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Good morning. I'm Jane Pauley, and this is Sunday morning. First there was Venezuela, now Iran. And for those wondering what country might be next on President Trump's foreign policy agenda, the answer could be much closer to home. Cuba.
Just 90 miles south of the Florida Keys, Cuba is geographically close to the United States. but it's been ideologically distant for decades. Moracca looks back on our fraught history. Hundreds of thousands rally at the call of revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. Cuba's communist government has survived 13 U.S.
presidents, the fall of the Soviet Union, and Fidel Castro's death. I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honour of Taking Cuba. You do think it's different this time. Oh, absolutely, I do think it's different.
So, what do you think is going to happen? I have no clue. Ahead on Sunday morning, America's Long History with Cuba and what it means for the island's future. Casey Musgraves is a country music original, an eight-time Grammy winner, and Texas to the core. With a new album out, she's talking this morning with Anthony Mason, Frank.
the record. Y'all, I'm going through a drive. Casey Musgraves was recovering from a breakup when the song came to her. And I had that title written down in my phone. Yeah.
Because quite literally, I was. going through a draft spell. That dry spell led to a creative monsoon. Do you get excited when you write a great lyric? Uh, there is no greater drug.
Yes. Casey Musgraves. Later on Sunday morning. Plus, Raimi Inasencio heads to Wrexham, the Welsh town recently made famous by a rejuvenated soccer team and its notable owners, actors Ryan Reynolds. and Rob McElhenney.
Robert Costa talks with influential South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn. and more. on this final Sunday morning of the month of April. And we'll be back after this. Venezuela, Iran, and now increasingly speculation about Cuba.
Mooraka takes a closer look at a historically troubled relationship. With so much attention on Iran in recent weeks. You may have missed the news about the increasingly tense situation with another longtime adversary. We may stop by Cuba after we're finished with this. The U.S.
has blocked nearly all oil shipments into Cuba, pushing it to the brink of collapse.
Meanwhile, high-level talks between the two countries are underway. President Trump hasn't offered details, but has said this. All my life, I've been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it? I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor of Take him Cuba.
The island nation, just 90 miles from Florida, has indeed played an outsized role in our foreign policy for close to 70 years. But back in the 1950s, most Americans thought of Cuba as little more than a hedonistic paradise. A playground where anything goes, where there are casinos, where there's prostitution, pretty much any, and to a great extent that was true. You had celebrities like Frank Sinatra coming and stars, but it's party time. George Malagon Marquez is Cuban-American and a professor of history at Miami-Dade College.
What Americans weren't seeing was the dissatisfaction. amongst regular Cubans running just below the surface. many Cubans were subsisting and working in industries outright owned by Americans. Cubans loved Americans coming as tourists and what have you, but it was the control of the economy. that really bothered them.
And for many Cubans memories were still fresh from half a century earlier, when, after the Spanish American War, the US won a sort of independence for Cuba. In 1902, when Cuba gains independence, is it really? Independent independence. It's independence like the independence I gave my teenage kids. Which means like, sure, you're independent so long as you're home by 10 o'clock.
Yes, Cuba was a sovereign nation, but the United States could intervene any time its interests were at stake, which it did repeatedly until the nineteen thirties. And so by the late nineteen fifties conditions were ripe for revolution. Other Latin American countries had grievances against the United States. What is it about Cuba? that a decades-long communist dictatorship could take root there.
It's Fidel Ismo. From his stronghold in the wild Sierra Maestre Mountains, Cuba's Fidel Castro emerged triumphant. It's a cult of personality.
So had there been no Fidel Castro. Had it been anybody else, this would have fizzled out within the first couple of years. The late Fidel Castro, who came to power in 1959 and became a central actor in the Cold War, sparking fears of communism spreading in the Americas. His authoritarian regime has survived a decades-long trade embargo with the U.S. A strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment.
under shipment to Cuba is being initiated. a missile crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. and the collapse of the Soviet Union, its longtime patron. Marquez still remembers the hold Castro had over a five-year-old growing up in Cuba. I was like in first grade or just starting first grade, and they have something called the Pioneers for the Revolution, and you wear a red scarf, you know.
