Close to the nuclear war, extremely close. And the look ahead. What it could mean for the country and its people. To u. S. Businesses and tourism. Team coverage on this breaking story right now. Good morning, and were dedicating much of this show to the breaking news, the death of fidel castro. We want to you look at the contrasting scenes overnight. Right there on the streets of miami, you can see jubilation, members of the cuban community, many of them exiles who fled castros repressive regime celebrating in the streets. Meantime, in havana, the cuban capital, the streets quiet and empty. Fidel castro was a towering figure in both a physical and a historical sense and a controversial one in pretty much every sense. He tried to create romance around his revolution with his signature look and his sweeping often antiamerican oratory but he was also a tyrant whose people have fled by the overloaded boats. Castro also a persistent thorn in the side of the United States. A man who helped bring the world to the precipice of Nuclear Confrontation during the cuban missile crisis. His death comes at a very delicate moment. President obama has recently moved to normalize relations with cuba, however, incoming President Donald Trump has threatened to overturn those actions. We have Team Coverage this morning with our reporters and analysts standing by but we start here with jim avila in l. A. Jim, good morning to you. Reporter good morning, dan. The cigar chomping, bearded firebrand who once gave a sevenhour speech is silenced this morning. Fidel castro survived multiple assassination attempts by the u. S. Government but went quietly overnight after nearly a decade of failing health. [ speaking a Foreign Language ] reporter fidels brother, president raul castro, announcing the death of his older brother on state echoing that infamous revolutionary mantra. [ speaking a Foreign Language ] castro remained skeptical of the u. S. Right up to his death. Defiantly commenting after president obamas historic visit that cuba will never forget what the bay of pigs invasion and does not need america. Translator i am a communist, a marxist, socialist communist. I am not afraid to say i am a communist. Reporter fidel castro was born in 1926 out of wedlock to a wealthy cuban land owner and his maid. He went to Catholic Schools and his two passions were baseball, he was very good at it, and politics. He became an activist for the poor and working class. In 1956 after being expelled by cubas american supporter dictator fulgencio batista, castro returned secretly with his brother raul to wage a guerrilla war seizing power in 1959. The road to havana paved with glory for rebel chieftain fidel john f. Kennedy just elected approved the cia trained invasion force of 1,300 cuban exiles who went ashore at the bay of pigs. Castro demolished them. A huge propaganda victory. In 1962 american spy planes discovered castro had let the soviets put Nuclear Missiles in cuba. Translator yes, we were very close to the nuclear war, extremely close. Reporter ultimately the soviets removed the missiles. Even castros critics praise his advances in health care and in education. But the inefficiency of cubas sovietstyle economy produced dissent. In 1980 more than 125,000 cubans, some expelled, many allowed to just leave braved rough seas and dehydration to come to the United States in the mariel boatlift. In the early 1990s the fall of the ussr cost cuba billions of dollars in soviet widespread shortages in rations. In 2006 just before intestinal surgery, he gave up power temporarily to his younger brother raul. He never took the reins again, made it official in 2008. Then suddenly in the summer of 2010 he began displaying his indomitable drive again in public. Giving tv interviews, laying flowers at the tomb of the fallen, exhorting the communist youth and addressing the cuban parliament. After nearly five decade power filled with revolution, defiance and strife, castro did live to see the cuban flag raised at the u. S. Embassy in 2015 and an influx of american tourists, sports teams and rock concerts. The memorial will be what you might expect for a man who changed cuban history and dominated the island for more than 50 years. Hell be cremated today so the body will not be lying in state, instead, castro will be h be asked to sign a loyalty to the revolution oath and then his ashes will tour the island before burial in his hometown of Santiago De Cuba. That will be a week from tomorrow. Jim, thank you for your reporting and cuba has been a consistent source of National Security concerns for the u. S. From the missile crisis to Elian Gonzalez to questions about our prison in Guantanamo Bay. For more on all of that and the potential impact of castros death on american policy Going Forward lets go to washington and abcs chief Global Affairs martha, good morning to you. Good morning, dan and paula. For a generation of americans the threat from cuba was real and frightening. A tiny country just off our shores, 90 miles, with a powerful ally. From military disasters to near nuclear war, the 50year feud with a fidel castroled cuba was marked by tension and tragedy. The countrys alignment with the soviet union led to the icy u. S. During the cold war and the two nations newfound resentment escalated quickly. