The Sunshine State Strategy

U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio is expected to publicly testify Wednesday about what exactly the U.S. has planned for Venezuela. But the next potential target of the Trump administration’s imperialist adventuring might be even closer to home. Ending Cuba’s communist regime — which has controlled the island since 1959 — is the dream of thousands of Cuban-Americans. And now, thanks in part to Rubio, it’s a serious goal of the White House. So, to talk more about South Florida’s influence on American politics at home and abroad, we spoke with Patricia Mazzei. She is the Miami bureau chief for The New York Times. And in headlines, U.S. population growth slowed significantly between the summers of 2024 and 2025, Democratic efforts to redistrict in Virginia are stunted by a state court, and TikTok agrees to settle a landmark social media addiction lawsuit just before trial.