What’s next for Guantanamo Bay under President Trump

This May 14, 2008 file photo shows a guard tower in the abandoned Camp X-Ray, the original and temporary detention facility on Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. The U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, appears to be at another turning point.

Trump signals changes to US interrogation, detention policy

President Donald Trump 's renewed embrace of torture in the fight against Islamic extremism sets up a heated dispute with a long line of opponents both at home and abroad of Bush-era interrogation policies and CIA-run "black site" prisons. "We have to fight fire with fire," Trump told ABC in an interview aired Wednesday after The Associated Press and other news organizations obtained a copy of a draft executive order that signals sweeping changes to U.S. interrogation and detention policy.

Obama Won’t Close Gitmo but Hasn’t Stopped Releasing Detainees

The White House conceded Tuesday that it wouldn't close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility by the time President Obama leaves office later this week, but it hasn't stopped releasing detainees in the run-up to Inauguration Day. The administration announced it had transferred 10 detainees to Oman, reducing the number still in the facility to 45. Press Secretary Josh Earnest did not rule out the possiblity of more releases in the coming days.

Oman says it accepts 10 Guantanamo Bay detainees

Oman said Monday it accepted 10 detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay ahead of President Barack Obama leaving office, part of his efforts to shrink the facility he promised to close. Oman's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had accepted the prisoners at Obama's request.

Courts could be a firewall if Trump seeks to expand presidential powers

President-elect Donald Trump speaks Dec. 13 at the Wisconsin State Fair Exposition Center during his thank you tour. Donald Trump is moving into a White House that has seen presidential powers markedly expanded by its previous two occupants.

Obama to free mass amounts of prisoners before leaving White House?

Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Lisa Monaco is saying the president will not release a mass amount of prisoners I don't think I believe her. If Obama doesn't do so by Executive Order, it will be a major failing for his stated agenda.

Tom Cotton Pushes For Obama To Completely Halt All Transfers Out Of Guantanamo Bay

U.S. Senator Tom Cotton smiles after he was ceremonially sworn-in by Vice President Joseph Biden in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington GOP Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton urged the Obama administration Monday to stop the transfer of any more detainees from Guantanamo Bay to foreign countries. The Obama administration transferred yet another detainee out of the facility to Cape Verde over the weekend, leaving just 59 behind.

US releases Guantanamo prisoner, resettles him in Cape Verde

A prisoner from Yemen at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre has been released and sent to the West African nation of Cape Verde for resettlement. The Pentagon says the release announced Sunday of Shawqi Awad Balzuhair lowers the number of prisoners held at the U.S. base in Cuba to 59. Twenty of those remaining have been approved for release.

House pushes ahead with $611 billion defense policy bill

The Republican-led House is pushing ahead with a $611 billion defense policy bill that prohibits closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, forbids the Pentagon from trimming the number of military bases and awards U.S. troops their largest pay raise in six years. Lawmakers are scheduled to vote Friday on the legislation, which authorizes military spending for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1. The defense bill includes an agreement that prevents the Defense Department from forcing thousands of California National Guard troops to repay enlistment bonuses and benefits they received a decade after they signed up to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Trump tough talk on torture, drones has Human Rights Watch on

Human Rights Watch chief Kenneth Roth said he was keeping a close eye on "warning signs" from US President-elect Donald Trump after the Republican's tough talk during his campaign about torture and drone strikes. "I don't take entirely seriously what he said on the campaign trail... I don't take entirely at face value that he is going to kill families is just a blatant war crime," Roth told AFP.

Gitmo prisoner released, reducing total held to 59

A prisoner from Yemen at the Guantanamo Bay detention center has been released and sent to the West African nation of Cape Verde for resettlement. The Pentagon says the release announced Sunday of Shawqi Awad Balzuhair lowers the number of prisoners held at the U.S. base in Cuba to 59. Twenty of those remaining have been approved for release.

Appeals court upholds conviction of bin Laden assistant

WASHINGTON >> A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld the conspiracy conviction of a Guantanamo Bay detainee who once served as Osama bin Laden's personal assistant. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 6-3 that a military tribunal was authorized to convict Ali Hamza al-Bahlul of conspiracy charges.

Uruguay: Hunger-striking ex-Gitmo detainee not at death risk

An Uruguayan judge on Friday rejected a call to forcibly hospitalize a former Guantanamo prisoner who is on a hunger strike, saying medical officials determined that he's not at imminent risk of death. Judge Carlos Garcia said the medical evaluation of Abu Wa'el Dhiab found him to be thin but lucid, and that exams were normal.

U.S. confirms two more freed Guantanamo inmates rejoined militant groups

In the first six months of 2016, two more militants released from the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have returned to fighting, the U.S. government said on Wednesday. Washington has confirmed that a total of nine people freed from Guantanamo have rejoined militant groups since President Barack Obama took office in 2009, according to a report issued on Tuesday by the Office of Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI.

Friend says ex-Guantanamo detainee weak from hunger strike

Former Guantanamo detainee Abu Wa'el Dhiab is weak from a hunger strike and could need to be hospitalized, a friend said Monday. Dhiab, who suffers health problems related to his hunger strikes and forced feedings while in U.S. custody, has repeatedly said he is unhappy in Uruguay, which took him and five other former Guantanamo prisoners in for resettlement in 2014.