this morning brittney griner is back in the united states after spending nearly 10 months in a russian prison. reaction to her release and also more on what is next for her just ahead. we're going to speak with phoenix mercury president and how the team plans to welcome griner back. plus details about this prisoner swap. how the u.s. determined viktor bout is no longer a threat to america. ned price joins us in just a moment. and also this morning, a cnn exclusive, kyrsten sinema announced her departure from the democratic party. she's registered as an independent. what does this mean for democrats and their agenda and majority going forward. and the justice department is seeking to held former president trump in contempt over classified documents as we learn

who january 6 committee is considering for potential criminal referrals. let's begin this hour with brittney griner as we mentioned arriving back on u.s. soil this morning. joining us now, to discuss is president of the phoenix mure curry. a lot of joan in this moment for so many people close to brittney griner. she's a close friend of yours. i know that you were in touch and you said some of the letters she would write to you kept you going over the last ten months or so. how are you feeling this morning? >> i feel great. yesterday was a day of celebration. i woke up to its news like the rest of the world. to dozens of missed calls and hundreds of text messages and a cnn push notification. but you know, it is a bittersweet day, because it is a reminder of how many folks haven't been able to come home and it is a reminder of just how much time she was away. but we're incredibly gratify and

thankful she's back. >> she was sent to a russian penal colony, it is amazing these things still exist and after having .7 of a gram of cbd oil. going forward, does the wnba believe that players should still play in russia down the line or is it just too dangerous that they might be next? they might be taken hostage in effect as some have described. >> one person to speak for the league nor the players. listen, the players have incredible agency with how they choose to make their lives and where they choose to play. and i think quite frankly we've seen the power of the players on display. whether it was two years ago with reverend warnock's campaign or how they mobilized around brittney griner. but certainly i think it is fair to say that a lot of players, you know, have to consider their safety when they look at where they go to make their living

overseas. >> do you want any phoenix mercury place in turkey, for example, the wnba commissioner was talking about concerns over turkey and other countries. and that they would reiterate those concerns. would you go so far as asking players not go to certain countries to play? >> like i said. i do want -- i think it should be up to the players. and we have an incredible group and their all smart. we need to make sure they have all of the information. state department has been helpful with that and the people at government affairs have been helpful with that so the players could make educated decisions. but to answer your question, my goal is for no players to be going overseas and to play here in the wnba and that what we here in phoenix and 11 markets around the country are working ford every day. >> brittney griner is an american who was taken hostage in effect by russia.

she also stands for so much. these a black woman and a lesbian that stands for lgbtq rights and that targets people there. how will this experience shape her legacy in the wnba? >> i think it is shaped all of us. i think it is a reminder of how important empathy is. you know, i think it is a reminder of how complex the world is. and think it is a reminder that b.g. has never shied away from being authentically exactly who she is. part of it is because i believe from knowing her she doesn't know any other way to live, that is just who she is. but i do think she understands the representation and visibility she provides to young and old alike for all of the intersectional reasons that you just mentioned. she showed up for their groups, and means a lot to those groups and it is part of the reason why so many people rallied around

her and mobilized in her support while she was gone. >> that support has been remarkable. and we heard from a number of people over the last 24 hours. i was really struck by the comments from cherelle griner when she was standing with the president and said very clearly, that she and bg have not forgotten about paul whelan and then will continue this advocacy work. we're hearing that from folks in the wnba as well, that this will continue to inform what you do moving forward. how do you see that continuing? >> well, i mean, i think it starts first and foremost, this is bg's legacy. i'll be the first to say i wasn't well versed in how many families are truly missed loved ones who are detained overseas. the names that we know now and the plights and the struggles that we know now because of bg are part of her legacy. cherelle just graduated from law school and already said because of how this has personally touched her family, she's going

to spend her life helping other families who were in this same situation who don't receive the same spotlight because their loved one isn't a professional athlete like bg is. and then like i said, our league, pick a flat form. our league and players and leagues have shown up for the causes that matter to us. and i don't see that changing because of this. you mentioned cherelle's comments yesterday and i pointed people to those. and i've also pointed people to the letter that bg wrote to president biden a couple of months ago where she specifically mentioned that she wasn't the only one who needed his help. she is always concerned with others and this won't end for her or for us for or cherelle just because she's home. >> mr. we go, a welcome home from the team and the league for griner? >> so we're going to follow her lead. obviously she's been through a lot and she's got some days

