Trump at Florida Midterm Rally Floats Cuba Stopover After Iran and Announces $275M Nursing Plan

President Donald Trump told a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday that U.S. warships returning from the Iran war could stop off Cuba, reviving an idea he had not mentioned in recent months. Responding to a shouted question from the crowd, he said one ship would stop about 50 yards offshore and Secretary of State Marco Rubio would then go in to finish a deal. He first floated the idea earlier this year. In May, he and Rubio raised the possibility of military action in Cuba, after the administration announced criminal charges against former leader Raúl Castro. The rally was held days before the midterm elections, in which voters have voiced concern about the war's effect on prices from gas to groceries.

At the same event, Trump announced a $275 million Nurses for Nursing Homes initiative, which HHS and CMS said would support more than 4,000 nurses nationwide. Participants may receive up to $40,000 in student-loan repayment and/or a $10,000 stipend for a three-year commitment to work an average of at least 30 hours a week at a qualifying nursing home. CMS has committed $100 million and states at least $175 million, funded by civil monetary penalties collected from nursing homes.

HuffPost, on the left, runs the AP report and leads with Cuba. It features Trump's stopover remarks, Rubio's role, the Castro charges and midterm worries about Iran-war prices. Its excerpt does not mention the nursing program. Fox Business, on the right, leads with the nursing initiative, quoting Trump's pitch to seniors and giving the HHS and CMS figures, incentives and funding source. Its excerpt does not mention Cuba or the Iran war. Both place the story at the Fort Myers midterm rally. The alternative-side AP piece matches the left's text.