Midday Roundup: Kerry visits Havana for U.S. flag-raising

Stars and stripes. Secretary of State John Kerry presided over a flag-raising ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Havana today. The embassy reopened last month. Kerry’s visit marks an important milestone in the rekindled relationship between the United States and Cuba. He is the first U.S. secretary of state to visit the country in 70 years. The New York Times released a detailed account today of the behind-the-scenes work that went into re-establishing ties, including a bizarre concession in which a Cuban woman was allowed to be artificially inseminated by her husband, who was imprisoned in the U.S.

Sorry enough? Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed “deepest remorse” today for his country’s actions during World War II. As onlookers debated whether his remarks constituted a full apology, Abe urged the international community to move on. “We must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with the war, be predestined to apologize,” Abe said.

Law and order. St. Louis County lifted the state of emergency it put in place after a night of violence in Ferguson, Mo., earlier this week. Shooting broke out during protests on the one-year anniversary of the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Sunday night, police shot Tyrone Harris, 18, after he brandished a gun and allegedly fired at officers. Harris survived and is in the hospital. St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger called the state of emergency the next morning. Though protests have continued since then, there have been scant reports of break-ins or calls of shots fired.

Commuted. The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Thursday the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment and stopped all executions of death row inmates in the state. Connecticut took the death penalty off the table for future cases in 2012 but maintained the death sentences of 11 inmates already convicted. One of those inmates sued, arguing the same reasoning used to abolish future death sentences should apply to existing ones. Four of seven justices agreed, saying capital punishment “no longer comports with contemporary standards of decency and no longer serves any legitimate penological purpose.”

Hindsight. The U.S. Army’s outgoing chief of staff, Gen. Ray Odierno, retires this week after 43 years in uniform. On Thursday, he shared a candid assessment of the situation in Iraq. The general said he’s frustrated by the lack of progress in the fight against ISIS. And he suggestedpulling U.S. troops out of Iraq wasn’t such a good idea: “Maybe, as we all look back, leaving some soldiers on the ground might have helped a little bit, maybe would’ve prevented where we are now.” President Barack Obama withdrew U.S. forces from Iraq in 2012. The administration has since deployed a limited number of troops to back Iraq in a non-combat, supporting role. But Odierno said if we don’t make more headway soon, the U.S. might need to consider embedding some American troops with Iraqi forces.

Dove nominations. Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae leads the pack of nominees for the 46th annual Dove Awards. Lecrae received seven nominations, including Artist of the Year, thanks to his chart-topping album Anomaly. Brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone, who perform as For King and Country, have five nominations, including Artist of the Year, and Crowder, Matt Maher, and Chris Tomlin have four nominations each. Francesca Battistelli, Kari Jobe, and MercyMe round out the Artist of the Year nominees. The winners will be announced at the Dove Award ceremony Oct. 13 in Nashville, Tenn.

WORLD Radio’s Kent Covington and Steve Coleman contributed to this report.