ahead of here where we and she of course are prioritizing her physical and mental health. but when she's ready, and when the time comes, we will have a celebration that will rival any you've ever seen. >> do you know yet whether you'll get to talk to her? >> my hope is in the next week or so. so i've been able to stay in consistent contact with her agent. and with -- i spoke to cherelle yesterday. so again we'll put that on her terms. but i expect it to be very soon. >> it is great to have you with us this morning. thank you. >> thank you. it is nice to talk about the home coming. another story we're following, the u.s. conducted a security assessment of the release of viktor bout who was exchanged for brittney griner and determined he was no longer a threat to the u.s. joining me now to walk through the decision-making behind this state department spokesperson ned price. ned, good afternoon to have you on the broadcast. >> good to see you. >> i have an american home,

something to be celebrated. you've heard some of the criticism from folks who say this was not a fair trade. can you explain why in the administration's view this was the best deal they could get at this time to get at least one american home. >> well, jim, i just want to be very clear, we're under no illusions about viktor bout, who was picked up in 2008, 15 years ago. but we're also under no illusions but one other element that is especially meaningful for us as i stand here at the state department and that is the responsibility we have to americans around the world including and especially to americans who are wrongfully detained in other words americans who are held against their will as political pawns who should be behind bars in the first place. so, these are difficult decisions. these are never going to be easy decisions. but president biden has demonstrated once again that he is prepared to make these difficult decisions. these are not decisions that we

take lightly. we study all of the angles. we do all of the analysis. but at the end of the day, we have a responsibility to americans, we are absolutely gratified and that brittney griner is back on american soil. she's back with her wife cherelle, and let me add, we are committed to seeing to it that paul whelan will have the same fate before long. that i'll be back with his family, he'll be back with elizabeth with his other family members before long as well. >> okay. i do want to ask about paul whelan. before we get there, the biden administration ran a security assessment to see if bout was still a threat and determined he is not. why is that? here is someone that with great experience in trafficking arms, russia is currently involved in a war in ukraine in which it needs more arms, why is viktor bout not a threat? >> you'll understand i can't get into all of the details but i could tell you that we studied all of the angles. we know precisely who viktor

bout was when he was picked up years ago and what was doing but we also have looked at the fact including the time that his past -- since he's been off the street, he's been off the street since 2008, we are going to continue to be extraordinarily vigilant about all of the threats that we face, all of the threats that we face from the russian federation, all of the threats that we face from individuals in russia or who may be acting on bee lehalf of russ. we were able to do that before viktor bout and we're we'll be able to do that going forward. >> let's ask you about paul whelan. the biden administration said russia is treating paul's case different then britneys. what reasons? >> there is one reason. russia is treating him differently because they've mounted these sham espionage charges against him. so the choice we face, this was what president biden said yesterday and what secretary blinken said yet, it was not which one, it was one american

or none. and of course, we took the deal that was on the table. that we certainly didn't want to lose to have the opportunity to see brittney griner reunited with her -- with cherelle and her family back here. but we send a very simple message to paul melan over the past couple of days. keep the faith. don't lose hope. we're coming for you. and we heard from president putin today that we agree with something president putin said but we could say that these discussions will continue. these discussions absolutely will continue. we've demonstrated now twice, first have trevor reid and yesterday with brittney griner that even in the midst of the tensions in the broader bilateral relationship and that is an understatement, that puts it mildly, we're able to have these conversations and we're able to have successful conclusions when it comes to the return of our american citizens. >> cnn, my colleague jennifer hansler spoke to paul whelan yesterday from his prison cell.

