♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, freed from russia. trevor reed is finally heading home after being in prison for nearly three years. his family saying he was targeted for political reasons. >> it's going to really hit us when we get to put our arms around him and hug him. >> the marine veteran part of a prisoner swap with russia. >> you get an american marine, for somebody that served 13 years, a drug pilot. >> what could this mean for wnba star brittney griner and other americans still held by the kremlin? life under lockdown. this is shanghai. not in 2020 -- but now. >> that's a bit like "groundhog day" in a bad way. it's a bit surreal. >> as most of the world reopens, china's authority is fighting

rising covid cases with forced isolation. >> everyone is a very close contact with each other. >> some running out of food. >> i cannot cook because we have nothing to cook. >> why what happens in china impacts the rest of the world. >> i do hope that it's going to make people think outside of china. i'm 53, but in my mind i'm still 35. that's why i take osteo bi-flex

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good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, u.s. marine veteran trevor reed is headed home to american soil. the nightmare of his captivity in russia is finally over. his grateful parents getting the news from president biden earlier today, then seeing their son board a plane to freedom. here's abc's stephanie ramos. >> reporter: it's the news that paula and joey reed have been anxiously waiting for. >> we were on pins and needles every phone call, hoping that will be the call. >> reporter: after being imprisoned for nearly three years in russia, their son trevor, a former u.s. marine, is finally free and on his way back to the u.s. to be reunited with his family. >> it's not going to hit us until we see him. >> we're excited. we know he's on the plane. but i think we're really going to -- it's going to really hit us when we get to put our arms around him and hug him. >> reporter: 30-year-old reed

was released after u.s. and russian negotiators agreed to a prisoner swap. russian state television capturing the two former prisoners passing each other on a tarmac in turkey. >> i'm going to stay home with trevor every day and make him anything he wants every day. his favorite meal every day. >> reporter: reed's parents have been feverishly pleading with the u.s. government to help bring home their son. finally getting a meeting with president biden last month at the white house. what would your message be to president biden right now? >> thank you, you saved our son's life. >> reporter: u.s. and russian officials have been negotiating this prisoner swap for months, but amid reports that reed's health was deteriorating, the talks intensified. when you saw that video of him being released, what did you think? what did he look like to you? >> he looks horrible. >> yeah. >> both of us cried. he looks terrible to us. he's very thin. dark circles under his eyes. >> his eyes are sunken in. >> he looks terrible. >> like malnourished or dehydrated.

>> reporter: the sudden exchange comes at a time when the world has turned against russia for its relentless destruction in ukraine. the u.s. hitting them with sweeping sanctions. ambassador bill richardson was in russia right before the war started, pressing for a deal to release reed. >> the good news is despite the terrible relationship that exists between united states and russia because of ukraine, we're able to move the needle a little bit on the humanitarian exchange that is good for us, that is good for the reed family, that is good for america. it doesn't mean that our policy towards russia and ukraine is changing. but it is a good sign that at least we're talking on humanitarian prisoner exchange issues. >> reporter: trevor reed released in exchange for constantin jereshenko, a russian pilot who served 10 of his 20-year sentence in connecticut for drug smuggling.

>> i would emphasize this individual had already served the majority of his prison sentence for a nonviolent drug crime, and our overriding priority was the safe return of trevor reed. >> he's a russian, the russians wanted him, they want others too. and it was something that i think was, in the end, a good deal. >> reporter: it was the summer of 2019. reed, then 28, was in moscow visiting his girlfriend. he was traveling home with friends after a late night of heavy drinking when, according to his girlfriend, he became unmanageable and forced them to pull over. reed's friends called police, who agreed to take the texas native to the station to sober up. but russian authorities say on the way to the station, an intoxicated reed violently assaulted the officers in the car and grabbed the vehicle's steering wheel, causing it to swerve. he was later charged with endangering the lives of the officers, despite evidence contradicting the officers' accounts.

reed's lawyer said traffic camera footage showed the car never swerved and that russian investigators never handed over other security camera footage that could have bolstered his case. >> every single piece of evidence that was used in this case was taken by my attorneys. the investigator refused to take video evidence from the vehicle that i was in after we made several requests. >> reporter: nearly a year later, trevor reed is sentenced to nine years in a russian prison camp. the maximum sentence possible for the offense. >> inside the prison that i'm in, the room across from me has murderers and terrorists there. the prosecutor is asking for less time than i just got. >> reporter: the sentence devastated alina tsibolnik, reed's girlfriend, who was in the courtroom. >> he's not guilty, i want to say that. he knew they were going to give him maximum amount of years.

