In the unfolding reinvention of the U.S.-Cuban relationship, health appears as a sector with special promise for cooperation, particularly well-positioned to be the front edge of an opening with Cuba. Normalization of relations has the potential for fruitful, enlarged engagement in four key health-related areas that can bring mutual gain in improving lives and advancing knowledge.

It clarifies Cuba in America's official narrative not as a security threat but a country in transition, which is more in line both with Cuba's own self-image and how Latin American and European countries see it. Such a description undermines any rationality for the embargo and lends itself to a U.S. policy that emphasizes engagement and people to people contacts.

The NBA is the first U.S. professional league to visit sports-crazy Cuba since the declaration of detente between the Cold War enemies late last year. Stars such as former MVP Steve Nash and Hall of Fame inductee Dikembe Mutumbo will open a four-day training camp Thursday to wage athletic diplomacy and boost the profile of Cuba's arguably fourth most-popular sport, after baseball, boxing and soccer.

Pope Francis, who has taken a public role in U.S.-Cuba relations, will visit Cuba on the way to the United States this fall, the Vatican announced Wednesday. (...)Pope Francis, who followed his predecessors Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II in visiting Cuba and calling for an end to U.S. travel and financial restrictions on the nation, wrote letters to Obama and Cubaan President Raúl Castro urging them to settle outstanding issues and clear the way for a deal.

Orlando Magic interim coach James Borrego will become a bit of an experimental gym rat when he visits Havana for a three-day trip that begins on Thursday. He doesn't speak much Spanish. He doesn't know much about Cuba. Never been, in fact. Not sure if he's ever experienced the taste sensation known as a mojito. But he knows basketball. And he knows about the power of sports to be able to bridge cultures and political ideologies.

Gov. Cuomo heads to Cuba Monday on a trade mission that critics charge is aimed more at generating headlines than creating economic opportunities for New York. Cuomo will leave Monday morning and will spend just over a day on the island nation in what administration officials insist is an effort to open pathways for New York businesses.

The National Basketball Association wasted little time reaching out to Cuba. But lingering enmity toward the communist nation may force the NBA—and other sports leagues—to proceed with caution.