WASHINGTON (AP) - A Maryland man who recently returned home after spending five years in a Cuban prison will be in the audience for President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.
Alan Gross and his wife, Judy, are among 22 people the White House invited to attend Tuesday night's speech.
It's become tradition for presidents to invite special guests whose stories highlight an issue or public policy. They sit with the first lady.
This year's group also includes astronaut Scott Kelly, the president and CEO of CVS Health and eight people who wrote letters to Obama.
Gross is a former federal subcontractor who was arrested in Cuba in 2009. He was released last month as part of a historic announcement by Obama that the U.S. would restore diplomatic relations with communist Cuba.
