brittney griner is coming home. cbs news learned griner has been freed from a russian labor camp in a prisoner swap. tina krause has this breaking story. >> reporter: wnba star brittney griner has been released from russian custody in a prisoner swap. russians gave up griner i exchange for victor boot who is serving prison time in u.s. sources tell cbs news the high stakes swap happened today at a neutral location at united arab emirates. russian officials publicly signaled willingness t engage in prisoner swap negotiations after griner was sentenced to nine years in prison on drug charges. >> i never meant to hurt anybody. i never meant to put i jeopardy the russian population never meant to break laws. >> reporter: griner's lawyers argued she mistakenly brought the vape cartridges. they urged the kremlin to set her free. trevor reed returned home after spending more than two years in a result jail on assault charges. in exchange the u.s. released a russian pilot, a convicted drug smuggler. griner had been serving

we never forgot about brittney.e not forgotten about paul whelan who has been unjustly detained in russia for years. this was not a choice of which american to bring home. we brought home trevor reed when we had a chance earlier this year. sadly for totally illegitimate reasons russia is treating paul's case differently than brittney's and while we have not yet succeeded in securing paul's release we are not giving up. we will never give up. we remain in close touch with paul's family, the whelan family and my thoughts are prayers are with them today. they have to have such mixed emotions today and we'll keep negotiating in good faith for paul's release. i guarantee that. i say that to the family. i guarantee you. i urge russia to do the same to ensure that paul's health and humane treatment are maintained until we are able to bring him home. i don't want any american to sit wrongfully detained one extra day if we can bring that person home. buy administration has brought home dozens of americans wrongly detained or

brittney griner is on her way home. the wnba star imprisoned in russia has been released this morning in a prisoner exchange for a convicted arms dealer, victor boot. president biden spoke moments ago at the white house. our team following all these developments this morning. erica, the president saying that greiner lost month of her life and suffered needless trauma. let's first go to cnn senior white house correspondent m.j. lee. president biden flanked by vice president harris and brittney griner's partner. did he have anything to say about paurl whelan? >> i think momentous is the right word to describe what we saw this morning. the president, first and foremost, celebrating this news with brittney griner's wife cherelle saying that the last couple of months have been hell for brittney griner and now she's able to come back home and be reunited with her family. it was notable that so much of this speech he had to give this morning had to do with addressing paul whelan who was not a part of this deal. i want to play

we never forgot about brittney. we have not forgotten about paul whelan who is been unjustly detained in russia for years. this was not a choice of which american to bring home. we brought home trevor read when we had a chance earlier this year. sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons russia is treating paul's case differently than brittney is, and while we've not yet succeeded in securing paul's release we are not giving up. we will never give up. we remain in close touch with paul's family, the wave and family and my thoughts and prayers are with them today. death of such mixed emotions today. and will keep negotiating the te good faith for paul's release. i guarantee you. i urge russia to do the same to ensure that paul's health and humane treatment are maintained until we can bring him home. i don't want any american to sit wrongfully detained one extra day if we can bring that person home. my administration is not brought him dozens of americans who were wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad, many of whom

and that's unfortunately what happened to brittney.n this situation we are today. >> we're so happy she is on her way home right now. charles barkley, as usual, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for having me, wolf. >>> coming up, a landmark bill protecting same-sex and interracial marriage now heading to president biden's desk.k. we'll be right back. he always went for bad debt. we had a lot of expenses. the introffers were hard to pass up. then the interest we hpayments started.ses. the debt just kept gettingorse. mmmm so we broke up with bad debt and got a low, fixed rate sofi personal loan for our big expenses. and the couch goes back tomorrow. break up with bad debt. fund weddings, home renovations, or consolidate debt. view your rate at sofi.com sofi get your money right. my most important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose neuriva plus. unlike some others, neuriva plus is a multitasker supporting 6 key indicators of brain health. to help keep me sharp. neuriva: think bigger. ♪ energy demands are rising. and the eff

we're getting news that brittney griner is free.'s been released in a prisoner swap with arms dealer victor boot. she is now in u.s. custody. our team of reporters and analysts are standing by. we want to start with kiley atwood at the state department. hello. what do we know at this point? >> brittney griner is now free. she is in the custody of u.s. officials. we're expecting to hear from president biden today, and a source familiar tells us that this was a prisoner swap. it was brittney griner for vick tore boot, an armed drug trafficker, serving a 25-year sentence here in the united states and he's someone the russians have wanted for a while. griner is a very famous basketball star and there's been an immense amount of public pressure by the biden administration to secure her release. notably we're not hearing there is any news on paul whalen, another american who has been wrongfully detained in russia since 2018, going on four years in russian prison. and so that is notable because u.s. officials have been saying for quite som

