♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, brittney finally freed. >> what's your mood? >> happy. >> after 294 days of detention and protests in the states to free the wnba star -- >> today, my family is whole. >> russian state media showing that dramatic prisoner swap for the so-called merchant of death, arms dealer viktor bout. how the top secret deal came together and why it's so controversial. >> it's a good thing that a u.s. citizen is home. and now we just returned the lord of war to putin. makes no sense to me. >> and what about the marine veteran left behind? >> we're upset.

we want paul home. plus the rockettes. high-kicking it into their annual christmas spectacular. we're backstage with rare and special access. >> i know the first time i did that kick line i was like -- okay -- like, i'm a rockette. >> the push for diversity. >> i could open the doors for little girls like me with big, curly hair and who come from a hispanic family. >> what can they do in just 78 seconds? celine dion. ♪ the heartbreaking admission from the singer of "my heart will go on" about her health. ♪ my heart will go on and on on ♪ your day? s fogging up tonight, try new zzzquil pure zzzs sleep plus next day energy with melatonin to help you fall asleep naturally... plus extended-release b-vitamins. wake up feeling refreshed. pure zzzs. sleep better. wake up your best.

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all from the company that powers more businesses than any other provider. get started with fast speeds and advanced security for $69.99 a month for 12 months. plus ask how to get up to a $750 prepaid card with qualifying internet. ♪ thanks for joining us. wnba star brittney griner heading home to her family tonight after nearly a year in russian detention. following months of tense and painstaking negotiations, a prisoner swap finally coming together over the last two days. but her freedom is now raising questions about the potential pitfalls of the deal and the other american left behind. wnba star brittney griner finally heading home. russian state media releasing this video of her boarding a

plane. >> what's your mood? >> happy. >> reporter: en route to the united arab emirates, where brittney, wearing a red jacket, was swapped for viktor bout, known as the merchant of death. he's been in u.s. custody for over 12 years. back in d.c., president biden and griner's wife, cherelle griner, ecstatic in an early morning press conference. >> good morning, folks. and it is a good morning. moments ago, standing together with her wife, cherelle, in the oval office, i spoke with brittney griner. she's safe. she's on a plane. she's on her way home after months of being unjustly detained in russia. >> over the last nine months, you all have been so privy to one of the darkest moments of my life. so today i'm just standing here overwhelmed with emotions. but the most important emotion that i have right now is just sincere gratitude for president biden and his entire administration.

>> reporter: for months, fans and teammates of the two-time olympic champion pressuring the biden administration to bring her home. >> bring her home! >> reporter: tonight we've learned the prisoner swap came together in just the last 48 hours with the president himself signing on within the last week. griner was arrested in february when russian customs officials said they discovered a vape and cartridges of cannabis oil packed in her luggage. griner said she packed the vape by mistake but that it had been prescribed to her to help deal with chronic pain. >> i did not plan or have the intent to bring any cannabis or banned substance to russia. >> ultimately she's only accused of bringing in a very small number of vape cartridges with marijuana oil in them. and she was charged with being a major drug smuggler. even under russian law, there's no way she could be considered a major drug smuggler. >> reporter: she pleaded guilty to two drug charges -- possession without intent to

sell, and traveling into russia with a controlled substance. but she still insisted that during her arrest she was confused and had to use a translation app to attempt to read documents she was given. >> my rights were never read to me. no one explained any of it to me. i didn't know exactly what i was signing. >> reporter: on august 4th, griner was sentenced to serve nine years in a prison work camp. tonight, russian state media releasing new videos of griner's life in prison. >> when she was given this nine-year sentence, it was immediately obvious that it was ultimately just an arbitrary number to try and keep her in prison as long as possible to signal to the u.s., the only way she's getting out is through a prisoner swap. >> reporter: it's the second high-profile prisoner swap in recent months. american trevor reed was released in april in exchange for a russian pilot arrested for drug trafficking charges. many thought this deal would be a two for one, bringing home both griner and 52-year-old paul

whelan, former marine who was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in russian prison. >> he came to russia in 2018 for a wedding. while paul whelan was at this wedding in moscow in 2018, fsb broke into his hotel and detained him. and basically accused him of being a spy. >> reporter: whelan's family disappointed. his sister speaking to abc news this morning. >> sure we're upset. we want paul home. we're angry at russia for playing him around like this. for playing all of us around like this. >> reporter: wheelan himself calling cnn from inside the prison camp today. >> i'm happy that brittney is going home today. but i don't understand why i'm still sitting here. my bags were packed. i'm ready to go home. i just need an airplane to come and get me. >> i've spoken to paul from prison about two years ago, and he was able to call me at the time from a phone that was shared by prisoners. he has also then been punished by the prison afterwards.

