we have a verdict in the brittney griner trial.riner has been found guilty of smuggling cannabis oil in her luggage back in february. she pled guilty last month in the hopes of being granted leniency. right now you see that, the wnba star is in the courtroom. it's just outside of moscow. prosecutors as we speak are asking for a sentence of nine and a half years in prison. i'm going to go straight to cnn's fred pleitgen who is live outside the courtroom near moscow. fred, what is the latest? what are we hearing about how that sentencing will go? >> yeah, i mean it really is significant information that we're getting, dana. first of all, you're absolutely right, the court has found brittney griner guilty. as we see on our screens right now, the judge is still sort of reading out the verdict and what exactly the specifics of this verdict are. but there's something that's very important that the judge has read in saying that they have found brittney griner guilty with criminal intent. that means that the court believes what the prosecu

question -- why brittney griner?merica and russia have been talking about a possible prisoner swap that could involve brittney griner and also former u.s. marine paul whelan, also in jail in russia. washington says it has put a substantial proposal on the table. some reports suggest that in order to bring these two people home, ameri may be prepared to release a notorious arms trafficker. he was sentenced to 25 years in an american jail a decade ago. there is no doubt that tre would be a degree of controversy over such a swap because victor boot was alleged to be one of the mt are lithic arms dealers in the world, dubbed the merchant of death. it would be a controversial swap he was rumored to have links to russian intelligence agencies. he has denied that. but this is some of the kremlin has long wanted to bring back to russia and if it manages to bring him back, no doubt the authorities here will present that as a major victory. kasia: our russia editor steve rosenberg. for the perspective from the u.s., here is ba

russia is wrongfully detaining brittney.ever should have had to end endure a trial in the first place. we have repeatedly called for russia to release her immediately. as you know, we have made a substantial offer to bring her and paul wihalen home. we urge trush accept that proposal. >> and now the president has said that he will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to ensure that brittney and paul whelan are able to come home. and john kirby, the white house national security spokesman said that the president is personally involved in this case. i asked him what that means. he said the president meeting with a host of national security officials, including here at the white house, who are working to try to secure britney's release. >> you are in connecticut where britney's basketball team plays tonight. how is the team handling the verdict? >> well, you noted the statement that the phoenix mercury released. part of that was they never expected that the legal process was going to deliver brittney gri

our top stories: us basketball star brittney griner gets a nine year sentence on drug charges in russia. president biden denounces it as "unacceptable." japan and the us condemn china's military exercises in the waters around taiwan and call for an immediate halt. this afternoon, china fired dongfeng ballistic missiles from the coast of china across the taiwan strait, and they fell into waters in the exclusion zones just here off the north taiwan coast. the primary objective is obviously intimidation. the conspiracy theorist alexjones is ordered to pay more than $4 million in damages afterfalsely claiming the sandy hook school shooting was a hoax. sings out of tune. he's an internet sensation in bangladesh for singing out of tune, but we'll find out why this crooner failed to strike a chord with the police. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we start in the united states with the case of us basketball player, brittney griner, who has been sentenced to nine years injail by a court in russia. the court found her guilty of possessing and smuggling drugs. preside

russia is wrongfully detaining brittney.nd i call on russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates. my administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring brittney and paul whelan home safely as soon as possible. so that is the comment, written statement from the president. we expect to hear more from the white house during a briefing later today, or perhaps a spokesman, john kirby or someone will be coming out and speaking very quickly. but this is clearly a determination. you have their attention. everything that you and sharl and reverend al joining us and everyone else has been doing as part of this, trying to bring this front and center has worked. >> there's been an incredible outpouring of support, incredible mobilization from organizations all around the world hearing from this president, our president, the president that b.g. voted for, he sounds very determined, he sounds very committed, and that's what we needed to hear. and

it was brittney griner taking responsibility, it was brittney griner apologizing. it was brittney griner saying how much she loved in russia and how it was her second home and she wanted to be there for her team and is getting a lot of support from her teammates. that's something that she just said inside that cage speaking to the judge but it's something the defense has tried to put forward as this trial went on. they brought on character witnesses. they put brittney griner on the stand herself saying she took responsibility for her actions but did not mean to smuggle narcotics into the russian federation. so they believe that they have done all they could. but, you know, it's absolutely the case that there are huge rates of conviction. one of the things i will point out, jim, which i think is very important is when we expect this verdict to come, which is in maybe 45 minutes, maybe a little further away from now, the judge does have a lot of leeway. the judge obviously can go up to ten years in prison. we know the prosecution is asking for nine and a half years b

