This Wednesday, April 8th, we're starting with news involving the U.S. and Cuba. Along with Iran, Sudan and Syria, Cuba is on the U.S. government's list of countries that sponsor terrorism. It's been on that list since 1982 because Cuba's government was helping communist rebels in Latin America and Africa. But last year, President Obama announced the U.S. would work toward normalizing relations with Cuba, toward breaking down barriers from the cold war. Cuba wants off the terrorism sponsor list. And the U.S. State Department is considering recommending that. U.S. officials say President Obama's still concerned about Cuba's record on human rights and Cuban officials have warned the U.S. not to meddle with their government.

 

Stateside, in an announcement yesterday by U.S. Senator Rand Paul. He's running for president on the Republican ticket. The Kentucky senator became the second person to announce his candidacy, but the field is expected to grow in the months ahead.

 

Last January, California's governor declared a state of emergency that was years in the making. A drought that is literally changing landscapes in California. With water restrictions in place, some folks are spray-painting their brown lawns green, or replacing their grass with artificial turf to keep a green look. Some pools are being filled in. Desert-style landscaping is popping up. These are all effects on the surface, but what's happening in California could have a ripple effect across the country and beyond.

 

So just how bad is this history drought? Well, it's not just hitting California. This is a problem across the American West.

 

Take a look at this map. The darker the color, the drier it is. In fact, one study shows, this is the worst drought in the state of California in 1,200 years. The drought is affecting about 50 million people so far.

 

Without the snow melt, the drought is going to persist. So far, we're in our fourth year of drought and scientists say we need about 11 trillion gallons of rainwater to get us out of this crisis.

 

So just how much water is that? Well, CNN calculated, you had to have enough water to fill the Dallas Cowboys stadium 14,000 times.

 

So what are we gonna do about it? We're gonna basically have to change our behavior. One example, changing over from water-thirsty grass lawns to something like this, drought-resistant xeriscape landscapes. The government wants to change over 50 million square feet of California lawns. And they're paying homeowners to do it.

 

And then there's California's biggest water user, the agricultural industry. The Central Valley is known as the "salad bowl" of the world, providing more than 50% of America's produce and 80% of the world's almonds.

 

The federal government allocates water to California farms and their allotment has been cut to zero because of the drought. But the state has been criticized for not making major cuts to agriculture. However, farmers are already hurting, some of them having to let major crops die, and hundreds of thousands of acres of land go unused.

 

If you live on the other side of the country, you may not notice anything, at least immediately. But eventually, food prices will go up as California's water resources drop.