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a Nuclear Strike capability against the western hemisphere. Reporter while his allies agreed to remove their missiles, castros animosity towards the u. S. Survived. In 1999 the custody battle over Elian Gonzalez playing out as castro demanded the little boys his mother had drowned while escaping with him to the u. S. Armed u. S. Agents forcibly removing the boy from his miami relatives, returning him to his father in cuba. And there is Guantanamo Bay, the naval base leased by the u. S. From the castro regime since 1959. After the controversial practice of housing terror suspects, castro repeatedly denounced the u. S. Occupation saying the land was being used to do americas ten american president s tried to isolate castro and hoped for his demise. Then in 2013, this defining moment, president obama shaking hands with president raul castro at Nelson Mandelas funeral paving the way for renewed diplomatic relations. This is not merely symbolic, with this change we will be able to substantially increase our contacts with the cuban people. Reporter in 2015 the two president s meeting again as obama calls for the 53yearold embargo to finally be lifted. And as for Guantanamo Bay naval base, the lease of those 45 square acres does not seem in any danger. It can only be dissolved by mutual agreement. Dan and paula. Martha, stand by. If you will. We want to ask you a few questions. As you reported, president obama recently restored diplomatic relations with cuba but his successor, president elect donald trump, has promised to reverse that policy. September. We will cancel obamas onesided cuban deal made by executive order if we do not get the deal we want and the deal that People Living in cuba and here deserve including protecting religious and political freedom. All right, for more on this we want to bring back in martha and abcs chief White House Correspondent jon karl in our washingt b foremost, jon, what impact do you think that castros death is going to have on this fluid situation . Well, he was such a symbol of the cuban revolution and such a symbol of tension between cuba and the United States that even though he has effectively been out of power for ten years, it could well have some impact on how congress looks at this. The big change that president obama wants to u. S. Cuba policy the trade embargo that can only be done fully by congress. Ultimately with castro gone, with fidel castro gone, there may be some lessening of the opposition there buy by and large fidel castro has not been in power for a long time. What are you hearing and whats your sense of where things go from here given that weve got a new president coming in and a congress that will be thoroughly controlled by the republicans, a congress with whom he can work . Reporter well, i think, first of all, youll probably see donald trump say he really wants to study this to see whats going to happen to see how hell make any changes in what president obama has done. But this is an opportunity in a way for president elect trump to take a second look at whats going on there. I mean, fidel castro was such an iconic figure. He really defined what cuba is as jon pointed out. He has been out of power for quite a long time, and his brother has said he will give up power in 2018 when his term president elect trump will really want to look towards, who is next . What comes after 2018 . Who are the younger people who might take over and possibly a more progressive movement. But, martha and jon, i mean, is there a sense and ill start with you, martha, is there a sense that raul is quite different from his brother and might be able now to have more latitude in his relations with the United States now that his older brother is gone . Reporter my sense is that raul castro wouldnt be anywhere without fidel ca there is not a great deal of change with him, and i think certainly fidel castro, even though he was out of power, had a lot of influence on his brother. You know, i would say, dan, on the actual policy coming from the United States, donald trump did promise, as you played the sound, did promise to undo what president obama had done on cuba. But at various points during the campaign he said that he favored lifting the embargo, he favored so trump has been kind of all over the map on this at least during the course of the campaign. And he is correct that much of what president obamas done can be undone right away with another executive order undoing president obamas executive orders, but i dont get the sense that undoing all of that would be a top priority for president trump. I agree with martha that this is a perfect opportunity for him to say we are going to look at the situation, were going to see how things have changed and go from there. Ever the negotiator, keeping his options open. And trump specifically asking for the freeing of those political prisoners. Were going to get more into the human rights crisis in cuba but, martha and jon, we want to thank you for your insight as usual. When the news broke of castros death overnight miamis Little Havana erupted in celebration. The streets filling with people cheering the news and Glenna Milberg from our abc station wplg joins us from miami right now. Glenna, good morning to you. Reporter dan, paula, good from what we call Little Havana and where im standing on southwest 8th street this is sort of the has been the de facto area where people through the decades have come to protest and rally all things cuba. Today, this morning for