the real risk is that he will be put into solitary confinement. >> reporter: secretary of state antony blinken laying out the terms of the deal. >> this was not a choice of which american to bring home. the choice was one or none. >> reporter: the state department reportedly believed that bout was a high enough profile prisoner to warrant the release of two americans. bout, sentenced to 25 years for aiding a terrorist organization and conspiring to kill americans. bout was so infamous, the movie "lord of war" starring nicholas cage was in part inspired by his life. >> the first and most important rule of gun running is never get shot with your own merchandise. >> reporter: but in a jailhouse interview with journalist nick patton walsh, bout denied all accusations. >> this is a lie and just a [ bleep ]. i never supplied such at all and never had any deal with al qaeda. >> reporter: bout's lawyer claims that griner's and

wheelan's arrests were related to bout's. >> americans were made less safe because the u.s. decided to target viktor bout. naturally the russians were apoplectic. how would you do that to one of our citizens? in effect, it's like, okay, you're going to do that to one of our citizens? now if your citizens get in trouble in our country, don't expect any favors. >> reporter: derek malts who oversaw the dea's investigation of bout saying it's a mistake to release him. >> it's a good thing that a u.s. citizen is home. it's a very bad thing that we left a u.s. marine back in prison in russia. and now we just return the lord of war to putin. makes no sense to me. >> viktor is not a national security threat. he hasn't been home for more than 15 years. the time he was, he wasn't involved in any business that violated u.s. law. what viktor's going to do now is

go back to retirement, take care of his family, and look after his kid who just got married in viktor's absence. >> reporter: the prisoner swap coming at a time when u.s./russia relations are more strained than they've been since the cold war. griner detained one week before russian forces invaded ukraine. just this week, ten civilians killed by a russian air strike. and in turn, two explosions at a russian air base. as of now, no one has taken credit for that attack. as the war drags on, some say this prisoner exchange, a high-level arms dealer for a basketball player, could be a diplomatic showcase for president vladimir putin, that he still has power on a world stage. >> this is about saying that russia is able to make the u.s. do something that it doesn't want to do and that russia is able to force the u.s. to give someone back who it really, really doesn't want to give back. so i think there will be a lot of play on russian state tv

saying this is a huge success for russia, that this shows how powerful russia is. >> reporter: but tonight in the u.s., one family celebrates a homecoming. as another keeps waiting. we'll have much more on "gma" in the morning. up next, kicking it with the rockettes. we go behind the scenes for the annual christmas spectacular. ♪ when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable,... i got rapid symptom relief with rinvoq. check. when uc held me back... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc got the upper hand... rinvoq helped visibly repair the colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief. lasting, steroid-free remission. and a chance to visibly repair the colon lining. check. check. and check. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots,

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the radio city rockettes christmas spectacular. we're backstage as it all comes together. our ashan singh learning all the secrets, especially those celebrated high kicks. >> am i a rockette? >> i think we've got to get you soldier cheeks. >> this is heavy on your head, you're dancing with this? >> reporter: kicking it backstage with the one and only radio city rockettes. maybe not slaying their iconic look quite as well. >> right on your cheekbones, perfect. >> is this the american dream? ♪ >> reporter: it's holiday season number 90 for the world-famous dance troupe. ♪ and they're taking us inside the legendary new york city show, "the christmas spectacular." we're at the iconic radio city music hall. it's holiday season. we're about to link up with the legendary rockettes. they've invited us behind the scenes so let's go check it out.