also, brittney griner was sentenced to nine years in a russian prison. shootings. in florida, jurors are determining if the shooter of the parkland high school massacre should be put to death. today, they visited the school, which has been preserved. there's a part of this school that's just been closed off an

they say, look, brittney griner admitted to the crime, she pleaded guilty.hey had character witnesses on, testifying to the fact she's very important to her team in ik ikaterinburg. and they talked about the forensics that took place on the vaping cartridges found on griner as she tried to enter on february 17th. it's extremely disappointing. it's basically exactly what the prosecution wanted. they gave her nine years in jail. she's been in jail for about five months. it's nine years and five months total. the fine is pretty much what the prosecution asked for as well. you can see why the defense would be very angry and disappointed by this verdict, saying they're going to launch that appeal. also our folks sign it the courtroom saw her being led out. they asked her, and she said, i love my family. brittney griner very emotional, very down as her attorneys just pointed nought that press conference after this very harsh verdict came down. but at the same time, of course, in a fighting mood as well, saying they're going to launch an appeal, while at the same t

trump's attorneys have warned him that indictments, criminal indictments are possible and wnba star brittney griner is sentenced to nine years in prison after being convicted by a russian court on drug charges. the u.s. is now reviewing for moscow to accept a proposed prisoner swap aimed at bringing griner home. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." ♪ ♪ >>> this is cnn breaking news. let's get straight to the breaking news right now. a texas jury awarding more than $4 million to the parents of the sandy hook shooting victim suing alex jones over defamation and distress over his repeated lies about the tragedy. cnn correspondent drew griffin is working the story for us. drew, update our viewers on the latest. >> yeah. it's a mixed bag. alex jones will have to pay damages to these two parents of a murdered 6-year-old, but it's only a fraction of what neil heslin and scarlet lewis were asking and it was in the damage phase of this trial and they have been just awarded a little more than 4 million, $4.1 million. t

griner. it —— n brittney griner. power of political organising. we have to remember that the most loyal constituency that supports the democratic party, the most loyal constituency that president biden has to think for thejob he now holds is black women and black women understood that and learned how to play the game. so when brittney griner comes home and i have every hope that she will, it will be because of the political power that black women bought to bear to see that it would happen. [30 women bought to bear to see that it would happen.- that it would happen. do you have any _ that it would happen. do you have any idea _ that it would happen. do you have any idea when - that it would happen. do you have any idea when it - that it would happen. do you have any idea when it comes j that it would happen. do you i have any idea when it comes to the timeline of how quickly you think it might move? i the timeline of how quickly you think it might move?— think it might move? i have no idea of when _ think it might mov

brittney griner's cannabis possession case. the wnba star addressing the court during closing arguments just moments ago. let's go ahead and listen to part of her statement. russian translators have been edited out. >> my parents taught me two important things. one, take ownership for your responsibilities and, two, work hard for everything that you have. that's why i pled guilty to my charges. i understand everything that's being said against me, the charges that are against me. and that is why i pled guilty. but i had no intent to break any russian laws. i want the court to understand that it was an honest mistake that i made while in russia, under stress, trying to recover from post-covid and just trying to get back to my team. >> griner pleaded guilty after her arrest nearly six months ago at moscow's airport, and prosecutors are asking for 9 1/2 years in prison. joining me is nbc's molly hunter and julia yaffi, washington correspondent at pug. molly, we'll start with you. what do we expect from this verdict? >> yeah, linds

that brittney is being used as a political pawn.continued efforts of potus and sec blinken to get a deal done. a nine year sentence it seems as though they are setting the stakes very high. >> we are hopeful. i think we have to for bg. we're calling on the entire global sports commune mutt at this, because it's not about bg, it's about all of us. i have played in russia. so many of us travel for competitions. it's our job, our livelihood. the fact that someone could be wrongfully detained like this and used, we're calling on every single person and holding out hope to get bg home, to get paul home. two americans home safely who need to be back and we are holding on to that. >> it's not lost on me and on many of us that the reason some of you players in the u.s. travel overseas and play is monetary. there's a pay disparate between the nba and wnba. a lot of talented players like yourself do go overseas and play. brittney has made it very clear that she actually also was very much interested in boosting russian basketball, russian wom