And they would ask Bow your heads and pray to God. For candy. And the children would bow their heads and pray to God for candy, and open your eyes. Nothing. No candy.
Bow your heads, close your eyes and ask Fidel for candy. I'm not, mo, I wish I were making this up. And lo and behold, there will be the candy. Gotta say, that's kind of sick. It is.
Marquez and his family fled Cuba in nineteen sixty seven. When the refugees reach Miami, they tend to stay there. Among the more than a million and a half who have left the island for the U.S. since the early 1960s. If there had been no castro.
Yes, this wouldn't we wouldn't be. Talking about this. Elsa and Becky Kobo's late father, Arturo, was a teenager in Havana in 1960 when he witnessed his own father's bank being seized by the regime. He saw the military come and take. Basically the keys from my grandfather and tell him.
go. And that's when he said we gotta do something. Arturo escaped to the US and enlisted in the CIA trained Brigade of Cuban Exiles, who in april nineteen sixty one landed at Cuba's Bay of Pigs in a secret operation meant to overthrow the Castro regime. The soldiers were expecting air cover from the Americans. At the last minute, though, Democratic President John F.
Kennedy pulled the plug. A turn of events Cuban Americans never forgot. Why are so many Cuban Americans so staunchly Republican? Bay of Pigs. Three words.
That's it. That's it. You don't have to go further than that. They were basically left there to die. Arturo spent nearly two years in a Cuban prison.
When he was released he settled in Key West, Florida, where his daughters still live today. Here, Arturo Cobo helped wave. Many of the vessels sailing northward are shrimp boats such as this, jammed to the gunnels. After wave, Cubans seem willing to run almost any risk to escape the island. of refugees arriving from his home country.
Many didn't survive the voyage. She asked me, Where is the son? Where is the husband? At the Key West Botanical Garden, you can see evidence of their desperation in these makeshift rafts used by Cubans to reach America.
Some made of styrofoam. And your father could very much understand this? Oh yes, yes. Arturo Cobo died in 2019. He, like so many others who fled Castro's Cuba, never returned.
They came over hoping that one day Cuba would be free and never imagined it would. they would not see the day that that would happen because a lot of them are gone now. Jorge Malagón Marquez says those waves of migration have remade South Florida. But their absence in Cuba may also help explain the regime's longevity. those that would have been willing to rise up Gone.
I mean You gotta give it to Fidel Castro. He was brilliant. You know, in a sort of like evil way, he was the evil genius. But Fidel Castro died in 2016, and the Cold War is long over. Few believe Cuba poses the threat that it once did to the US.
The Cuban economy, never robust under communist rule, has been in freefall since the pandemic, with nearly a fifth of the population leaving since 2021. Whether I free it. Take it. I think I can do anything I want with it. And now the Trump administration is turning the screws on an already failing state, worsening its humanitarian crisis.
Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits are pondering what comes next. What would you do if your online store converted 36% more shoppers? You could take 36% more vacation. Another peanut colada. Yes, please.
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Now give me a piece of ham now! I can check that out. It's always sunny in Philadelphia. was a hit for star and co-creator Rob McElhenney.
Now he's turned his attention to a different city an ocean away. where he's helped spark a comeback story with a Hollywood ending. I love Mexico so much. It's always sunny in Wrexham. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much. You're welcome. Thank you very much. When Rob McElhenney is here. Thank you.
Hey guys, what do you all think of Rob? What?
Okay. I didn't hear that. What do you guys think of Rob? Amazing! Oh my god, that's crazy.
We walked down Hope Street. This guy looks familiar. Even street names seem to nod to brighter days ahead. I look at that. I look at that and I see empty storefronts.