and we know brittney fought tirelessly too. we saw brittney, a two-time olympic gold medalist for team usa demonstrate strength, courage and dignity. as the president said this morning, she represents the best of america. i had the opportunity to speak to cherelle griner a couple of hours ago, who was looking forward to seeing brittney as soon as she returns home later today. cherelle, who herself has handled brittney's detention with incredible strength asked me to communicate once again her sincere gratitude to everyone in the administration and in their -- and in their own broader support network, who made this day possible. she also wanted to reinforce the commitment she and brittney have made to stand up and speak out for other americans wrongfully detained abroad. while we're celebrating brittney's return home today, we have also continued to be in touch with the whelan family for whom this news brings mixed emotions. in recent weeks it became clear that while russians were willing to reach an agreement to secure brittney

cherelle griner wife of wnba star brittney griner after learning brittney was released from detention earlier today. while we're all happy for griner's family, of course, the family of paul whelan another american unjusty detained, worried about getting him home. elizabeth, i know you're happy for the griner's but it's a difficult day for your family. how are you doing, and your family doing? >> well, i think we're doing as well as can be expected. i mean, whatever we're going through is nothing compared to what paul is going through. in our case, 17 in mordovia, russia. you're right, celebrating brittany's return. always a wonderful thing for an american wrong he detained to come back to the united states. a big win. >> you spoke to secretary blinken and president biden this afternoon. can you tell us about those calls? >> yes. both reassuring me that the fight continues, and that is what i had believed all the way along, but it's always good to get those calls and be able to discuss how we can move ahead and get paul home. >> how is paul doing? when was the last time you spoke with

brittney griner on her way home.part of a prisoner exchange brokered by the biden administration and russia. president biden with griner saez wife alongside him announced the news this morning.

exchanged for brittney griner.or bout is former soviet military officer who became rich as an arms dealer and is known as the "merchant of death." he was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the united states for conspiracy to commit terrorism. our next guest is a former united nations arms trafficking investigator who says the case allowed american companies to avoid exposure of their collusion with the u.s. government and private companies linked to then-vice president dick cheney during the iraq war, even after united nations sanctions against him in 2004. authorities say viktor bout was involved in trafficking arms to dictators and stoking conflicts in africa, south america, and the middle east. he has also been accused of furnishing weapons to al-qaeda and the taliban and achieved particular notoriety for selling arms in rwanda in 1998, just four years after the rwandan genocide. before he was sentenced in 2012, viktor bout spoke to the voice of russia and said arms suppliers in the u.s. should be in prison, t

we never forgot about brittney. we have not forgotten about paul whelan who has been unjustly detained in russia for years. this was not a choice of which american to bring home. we brought home trevor reed when we had a chance earlier this year. sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, russia is treating paul's case differently from brittney's and we're not giving up. we will never give up. we remain in close touch with paul's family, the whelan family, and my thoughts and prayers are with them today. they have to have such mixed emotions today and we'll keep negotiating in good faith for paul's release, i guarantee that. i say that to the family. i guarantee you. i urge russia to do the same to insure that paul's health and humane treatment are maintained until we can bring him home. i don't want any american to sit wrongfully detained one extra day if we can bring that person home. our administration has now brought home dozens of americans who were wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad. many of whom had bee

i'm so happy brittney griner is home. i feel for paul whelan. >> how do you deal with governments taking hostages? you were held hostage by the taliban. you escaped after seven months. how do you deal with governments that take people hostage. >> it's very difficult. you ostracize them diplomatically. you're not going to be able to stop this completely, but i don't think we sort of shrug our shoulders. it's unacceptable for countries to do this. president trump to his credit, he had americans freed from turkey, iran and north korea. the biden administration has freed tloes four americans from veezuela recently. this is a worldwide problem. we have to call them out. we have to have a joint strategy with canada ask europe and other allies to make this unacceptable and to make a real price for countries that do this. and lastly, this is why it's important to support ukraine. it's just astonishing what russia ask vladimir putin are doing from war crimes in ukraine to holding brittney griner and paul whelan as they have done.