the us department has describe it brittney griner was wrongfully detained.— describe it brittney grinerngfully detained. former police officers are arrested in the - wrongfully detained. former police officers are arrested in the us - wrongfully detained. former police officers are arrested in the us overj officers are arrested in the us over the killing of breonna taylor, who was shot dead in her apartment two years ago. two years since a deadly blast killed over 200 people at the port of beirut, their families are still calling for justice. welcome back. let's get more on our top story. brittney griner, the us basketball player and olympic gold medallist, has been sentenced to nine years in prison in moscow on charges of drug smuggling. president biden has called the sentence unacceptable and demanded her immediate release. he said his administration would pursue every avenue to bring her home. here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg. in court today, brittney griner said she made an honest mistake when she brought vape cartridges with cannabis oil into russia. she made a plea for le

on a possible prisoner swap to bring wnba star brittney giner home.n secret or they'll fail. >> if we discuss a few details by the press, then those exchanges will never take place. the americans have already made that mistake. suddenly deciding to use mega phone diplomacy to resolve these issues. this is now how they are resolved so we will not give any comments. >> reporter: the u.s. has said it put an offer on the table to get brittney giner and paul whelan in russian for espionage which he denies released. cnn learning that the biden administration is offering convicted russian arms dealer victor bout in return. secretary of state blinken said washington will take up moscow's offer to negotiate. >> we put forward as you know a substantial proposal that russia should engage with us on. and what foreign minister lavrov said this morning and said publicly is that they are prepared engage through channels we've established to do just that and we'll be pursuing that. >> reporter: president biden saying bringing brittney giner home remains a priority fo

russia is wrongfully detaining brittney griner. it is an acceptable. week cool and russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends and teammates. my administration continues to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring brittney griner and paul whelan home as soon as possible." david, what do you want secretary antony blinken to do? >> i hope you will continue to go after the concession he has offered to the russian government. and that he is successful at bringing home both brittney griner and paul whelan. >> according to the translation we are getting, that i am now being told, ambassador, that she is very upset and has a private message to her family. they are appealing. i suppose they are appealing the prolonged agony of this trial before talking about a prisoner swap taking place, or not? >> everyone goes through the due process of due process. do you plead guilty or do you not plead guilty or appeal which is likely and on -- not a success. i'm not surprised at all. the russian court did ignore the

what we learned today was that brittney griner is certainly upset at the verdict.n't comas too much of a surprise but certainly it was a shock to her, nine years sentence in a russian prison for bringing less than a gram of cannabis oil innovate cartridges. that has come as a shock. jane: let's have a quick look at some of the day's other news. a rock in the grip of an heatwave, soaring past 50 degrees celsius in several cities, making them the hottest laces in the wld. it is so hot that some state employs have been given a day off. a four-day holiday has been declared as many people struggle without air-conditioning due to frequent power cuts. the lower house of parliament in australia has passed an ambitious climate change initiative committing them to a 43% cut in emissions by 2030 and that zero by the middle of the century, coming after austria has had extreme weather events includg flooding and wildfires. the bank has lowered interest rates have percent, the biggest increase in 27 years. inflation expected to hit 13% and the u.k. economy is forecast to enter a

basketball star brittney griner to nine years in prison.he judge found her guilty of possessing and smuggling narcotics. here is tina cross. >> reporter: from a cage in the back of the russian courtroom, brittney griner listened as a translator passed along the verdict. the judge found the 31-year-old basketball star guilty of deliberately bringing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil with her when she flew to moscow in february. before the verdict, griner offered an apology to the court. >> i made an honest mistake and i hope that in your ruling that it doesn't end my life here. >> reporter: griner's lawyers had argued the phoenix mercury center and two-time olympic gold medalist inadvertently packed the cannabis canisters. they presented character witnesses from the team she plays for in the wnba offseason and written testimony from a doctor who prescribed cannabis for pain treatment. medical marijuana is legal in arizona. >> i never meant to hurt anybody or put in jeopardy the rest of the population, i never meant to break any laws he