But we want to rejuvenate this back into a thriving Metropolis. Wow. We means McElhenney and fellow Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds. Seeing this place is literally emotional. Back in 2020, McElhenney messaged Reynolds out of the blue with his crazy pitch to rescue the world's third oldest professional football club.
That's soccer to Americans, and breathe new life into its town. I'm gonna kick it right there. Their journey, documented in the now hit streaming series Point Up. Welcome to Rexa. Founded in 1864, Wrexham's team was a giant in Welsh soccer, powered by profits from the Coal Boom.
But the collapse of Britain's coal industry through the 1980s hit Wrexham hard. Players left, and by the 2000s, the club faced bankruptcy. Its own fans scraped together the cash to buy and save it, but the team still floundered. Until. Hollywood money and magic came calling.
What fell off my chair for starters? I couldn't quite believe it. Are you okay, gents? Wayne Jones has been running a pub called The Turf for nearly two decades. where Wrexham's soccer team was born.
And they just burst out laughing. I think my words were What the Ryan Reynolds has in Deadpool Ryan Reynolds? And they were like, yep, fairly sure it's going to be him and a gentleman called Rob McAlheny. No. Did they really understand what they were getting into?
If I was to hazard a guess, I would go no. But fast forward five years, man, do they know what they're doing now? Wrexham has just kept winning and winning. Rocketing up three leagues in just three seasons.
Okay, here we are, here we are, here we are. For Americans, it's like a minor league team soaring to the majors. For Wrexham, it's resurrection.
Now, fighting for a spot in English soccer's top tier. But McElhenney says it's always been about something much bigger. We knew from the very beginning that it's a sacred relationship that these towns have with their football clubs. What is this sacred relationship? We're looking for a sense of community and being on the same team no matter what.
Under Friday night lights, with McElhenney and Reynolds calling game action from above. Yeah. We felt it ourselves. A deep cry of place. and where McElhane says he feels at home.
Is Wrexham the Philly of Wales? The answer is yes.
However, I would say it's also the Pittsburgh, it's also the Cleveland. It's also the Kansas City. You can find working class. People all over the world. People who might feel fate gave them the short end of the stick.
Why can't it ever be us? Why not us? Why can't we be the ones, you know? I didn't expect to get this emotional in this interview. I don't know, anything that I can do in the second half of my life.
to help create opportunities for people To feel like it can be them or turn to the people next to them that they love and say, it is us. Today it is us. I said to him, we will get to a Wrexham game at some point. That may be why Wrexham's rise has rippled so far beyond Northern Wales. Gina Narozniak flew in from Cape Coral, Florida.
We met her at the turf. I unfortunately I'm not well and so I have a bucket list that I've been trying to do for the next little bit of time I have. We shared her message with McElhaney. Hi, Rob. Um my name is Gina Narozniak.
I'm Personally, um And given a diagnosis of um terminal diagnosis of third. uncertain how long I have. Um I'm an underdog. And I'm fighting, and I'm not giving up either. You guys have inspired me.
You guys were on my bucket list. It was to come see the game. Um I thank you. Yeah. Well, what do you mean?
What are you trying to do to me? He's like. for her, the fact that we can tell the story of the town and that it means that much to her in this moment is uh Oh god. You guys are killing me. What do you want folks to really remember?
about Rexen. that they're still here. I'm coming along. A very famous song here. The chorus is We're still here.
I like to think. That's a really important thing for people to remember. They've gone through a lot, but they're still here. Steve Hartman this morning has the tale of a girl who, with a little help, can imagine her future more clearly than ever. Uh Last month, in their home opener here at Mile Height Stadium, The brand new Denver Summit women's soccer team went scoreless.
But for one girl in attendance, it was a huge win. Because she found. A role model. Speaker. Why was it so important to you to meet her?
I wanted to be a professional soccer player when I grow up and she was able to do that. And it's really fills me with hope that I'm able to as well. Nine-year-old Haydn Stein was born without most of her right arm.