we never forgot about brittney. we've not forgotten about paul whelan, who's been unjustly detained in russia for years. this was not a choice of which american to bring home. we brought home trevor reed when we had a chance earlier this year. sadly, for totally illegitimately reasons, russia has treated paul's case differently than brittney's. while we have not secured paul's release, we are not giving up. we will never give up. we remain in close touch with paul's family, the whelan family, and my thoughts and prayers are with them today. they have to have such mixed emotions today. we'll keep negotiating good faith for paul's release that. i say that to the family, i guarantee you. i urge russia to do the same to ensure paul's health and humane treatment are maintained until we can bring him home. >> 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 we motions, but the most important emotion that i have right now is sincere gratit

brittney griner is free, that's amazing. paul whelan is not. a senior official told nbc news that the russians took whelan off the table telling the u.s. the choice was either one or none. can you give us unsights into how the negotiations go and how tough these kinds of decisions are? >> yeah, it sounds like from the outside certainly in the beginning, there was a conversation about a two for one that brittney griner and paul whelan would potentially be exchanged for viktor bout. because vladimir putin. ed him really badly. so atten one point, the russians probably did contemplate it. it was offered as an option. that's what we were pushing for. but it sounds like the russians decided we are putting paul whelan in a different category. they are alleging that he is a spy. the u.s. government has denied that. now there are other opportunities perhaps down the road. the germans are holding two russians who are probably intelligence operatives. one of them was just seized recently in the attempt in germany to overturn or to stage a coup like janua

we're very happy for brittney and her family and her friends. we know how it feels to have this day. but at the same time, we're heart broken, we're disenchanted and to a certain extent angry that paul's been left behind for the third time. and we just can't get over that. my wife was nauseated. she was sick to her stomach this morning when she heard that paul was left behind. >> what do you think it's going to take to get him back? >> well, to be blunt, it's going to take the united states actually negotiating to get his release. and let me make a point. initially, the russians told everyone in the world basically that they wanted to trade paul for viktor bougt, and the unite states government wouldn't consider that or talk about it. then there was third party channels talked about trading for my son and paul. and the united states government was still opposed to that. now they realize they've got something else, and they traded viktor bout for brittney but not for paul. so, they're wanting more. and quite frankly, if the united states governme

brittney griner on her way home. heading back to america as part of a prisoner exchange brokered by the biden administration and russia. president biden with griner saez wife alongside him announced the news this morning. listen. >> she's safe. she's on a plane. she's on her way home. after months of being unjusticely detained in russia, held under untolerable circumstances, she will be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along. >> in exchange for griner, who had just start ed serving a nin year drug sentence in a penal colony, they secured the release of victor bout. administration officials say it was months of negotiations that led to this moment. not included in the exchange, former u.s. marine paul whelan. he remains left behind in russia we just spoke to him from behind bars and we'll bring that to you in moments. we'll also get a live interview with the white house about all of this this hour. now before that, let get find out what led up to this big moment. kylie atwood is at

brittney griner is free. she was sentenced to nine years in prison for possession of less than a gram of medicinal cannabis. she was released in a prisoner swap in the united arab emirates with viktor bout. u.s. officials say griner is on a flight to a military hospital in san antonio where she will be reunited with her wife who is flying there after meeting with the president in the oval office. president biden and griner's wife both speaking moments after they both had talked to brittney by phone. >> she's safe. she's on a plane. she's on her way home. after months of being unjustly detained in russia, held under untolerable circumstances, she will be back in the arms of her loved ones. she should have been there all along. this is a day we worked toward for a long time. we never stopped pushing for her release. it took painstaking and intense negotiations. i want to thank all the hard working public servants across my administration who worked tirelessly to secure her release. >> today i'm just standing he

this was a choice between brittney griner and nothing. that doesn't mean there's still not an important discussion about whether or not the united states engages with rogue nations like russia over getting hostages back. that's an important discussion to have, whether that should happen ever. and, you know, i think it is happening, and i welcome it. i will say there was a distinct change in u.s. policy over this issue. when? the trump administration. this all changed between 2016 and 2020 when donald trump made it a point to do things the united states hadn't really done this overtly before, which was work to get hostages home no matter what the cost. now, john bolton said today they were offered viktor bout for paul whelan and they didn't take it. donald trump himself seemed to go off the rails and indicate that wasn't the case today, but, you know, trump exchanged taliban -- senior taliban prisoners for americans held in afghanistan. he worked to exchange 200 houthi rebels in yemen for a couple of americans being held hostage. that hasn