russia is wrongfully detaining brittney griner. >> that will go on and on

a lot of today was also about brittney griner's character, though, jim, where they said, look, brittney griner is a model athlete, someone who is very popular around the world, and also very popular here in russia. and who has done a lot for the team and for russia and because of that, they believe that more leniency should be in order. one of the things we need to mention, jim, is that the court, the judge has a lot of leeway as far as the actual verdict is concerned. the prosecutor asking for 9.5 years. the judge could remain well below that. there is a lot of leeway. we're going to have to wait and see, but we do always have to remind our viewers that russian courts definitely not known for leniency, jim. >> thank you, fred. kylie, we would be remiss not to mention the political implications and influences here that russian courts and trials, the kremlin's desires as well and they have a history of turning americans and other foreigns n foreigners into bargaining chips. what are the offers for a prisoner swap, the us u..s. off to swap viktor bout for her and paul whelan. are those ne

efforts to free wnba star brittney griner from russia.cow said it is now ready to discuss a proposed prisoner wrap a day after she was convicted on drug charges and sentenced to serve nine years in a russian prison. fred pleitgen has the latest from moscow. >> reporter: tonight, for the first time, russia saying it is willing engage with the u.s. on a possible prisoner swap to bring wnba star brittney griner home. but the kremlin warning talks must remain secret or they'll fail. >> if we discuss a few details of prisoner exchanges by the pre then those ex changes will never take place. americans have already made that mistake, suddenly deciding to use mega phone diplomacy to resolve these issues. this is not how they are resolved so we will not give any comments. >> the u.s. has put on offer on the table for brittney griner and paul whelan released. cnn learning that the biden administration is offering convicted russian arms dealer victor bout in return. sect of state blinken said wash will take up moscows offer to negotiate. >> we move

that would bring brittney griner home.of the north america department of the russian foreign ministry said that he confirmed that the names currently in play are for the russian side, arms dealer viktor bout, serving a 25-year sentence in a jail in the united states, and for the u.s. side, brittney griner and paul whelan, who of course is serving that 16-year sentence here in russia for alleged espionage, which he denies. the russians once again, however, saying they want all of these talks to happen in secret. they say there's a mechanism in place, and they certainly don't want to get any details out in the public. they say if any details get out, exchanges can't take place, jake. >> does griner's appeals process stand in the way in any way of any potential swap? >> i was talking to her legal team about that today. they certainly don't believe that it does. they were the ones who originally said they believe a verdict needed to be in place against brittney griner. that's happened. she was sentenced to nine years in a russ

right now, closing arguments under way in a moscow courtroom for the wnba star brittney griner.t who also plays in russia during the off season pleaded guilty to drug charges last month. a prosecutor seeking those charges are minor 9 1/2 years of jail time.

brittney griner has been on the stand as well. but of course looming over all of this the whole time is also those negotiations that the u.s. made pin last week trying to get brittney griner out, also paul whelan the former marine serving a 16 year sentence right now for alleged espionage which he denies. in return possibly for viktor bout, currently serving a sentence in the united states. it is unclear whether or not that has any influence here. certainly what we're hearing from the court it doesn't, but griner's defense team said they were not aware of any negotiations taking place, but they said if there is an exchange, they wouldn't be against it, they simply want to see grirn brittney griner get h fast as possible. >> how is she bearing up under the pressure? she's been there since february. >> reporter: yeah, that is a very important question and something that we put to the defense team as well. when we spoke to her defense lawyer, that defense lawyer had literally just come from a meeting with brittney griner. we of cours

as you know, brittney griner argued it was a mistake.ecided in russia that it wasn't a mistake, she knew what she was doing and sentenced her to nine years in prison. >> point in fact, brittney griner pleaded guilty but through her lawyers she admitted she didn't do it intentionally. that's an argument the judge has clearly rejected. stand by me, i want to turn to peter alexander at the white house. being watched very closely there. the president has received correspondence from brittney griner. there's been talk of a potential negotiation now between russia and u.s. for a prisoner swap, brittney griner, paul whelan, another american they say is wrongly detained, in exchange for a russian prisoner. what happens next? >> reporter: certainly the white house was hoping any verdict would accelerate this process. russia has indicated that it wasn't until this trial, this court case was resolved that they would begin in any earnest any conversations about a prisoner swap. you'll remember just last week, we heard from the secretary of state ant

and will, two brittney griner's nine-year prison sentence has actually come in. while the biden administration has called that prison sentence unacceptable, officials were saying that sentence was needed in order to propel forward these prisoner swam talks. so that could be a good thing. . >> the kremlin is insisting these negotiations remain secret or they'll fail. that's what they say. they seem could be countering the u.s. offer. >> the biden administration has been very clear saying they want griner gbrittney griner home. whether or not they detail, if they put another offer on the table with the russians is likely to be driven by how well that offer is received. you will recall that secretary blinken didn't say the u.s. had put a substantial offer on the table until more than a month after that offer had been put on the table. because there was some frustration within biden administration officials that the russians weren't actively engaging, productively engaging. so it is likely that no news could be good news. but of course, having the russians on the oth