So when she went to that game and saw number 16, Carson Pickett, a player just like her. Hayden says she saw something in herself. Roll modders make you feel like you can do anything. just like them. Her confidence has skyrocketed.
Parents, Jonathan and Christina. At school, on the soccer field. It's through the roof. Yeah, she scored three times in practice. Yeah, yeah.
They say meeting Carson was truly life-altering. And yet, Carson says It almost never happened.
So the old Jew might not have gone up and talked to Hayden? No. No, probably not. I didn't want to be known as the girl with one arm to play soccer. I just wanted to be known for the girl that plays soccer.
For years Carson says she hid her arm in pictures, and avoided even talking about her limb difference. until one day she says her mother told her she was missing an opportunity. A purpose. Carson later posted. Finding out that the journey is a lot less about myself and and a lot more about the hearts I can touch along the way.
So now you're the complete opposite. Complete opposite. I want to meet all the kids, all the families, all the adults. I want to meet everyone that I can. In fact, Carson has now so embraced the role of role model that this week she surprised Hayden at her practice.
Hi, Carson Pickett. How are you? Good. It's good to see you. It's good to see you too.
Carson plans to stay in touch. This is really cool. And maybe help Hayden find her purpose too. Because when it comes to role models, it takes one. to be one.
You could become a role model someday for somebody else. Yeah. You up for that job? Yes, I am up for it.
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. How many discounts does USAA Auto Insurance offer? Too many to say here.
Multi-vehicle discount, safe driver discount, uh, new vehicle discount, storage discount, legacy discount. How many discounts will you stack up? Tap the banner or visit USAA.com/slash autodiscounts. Restrictions apply. For two Tell me what's a self-respecting girl that's a Do My godly babe And on to bring it home soon.
Country superstar Casey Musgrave certainly knows how to make an entrance. The eight-time Grammy winner took the stage last weekend at the Coachella Music Festival on horseback. This morning, feet firmly on the ground, she's talking with our Anthony Mason. Out there on the edge of the world, we pass common sense. When Casey Musgraves went home to East Texas a couple of years ago to heal from a breakup, She saw a sign.
Golden, Texas, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. And I was like, that's... the song. I wanna be Somewhere in the middle of the no where I think maybe I'll just stay Then I thought okay a record called Middle of Nowhere I feel like I'm in the middle of nowhere right now soon the rest of an album started to spill out And I had that title written down in my phone. Yeah.
Because quite literally, I was. Going through a drought scroll. Not one, it's officially a cry for help. Y'all, I'm going to drive. Uh Do you get excited when you write a great lyric?
Uh, there is no greater drug. Yes. Uh, mostly I'm always in competition with myself. Can I beat myself? Can I make this better?
Yeah. Leaving that day and playing it in your car, you're like, okay, I have not lost it. You're like, that was good. You get out of your space. Cowboy.
I I remember like back in the day with Space Cowboy, I was on the treadmill one day, and I heard the word Space Cowboy in my mind. But then I heard it like space comma cowboy. You know, like you can ever space Cowboy. But oh, but when people see the title, they're gonna think that it's space cowboy. Oh, got you.
You can have your space. Cowboy. Space Cowboy won Musgraves a Grammy for Best Country Song in 2019. Golden hour, Casey Muskray! The same year, she won Album of the Year for Golden Hour.
Yeah. Yeah. When did you first come here? Oh my gosh, I was a young, young kid. We would come to the stockyards.
all the time. Casey started out performing the Texas Circuit at spots like Billy Bob's in Fort Worth. It's a really big deal. I don't know if you know this, but when you sell out Billy Bobs, you get to put your hands in the concrete. And uh those are your hands.
These are my hands. These are your hands. They still fit. How old were you when you started playing? Eight, publicly, eight or nine.
Yeah, so. Look at me now. It was only yesterday. Casey grew up a couple hours' drive from Fort Worth. Little bitty town called Golden.
Been there. You were there, you did go. When was that? 13 years ago.