so brittney griner was victimized twice. i'm glad to see that it's open today and i give all credit to president biden for staying on it. >> it's another conversation we need to have. thank you. >>> we should mention, a new documentary on rev sharpton hits theaters tomorrow. >>> tell me if this sounds familiar, classified documents found in former president trump's custody. where the latest ones were found and what it means for the investigation. >>> later on in just a few minutes, speaker pelosi and senator schumer are going hold a ceremony of the passage of the same-sex marriage bill. how soon it could hit the president's desk. how soon it could hit the president's desk and its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market with powerful, easy-to-use tools power e*trade makes complex trading easier react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity ♪ ♪ this... is a glimpse int

getting brittney griner and paul whelan. what they discovered over the course of the last several weeks when the russians came back to them with a firm response was it would only be one for one. and paul whelan was not that one. it was not an option. they were not given one to select. they were told it was brittney griner or nobody. they were told that whelan's case was simply being viewed through a very difficult manner. the president made the decision to bring brittney griner home, making very clear it was as one official said a very painful decision, but a decision he decided he needed to make. he has spoken. u.s. officials have spoken to the whelan family. the president has spoken to the whelan family as well making clear they be be doing everything in their power to bring whelan home. what they don't have a clear pathway to do that. >> kylie atwood has new reporting on how the state department tries to redouble their efforts to get him back. kylie, what have you learned? >> that's right. a senior administration official

brittney griner released from detention in russia. for an arms dealer held in the united states. voting on equality. congress gives final passage to legislation that protects same-sex and interracial marriage. fighting blackouts. ukraine's electrical workers risk their lives to restore power as russia targets the country 's energy grid. >> to have a complete destruction of substations, equipment, i've never seen anything like this before. >> all tha and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

>> todd: a fox news alert, we are awaiting the arrival of wnba star brittney griner brittney griner, who is set to land any moment now. president biden brokered a deal with russia to hand offer victor boothe in exchange for brittney griner. i'm todd piro. >> carley: i'm carley shimkus. victor boot arriving back in russia, the merchant of death, convicted in 2011 and found guilty to kill americans and providing aid to terrorists, accused of supporting armed conflict, selling weapons to the killing of american citizens. >> todd: a lot of unknown and outrage as retired marine paul whelan remains in cap captivity. >> griff: celebration and seering criticism, especially here in washington following the u.s.-russia prisoner swauch to bring home a professional women's basketball player in exchange for one of the world's most incredibly dangerous arms dealers while leaving behind former marine, paul whelan, who has been in custody several years. brittney griner had been imprisoned and tried on drug possession charges. the deal will send back viktor bout, he has provided weapons and drugs. he

brittney iner back on american soil. she just landed in san antonio texas a day after released after serving ten months in a russian prison. this ends months' long fight for her freedom. you are looking at the plane that brought her back to the u.s. griner is a wnba star and was serving a nine year sentence after authorities found less than a gram of cannabis oil in her possession at a moscow airport in february. since, the u.s. had been demanding the release of griner and another american paul whelan jailed in russia for nearly four years on espionage charges. >> this was not a choice of which american to bring home. the choice was one or none. i wholeheartedly wish we could have brought paul home today on the same plane as brittney just as at the time i wished we could have brought brittney and paul home when we secured release of trevor reed back in april. but we att.>> inas in a for one prisoner swap for international arms dealer vector boot. this was president biden's second prisoner exchange with russia. in califor

griner -- treated brittney griner.ve made every possible offer available to us thus far to secure paul's release, but in this moment, there was no way to bring him home along with britney. maryam: i spoke to our correspondent in washington. >> karen to 10 months now, she was arrested in february, through a trial, an appeal and last month was descending into a voting penal colony to begin a nine letter sentence. all this time, hoping the biden administration would secure her release sooner rather than later and reports were that when she ended up in the prison colony, she was very down, feeling perhaps she would not be free after all. we had been told by u.s. officials that the russians did not seem to be engaging that much. they seemed to be stone longer -- stonewalling. although in the last couple of these, there was cautious optimism on both sides, the announcement ce unexpectedly and details were sorted out in the past 48 hours. a big part of it was that it was griner or no one. the administration had worked hard at