. >> when we before russia invaded ukraine, russian officials arrested american olympic medalist brittney griner. today, after being detained for 168 days in russia, the wnbpa was sentenced to nine years in a russian prison on charges of possessing and smuggling cannabis. it was nearly the maximum sentence for bringing less than one gram of cannabis oil into the country. -- when she arrived in moscow's airport in february. she told the court that bringing them into russia was an honest mistake after she packed in a hurry. before the sentencing today, on emotional brittney griner apologized, saying she never intended to break any laws in a final plea for leniency. >> i never meant to hurt anybody. i never meant to put in jeopardy the russian population. i never meant to break any laws here. i made an honest mistake. and i hope that, in your willing, that it doesn't end my life here. i know everybody keeps talking about political pawn and politics. but i hope that that is far from this courtroom. >> but the judge didn't grant her any leniency. the lawyers called the verdict absolutely unrea

i think you expected a long prison sentence to be handed down to brittney griner.shes now of negotiations to bring her home, maybe at a steep price to release some actual criminals from american jails to bring her home. but are you hopeful that brittney griner will be released? >> of course i'm hopeful. i'm always hopeful. and let me start off by saying thank you for having me on the show this morning. the more that we talk about that, about this case, the more that we raise awareness and all of that is important. of course, we knew this day was coming from the moment we heard the charges, the 99% conviction rate, and the possible sentence from that moment, we knew what was likely to happen. and going into yesterday, we had 167 days at that point to prepare. as much as we knew that the day was coming, and that had to come so that we could continue to see forward movement, as much as we knew that and tried to prepare, we were not prepared for this. certainly not prepared for this. hearing the updates that there are continued conversations about getting a deal done a

russia is wrongfully detaining brittney. we have made a substantial offer to bring her and paul whelan home. we urge russia to accept that proposal. >> ninas do dos santos is joins live with more. russia now apparently willing to discuss this. how willing? >> well, they are not going public with any of the details, but this is the first overture that the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov has made just hours after brittney griner received that as her lawyers said sentence that was longer than they indicated that they would be expecting for this type of crime in russia. so essentially even though they have ten days to appeal, they have indicated previously that they will appeal this charge, this has moved from the realm of injjurisprudence and the law ifu like to high political stakes. sergey lavrov said at a news conference in cambodia that there are established diplomatic channels to be discussed between the u.s. president joe biden and the russian president vladimir putin in a summit in geneva that took place in the su

might russia release brittney griner?ible prisoner swap that could involve brittney griner, and also former us marine paul whelen, also injail russia, washington said it has a proposal on the table. some reports suggest in order to bring these people home, america may be prepared to release the notorious arms traffic of victor bout, sentenced to 25 years in an american jail ten years ago. victor boot was alleged to be one of the most prolific arms dealer in the world, dubbed the merchant of death, victor bout was alleged to be one of the most prolific arms dealer in the world, dubbed the merchant of death, so it would be a controversial swap. this is someone the kremlin has long wanted to bring back to russia. if it manages to bring him back, there's no doubt the authorities here would present that as a major victory. that was steve rosenberg explaining the bigger picture we've heard from the national security spokesman describing this is a serious proposal. more from barbara but ashore in washington. the reaction from th

also, brittney griner was sentenced to nine years in a russian prison.ut we begin with legal reckonings, years in the making, of two notorious school shootings. in florida, jurors are determining if the shooter of the parkland high school massacre should be put to death. today, they visited the school, which has been preserved. there's a part of this school that's just been closed off and preserved ever since the gunman killed 14 students and 3 adults on valentine's day 2018. >>> and in texas, we're on verdict watch. jurors are now deliberating in the defamation trial against conspiracy theorist alex jones. they're deciding how much money he should pay to the parents of a 6-year-old sandy hook victim for repeatedly pushing derange conspiracies that the murder of 20 first graders and six adults did not happen. the judge in the case denied jones's request for a mistrial after it was revealed his lawyer accidentally sent two years of cell phone records and text messages to the parents' legal team. the parents' lawyer says multiple law enforcement groups are