Okay, wow. I could get out your big scrapbook if you wanted me to. Let's do it. Casey's mother, Karen Musgraves, has kept a scrapbook of her career. Oh, there's my first headshot.
You came to my parents' house. Yes. We all sat around the table. We all had very interesting hair choices at that point in time. I re-watched it recently and I was like, wow, my bangs.
I don't know what's happening. And my grandparents were there. You took a visit to, I think, my grandpa's record collection. That's right. Yes, which he still has.
Did you have the collection before she started playing? And then just. No, wait, so you did this just for her? Yes. I was wondering about that because it's a great record collection.
And it's still just as unorganized. That's the best. But it's a little treasure hunt. It allows for exploration. It really does.
One of Casey's earliest influences was John Prine. I like to think he's a bit of a little guardian angel. Yeah, he was a mentor for sure for me. Prime died of COVID in 2020. Yeah.
I saw a sign For an omen on the branches. In the morning, it was right after I lost a friend without warning. Casey song Cardinal on her last album. was a tribute to prime. I really do feel like he Sent me messages and the cardinal kept visiting too.
And I know that was a major symbol for him. We actually tried to write a song one time. I went to his house in Nashville and we didn't end up even finishing anything because I was just listening to his stories all day. He's like, well, we're probably not gonna write a song, are we? I'm like, nope, probably not.
It's still a great day. Yeah, awesome day. Middle of Nowhere is Casey's sixth album. Her first five all hit number one on the country charts. I love the album cover.
Thanks. Which your sister took. She did. Awesome. But Kelly and Casey needed some help.
So good, dude. I called my friend Evan. I was like, Do you have any bowls that you could bring? And he was like, Yeah, actually, I've got a really sweet one, his name is Tex. I was like, bring a couple horses.
His name was not Tex, really. Literally Tex. At one point, like, the police come over, they're like, do you guys have a permit for this? And we're like, No? And they're like, alright.
Did you ever love me, baby? I don't know. You did, bro. In writing her new record, Casey Musgrave says, she learned how to embrace being alone. and it's nice to just be able to stop the tape.
and kind of evaluate like, okay, why do I make these choices? Why am I drawn to certain archetypes of people? What does that say about me, you know? What did you see when you asked yourself those questions?
Well I mean, I think that Well, I don't have all the answers, but do we ever? Yeah, I really don't know.
Now I realize. that there's nothing more lonely than being In a relationship that isn't right for you, it's way more lonely than being actually just by yourself. You know what I mean? And after 335 days, she was a very good person. She isn't in the middle of nowhere anymore.
It's been a real 335 days. And the last time. It wasn't good anyway. And I don't want to pry, but you did suggest that You learned about loneliness, but the dry spell was broken. I'll just say that.
The dry spell is broken, I've got everything I need. Washing machine James Clyburn has represented South Carolina in Congress since 1993. making him one of the longest serving and most influential members in the House of Representatives. With another re-election campaign on the horizon, Clyburn is looking back and forward with our Robert Costa.
So, this is the power center of the Clyburn political machine. No. That's where I have. That's where presidencies are made. No.
I call it the network. It's a Jim Clyburn network. How are you? For 33 years, South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn has built that political network. Hey, one handshake, and one hug at a time.
I've talked to a lot of people. who really enjoy visiting South Carolina. Though African Americans are a quarter of South Carolina's population, Jim Clyburn is the state's sole black representative and Democrat in the U.S. House. If you've paid attention to presidential politics in recent decades, you know this state matters.
An early test in the primary race, and a true center of power in the Democratic Party. What is this fish fry all about? And Clyburn's annual fish fry is a must-attend event for any Democrat with White House ambitions. History will recall that if Joe Biden does not sit down, on the USS Yorktown, with Congressman Jim Clyburn, in early twenty twenty. And have a conversation about the Supreme Court, about nominating a black woman, about bringing black voters to the fore.
he might not become President of the United States. Because he won't win South Carolina without your endorsement. That might be true. Might be true. Yeah.