and he said that the u.s. may not be able to provide what russia wants in terms of his release. calling it in his words political extortion. and that the u.s. needs to offer something more, something different. what does that look like to gain paul whelan's freedom and is the u.s. considering something different. >> well what paul whelan said is true in the sense that what the russians are doing is absolutely shameful. paul whelan should not be behind b bars. and that is why we call him a wrongful detainee. the charges against him are erroneous and false and a sham. but nevertheless, we've continue to have conversations and we could be creative and resourceful and we're prepared to make the president, because only the president could make these decisions, the president is prepared to make the difficult decisions that may be necessary to get paul whelan home. you will understand, jim, that

i'm just not in a position to go into what that might look like. but we are committed to the fact that paul whelan will but reunited. we wish nothing more than of that paul on that plane yesterday with brittney griner. just as several months ago we wish nothing more than the fact that paul whelan and brittney griner could have been on the plane back home with trevor reid. that wasn't the case in april and it wasn't the case yesterday when we brought brittney griner home, but it will be the case one day and it will be the case one day soon. >> and we know his family is waiting and hoping that from the state department. thank you so much. >> thank you, jim. today a federal judge will decide whether to order donald trump to turn over classified documents. the justice department is demanding that trump's legal deem designate a custodian of records to attest that all classified documents have been returned. this of course comes after more sensitive materials were found at a storage facility in

florida. katelyn polantz is joining us with this. what more are we hearing from the doj this morning. >> reporter: this is prosecutors wanting the trump team so formally say there is no more documents having more classifications markings on them in their possession. and what is happening and reporting that we're learning from gabby and sara murray here at cnn, is there is some fear on the trump legal team side where they don't want to get into legal jeopardy by signing some sort of formal attestation saying that that is the case. that everything they are sure has been turned over. they also -- the people on the trump team right now two years donald trump left office and all of those document should have gone back to the federal government so they may not be able to answer questions that prosecutors have now about where all of the documents are, if they've all been handed over. so there is a bit of an issue

right now. there could be a hearing later today. we expect there to be related to this possible contempt proceeding over trump's compliance with the subpoena. >> so as we wait for that, there is also some movement when it comes to the january 6 committee. cnn learning that they are considering criminal referrals not only for former president trump but for four of his closest allies. do we know where that stands? is there a time line here? >> reporter: there is. one of the things we've been hearing is they do expect to make decisions as early as this weekend. even on sunday. but right now their considering possible criminal referrals to the justice department putting pressure politically on the justice department to maybe bring charges against some of the top advisers around donald trump. four we know they are considering mark meadows, two private attorneys for the president after the election, john eastman and rudy giuliani and then jeffly clark, that top official that trump wanted to install as the attorney general

before january 6. right now, they're just considering these but we are expecting to see something public from the committee in the coming weeks. erica. >> kaitlan, appreciate, thank you. still to come, a shake-up in the senate courtesy of kyrsten sinema. >> you're hear to make a significant announcement. >> i've registered as an arizona independent. like many across the state and the nation, i've decided to leave that partisan process. >> just ahead, we'll ask a democratic member of congress what this means for the party and its priorities now. plus america's hospitals under strain once again. the fullest they've ever been since the pandemic. this is according to new federal data. what is behind that influx. and pope francis emotional wild praying for an end to russia's war in ukraine. a former president of ukraine joining us in the newsroom to discuss what his country needs now to make peace possible. and twice the choice.

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big news out of washington this morning. arizona senator kyrsten sinema telling cnn's jake tapper she's decided to leave the democrat party and register as an independent, unlikely to change the power in the next senate and she's join independents who caucus with democrats. she spoke with jake tapper about her decision to leave, in her words, party politics behind. take a listen. >> don't think things will change much for me or arizonans. arizonans are the largest group of voters in arizona and those who are affiliated with parties often find that they don't fit 100% into that box.

the reality is that when we get up in the morning, we don't really think about partisanship. most people don't wake up and think, okay, well i've got to get this democratic breakfast on the table, i have to get my republican car and go to work. that is not how real life is. it is not in this town. but in the rest of the country, people are just living their lives and so they're noft thinking about who is winning and who is losing. but that is what parties are thinking about. is how do we get one over on this guy. how do we ensure that we're punishing them. how do we continue to win. and what i'm really focused on and i think the proof is in the pudding of the work i've done in the senate, i'm really focused on getting results. like, actually solving problems. and so, you know, removing myself from the partisan structure, not only is it true to who i am and how i operate, i also think it will provide a place of belonging for many folks across the state and the