the past five or six hours it has been the scene of a huge celebration. And so many people around the country are going to look and say, well, isnt that so disrespectful celebrating a human being dying . And im here to sort of be the voice of this community to say what the celebration is about today is possibly the beginning of freedom for cuba and that freedom is such a central theme, its a very diverse community, but very unified in coming from a place where they were not free to vote for an elected leader. Many of the people who are in the older generation who had come here in the 60s had family members murdered, politically persecuted, had families who many of the later arrivals, some came in the 80s on the mariel boatlift and some chose to came in makeshift raft, thats how desperate it was for them, getting into rafts crossing the straits of florida. So many thought that this day would never come in their lifetimes because as weve heard, fidel castro had grown to be such a mythic figure, such an icon of the revolution, but this community now has a period at the end of their sentence and ready to move on to another chapter in what has been a really difficult life for so many people who have actually helped miami become what it is today. Dan, paula. So much hope there in Little Havana, Glenna Milberg, thank you very much from wplg for your reporting this morning. We appreciate it. In 1977, abcs Barbara Walters traveled to cuba for a fivehour, fivehour interview with fidel castro. It was fascinating and years live. Here are some excerpts of their fascinating talks. Your newspapers, radio, television, motion pictures. No dissent or opposition is allowed in the public media. Translator we do not have your same conceptions. Our concept of freedom of the press is not yours, and i say this very honestly. I have nothing to hide. If you ask us if a paper could appear here against socialism i could say honestly, no, it cannot appear. It would not be allowed. The government nor the people. Why . Translator in that sense, we do not have the freedom of the press that you possess in the u. S. Do you think politically that the embargo and resume relations with cuba as long as fidel castro is in power . Translator if i were the obstacles, i would be willing to give up not only my position and responsibilities but even my life. What i would never do is negotiate the revolution. The revolution is not negotiable. Socialism is not negotiable. Sovereignty and the independence of our country are not negotiable. That i would never negotiate. Does it seem crazy to you that american president s every four years allow the American People just to vote them out of power, that they put their entire power at risk every four years . Translator i think four years is too short for any program that you want to undertake. In eight years you can do a bit programs. In 12 or 20 years you can do much more. Just fascinating interviews from barbara and diane right there, but we want to switch gears a little bit and take a look at the weather and for that we send things over to rob marciano. Good morning, rob. Good morning, paula. Hi, dan. Of course, the Holiday Weekend and a lot of people outside on the roads. We want to run down where the trouble spots are. Blewett pass in washington east of seattle and winds with one of several storms coming through knocked out power for a few thousand people there and weve got another storm coming and flooding rains across parts of portland and other areas of coastal oregon, as well. Our next storm coming in, san francisco, youre about to get rain and another punch behind that, this will affect the entire west coast all the way down to san diego substantial wind and rain across Southern California and then tomorrow afternoon a storm will bring another batch of rain and mountain snow above 3,000 feet that includes the mountain passes over interstate 5 and heavy rains along that trek. So if you are traveling here in problems across the intermountain west. Maybe Salt Lake City and Denver Airport tomorrow and then this batch of rain getting into the nations midsection. East of the mississippi l. For us clouds and breezes coming into play today, mostly tonight. Then the cold front gets here tomorrow. The system off to the northwest is bringing us rain chances, the best chance tomorrow night and into monda before we start to dry out. Heres a look at what were going to get to across the valley today. Mid to upper 70s, and hour by hour were going to a number of ski resorts scrambling to get open on this Holiday Weekend and beneficial snow is coming through, as well so well talk about that in the next half hour. Want to bring in ron because i know you spent an extraordinary amount of time in cuba and miami and then tom i want to start with you and, you know, we were talking this morning. This is very personal. Your parents fled but theres also this almost danger of romanticizing the revolution and what fidel castro was. Yeah, that is so true. I cant remember a time when i didnt know the name fidel castro. I mean, ive known that name as long as i since ive been alive and something thats been part of my life and my familys life. They fled cuba, as you mentioned, as political exiles and there is this tendency when World Leaders to die to kind of misplace this romanticism around World Leaders, but fidel castro is someone who was a tyrant, a killer, a liar and i really never realized