WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to issue an executive order his first week in office — and perhaps his first day — to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, according to two presidential transition team advisers.
It’s unlikely the detention facility at the Navy base in Cuba will be closed anytime soon. In an interview over weekend, Obama said it would be “a challenge” to close it even within the first 100 days of his administration.
But the order would start the process of deciding what to do with the estimated 250 al-Qaida and Taliban suspects and potential witnesses who are being held there. Most have not been charged with a crime.
The Guantanamo directive would be one of a series of executive orders Obama is planning to issue shortly after he takes office next Tuesday, according to the two advisers. Also expected is an executive order about certain interrogation methods, but details were not immediately available Monday.
Senate expected to seat Burris
Senate Democrats accepted Roland Burris as President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate successor on Monday and said they expect to swear in the new Illinois senator this week. “He is now the senator-designate from Illinois and, as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a senator-elect,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said in a joint statement. They initially indicated they would refuse to seat Burris and objected to the appointment by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is accused by federal investigators of seeking to trade the Senate seat for personal favors.
New Hampshire.: Gay bishop at inauguration
The first openly gay Episcopal bishop will say a prayer at the Lincoln Memorial for one of President-elect Barack Obama’s first inauguration events. New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson will deliver the invocation at an event on Sunday to kick off inauguration festivities. His selection follows weeks of criticism from gay-rights groups over Obama’s decision to have the Rev. Rick Warren give the invocation at his Jan. 20 inauguration. Warren had backed a recent ballot measure banning same-sex marriage in his home state of California.
Minnesota: Peanut butter, deaths linked?
The salmonella bacteria that has sickened more than 400 people in 43 states has been conclusively linked to peanut butter, Minnesota health officials announced Monday. Federal officials said the outbreak may have contributed to three deaths. King Nut Companies of Solon, Ohio, on Sunday asked its customers to stop using peanut butter under its King Nut and Parnell’s Pride brands. The peanut butter is not sold to the public, and is not distributed in Washington state.
Texas: 1 dies in Black Hawk crash
An Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed Monday into a field on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station during a field training exercise Monday, killing one and injuring four others aboard. No students were among the injured. A crew of four from the Army National Guard and an Army lieutenant assigned to the school’s ROTC unit were the only ones aboard the Black Hawk, Texas A&M spokesman Lane Stephenson said.
Gaza Strip: Israelis advance in suburbs
Israeli troops advanced into Gaza City suburbs for the first time early today, residents said, hours after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned Islamic militants of an “iron fist” unless they agree to Israel’s terms to end the fighting. Hamas showed no signs of wavering, however, with its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, saying the militants were “closer to victory.” Israeli forces, backed by artillery and attack helicopters, moved into neighborhoods east and south of Gaza City today. Israeli gunboats shelled the coast from the west. The fighting began Dec. 27 and has killed more than 900 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, according to Palestinian medical officials. Thirteen Israelis, including 10 soldiers, have been killed.
Indonesia: Ferry survivor search
Rescue teams took to the air and sea at sunrise today, renewing the search for more than 230 people missing after an Indonesian ferry capsized in a cyclone off the coast of western Sulawesi. At least 34 people, including the captain, have been rescued and one body recovered. But hopes were fading that anyone else would be found alive two days after the boat sank.
From Herald news services
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