brittney griner walking towards the american plane.ing towards them state department official roger carstegs and viktor bout. griner is leaving russian detention and boarding the plane in the snow. her passport returned, griner smiles knowing she's heading home. >> are you ready for flight? >> yes. >> congratulations again. >> thank you. >> reporter: back in the u.s. griner's wife sherrell was invited to the white house. >> 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: the release was the culmination of many months of negotiations with russia. >> this work is not easy. negotiations are always difficult. there are never any guarantees but it's my job as president of the united states to make the hard call to protect american citizens everywhere in the world. >> reporter: she was caught with cannabis oil entering russia spent ten months in russian detention but now she's spared from a bru

i'm glad to say brittney is in good spirits. she is relieve ed to be heading home and lost months of her life. d.m. anand: she needs to heal from her time being wrongfully detained. brittney, two-time block gold medalist for team u.s.a. and endured mistreatment in russia with characteristic grit and incredible dignity and represents the best america -- across the board, everything about her. she wrote to me back in july. she didn't ask for special treatment even though we have been working on her release from day one and she said don't forget about me and the other american detainees. we never forgot about brittney or paul whelan who is detained in russia for years. this was not a choice. we brought home trefer reed when we had a chance. russia has treated paul's case differently than brittney and we have not secured his release, we are not giving up and will never give up and we remain in close touch with the family and they have mixed emotions today and we will keep negotiating for paul's release. i guarantee that. i urge russ

before i let you go, we see brittney griner there. she looks healthy.right now, but i can only imagine what she's going through emotionally, and what toll this has taken on her. she is going to need some time of healing, of privacy. what will the wnba be offering her as she comes back and starts to heal? >> you know, for the league for the commissioner of the wnba, for us at the players association, you know, i'll be talking with our player leadership. we have talked already. we had started talking several months ago about the kinds of resources that we would look to wrap around brittney and her family. we have had those conversations too with the state department, and we heard the biden administration commit to that, kind of double down to that today, and so we're going to be looking towards everything and everyone who's appropriate at this time, and like i said, we will work together with our colleagues at -- at the league office to ensure that we wrap every necessary resource around b.g. to make sure she is whole top to bottom, head to toe, inside an

get brittney greiner home. a happy day. president biden made clear if we could have brought them both home we would have. we brought trevor reid home under different circumstances, now brittney griner and negotiations going on now for paul whelan. we don't have the luxury of negotiating with people we agree with. vladimir putin is very brutal and a tough negotiator. the fact that we were able to get brittney home. a trade no one likes to see viktor bout getting out of jail and going to russia. when you calculate risks versus benefits everyone made the decision that brittney coming home, getting released was worth it. i cannot -- the happiness on her family we saw today. the happiness on her wife it's worth it, bill, to see that. >> dana: her wife cherelle said they won't forget the whelan family and continue to try to help all of them. that will be welcome. jason, there is a lot of joy for the griner family. when you think about the whalen family and how gracious they were in their statement. back in april when trevor reid

they were told it was brittney griner who was the option. u.s.ls says it is because he's been convicted on espionage charges. and apparently, it is a bigger deal for the russians to trade somebody convicted as a spy than somebody for drug trafficking. that was not going to happen. from the white house, the president on down expressing deep regret for this. very close communities with the family. they will work hard to get his release. you can imagine as he's sitting there in this penal cony feeling very left behind at this point. >> let's talk about the prisoner swap. like something out of the cold war. the exchange happening in abu dhabi. >> the third country where they meet. president biden thanked the uae for allowing this neutral ground for the exchange to happen. apparently they passed each other on the tarmac as they were going from the restrictive -- respective planes to take them homes. >> aot of intrigue. staying in america, a historic moment for the gay-rights movement. a bill to protect same-sex marriage given final congressional appro

speak, another stuck in russia, frustrated with his future uncertain as we come on the wear, with brittney griner set to land in texas. her first time stepping foot in this country in nearly a year, after this elaborate secret multi-nation operation, freeing her from a russian prison. this hour, the new and dramatic details behind the scenes of how this all went down. and more on who russia got in exchange as the focus now turns to the other american held by russia, paul whelan. we understand president biden is set to call his family this hour. paul's sister elizabeth is set to join us with more. you will not want to miss that. >>> also this hour, the fast-moving talks of keeping the government open. how the lawmakers are getting closer or not to the deal as the kwlok ticks down. plus the new damning report putting the nfl on notice. congress calling out what they described as a toxic workplace culture at washington commanders. more on the new reaction on that. as we're joined by an attorney for former commanders staffers later in the show. i'm hallie jackson in washington. with me is kara

