On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 715th career home run in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, breaking Babe Ruth's home run record that had stood since 1935. (Aaron would go on to hit 755 career home runs, only to be surpassed in 2007 by Barry Bonds, who finished his career with a record 762 that still stands).
A Russian oil tanker has reached Cuba with a huge shipment, easing a dire fuel shortage after months without deliveries. The ship docked at the port of Matanzas on Tuesday, carrying about 730,000 barrels of oil. Cuban officials and residents celebrated as blackouts have dragged on and shortages of food and medicine grow. Cuba makes only about 40% of the fuel it needs. Experts say the cargo could cover diesel demand for around nine or 10 days. The Trump administration let the tanker proceed despite U.S. pressure on Cuba. The vessel also faces Western sanctions tied to Ukraine.
Speculation is mounting about who, if anyone, might replace Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for change in Cuba's leadership. Diaz-Canel was Raúl Castro's handpicked largely figurehead successor in 2018 and the only leader without the last name Castro to govern since the 1959 revolution. He still has two years left in his term —- but some experts and a growing number of Cubans doubt he'll make it. Experts say two Castro cousins have come into focus as potential replacements. They are Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, Cuba's deputy prime minister and Raúl Castro's 55-year-old great nephew, and Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, Raúl Castro's grandson, who has never held a government position.
On March 20, 1995, in Tokyo, packages containing the deadly chemical sarin were opened and dispersed on five separate subway trains in a terror attack by members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, causing 14 deaths and injuring more than 1,000.
President Donald Trump this week said he believes he'll have "the honor of taking Cuba" soon. Without declaring a formal blockade, Trump and his administration have already crippled trade with the island and threatened the future of the Communist Party regime. In March, supplies of oil, food and other goods to the island collapsed, with no foreign-originating tankers arriving to Cuba, according to shipping data analyzed by Windward, a maritime intelligence firm. The volume of port calls, which includes tankers moving from one Cuban port to another, averaged around 50 per month in 2025 but fell to just 11 in March - all of them arriving from domestic ports. It was the lowest since 2017.
Officials in Cuba report an islandwide blackout in the country of some 11 million people as its energy and economic crises deepen. The Ministry of Energy and Mines notes a "complete disconnection" of the country's electrical system and says it is investigating. President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Friday warned that the island had not received oil shipments in more than three months and that it was operating on solar power, natural gas and thermoelectric plants. Cuba has blamed its woes on a U.S. energy blockade. President Donald Trump warned in January of tariffs on any country that would sell or provide oil to the island.
President Donald Trump says the United States is talking with Cuba and raised the possibility of a "friendly takeover" of the island without explaining what that means. Trump told reporters on Friday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is speaking with Cuban leaders at a "very high level," but the White House offered no further details. Trump suggested that Cuba is facing economic collapse. His comments come as Cuba says it is communicating with U.S. officials after a deadly shooting involving a Florida-registered speedboat in waters off the island. Rubio has said that investigators are looking into it.
Cuban soldiers have killed four people aboard a speed boat registered in Florida that opened fire on officers in Cuban waters. Cuba's Interior Ministry issued a statement that provided few details about the shooting, but noted the boat was roughly one mile northeast of Cayo Falcones, off Cuba's north coast. It was unclear if any U.S. citizens were aboard. The government provided the boat's registration number, but The Associated Press was unable to verify details of the boat because boat registrations are not public in the state of Florida. Officials said one Cuban officer was injured, four suspects killed and six others injured.
Marco Rubio is visiting the Caribbean, where he's defending the Trump administration's military operation to capture Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro. The secretary of state tells leaders from the 15-member Caribbean Community bloc that Venezuela and the region are better off as a result of that U.S. raid. Rubio said Wednesday that he offered the defense without "apology" or "apprehension." Caribbean leaders have been unsettled by the Maduro operation, particularly because it was accompanied by a significant hardening of U.S. policies in the Western Hemisphere.
Tens of thousands of Cubans have gathered in Havana to protest the killing of 32 Cuban officers in Venezuela. The demonstration took place Friday at the "José Martí Anti-Imperialist" plaza across from the U.S. Embassy. The crowd demanded the release of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, who was arrested by the U.S. on Jan. 3. Cuba's Foreign Ministry described the protest as a response to threats against peace and sovereignty. President Miguel Díaz-Canel attended the event. The protest follows U.S. President Donald Trump's recent demands for Cuba to negotiate with him amid tightened sanctions and economic struggles.