>> there's nothing like new york at christmas. that just portrays it so well. >> reporter: this year's show features classical music numbers like "the parade of the wooden soldiers," a staple since the show's inception. and a high-tech number, "dance of the frost fairies" with drones whirling and swirling overhead. ♪ let it snow let it snow ♪ >> reporter: the show has come a long way since the original 16 rockettes in the early 1930s. now with a line of 36 dancers, or 72 legs. >> really silly question, do you like kicking? does it hurt? >> yeah, i mean -- it's something you get used to. you know, once it's in your body. but it's definitely hard. >> i know the first time i did that kick line i was like, okay, like -- i'm a rockette. ♪

>> reporter: the rockettes perform that famous high kick nearly 200 times per show. up to four shows per day. but if you thought those high kicks were nerve-racking, it's nothing compared to waiting for the casting call after auditions. >> thank you! >> when i picked up the phone, i knew then and there, it was the moment. right as i ended the phone call, i screamed my lungs out. we were just jumping up and down. it felt like all the hard work was paying off. >> breaking on count seven. >> reporter: hard work paying off but more work beginning as they take one of the most elaborate holiday gigs on earth. what don't the audience members see when they're sitting in the crowd? >> there's choreography on stage. there's choreography backstage as well. >> reporter: between the numbers the rockettes change costumes, choose hats, race back on stage just in the nick of time. >> we are in one of our quick change boots that we use during the christmas spectacular, so when we change our costumes in between dances, during the show, we come right in here. our fastest change is 78 seconds, from our "parade of the

wooden soldiers" dance into our "new york at christmas," what we're wearing today. >> we've started the last couple of years practicing the change, especially with the new rockettes that are in line, before we even get to the stage. >> reporter: julie branham has been with the show over three decades. now she's the choreographer. how much of this year's choreography is you trying to preserve the traditions of the rockettes, how much is you adding new flavor? >> a little bit of both. "wooden soldiers" i don't touch because i think it's brilliant. the way it's choreographed. but if there are other things i think i can do better, i'll change the choreography. i want to make sure the rockettes are keeping up with the times and pushing the envelope. >> reporter: over the years critics have focused on lack of diversity. >> this is an institution that has been predominantly white. what are you guys doing to better reflect what the united states looks like and what the world looks like? >> our conservatory program and dancer development is all part of this. >> the rockettes conservatory is a dancer development program they have begun to bridge the

gap between the dancers of tomorrow and the dancers that they want on the line to represent who we are as new york city. it's not going to be, boom, one day we're just going to see the line be completely represented like we want. it takes work, it takes thought, i takes actions. and i think they're doing that. >> has the conservatory changed the game in terms of making being a rockette accessible? >> i sure hope so. it is cost-free to the attendees. we bring dancers in, airplane, house them, food, the things. give them shoes if they need them. our shoes are painted to your skin colors. for a lot of time, the first time they've had shoes that match their skin tone. it's really, i think, a great thing. >> culturally and traditionally, no, i didn't see myself represented fully. and i also had the dream and the goal and the drive to be on the line myself so that i could open the doors for little girls like me with big, curly hair and who come from a hispanic family. >> reporter: after performing in

more than 100 shows, valeria says the curtain coming up on that opening number still never gets old. >> it's exhilarating. you feel the energy from the radio city stage. this iconic piece of fabric that is part of new york city. >> my favorite number is probably "reindeer sleigh ride" that opens the show. and i think it's just because of the feel of the curtain opening up. it's all the feels. that's the first time they get to see us kick, which is awesome. >> reporter: after all this talk of kicking, there was no way they were going to let me leave radio city without giving it a try. >> one, kick, two, step three, kick, four, five, six, seven, eight -- ♪ ♪ it's christmastime again ♪ ♪ in nyc ♪

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♪ ♪ finally tonight, that stunning news from superstar celine dion. here's abc's stephanie ramos. >> all i know is singing. it's what i've done all my life. >> reporter: in an emotional instagram post to her fans -- ♪ all by myself ♪ >> reporter: pop music legend celine dion reveals the reason she's postponing her upcoming tour. >> recently have been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called the stiff person syndrome. >> reporter: it affects just. 1 in 1 million people, causing muscles to go rigid. >> this stiffness will manifest most prominently as difficulties with walking. singing could certainly be

affected by a disease like stiff person syndrome. ♪ >> reporter: last fall, the pop superstar postponed the opening of her vegas residency and a north american tour due to severe and persistent muscle spasms. celine dion, the singer of the iconic "my heart will go on," came onto the scene as a teen singing sensation in her native canada, winning five grammys and selling more than 200 million records worldwide. >> i love you guys so much. and i really hope i can see you again real soon. >> and that's "nightline." we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. we leave you with a look at "killer curves," our newest episode of "impact" by "nightline" streaming exclusively on hulu. good night, america. >> i wanted a little cushion for the pushing.

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