Morning Buzz: Feb. 19, 2008

Fidel Castro resigned as Cuba's president today after ruling the island nation for nearly a half century, which was the longest reign in the world for a head of government. Castro's 76-year-old brother, Raul, who has been the acting president since Fidel Castro fell ill in July 2006, will take over.

In the quest for the American presidency, Democratic voters head to the polls today in Wisconsin and Hawaii. The Democratic candidates campaigned hard in Wisconsin, where polls show Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in a statistical dead heat. Obama, who was born in Hawaii, is expected to do well there. Republican voters will go to the polls in Washington State and Wisconsin, where John McCain hopes to solidify his delegate lead over Mike Huckabee.

Passengers who are riding on Amtrak trains may have their bags screened. Amtrak announced today that it would be randomly screening passengers' carry-on bags and would also have armed officers with bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling platforms and trains to beef up security. Unlike airline security, which dramatically tightened after September 11, Amtrak's security remained relatively unchanged. But concerns had been mounting since the 2004 Madrid train bombings.