country who also are tired of the partisanship. >> joining us now, california democratic representative ro khanna, good to see you this morning. you've just heard from senator sinema. she doesn't fit in a party box. i think a number of americans could relate to. she doesn't offer specificso on why she doesn't fit in that box but she said this won't change much. do you agree. >> i'm not surprised that she's doing this. first of all, i don't think it will change much as she's still going to caucus with democrats and still on the committees. we still will have a majority. but the big disagreement that she has was she wanted to defend private equity and senator manchin said you can't have hedge fund managers paying less tax than teachers and firefighters. she went to the mat to defend that and she knows she would lose a democratic primary in 2024. so that doesn't surprise me that

she's seen that writing on the wall. >> so to that point do you believe this is not a move about political philosophy, do you see this as a power play to hold on to her seat? >> well, i don't know her motives but i will just tell you that she had no chance to win a democratic primary. if you look at the polling, and so if she wants to run for re-election, her best shot would be as an independent. and the real break that she had -- people understand in negotiation, i have a lot of respect even though i disagree with senator manchin, where she really upset party was in defending wall street hedge fund managers. and getting the special tax breaks and that is where she had the biggest rift with party. >> before we move on to one other topic, just real quickly to push you on that. ruben gallego saying she's putting her own interest ahead of getting things done for arizona. what do you think this does to that seat in 2024? >> rubin, a marine, would be a

strong candidate, he's on the armed services committee with me and i hope he runs and i will support a strong democrat who shares my view in that state. >> you are about to be in the minority come january. and but you've said you'll vote for a unity candidate who -- a unity candidate for speaker. who in your mind fits that bill? >> well, idon't know names but f the republicans put someone forward who said we're more interested in legislating than just launching senseless investigations against the biden administration, and that we're interested in bringing manufacturing back, then i would be open as would others to looking at voting for that. and i think there are a number of names floating around. i don't want to speculate that on that. >> we'd like you to speculate on that. >> well, you know, it is not for me, it is for the republicans to put forward names. and there are democrats that

have said we'd be open to someone committed to having the house govern, legislate and solve problems and not just do investigations. >> don bacon said woe vote with demes to find an agreeable republican in the event there is a floor fight blocking kevin mccarthy, you have spoken with him. >> i haven't not spoken with him but i've spoken with other republicans about this. look, it is a possibility. it is a time where people really want to come together, get things done, and there are conversations going on between democrats and republicans. >> okay, well any time you want to fill us in on more of those conversations we're ready and we'll be listening. i do want to get quickly on twitter, not the laptop story and you've been talking about that and you spoke with my colleague erin burnett about it as well, and it is a question about where the line is when it comes to hate speech and free speech so i want to put up what

we've seen over last few weeks. use of the n-word, since elon musk took over. tripping the 2022 average, slurring against gay men up 50%. slurs against trans persons up 62% according to the center for countering digital hate. what do you see? i know you are and we saw this in your op-ed this week, you believe in free speech. people need to have a place to talk and you believe in twitter being there. how do you, though, deal with this content? >> okay, so to answer the question, i think there are two aspects of free speech. one is allowing people to express different view points. i don't think we should be censoring people based on their view points. but i also think it means treating people with respect. you can't have free speech if you're not treating the person you're talking to with respect and i don't think anti-semitism, racism, and vicious attacks on people's identity belong on the site.

i do think having a difference of opinion or criticizing a member of congress or the president, that is should be -- but i saw that elon musk said the statistics are different and we need to figure out what those statistics are and have transparency but there is no room on these platforms for that kind of hate. >> no room for that hate. but it is there. and it is growing as we know. and people feel empowered. do you see that there is a way to control it? >> i do. think we need to get rid of bots and figure out the facts of how much of this hate is actually there and whether musk claims that saying that he wants to end the amplification of hate. so he's put out some statistics and think what congress should do is legislate to have transparency. so there is disclosure requirements on hate groups, on the amount of people there with this kind of hate and i don't

think -- [ inaudible ] and that is very different than hate speech. >> representative ro khanna, i appreciate your time this morning. thank you. >> thank you. well ukraine is keep up its push for more western aid as the u.n. human rights chief warns the country is suffering and in is a human rights emergency. ukraine's former president petrov poroshenko is live here with his call for help. that is next. i brought in ensure max protein with 30 grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. uhhhh... here, i'll take that. [woo hoo!] ensure max protein, with 30 grams of protein, one gram of sugar and nutrients for immune health. hi, susan. honey. yeah.