brittney's agent released a statement -- and goes to prove what we have known all along, that brittney is being used as a political pawn. so, joe, we have talked previously about the potential for this severe sentencing, nine years in a penal colony. can you actually tell us what's that mean? i'm not actually familiar with what a penal colony in russia is actually like? tell us. >> most of the prisons in russia are actually penal colonies, over 600 colonies -- they've all from just on forced labor camps. prisoners there are no longer have to break rocks, do mining, but they do manual labor. in [inaudible] for example. it is a harsh environment but not a brutal one. they do get decent food and is a fair amount of accessibility to them. they are harassed by guards, so brittney griner can expect to have guards harassing, her trying to provoke, or trying to [inaudible] infractions that could be used to increase her sentence or at least deny her parole. so this is not in any way going to be a pleasant stay for brittney griner, the longer she is there, the longer it's likely to get. >> which

president biden called it unacceptable. >> russia is wrongfully detaining brittney. >> reporter: ther way to play in russia when she was arrested in february. russian authorities accused her drug smuggling after finding less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. >> i love my family. >> reporter: in a bid to bring griner and another american, paul whelan home, u.s. officials have proposed a prisoner swap, possibly involving russian arms dealer viktor bout. >> but it's a serious proposal. we urge them to accept it. they should have accepted it weeks ago when we first made it. >> reporter: but the russians said they wouldn't negotiate until griner was sentenced. >> the russian court systems and putin have to be able to justify to the russian people they convicted a u.s. athlete. >> reporter: bill evanina is the former head of counterintelligence for the u.s. government. >> this can go on for a long time, especially if lavrov and putin want something specific that we're unwilling to give. >> reporter: it's very unusual for u.s. officials to even discuss prisoner swap details in pub

msnbc will cover the sentencing of brittney griner in the next hour.. e a real challenge. that's why i use the freestyle libre 2 system. with a painless, one-second scan i know my glucose numbers without fingersticks. now i'm managing my diabetes better and i've lowered my a1c from 8.2 to 6.7. take the mystery out of managing your diabetes and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free at freestylelibre.us alright, limu, give me a socket wrench, pliers, and a phone open to libertymutual.com they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need... and a blowtorch. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ flowers are fighters. only pay for what you need. that's why the alzheimer's association walk to end alzheimer's is full of them. because flowers find a way to break through. just like we will. join the fight at alz.org/walk >>> good morning. i'm lindsey reiser in for jose diaz-balart. we are watching closely for a verdict in the trilt of wnba start brittney griner held in amos cow prison for nearly six month

[theme music] >>> brittney griner learns her sentence in a russian court. i'm shepard smith. this is "the news" on cnbc >>> for the basketball star, years behind bars. >> i made an honest mistake. >> president biden responds and calls for the russians to release her. >> this is an incredible farce on behalf of the russians. >> the next moves to free brittney griner. >>> alex jones learns his punishment for defaming sandy hook parents >> question 2a, $1.5 million question 2b, $500,000. >> the reaction and what happens next >>> new criminal charges surrounding the death of breonna taylor >> breonna taylor should be alive today. >> the four officers the feds are targeting after the nighttime raid on her home >> this is a day that black women saw equal justice. >>> your flight is delayed of delayed. the new proposal to make the airlines pay you cash. the details and how will the airlines respond >>> gabby petito's mom speaks. >>> inflation fallout. people returning their pets for financial reasons. >>> and dating in the metaverse. >> announcer: live from cnbc the facts. the truth

there is obviously more work to do in brittney griner's case.mark you outlined it perfectly. the reason he came into russia with medical marijuana to be able to treat an injury and at the same time is teaching the children of diplomats, has been a dedicated teacher not only years but decades. once again you have the russian federation imposing these kinds of charges and sentences on americans for political reasons. what i'm trying to do is make sure the state department provides that designation, the wrongfully detained designation the same that brittney griner has been categorized. her case has been so categorized. we'll continue to work with the state department to urge them to do that because that designation alone will help in mark's case but we have a lot of work to do. the state department does as well. these are cases where the russian federation are using these individuals for political reasons to push against us largely i would argue because of the support we're providing to the people of ukraine. >> finally i want to ask you about, on