how fortunate i was to be born in this country until i did a story that took me to the florida straits and i was embedded with the coast guard and they were intercepting cuban rafters and cuban go fast boats that were smuggling in cuban citizens and i got to see firsthand what it looked like on these boats, dozens of families, babies in diapers and best choice put their children on a boat in the middle of the night not knowing what would happen than to live in cuba. And cuba at a distance may look beautiful, it may look mysterious, it may look nostalgic but up close it is cracked. It is faded and the people are hungry and that should be the legacy of fidel castro. There are no questions, no question that there are horrors ongoing horrors in cuba right now and, of course, for decades that you just referenced but, ron, you know, you covered you were in our miami bureau for years at abc news and youve been in cuba. There are also arguments one can make on behalf of the castro regime. Well, the Literacy Rate in cuba is one of the highest i believe in the world. The infant mortality rate i believe is as low or maybe lower than it is in this country. But as tom was saying, you know, ive been there in the late 90s and more recently earlier this year and people live in fear there of even saying the name castro out loud. They live in fear of their neighbors informing on them. They have these committees for the defense of the revolution where your neighbors can spy on there have been economic gains in recent years, more people are making money. For people theres some Free Enterprise but its a very repressed place and a very poor country. You get away from the tourist areas, it is grinding poverty. The infrastructure is in terrible shape. It will take decades and decades for that to improve. On rons point i mean the Literacy Rate is amazing but youre told what to read. You cant read whatever you want. They also talk about the world class doctors in cuba. Yet the citizens receive third world health, and i can remember night after night with my family stuffing envelopes, greeting cards with medicines and koolaid just they could have calories. And thats what i remember. Yeah, this is incredibly powerful to hear your firsthand testimony. Tom llamas, thank you very much. Ron claiborne, as well. Well have much more coverage of the breaking news, the death of fidel castro including a report from cuba on what its like there right now. Were going to talk to experts about what this could mean for the countrys future, as well. Ron is going to expound on his travels to cuba, what he found during his recent visit and how its being affected by the explosion of tourism. Stay with us, were right back. Good morning america is brought to you by ihop. Eat up every moment. . La vie est belle la vie est belle, the eau de parfum. Lanc . Me. Available at macys, your fragrance destination. When h rtburn hits, fight back fast with tums smoothies. It starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. And neutralizes stomach acid at the source. . Tum tum tum tum . Smoothies only from tums heres a little healthy advice. Take care of what makes you, you. Right down to your skin. Aveeno . Daily moisturizing lotion with 5 vital nutrients for healthier looking skin in just one day. Aveeno . If you could see your cough, its just a cough. Sfx woman coughing youd see how often you cough all day. And so would everyone else. Robitussin 12 hour delivers fast, powerful cough relief that lasts up to 12 hours. 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This kind of band right here will be in effect tomorrow. Well see rain chances tomorrow night into monday morning as they continue to see snowfall up to the north. Well look out for that. Heres the Winter Weather advisory that we were talking about here that will effect for today and a look at there is a place, like no other. Where a walk down main street, can fill you with wonder. And always leaves you wanting even more. So make the time. To take your time because one day just isnt enough. Welcome back to our coverage of the death of fidel castro dead overnight at the age of 90. They are celebrating on the streets of miamis Little Havana but its a much different scene in cuba and thats where Hannah Berkeley is this morning. Many cubans right now are waking up to the news that former p has passed away at the age of 90. The news came in many forms late last night, many cuban youth were out on the streets socializing as they do any weekend night. The news came via phone calls, many family members from abroad calling telling them the news. They could hear partying going on in miami, but the streets of havana looked very different. Theres a much more solemn mood, many of the elderly cubans i the precastro days of cuba and fought for the cuban revolution say that they have fidel and the revolution to thank for everything that they have. Theyll actually be able to pay homage to the former president in one of the iconic centers of the city at the plaza of the revolution then a few days later his cremated remains will be brought to Santiago De Cuba where they will be buried along side cubes National Poet and hero, jose martin. Paula. Hannah berk from havana. For us this morning and joining us by phone is florida congresswoman is ileana roslehtinen, the first cubanamerican member of the house of representatives. Good morning to you. Thank you for joining