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with winter weather there and the war raging on, the energy crisis in ukraine is becoming even more alarming. the country's infrastructure minister outlined the reality there. that around half of the critical pieces of their electrical grid you see here are damaged or destroyed. they're trying to shield them from russian strikes using just sandbags. the occupied zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains off the grid. ukraine is in the middle of what the u.n. calls a human rights emergency, so dire it brought pope francis to tears at a public prayer just yesterday. [ speaking non-english ]

[ applause ] >> joining me now is petro poroshenko, the former president of ukraine. >> thank you for the invitation. >> you're in washington for a short time and returning home to ukraine. i wonder if you could describe to people watching now what the situation is today for ukrainians as they live through this russian barrage of missiles? >> this is the tool -- main important factor. first, this is the situation on the front line when the armed forces of ukraine stop the second biggest army in the world. many times bigger than ours, many times better financed, but we beat them and we don't have any doubts with our victory because we have two key factors. we have strong motivation of ukraine soldiers, protecting their families and the global

solidarity with ukraine. and and the second factor, exactly as you told, we have disastrous putin attack on the civilians and the critical energy infrastructure. people of ukraine live without heating, without electricity, without water. in my house, we have only three hours of electricity during 24 hours. and this is under the temperature minus 8, minus 10 and this is definitely humanitarian crisis. but it is extremely important that we in ukraine do not trade electricity, water, heating, for our freedom, for democracy and better to be without water and without electricity than to be a slave. >> you and other ukrainians have been pushing for months for more air defense and you've been getting more over time. but certainly not as much as you have been requesting. is that changing and do you hold the west responsible to some

degree for not providing more air defense for quickly? >> first of all, weapons is never enough. we understand that. situation step by step improving and we have german, we have german rs-3 and we hope to have very soon the american air defense. and now we need not only in the front line, but to cover, to close the sky on the object of the critical infrastructure throughout the country. >> because it is not closed the sky. >> exactly and it is used without air defense. but we have a promising -- that during last 48 hours the russian missiles and drone attacks was 100% hit by air defense and this is 100% efficient which never happened before. and this is just the thing that

you have to supply for us the energy equipment, plus air defense can be the game-changer and could stop putin attacking the critical energy infrastructure and together with that we need more weapons. we need jet fighter, definitely. and we need it just to take the air dominance and to cover ukrainian troops from -- >> but there is still resistance. certainly to fighters and there is limitations set on the range of missiles. you've been here in washington, do you sense any movement on that? >> i think that we are close at the moment. and not the moment yet. and i want all americans to understand that supply for us the artillery, the longer range, this is not the question for the possible attack an owe -- attack on the russian territory, we do not do that. this is a question of trust. we have this trust that ukrainian armed forces has a

trust from american side and we need these long range artillery and missiles. just because if russia has a big amount of artillery, from the bigger dance not by russian artillery, we could destroy russian ammunition storage and commanding poirntss and this is helping us to protect ukraine and this has helped us to protect european. because now article 5 of nato protect europe and the blue and yellow shield of ukrainian armed forces doing these important things. >> i want to ask you about viktor bout, this russian armed dealer that has been traded for the american basketball player and a long experience in ukraine but the u.s. said he is no longer a threat. do you consider him a threat to the russia war effort there? >> based on the information that i have as the president of ukraine, four years ago it was a

threat. and maybe now it is something changes. maybe they have more information. but with that situation, definitely we have in russian prison thousands of ukrainian soldiers and definitely could be united to release all of the prisoners, prisoners of war from the russian prisons and for that we need the loud united voice of the whole world. and i hate the idea to command one to one, this is not now the key factor. >> well, petro poroshenko, former president of ukraine, thank you so much for joining us and wish you and your people the best of luck. >> thank you very much. well not since the government began tracking hospital capacity have we seen u.s. hospitals as full as they are right now. this is not just about covid. we're going to look at what is