if you're just waking up, brittney griner is coming home.sident said he spoke wit her on the plane and she is doing well. to meet the swap and that uae, they swifter for viktor bout. what was his nickname? the merchant of death. in arms dealer, lucas cities in the process of giving 30,000 ak-47s exchanging those, 800 surface-to-air missiles to terrorist groups in columbia, s not a good guy not an equal exchange, but we are glad that britney is coming home, she was caught in the airport with cannabis oil, sheet is mutation oil, it's been nine months, she said lots of gratitude for all the people that helped and she went fight name after name thinking them and the president said paul whelen, he is also being held captive hit family released a statement saying the are grad lad that britney is coming home they're hoping they can get paul home too. the president said the russians are treating his case differently. britney is from texas she was born in 1990 which they say it 30 to years old, her dad as a sheriff's deputy and he has don two tours i

paul whelan's family, brittney griner's family, the white house, every statement about brittney grinern acknowledgment of trying to get whelan home. what you hear from the white house is the deal to bring whelan home was not on the table. so do you walk away and leave griner. according to republicans, they should have left her. >> there are a lot of americans that are glad that an american, she's a basketball player, any american who was held unjustly was set free. so a win, a victory in georgia. the passage of the marriage equality bill, which a lot of people didn't think could happen. better than expected economic news. gas prices are way down. s yet polls still show the president under water, which know is a source of great frustration. is it bad messaging? we were saying for awhile, it is economic uncertainty. but certainly the way people are spending doesn't indicate that people feel tremendously dmik pressure. >> i would say very broadly speaking two things are in lay. one, we now are a divided nation. we give no credit to the other side of the aisle. break that down. and the eco

we know that brittney is on her way home. her wife sherrell was at the white house this morning, as you've seen. this has been months in the making. over the last week a deal really came into place and then over the last 72 to 96 hours the logistics were worked out. >> which is interesting. months and then of course obviously sounds like quite a bit in the past week, these past, as you say, three to four days. now the criticism of this, you point out, obviously huge part of it why for one and not for others but there are other reasons that there's criticism about the deal, even as people celebrate griner's release. from both democrats and republicans we're hearing one other crucial point. here are two prominent senators. >> the more we engage in such exchanges, the more americans are at risk of being scooped up and killed. >> we have to recognize an american is coming home -- >> reporter: republican senator rubio and republican senator coons. >> the president had a lot of things to weigh in considering how to proceed with thi

kristen: wnba star brittney griner is on her way back to the u.s. to a medical facility in san antonio, texas, after high-profile prisoner swap from russia. president biden spoke flanked by kamala harris and brittany's wife. >> she is safe, on her way home. after months of being detained in russia held under intolerable circumstances, she will soon be in the arms of her loved ones. kristen: joining us live is the assistant professor, danny gilbert an expert in foreign policy writes about hostagetaking. professor gilbert, thanks for joining us. what is your reaction today? >> i am elated for brittney griner, for her family, for everyone who worked so hard for so long behind the scenes, to make this day a reality for her to be coming home. it's incredibly emotional and really exciting. at the same time there is real mixed emotions too, which is that paul whelan, another american in russian custody did not come home as part of this exchange. today is a difficult one for his family. kristen: no doubt. i want to get into whelan in a moment. first, take u

, we chose to get brittney home. we will keep working for paul whelan but there was a not a choice of here you give us bout and you can decide which one you bring home, paul or brittney it was only bout for brittney griner and again we had to take that step to get at least one of the two home. >> there is a larger policy consideration here real concern about the message that this sends and the incentive something like this brings to rogue regimes or hostile regimes. take an american on trumped up charges and you can get one of your notorious prisoners or get something out of the u.s. government how do you guard against that? how are you safeguarding against that, making it essentially more dangerous for americans abroad >> president biden put into place additional accountability measures to discourage exactly that action by bad actors overseas whether they are state or non-state actors. some are visa bans or sanctions, other restrictions in place. we also have started to put a designation on travel to countries for a