us. Well, good morning. Thank you so much. This was a day weve been waiting for a long time. I want to talk to you specifically about the human rights crisis, ileana. People can be locked up for speaking their minds. The government still controls most of the media. According to the latest state to 70 political prisoners, so how should that factor into u. S. Relations Going Forward . Oh, it should factor in very heavily and i know that there are fidel apologists around the world who say, oh, hes an iconic figure and he was just an old man, but this is a man who i was born in cuba. I had to flee with my family when i was only 8 years old. And people were fleeing cuba then in 1960 and theyre fleeing cuba now, not because hes a charming, iconic figure but because he was a ruthless dictator, and hes had an opportunity to now allow his brother raul to slide into power, but the question of human rights under fidel or raul are just as bleak. They imprison people for speaking their minds. Theres no free press. Theres no show like your show in cuba. Everything is state sponsored. Statesponsored newspapers, statesponsored media. And human rights dissidents are the very peaceful group called damas de blanco, the ladies in white, they dress in white and they march peacefully to the Catholic Church every sunday and with holding up a photo of their loved ones who have been or are in jail for political reasons, and for that theyre beaten up and thrown in jail sometimes for two days, sometimes for one hour, sometimes for weeks and months at a time. So human rights are still terrible. It is terrible. Youre painting such a stark picture, a bleak picture of exactly the reality of whats going on in cuba to this day and, ileana, i know this is a very personal story for you and for so many out there. We do want to thank you for joining us this morning. Thank you. Lets bring in now abc news political contributor Alex Castellanos from our washington, d. C. Bureau. Alex was born in cuba. Came to the u. S. Shortly after whose family fled cuba years ago. You were raised among cuban expats in this country. Alex, let me start with you. You have a story, a very powerful story of being in school as a child under a newly empowered fidel castro. What was that like . Well, thats one of the reasons my parents left cuba, took us out of cuba to the United States. I would when fidel castro took over, i would bring home from school the coloring pictures of the brave cuban soldier bayonetting the cowardly american soldier brainwashing the kids and one day at school our teachers said, all right, kid, pray to god for ice cream. And we closed our eyes, no ice cream, and then the teacher says, well, lets ask fidel for ice cream, and, yay, we got ice cream. At first the castro regime tried to undermine the church before they decided it was easier to coopt it, but thats the story and 60 years of socialism and communism and failure. Alex, you told us your parents got you out of cuba in 1961. You left with 11 and 2 suitcases. Do you think after this death overnight of fidel castro that things will change on the ground in the country of your birth . I am hopeful, but im not optimistic. You know, raul castro basically has been in power since 2006, since 2008 officially, and cuba is a military oligopoly, its run by the military, by the generals. Raul castro is the head of the military. And all business in cuba runs through a thing called gaesa, which is a conglomerate owned by the military itself and 60 to 80 of cuban Economic Activity goes through this military owned think if both castros left, you would still see a cuba very much like egypt run, controlled by the military. And, tom, you were mentioning earlier during the commercial break, i know that this is somewhat of an emotional day for you, for so many cubanamericans but you said that you and your family have been waiting for this day. Now that its here how do you reconcile those emotions . Its interesting. Almost every new years eve cubanamerican families say next year in havana or next year in cuba is what you celebrate. Its a time for reflection. Its a time to remember all of our relative that is came over like my grandparents who never got to see their country again but who never fully unpacked their briefcases and their luggage because they thought there would be a day where they could go back. As far as cuba changing, 75, more than 75 of cubans right now have no leader other than fidel castro or raul castro. They dont know what democracy looks like. For any change to happen its going to have to happen with the cuban people. Probably should not expect that image of your grandparents never fully unpacking is indelible. Thank you very much both to tom llamas and Alex Castellanos for your input. We appreciate it. We do want to acknowledge however that there are other headlines on this saturday morning, and for that as always we bring in Ron Claiborne. Good morning, sir. Hey there, dan and paula, tom, good morning, everyone. We begin with Donald Trumps latest picks for his white house staff. The president elect choosing two washington insiders to fill key positions. Donald mcgahn was tapped to be white house counsel. Mcgahn is a lawyer who worked on Campaign Finance election laws and k. T. Mcfarland a veteran of the nixon, ford administrations was named deputy National Security adviser. Wisconsin Election Officials will recount by hand that states president ial vote