President Obama will announce today that he is lifting travel restrictions to Cuba, according to the Washington Post. Since the U.S. imposed a commercial, economic and financial embargo on the Fidel Castro government in 1962, Cuban-Americans were only allowed to visit their native country once every three years or up to two consecutive weeks. Cuban Americans will now be able to travel to Cuba once a year and without time constraints in an effort to establish closer relations with the island country. Reaching out to Cuba and the relatives of Cuban Americans, the President hopes that democratic change will come to the country more quickly, according to a White House aide.—QS