russia is wrongfully detaining brittney. but the white house tonight won't say publicly if they think russia is trying to send a message by giving griner such a severe sentence. do you think she is being used as a political pawn here? >> i cannot ascribe russian motives or intent here. all i can do is tell you where president biden is, and the national security team. wrongfully detained, need to come home, there's a deal on the table. let's make the deal, let's get them home. >> reporter: the biden padminis to accept its proposal to bring griner and former marine paul whelan home. sources tell abc news the offer is to swap the two americans for notorious russian arms dealer vi v viktor bout. meanwhile, griner remains in a pretrial detention center as her lawyers try to appeal. >> she can hardly talk. it's difficult time for her. >> mary bruce back with us now. so, mary, what more can you tell us about the status of those negotiations to bring brittney griner and paul whelan back home? >> reporte the talks are ongoing, but wh

us basketball star brittney griner gets a nine year sentence on drug charges in russia — president bidenenounces it as "unacceptable." and the indian adaptation of the hollywood classic forrest gump is released next week. we hear from the bollywood superstar aamir khan. it kind of feels like it is a dream now because it has been such a long journey and we have come to the end and it feels a bit unreal. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's eight in the morning in singapore, and 9:00am in tokyo where japan is demanding an immediate end to china's military exercises around taiwan, after five chinese missiles landed injapan�*s exclusive economic zone. the us national security spokesman, john kirby said beijing had no reason to act aggressively. beijng, you'll remember, is conducting live firing exercises in the sea around taiwan for the next several days, in response to a recent visit there by the senior us politician, nancy pelosi. from taiwan, rupert wingfield—hayes reports. it began with this barrage of rockets streaking into the sky from the southeast c

efforts to negotiate for the release of both brittney griner and paul whelan. they say the court fight isn't over as russia says it is ready to talk about a swap. >> reporter: after the harsh verdict against brittney griner for drug charges, the wnba star's lawyer write after visiting griner said she is still in shock but in a fighting spirit. >> she is doing better than yesterday. she is still processing what has happened. but by tried to help. we told but this huge support she's getting, and in russia now as well. everybody here is very much surprised with this very harsh sentence. >> reporter: the court sentenced the two-time olympic gold medalist to nine years in a russian penal colony, and while her legal team says they will immediately appeal the verdict which they say was deeply unfair, they welcome a prisoner swap to get griner back to the u.s. >> it is the perfect thing to get her home. >> now that the sentence has been handed down, russia for the first time is saying it is willing to engage with the u.s. on a possible exchange. and that a mechanism fo

marine veteran said he has god idea what wnba star brittney griner and u.s.ugh. he shared his experience on cbs mornings. >> the detention facility where brittney griner is being held is probably going to be significantly better than the force uhhed labor camp where paul is being held. >> reid was freed in a prisoner swap in april. u.s. and russias and russian authorities say they are working on a potential prisoner swap for griner and w. for griner and whelan. . >> in the end all of those appeals are fake. there are as fake as the first trial you re. all courts in russia are fake >> he said russian detention centers and labor camps are dirty. the food often rotten and the guards hate americans.w back at home in texas, he had a message for both griner and wh. griner and whelan. >> the highest levels of the u.. the u.s. government are attempting to get you out so -- so keep the faith. >> in the nearly four months since he has been back, reid said he has gained back lot of the weight he lost and he is feeling good both physically and mentally. back to you. >> b

government talk about brittney griner and paul whelan., too, but they're not mentioning your brother's name. >> it's really -- it's very hard to hear that. and i have not given up hope. i'm really -- i have a lot of faith that they are working some other deal, that they are going to pull some card out of their sleeve at this point. to leave him there would be really inhumane. and i know that that's not how our country works. they really can't leave him behind. he's 61. he's in there for bringing medical marijuana in for a very chronic pain condition that he has. after he was sentenced, he fell at the detention center that he was at and he was sent to a hospital detention center and he was there up until this week. and he's miraculously been cured. and he doesn't need treatment. of course we know that that's not true. and we're just trying to bring his story to light. he can't be there. he cannot stay there. and they are to bring him home with the other two. this is the package deal for someone like viktor bout. there should be more gusto

w nba star brittney griner found guilty in russia on drug charges. her sentence and a possible chance at freedom. we are streaming live for you on roku, amazon fire, apple tv, and online . thank you for joining us for the midday newscast. i'm kris sanchez >> i'm laura garcia in the newsroom. griner was sentenced to nine years in prison after found guilty of drug possession and smuggling charges. prosecutors were recommending 9 1/2 years. president biden released a statement which reads russia is wrongfully detaining britney. i call on russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, left one's, friends, and teammates. the u.s. state department bring says contessa is being used as a political pawn as russia continues the war in ukraine. jay gray is tracking the latest overseas developments. >> reporter: emotional, locked behind bars in courtroom so, brittney griner makes a final appeal for freedom. >> i made an honest mistake and i hope that in your ruling that it doesn't end my life here. >> reporter: during a brief statement she apolog