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new data paints a troubling picture at hops across the country today. hospitals and health care certa centers full ins sense the covid pandemic. >> joining us now dr. tara narula. talk to us more about the situation. the rise in numbers and what is behind it. >> erica, well so hospitals are required to report their

capacity in the beginning of the pandemic. to get an idea of how covid was tracking and the numbers looked for past two years about 70%. meaning 70% of beds and hospitals were full. that is until this week. when the number went up to about 80%. the last time we saw an 80% was in january of 2022 at the height of omicron. this number, this past week, it jumped about 8% over the last two weeks. >> wow! >> and there are certain states that actually have even higher numbers. so rhode island we're talking over 90%. places like massachusetts, oregon, washington, the numbers are over 85%. and there is a lot of things contributing to this. we've talked about the tripledemic and rsv and the flu and rsv is peaking and coming down. the flu cases can still high. we just heard rochelle walensky say that hospitalizations for flu are the highest in almost a decade. 78,000 total hospitalizations this year already. so, that is definitely contributing.

but then you have to think about work flow, work staffing shortages. and that is an important part of what is happen right now. not just in the hospital, but we as providers, we try to get patients out of the hospital to skilled nursing facilities and rehabs and if you don't have staff there and you have shortages, you can't discharge patients. and then finally there are patients who delayed care and they didn't have the procedures done or seek medical career to last two years and now they're doing it and that is taking up space as well. so, it is really the convergence of all of the factors that is contributing. it feels like a perfect storm. >> it is a perfect storm. >> just dr. narula, before we go, given this is flu driven, do we expect covid to contribute more so the numbers might balloon further? >> we certainly think that it could. people are going to be getting together and that is why you hear about the push for getting your booster and certainly everyone should be getting their flu vaccine. it is a good match this year. when you look at the number of

hospital beds now being taken up by covid patients it is 6% compared to last january when it was was 25%. but i think the flu and the other respiratory viruss are making up a large portion. >> doctor tara narula, good to have you have as always. thank you. new details in progress for the hunt for a suspect or suspects in the attack on the power stations in north carolina. the sheriff's office in moore cou county is apply for search warrants. what t that means in the investigation coming up.

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we have the power back up in moore county, north carolina, school is also back in session. search warrants could be going out as investigators try to determine who is behind the attack on two substations there. >> cnn's whitney wild joins us now from moore county. who do we know about the warrants? >> reporter: well we know these are warrants that have been applied for, their under seal so the details and what they're for, we can't say for sure right now and those could be under seal for several months. so the reality is law enforcement trying to do whatever they can to keep this investigation tight. they're staying very tight-lipped here in moore county, north carolina. however they have assured the public they are moving at a fast clip and knowing that these

search warrants have been applied for, it is more proof of that. that is a standard investigation practice. it doesn't necessarily mean that they've zeroed in on a suspect but it does show that they're doing whatever they can to pry to get this investigation going as quickly as possible. meanwhile, what they're asking for the public is anybody with any information to come forward. to try to get as many tips as possible. they have raised a reward, $75,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or people who did this. in addition to that, jim and erica, they're canvassing the area and trying to get as much video as possible from people who might have video on their homes and outside of businesses, anybody who might have captured any piece of this crime as it unfolded from just a car driving down the street at a certain time of day to anything that might be closer to here at this substation. we continue to ask law enforcement for as many details as possible but right now they're staying very tight-lipped, jim and erica.

>> understood. it is but progress. whitney wild there in moore county, north carolina, thank you so much. and thanks to all of you for joining us today. i'm erica hill. >> and i'm jim sciutto. "at this hour" with kate bolduan started right after a quick break. you have a good weekend. a must in your medicine cabinet! less sick days! cold coming on? zicam is the number one cold shortening brand! highly recommend it! ithortens colds! zicam. zinc that cold! the voyager gazed in wonder. it was a time machine. (whispering) hello hello anybody there? ♪

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hello, everyone, "at this hour," wnba store brittney griner release and her coach will join me live. >> and kyrsten sinema is leaving the democratic party becoming an independent. she talks with cnn. and the world cup quarterfinals are underway. a member of u.s. men's national team talks about his team'