Update: U.S. And Cuba To Resume Talks

It’s being described as a “clear signal” that the Obama administration and the Cuban government are willing to engage.
   
That assessment comes from a State Department official who says Cuba has agreed to resume talks with the U.S. on legal immigration of Cubans to the United States.
   
Talks will also cover direct mail service between the two countries.
   
The immigration talks had been suspended by George W. Bush after the last meeting in 2003. Washington had offered earlier this month to restart those talks.
   
The official says Cuba is also expressing a willingness to cooperate with the U.S. on fighting terrorism and drug trafficking, and on hurricane disaster preparedness.
   
The news comes as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton heads out on a trip to El Salvador and Honduras.

She’ll be taking part in a meeting where Cuba’s possible readmission to the Organization of American States is expected to be discussed.
   
In April, President Barack Obama had lifted restrictions on travel to Cuba by Americans with family there.

He also lifted limits on the amount of money Americans can send to their relatives on the island.