Start Spreading The News: What You Should Read Today [12/18/14]

President Barack Obama announced a historic change in U.S. policy with Cuba on Wednesday. The implications of the restoring diplomatic relations will dominate headlines on Thursday. Here’s what you should be reading today.

Everyone's Talking About The US-Cuba Deal

The policy shift will be the subject of much debate, and in many ways it is a gamble by Obama, the Washington Post reported. Sen. Marco Rubio, R- Fla., and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, both potential presidential candidates in the 2016 election, denounced Obama’s plan, while Hillary Clinton believes it could lead to landmark reform for Cuba and its residents.

Cuban tourism and the storied cigars have also been a part of the conversation. While normal tourism is restricted, there are many ways to travel to the country via business, family, religious, educational and humanitarian licenses. As for what makes Cuban cigars so sought-after, the Washington Post has a good primer explaining the history of this once-banned export.

The Bling Rock That's Stumping Scientists

Russian miners discovered a rock that’s quite dazzling -- 30,000 diamonds worth of sparkle -- and quite mysterious. The diamond-covered rock was pulled from Alrosa’s Udachnaya diamond mine, the Telegraph reported. The diamonds are too small to be used as gems, so they were donated to the Russian Academy of Sciences. Scientists will study the rock to gain new insights into diamond formation.

Obesity And Disability

The European Court of Justice ruled that obesity could be considered a disability if it led to long-term impairment, BBC reported. The case involved Karsten Kaltoft, a Danish child caretaker, who claimed he was fired because he was obese. Obesity itself is not a disability and would be classified as such only if it “hinders the full and effective participation of that person in professional life on an equal basis with other workers,” per the BBC report.

35 People Were Executed In 2014, The Fewest In Two Decades

The Death Penalty Information Center's annual report was released Thursday. Two states -- Missouri and Texas -- executed 10 people and Florida executed eight. The number of death sentences also dropped. "The relevancy of the death penalty in our criminal justice system is seriously in question when 43 out of our 50 states do not apply the ultimate sanction," Richard Dieter, DPIC’s executive director and the author of the report, said in a statement. "The U.S. will likely continue with some executions in the years ahead, but the rationale for such sporadic use is far from clear."

Auras, Vintage And Instagram

MIT's Technology Review has a great article looking at the use of filters on Instagram. Photography critic A.D. Coleman explores how filters and technology can be used to recreate the past and predict the future.