i was shocked. i was not prepared for that. i was crying and i said something to the judge, like "how can you do this?" something like that. >> reporter: in the years since, reed has appealed his sentence, maintaining his innocence, calling the charges against him fabricated. those appeals were denied. >> trevor remains in prison for a crime he didn't commit. so i'm very disappointed that justice has again been denied for trevor. >> reporter: reed's stunning release is also renewing focus on bringing home at least two other americans still detained in russia. another former u.s. marine, paul whelan. and wnba star brittney griner. >> paul should have been included in that swap. >> reporter: in december 2018, whelan was visiting moscow for a friend's wedding when he was accused of being a spy by russian authorities. >> they won't leave me alone, even though i've got a medical condition that prohibits this. >> reporter: after a year and a half behind bars he was convicted in june 2020 of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a russian jail.

u.s. authorities and whelan himself have said, this is a hostage situation. >> it's entirely designed to receive some benefit from the united states. whatever it is the russians want, i don't know. >> reporter: two months ago, wnba star brittney griner was detained at a russian airport on allegations of drug smuggling. the two-time olympic gold medalist was accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. >> whenever an american is detained anywhere in the world, we, of course, stand ready to provide every possible assistance. and that includes in russia. >> reporter: after weeks of little information about her well-being, u.s. officials were finally granted access to griner last month. >> the consular officer who visited with brittney griner was able to verify that she is doing as well as can be expected under these very difficult circumstances. >> reporter: she remains in pretrial detention with the

court extending her detention until may 19th. griner is one of the most dominant athletes in professional sports. standing at a towering 6'9", the center for the phoenix mercury. >> ever since she was a star at baylor, she was an olympian, in all her years in the wnba, she's one of the greatest who's ever played the game. she's become an icon on her own. >> reporter: despite her success here in the states, for the past several years she's spent the offseasons playing professional basketball elsewhere. in russia. >> the top wnba salaries, they peter out around $500,000. griner was making less than that. but in russia, where oligarchs own these teams and put a lot of resources into it, players like brittney griner can make well more than $1 million just playing part of a season. >> reporter: back in 2017, our colleagues at espn's e-60, owned by abc news' parent company, traveled with griner to yekaterinburg to take a look at what her life was like overseas.

>> i've got everything you might need in here. so i have water. and apple juice. so if you're thirsty, i got you. >> reporter: in the u.s., griner has long been open and proud about being a lesbian. but in russia, where lgbtq harassment and even violence is frequent, the star, known for being brash on the court, has had to be more discreet. >> over here it's like, yes, you're good here, but just don't tell anyone, but you're fine. so it's like still kind of cover yourself a little bit. >> reporter: with trevor reed stepping back on american soil, there is renewed hope for bringing back brittney griner and paul whelan. what would your message be to their families that are still waiting for that good news, waiting for them to come home? >> well, so our heart goes out to them. we know. i mean, we know how they feel. so waiting is horrible. but we are going to advocate for

them. we're not going to stop thinking about them. >> the fact that trevor reed happened is i think a good sign. we have to look at the good. you've got to be optimistic. >> reporter: but for now, joey and paula reed consider themselves the lucky ones. when you see him -- >> when we see him, we're going to be like -- we've said we're going to do a group family hug, so his sister will be with us, all four hug. like joey said, they may have to pull us apart because we won't want to let him go. >> our thanks to stephanie. up next, inside the near-total covid lockdown in parts of china. the impact it's having on the rest of the world. before treating your chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month each lasting 4 hours or more, you're not the only one with questions about botox®. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they even start, with about 10 minutes of treatment once every 3 months.