obviously, brittney griner pleaded guilty, showed remorse.sses as well one of the things gleaned from today, the fact that the next hearing could be on thursday and there could be a verdict that day. >> fred, is there any sense of how the prisoner swap offer has impacted the trial today? >> reporter: well it certainly looms over this trial in a big way. obviously, it's something talked about here in russia just like in the united states. as far as the court proceedings itself are concerned the defense tells us there hasn't been any influence so far. they also say they haven't been involved any sort of negotiations, they say all of the things we're hearing about is a possible prisoner swap, not just for brittney griner but for former marine paul whelan who is serving a sentence for espionage which he denies, all of that they're hearing from the media. they have no access to any negotiations if indeed they're taking place. however, they have said to me repeatedly that they believe a prettiener swap for brittney griner could only take place afte

back star brittney griner. it is the second hearing so far this week for griner who was arrested at a moscow airport back this february. she is being held on drug charges after being caught with cannabis oil in her luggage. griner pleaded guilty to the charges against her in hopes of securing a lighter sentence. the u.s. has attempted to broker a prisoner swap with moscow, but so far no agreement. fred pleitgen isle following the developments for us from moscow. and this could be the final day, we could get the result. >> reporter: we could indeed. certainly something that is not set in stone and isn't necessarily on the official agenda. but something that brittney griner's legal defense team could happen. they said that they expect today to have the closing arguments and then there could be a verdict but it doesn't necessarily have to be the case. but in any case, certainly a big day for brittney griner as this trial is sort of moving towards coming to a close. we heard the final witness two days ago, an exper

there's a lot of discussion about what it might be like for brittney griner in particular to be in aail, prison, let alone a penal colony. what will this look like? >> yeah, laura, the penal colonies and the entire incarceration system in russia extremely dangerous, to all human life. it's most comparable to the gulag. you know, sort of like gulag-lite. and i think any russian who survives that type of incarceration is fortunate, but an american, you know, who doesn't have the language skills necessarily, who doesn't understand the system as well, and certainly because they're an american, not a good time to be incarcerated in russia, it's not going to be good. i don't know how many people, you know, have died from tuberculosis, for example, other com communicable diseases in these prisons. it's downright horrible. >> and i have some sound from trevor reid, who was released earlier this year, he had this to say about why this particular person, brittney griner, why this might be all the more harsh. >> anyone who is in a forced labor camp in russia is obviously, you know, facing serio

let's hear what he has to say about the russian court's sentencing of us citizen brittney greiner to 9 years in prison. further exacerbates the injustice of her illegal detention, this move underscores our serious concerns with the russian legal system and how the russian government uses illegal detention for its own purposes using individuals as political pawns, russia and any other country that engages in illegal detentions pose a threat to the safety of everyone who travels, works and lives abroad. i don't know. i heard this important statement from anthony blinkin, the secretary of state of the united states. lavrov emphasized that the united states wants to achieve the release of not only britney greiner, but also another imprisoned american, illegally imprisoned in russia, this is actually paul villain. after this conversation, we did not hear any positive signals from russia that would indicate that moscow will go for it. thank you ostap, my colleague ostap yarysh was on the call from the capitol hill, these days fierce fighting continues in the area of ​​the city of bakhmut i

what struck me when i saw kamala harris' tweet, her statement expressing this outrage about brittney griner, first of all, let me say i don't think anybody anywhere in the world should be imprisoned for marijuana possession, period, full stop. when you look at kamala harris' statement on twitter, she's expressing this outrage about brittney griner. my question for her and the biden administration, where is your outrage for your fellow americans sitting in prison today, here in the united states of america, because of minor marijuana violations. how come you are not fighting as hard for them to be returned home and reunited with their families as you are for brittney griner? to me the message to the american people, through their actions, is loud and clear, that if you are rich and powerful, or famous, then you will get special treatment from this administration. if you are not, we don't care about you. we'll let you sit there and rot in jail. >> will: tulsi, do you think that's what it is, simply sheer, unadulterated elitism or a reflection of kamala harris' emptiness, that she's sim