what is your response to brittney griner's release?'s great news any time in american comes home from wrongful detention. >> and yet i can imagine it is so difficult to see her released and paul not released. >> it is and we are grateful to the white house for the trust that they showed us yesterday, they let us know in advance this was coming, so that my sister, my brother, and our parents could process this in private essentially and try to come to terms with the bitter side of the bittersweet moment. >> today, some republicans criticized the swap. one said paul whelan should have been part of the deal. texas republican mike mccall said trading victor boot will only embolden vladimir putin to continue his evil practice of taking innocent americans hostage. >> it seems they had come to an impasse and whoever it was in russia was not going to make a good-faith deal that would include paul. if the biden administration had continued to wait, they would have been prolonging brittney griner's detention for no good reason. it's not great fo

breanna turner, brittney griner�*s team—mate. what he called a media "feeding frenzy" over his relationship with meghan in the first episodes of a new netflix series about their lives. he said he felt it was his duty to expose exploitation and bribery in the media, and criticised some press coverage for having racist undertones. in the series, his wife meghan speaks of her belief that the media wanted to "destroy" her, and says race was never an issue for her until she came to the uk. buckingham palace hasn't commented on the film. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. it is the truth according to harry and megan. the story of two people who fell in love, but whose lives, in their view, were compromised by others conspiring against them. no—one knows the full truth. we know the full truth. the institution knows the full truth and the media know the full truth because they've been in on it. the behaviour of the press is a constant theme. harry believes there was a racial undertone to media coverage when it emerged tha

brittney griner has been evaluated as being a political case in effect. and they have not categorized mark fogle's came in the same way. we don't know why for sure. they haven't explained it. when you ask them, they say we can't discuss individual cases because under the process, he is not officially, wrongfully detained as i understand it. they don't tend to discuss why they don't declare somebody that. but his case looks awfully familiar. it looks awfully similar to hers. maybe he did do something wrong, in the russian context, in the legal context, but it seems so out of proportion at least in what the american legal system would consider for a small amount and the president of the united states just this wall called on americans who were being locked up for ms. misdemeanors, small marijuana possession charges, in effect what mark fogle is being held under, on a pretty miserable russian prison for years is the equivalent it seems like. >> just to be clear, there is a lot of joy across the country for brittney griner coming home. everyone believes that

greet brittney at the white house. what is the ticker tape parade gonna look like? >> so, don't have anything to preview, as you know. the president biden -- the president -- also the vice president and secretary blinken had an opportunity to speak directly to brittney as she was flying back home. he said welcome, welcome home. welcome home to brittney. and so they also said she was in good spirits. don't have anything yet to share on that. but obviously we are thrilled that she is back and we are going to continue to fight for every american that is wrongfully detained. >> 294 days, it is great that she is finally coming home. white house press secretary karine jean-pierre, thank you as always for joining us. >> thanks, alex. >> now, let's turn to michael mcfaul. former u.s. ambassador to russia and nbc news international affairs analyst. michael, it is great to have you. there is a lot to try to understand here. i guess the first, what do you make of this arrangement here? there, it is asymmetrical undoubtedly. but b

back to brittney griner and her release.he associated press photo of her disembarking from a plane , the new york times saying she was smiling when she got off the airplane and san antonio. she's expected to have a medical evaluation this morning. this comes after the president announced at the white house her release. here is the president. [video] pres. biden: moments ago, i spoke with brittney griner. she is safe. she is on a plane. she is on her way home. after monta being unjustly detained in russia, held under intolerable circumstances, she will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones. she should have been there all along. this is a day we have worked towards for a long time. we never stopped pushing for her release. we took painstaking negotiations and i want to thank all the hard-working public servants across my administration who worked tirelessly to secure her release. i want to thank the uae for helping us facilitate britney's return. that is where she landed. these past few months have been held for britney a

talked to them about the brittney griner release. letting them know they're working hard to release paul whelan. all of that being said, still an extraordinary statement from that family, just showing the lot of grace and a lot of class, unfortunately a lot of people on the sidelines yesterday wanted to use this for political purposes, could not show the same grace. >> we'll get into the criticism. the whelan family, the notorious criminal, the merchant of death, this would be the moment, this would be the exchange they could get paul whelan back home. it didn't happen. they put out a gracious statement, this was the right decision, and they hold out hope, and president biden himself said we are still working. he guaranteed the family at that press conference, i guarantee the family we're still working on this. we are going to get him home. and marc polymeropoulos, i'm curious about your take here as we said yesterday, there are never any perfect deals in these moments. they said the state department and the white house said russia s