which donald trump won by less than 1 . Green Party Nominee president ial nominee jill stein filed for the recount friday. She has raised more than 5 million to pay for that recount and another in michigan and pennsylvania. Some election experts doubt, though, that the recounts would and finally Online Shopping powered a surge in black friday sales this year. Several major retailers reporting a big jump in website traffic but instore sales were up only slightly. Over last year. The National Retail federation says it expects total holiday sales to reach rise to by nearly 4 . Over to Robert Marciano with the weather and some good news i believe for skiers like us, rob . Theyve been waiting for this for the past couple of weeks. One to two to maybe three feet of snow at the highest elevations that includes lake tahoe to mammoth lakes, video out of mt. Hood meadows on the eastern side of mt. Hood enough natural snow to build snowmen this Weather Report is brought to you by crayola. Good news east of the mississippi. We have nice weather for the big Football Games happening at ohio state and clemson and happy valley in penn state, as well. Well be watching. Dan, paula and ron, back to you. Listen to that. Whats that sinister laugh . We have a little bet, paula and i. I got ohio state. She has michigan. Before michigans quarterback broke his clavicle but i did want to make good. I gave you a chance to get out of it. Thank you, robert. Well be back with more of our continuing coverage of the breaking news this morning, the death of fidel castro keep it here on gma. Um, shouldnt it be spokescrayon . Can somebody turn on the a c . Im melting here. . Air marker spraayer . Chemistry, baby so i just hold this part and spraaaaaay. U can find these great gifts and more in the crayola aisle. Aaaaaah each sold separately. As soon as i left the hospital after a dvt blood clot, i sure had a lot to think about. What about the people i care about . And what if this happened again . I was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me . So i asked my doctor. And he recommended eliquis. Eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. Yes, eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. Eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. Both made me turn around my thinking. Dont stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. 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I think thats an important question because i think americans are getting a wrong picture about fidel castro. He was probably the last of the great World Leaders that this generation will know and americans should understand why that is. Why is it in your view, because weve been hearing from people throughout the show who say he was a tyrant, violent and led his people to sort of countless miseries. Well, in fact, you heard something about the achievements in cuba. The most important achievement probably was that he gave cubans a sense of dignity that was true for about 20 of cubans before the revolution. There was no democracy that they ever experienced in cuba. They had corrupt governments before that did very little for the majority of the people. The vast majority of cubans benefited from the cuban revolution, and other countries around the world, poor countries, looked to cuba in that way as a leader for what they could do for their people, bringing literacy and health care. Weve got just a few seconds left. What you think is going to happen now for people in cuba after fidel castro has died . Fidel castro really has not been involved very much in anything daytoday or even in the large policy directions for the last at least five years. So i dont think there will be much change. Ive gotten messages from friends in cuba who tell me that there is Great Sadness as if the father of the country has died. Philip brenner, professor at American University, we appreciate your insight this morning. Thank you very much. And coming up here on gma, we continue with our coverage of Fidel Castros death. And a look at the flood of tourists hitting cuba. Could it change everything . Keep it right here. Family road trip fun check engine. Not fun but, youve got hum. Thats like driving with this guy. All you do is press this, and in plain english, . Coolant . , youll know whats wrong. If you do need a mechanic, just press this. . Thank you for calling hum. . 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Bring out the bold . Discover card. Im not a customer, but im calling about that credit scorecard. Give it. Sure its free for everyone. Oh well thats nice and checking your score wont hurt your credit. Oh im so proud of you. Well thank you. Free at at discover. Com creditscorecard, our coverage of the breaking news, the death of fidel castro at age 90. And cuba is opening its doors to more and more tourists these days drawn by its history and a sense of nostalgia. One of those tourists was our own Ron Claiborne who recently visited. What did you see . I was on assignment just for the record but for a long time the u. S. And cuba have had a strained relationship, the economic embargo which is still on, broken off diplomatic the last year, thats begun to change and dramatically. One of those changes americans can now travel to cuba a lot more easily. It began with last years restoration of diplomatic relations between cuba and the United States. The u. S. Embassy in havana opened shortly