He says it's true. I don't know. But you're not gonna deny. It was certainly a meaningful moment politically. I'm too good a politician to deny that.
Earlier this month, we followed Clyburn to his alma mater.
South Carolina State, a historically black university, where he shared some advice with students. When you think about Leadership. Being someone's representatives. Make an early decision. as to what you want to do.
in that representation. Do you want to make headlines? Or do you want to make headway? Of course, in his career, Clyburn has made both. most recently for his decision to seek re-election for an 18th term.
You are 85. years old. For a few more months. For a few more months. 86.
Coming up this summer. You took a long time. To make this decision to run for re-election. When you looked in the mirror and thought about the future, How did you make the decision on a personal level?
Well, I was talking with one person who said to me, Are you sure you're doing this Um I will Concern? or selfishness. And I asked myself, Are you being selfish? Uh or Uh do you still maintain concern? uh for your constituents.
And I do. Congressman Clyburn. It's good to see you again. The people of Clyburn's district are at the heart of his new book about the legacy of Jim Crow laws. He sees a direct line from that history of oppression to the present-day push to roll back the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
In the 1960s he was a campus organizer. It's how he met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his late wife, Emily. You met your wife.
when you were both protesting for civil rights. We've seen protests over the past year, the No Kings rallies. Are Democrats doing enough, in your view, to protest? I don't think the American people are doing enough. I'm not going to allow this to be a Democrat versus Republican thing.
That is not Protestant politics. That is what we as American Americans ought to be about. Uh Do we follow through enough? And I don't know that you can really Know that? Uh until the final verdict is in.
And that won't happen until November. Clyburn is not the only candidate this year for whom age is an issue. There are a dozen members of Congress who are 80 plus and seeking reelection. What keeps you going at 85 years old? My parents instilled in me the obligation Uh to carry forward.
Although the midterms are Clyburn's focus today, President Biden's aborted 2024 candidacy remains very much in mind. When it all went down in 2024. Did you say to yourself, This was the right decision. But this is a political mistake for the party.
Well, for him, I think it was the right decision for him. I think it was the right decision for the party. Uh I think some decisions were made after that. which were not good decisions. I think mistakes were made in how they campaign.
uh went forward. I was getting phone calls from people all over the country, especially from Michigan and Pennsylvania, asking me, please tell somebody. Uh they are not doing what we need to do to turn this vote out. That that's a fact.
Now a lot of people don't want to deal with that. But I was getting the phone call, so I know that people felt. Uh that um algorithms. were driving the train rather than people who had the boots that needed to be put on the ground. Party strategist.
Kingmaker. Civil rights activist. Even after all these years, Jim Clyburn wants to remain in the ring. for at least one more round. The way you tell it, it seems Congressman, like the fights you were having in the 60s.
have never ended.
Well, they did end. They're just coming back. If Democrats win the majority, do you believe President Trump will respect the result? Uh n not unless it's overwhelming. You really believe that?
I absolutely believe that because he's done it. You know, um When I was growing up in South Carolina politics, Uh I used to uh A marvel that I will saying. Did I still hold on hold on to the day? The best way to tell what a person will do Is a look at what he or she As done. And so But if he's done it.
He's capable of doing it again. Thank you for listening. Please join us when our trumpet sounds again next Sunday morning. Hi everyone, I'm Susie Weiss, and I've noticed there's just simply not enough podcasts in the world.
So I'm launching my own. Let's go. Let's go, baby. Second Thought is a weekly show about pop culture, the stuff everyone's been binging, arguing about, obsessing over. Here's the thing about heated rivalry.
I mean, even the most devoted Swifties, I think we can agree, not her best work. We'll be hosting thoughtful conversations with culture's most important figures. Talk about genius. Talk about generational talent. Coming to Headphones Near You on April 17th with a first guess you won't want to miss.
Available wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah. 911, what's your emergency? You need to send the police! He's gonna kill me!
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