>> Stewart: On this edition for
Sunday, march 20:
President Obama embarks on a
historic trip to Cuba.
Day one of a plan to start
sending some migrants arriving
in Greece back to Turkey.
And the man behind the lyrics
of "Fiddler on the roof."
Next on pbs newshour weekend.
>>From the Tisch wnet studios
at Lincoln center in New York,
Alison Stewart.
>> Stewart: Good evening and
thanks for joining us.
Wheels down in havana for air
force one, as Barack Obama
becomes the first sitting U.S.
President to visit Cuba since
Calvin coolidge almost 90 years ago.
It was raining as the first
family got off the plane to be
greeted by Cuba's foreign minister.
While still on the plane,
president Obama tweeted, "que
bolaá, Cuba?" Or "what's up,
Cuba" in Spanish.
The president will spend a busy
two days on the communist-ruled
island nation, which has been
preparing for his visit.
Only eight months after the
flag was raised at the reopened
U.S. embassy in Cuba, for the
first time in more than half a
century, the streets of havana
are decorated with American
flags and images of president Obama.
The president and the
first family are beginning their
Cuban visit with a walking tour
of historic old havana tonight.
Mr. Obama will meet tomorrow
with Cuban president Raul Castro
and attend a state dinner.
Obama has no plans to meet with
former president and
revolutionary leader fidel
Castro, older brother of the
current president.
But he does intend to spend time
on Tuesday with critics of
Castro's government, many of
whom have faced arrests for
their outspoken opposition.
The white house would not
disclose which dissidents Mr.
Obama will see but insists the
list is not negotiable.
>> But I can tell you that the
president is going to move
forward and host meetings and
have a conversation about human
rights with the people that he
chooses to meet with.
>> Stewart: This afternoon in
havana, police arrested dozens
of anti-government dissidents
from the so-called "ladies in white" group.
The president will also deliver
a speech at the national theater
of Cuba, where he plans to lay
out his vision for how the two
countries can work together.
He'll also catch a baseball game
between Cuba's national team and
the major league tampa bay rays.
>> Reporter: And in a video
released online by the white
house yesterday, the president
joked with Cuba's most famous
comedian, Luis silva who often
satirizes the failings of the
Cuban government and economic system.
Earlier I spoke with Christopher
sabatini, a professor at
Columbia university's school of
international and public affairs
about this new era in U.S.-Cuba relations.
Christopher, this has described
as a largely symbolic trip but
you don't go to all of this
trouble just for symbolism,
what else ask there to it?
>> In both case as legacy.
Raul Castro and his older
brother fidel have ruled Cuba
since 1959, fidel will turn 90
in August, so if you want to see
some elements of the revolution
preserved and it has not been
successful on the economic 0
front, on the social front.
On Obama side he wants to turn