afterward. American tourism in cuba forever transformed. The progress that we marked today is yet another demonstration that we dont have to be imprisoned by the past. When something isnt working, we can and will change. Reporter in may of this year a Carnival Cruise liner docked decades. And in august, the first direct commercial flight traveling between the two countries since 1962. Americans now flooding the island and filling up hotels with record bookings. On my trip to cuba this past may, i ran into several american tourists. Now its here. The americans are here. The tourism is here. Reporter an influx of visitors bringing much needed income to cubas tourist industry, a big difference from my first visit 20 years ago. I first came to cuba 19 years ago, and at that time this area, old havana, was pretty much in disrepair. I came back a second time two years later, and this area was being restored, and now 19 years after my first visit to havana, old havana has been pretty much restored to its centuries old splendor. When president obama visited havana earlier this year, he was the first sitting president to visit cuba since 1928. Major League Baseball holding a preseason game there last march. And that same month rock legends, the Rolling Stones strutting in front of a huge crowd, many of whom used to have to listen to their favorite rock bands behind closed doors. Its a historical thing. Reporter thats a lot of change in one year for a country once frozen in time for more than half a century and mostly forgotten by american travelers until now. And just one point that you still americans cannot just get on a plane and go there. You need to go as part of a cultural tour, so the tourism, its picking up, but its not open. You cant just fly there. It almost looks like youre walking into a time capsule. In many ways, yeah, absolutely. All right, ron, thank you very much. Well be right back, everyone. . . . . . When it comes to heartburn. Trust the brand doctors trust. Nexium 24hr is the 1 choice of doctors and pharmacists for their own frequent heartburn. For all day and all night protection. Banish the burn. With nexium 24hr. The enamel on my teeth was weakening. The whiteness wasnt there as much, my teeth didnt look as healthy as others. My dentist said that pronamel would help protect my teeth. Pronamel is giving me the confidence to know that im doing the right thing so its nice to know that it was as simple as that. Achoo snap achoo snap snap snap achoo achoo feel a cold coming on . Zicam cold remedy nasal swabs shorten colds with a snap, and reduce symptom severity by 45 . Shorten your cold with a snap, with zicam. Attention pups and people the toysrus black friday sale is thursday at 5pm through saturday this is how fast you should get in here save storewide at the black friday sale get 40 off all fisherprice toys, 50 off Disney Princess dresses, Good Morning America is brought to you by macys. Youve been watching our Team Coverage on the death of fidel castro at the age of 90. City on santiago on sunday december 4th after days of public mourning and a tour of his ashes throughout the country. He did express his wish to be cremated. Well keep you up to date all day longen on all of these developments on abc news and abcnews. Com and want to thank you for joining us. Good morning, everybody, we are coming up on the 8 00 hour. Just ahead on abc 15, the nation, for decades, sending thousands of people to flee. The world is reacting to the death of cuban president fidel castro we are learning more about what lead up to the shooting of an officer and in this. A bizarre scene on the from way. Troopers discovering a body on the roadway as they pull up, a driver is seen speeding away. A nice saturday out there, big changes in parts of arizona. Absolutely. Justin, you said it right. We are going to be experiencing some major changes. But well experience a really nice day. Small business saturday. Clouds and radar showing you in here. Well see that with our live valley camera. 77 degrees is where well top out today. Increasing cloud cover. Light breezes, on and off, but you will see it kick off as we get into the evening and overnight hours. We could see the gusts in the valley, 30miles an hour up north, Even Stronger thats where well see alot of action going on because of a system coming our way in a few hour hour. A deadly officer involved shooting happening in surprise. Mary ellen is live at the scene near 175th avenue. Walks through the details, here. Reporter neighbors are waking up, coming out of their homes, learning a little more about what lead up to the actual event last night. Cording to neighbors, it was a car that has been in the for some time, now. It was a vehicle that didnt belong in the neighborhood. Neighbors didnt recognize it. They called us in and from there, everything unfolded quickly. Reporter neighbors say they have seen the vehicle in the neighborhood and have called on it. A Police Officer from surprise came to check it out. He approached the driver on the side of the vehicle. The driver wa around. According to the police, the officer asked him to reveal his hands. He did not comply with the officers commands and at one point tried taking off with the officers arm still in the car. We are told the officer was dragged down the road. The officer was rushed to the hospital. He is suffering from some injuries and we are told he is going to be okay