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♪ ♪ while much of the world is ditching masks and social distancing, parts of china are under strict quarantine as the country enforces a zero-tolerance covid policy. abc's brit clinnett is with some of the people reliving the early days of the pandemic. >> reporter: this is not march 2020. >> this is my current bed place. and you can see, we have a camping style. >> reporter: this is not the height of the pandemic. >> everyone is in very close contact with each other, and there's absolutely no privacy. >> reporter: this is china today. the haunting specter of a very real crisis that has once again sent millions across this

country into their homes, trapped into quarantine. around the world, countries are slowly emerging from the covid-19 pandemic two years after its onset. >> masks will be optional this evening for all crew and passengers as well. it is cause to celebrate. >> i don't see us going back into any more very strict kinds of restrictions. >> reporter: but in parts of mainland china, there is an extreme lockdown. while the rest of the world braces for the economic impact. >> china is part of all of our global supply chains. and so they're being disrupted. >> reporter: in shanghai, china's biggest city, many of the city's 25 million residents have been stuck in their homes for more than a month. measures taken by the chinese government to quell the surge of covid-19 cases.

food and medical supplies becoming a concern for some here. >> i'm angry. but i've no choice, actually. i have no power to use. i'm angry, but i'm here. i don't have any right to do something. >> reporter: one resident in shanghai, kimi, has been holed up in her apartment since march with her two children learning remotely. >> i cannot cook because we have nothing to cook. i have only instant noodles left. >> your daughter's telling you she's hungry. how are you coping? >> actually, i've been very disappointed and depressed. nobody cares. >> reporter: kenny's faith in local authorities now truly tested. >> i don't believe in our government anymore.

>> reporter: zero covid. that's long been the m.o. of the chinese government, with extreme measures taken to reach that end point. >> what it required was a system of social control that was much more invasive, expansive, than anything that most other countries would be able to carry out. >> reporter: susan shirk is an expert on chinese politics and a former state department official. >> what it really means is, first, massive pcr testing. and then contact tracing using technology, social media. then aggressive quarantining. >> reporter: china saw some of the first surges of the pandemic in early 2020. but nationwide lockdowns, testing, and surveillance led the country to reporting some of the lowest levels relative to its population over the last two years.

with each new variant maintaining zero covid has become more difficult for china. >> they're still treating it as if it is a really deadly disease with very draconian methods. >> reporter: as the lockdowns continue, so to do the frustrations. with some finding ways to protest the lockdown. while the number of infections are rising, the official death toll is comparatively low. in shanghai, there have been nearly 300 deaths from more than 500,000 infections since the lockdown began. >> my goal even now is to create awareness about this whole situation here in shanghai right now. but i do hope that it's going to make people think outside of china. >> reporter: alessandro moved to china years ago to study and stayed. building a career in shanghai's thriving music industry, he was recently released from an isolation facility after testing

positive for covid. >> what is an outline of what that experience was like? >> very close contact. a lot of coughing, a lot of spitting. no showers. lights turned on 24/7. it was playing games on my mind for sure. >> reporter: for some the lockdown has left a lasting economic impact. >> i've lost my freelance job recently. >> reporter: jamie is an american writer in shanghai who recently lost her main freelance job. on top of coping with the lockdown's loneliness. >> it's a bit like "groundhog day" in a bad way. it's a bit surreal. i'm constantly in my bubble. physically i'm not moving much. so my energy's been really low. it's been hard to focus. >> reporter: the economic disruption in china could just be the beginning. >> we should care because the disruption of the supply chains, aggravating inflation, is going to make our economic lives more difficult too.

>> reporter: the fear throughout china continues to spread. in beijing officials are stepping up enforcement and expanding mass testing in 11 of te city's 16 districts. lines snaking around the block with residents waiting to get swabbed. and supermarket shelves emptying. >> it will be interesting to see if beijing's approach shows a somewhat more flexible or different approach from shanghai. >> reporter: back in shanghai, some are losing hope. for alessandro, even after testing negative for covid twice, he may have to once again go back into isolation after a recent positive test. >> i don't know when this is going to end. and there's nothing i can do about this. >> our thanks to brit. up next, history happening tonight in space. the first black woman arrives at the international space station.

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♪ ♪ finally tonight, a milestone in human spaceflight is happening right now. astronaut jessica watkins has just arrived with three other crew members aboard the international space station where they will spend the next five months. watkins, a veteran astronaut, is the first black woman to spend an extended time in space. earlier today, the crew blasting off from florida. spectacular overnight launch. >> i mean, it's just incredible what they're doing for us, for humanity. >> this crew is one of the first to include just as many women as men.

and that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here, thanks for the company, america. good night. xfinity mobile runs on america's most reliable 5g network, but for 30% less than t-mobile, so you have more money for more stuff.