Midday Roundup: Six more detainees released from Guantanamo

Free men. The U.S. government has released six more prisoners from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, sending them to resettle in Uruguay. The men—four Syrians, a Tunisian, and a Palestinian—are not considered security threats. Uruguay’s outgoing president, Jose Mujica, said in an interview Friday the men would be considered refugees and could leave whenever they wanted to. A U.S. official said they were “free men”but declined to say whether they would be allowed to travel abroad. “We are very grateful to Uruguay for this important humanitarian action,” said Clifford Sloan, Obama’s State Department envoy on Guantanamo. “The support we are receiving from our friends and allies is critical to achieving our shared goal of closing Guantanamo, and this transfer is a major milestone.”After this weekend’s transfer, 136 prisoners remain at Guantanamo. Although U.S. President Barack Obama said six years ago he planned to close the prison, officials have not figured out what to do with more than half the remaining detainees, who are from Yemen. The security situation there makes it impossible to send them home, and U.S. officials fear they could join Islamic militants based in the country.

Torture report. White House and foreign officials are bracing for a report on the use of torture by the CIA following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The 480-page document is due out next week. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., told CNN yesterday that foreign governments have warned extremists could use the report to incite violence that is likely to cost lives. The report, a smaller version of the still-classified, 6,000-page original analysis, outlines the tactics the CIA used on al-Qaeda detainees held at secret facilities in Europe and Asia. Officials say they have beefed up security at U.S. facilities around the world.

Complete loss. A massive fire in downtown Los Angeles overnight kept firefighters busy well into the morning, snarling the already tedious SoCal commute. Fire officials closed several freeways as they used the lanes to stage equipment used to battle the blaze. No one was injured in the fire, which engulfed a massive apartment complex under development. Officials estimate about two-thirds of the project, which encompasses 1.3 million square feet of floor space and is as big as a city block, was destroyed. The fire was so hot it melted nearby freeway signs and burst windows in adjacent buildings. The cause of the fire is not yet known, but investigators are looking into the possibility of arson.

Uber ban. The government in New Delhi has banned the ride-sharing service Uber after one of its drivers allegedly raped a woman who had hired him to take her home. The driver, 32-year-old Shiv Kumar Yadav, previously spent two years in jail after allegedly raping a woman in 2011. He was acquitted and released last year. Uber is facing a backlash for not conducting a background check that would have revealed Yadav’s criminal history. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick pledged the company would assist police in bringing the driver to justice.“What happened over the weekend in New Delhi is horrific,”he said in a statement. “Our entire team’s hearts go out to the victim of this despicable crime. We will do everything, I repeat, everything to help bring this perpetrator to justice and to support the victim and her family in her recovery.”Meanwhile, officials in the Netherlands also banned Uber because its drivers don’t have the special license the government requires for taxi drivers.

Nasty weather. Typhoon Hagupit raked across the eastern edge of the Philippines over the weekend, killing at least 21 people and leaving a trail of destruction behind. Residents in Manila are bracing for the storm’s expected arrival there tomorrow. Several thousand people have been moved to temporary evacuation centers. Officials have warned of flooding, but the storm has weakened to tropical storm strength, likely sparing the nation’s capital from the worst destruction. Last year, Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 7,300 people, prompting the government to organize a massive evacuation effort ahead of this year’s storm. Almost 1 million people were evacuated from coastal and landslide-prone areas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.