I think Rubio thought that just Venezuela falling and the threat of violence will be enough for Díaz-Canel to say, ‘I’m out,’ but that’s not going to happen. So, it’s also going to be trickier to produce that regime change that they want in Cuba,” American University Professor Ernesto Castaneda said.

More U.S. intervention in foreign countries could also be unpopular with the American public as the war in Iran continues.

“If the Cuba situation also requires boots on the ground or type of military engagements, it wouldn’t necessarily be popular with the with the with the majority of even Republicans, so I think that’s why they are delaying, and they’re going to keep delaying a lot longer,” Castaneda said.

It’s been nearly 70 days since the U.S. war in Iran began.

Florida lawmakers disagree on how to tackle affordability

According to new labor data, unemployment is up in Florida, sitting at 4.7 percent. That is a percentage point higher than this time last year.

That unemployment rate translates to about 523,000 unemployed Floridians.

Polling from Florida Atlantic University shows affordability is among the top concerns for voters.

It’s data that not even Florida’s senior U.S. Senator can ignore.

“This is concerning. Florida’s job numbers continue to get worse,” Sen. Rick Scott said.

Affordability is expected to be a top concern in the upcoming midterm elections. Florida Democrats are making affordability their top priority ahead of November.

“We’re here in special session. And there is not one mention of the unaffordable crisis of our state,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said.

Democrats are actively criticizing Florida Republicans, saying they’re focused more on partisan issues like redrawing congressional maps.

“We shouldn’t be spending our time on this. We should be spending our time on what matters to Floridians about the affordability crisis: property insurance, housing affordability, health care, education,” State Sen. Lori Berman said.

To address the issue, Florida Republicans are promising to deliver potentially historic tax relief.

“The property tax is what we have to do. Right? And so now the negotiations are going to get a little bit more real. I’ve got a number of ways to do it,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

State leaders want relief on the November ballot, with a special session to finalize it suggested sometime this summer.

“My overarching opinion is that we should be as aggressive as possible in delivering property tax cuts, because the growth in government over the last six years is, quite frankly, been obnoxious,” Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said.

Local budgets have grown. But so too has the cost of living in Florida metropolitan areas, including Tampa and Orlando.

According to multiple studies, Orlando ranks among the nation’s least affordable housing markets, while Tampa experienced some of the fastest rent growth in America after the pandemic.