Today is Thursday, May 21st. What to know about landmark criminal charges against the former president

of Cuba, why the U.S. is now taking action over something that happened decades ago.

Also, a bipartisan effort to address American housing costs, and another key health task force

getting an overhaul. Plus, the Memorial Day weekend travel forecast, the new policy limiting how well Harvard students can do in classes,

and the final bow for Stephen Colbert and The Late Show. Those stories and even more news next.

Welcome to The Newsworthy, all the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. Let's do this.

The U.S. government has now charged former Cuban leader Raul Castro of murder and conspiracy.

The case goes back nearly 30 years to the 1996 shooting down of two civilian planes that killed

four Cuban Americans. At the time, Castro was

Cuba's defense minister, and Cuba has long said the planes were violating its airspace.

But international investigators later found the planes were shot down over international waters.

The Clinton administration and Congress at the time condemned Cuba's actions leading to tougher U.S. sanctions.

Now, the Justice Department says it's gotten evidence it needs to bring charges. Five other men

who were Cuban fighter pilots involved in the shooting were also charged. Raul Castro is now 94 years

old and no longer has an official title, but he is believed to still hold significant influence

in Cuba, especially over the military. The Cuban government strongly condemned this indictment.

Cuba's president accused the U.S. of lying and manipulating the events from 1996. The charges come

as the Trump administration has been stepping up pressure on Cuba, including new sanctions

and demands for political changes there.

And now, there are questions of whether the charges against Castro could be a precursor to an arrest or military action,

similar to what the U.S. did when it captured Venezuela's former leader earlier this year.

Already an American aircraft carrier entered the Southern Caribbean yesterday,

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