10 things you need to know today: April 12, 2015

President Obama and Raul Castro hold a historic meeting, Hillary Clinton prepares to finally announce her 2016 campaign, and more.

Raul Castro and President Obama
(Image credit: Santiago Armas / Xinhua Press / Corbis)

1. President Obama, Raul Castro sit down in historic meeting

President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro on Saturday met on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas, marking the first sit-down between leaders of the two nations in a half-century. "It was my belief it was time to try something new, that it was important for us to engage with the Cuban government," Obama said shortly after the meeting. For his part, Castro noted that the two countries have "agreed to disagree," on certain points, but that Cuba is prepared to discuss issues such as freedom of the press and human rights in a bid to "make progress." Obama and Castro had already given several nods toward the meeting at the summit; the two shook hands on Friday night, and each called for cooperation between their countries in speeches at the summit.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.