brittney griner will soon arrive back in america after ten months in russia., bbc news, washington. a short time ago, i spoke to brianna turner, a team—mate of brittney griner�*s at the phoenix mercury wnba team. i asked her how she reacted to the news of griner�*s release. pure joy and excitement. it's been a wonderful day for me. tell us a bit more about what the last ten months have been like. brittney was locked up in february, and since then, it was never really clear when she would be released, if at all. yeah, definitely. it's been a lot of confusion, a lot of uncertainty, but i never lost hope. it's been 294 days and it's been 249 days of hope. i imagine when the news came through a few hours ago, the text messages started back and forth, the whatsapp messages with your friends and colleagues. tell us a bit more about what brittney is like both on the court and off as a friend. on the court, she is one of the best women's basketball players in the world, she is a two—time olympian. she has won numerous world championships, numerous all—star appearances

brittney griner is finally home. the wnba star landed in san antonio early this morning after nearly 10 months detained in russia. >> the most important emotion i have is sincere gratitude. >> griner is returning home to her family, teammates and a legion of supportive fans. >> we love you and we are here for you. we know that the journey that has she has just experienced was a difficult one but we're here to walk with her step by step. >> reporter: the biden administration secured griner's release in a high stakes prisoner swap for arms dealer viktor bout after months of negotiations. >> i'm proud we've made one more family whole again. >> reporter: griner seen here boarding a plane, given a passport and realizing she is headed home. >> are you ready for flight? >> reporter: the swap took place in abu dhabi, where the two were seen passing each other on the tarmac. the wnba star was detained in russia in february after cannabis oil was found in her suitcase in the moscow region. she was sentenced to nine years in pr

we can confirm brittney griner arrived at joint base san antonio.ney griner now in her home state after nearly ten months in a russian prison, most recently serving her nine-year sentence in a russian penal colony. president joe biden's national security spokesperson saying she appears to be in good health. >> she was gracious and kind, very pressurappreciative of the to get her home. >> reporter: griner is undergoing a medical evaluation before being reunited with her wife and the rest of her family. a senior official saying negotiations to bring griner home were separate from any talks about ukraine. the deal came together about one week ago after the u.s. offered to swap viktor bout for both griner and whelan. whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison, over an espionage charge he denies. >> it was either make this exchange, get one back, and the only one they were willing to trade was britney. >> reporter: the inner workings of the prisoner swap were discussed only among a tight group of u.s. officials, weighing concerns that releasing the arms

oh, my gosh, that's brittney griner. exchanged some pleasantries, you're so awesome, thanks for coming to say hi. so then we finish our meal, and as we're getting ready to pay for our meal, lo and behold, our meal is covered, and our hostess let us know that brittney griner paid our meal. what a cool, great story. >> indeed, a great story for that monarchs basketball team. she said griner spoke with all the girls on the squad and remains an inspiration. >>> our other headlines tonight, a grim milestone in san jose. a popular community activist was killed while crossing the street last night. maria marcelo became the city's 31st pedestrian to be killed in a traffic fatality. that's the highest number of pedestrians killed in san jose in the past 25 years. a driver hit and killed marcelo near the plant shopping center as she was leading a group during a traditional christmas pilgrimage. marcelo was an immigrant and well-known south bay activist who fought for other immigrants, taking on topics like crime, education, and he

longed for >> reporter: tonight after ten months behind bars in russia, wnba star brittney griner is coming home, seen here on russian state video. >> do you know where you're heading to? >> no. i don't know at all. >> you're flying back home >> she's safe, she's on a plane, she's on her way home after months of being unjustly detained in russia, held under intolerable circumstances, brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones, and she should have been there all along. >> reporter: president biden alongside griner's wife cherelle after both talked to brittney from the oval office >> and so today i'm just standing here overwhelmed with emotions, but the most important emotion i have right now is just sincere gratitude for president biden and his entire administration >> reporter: griner was exchanged on the tarmac in the united arab emirates for notorious russian arms dealer viktor bout bout also seen on state tv flying back to russia. [ speaking non-english he says, they took me right out of my cell widely known as the merchant of death, he had served 11 years of a 25-ye

we never for got about brittney.s not a choice of which american to bring home. we brought home trevor reed when we had a chance earlier this year. sadly for illegitimate reasons russia is treating paul's case differently than brittney's. but we're not giving up. we will never give up. we remain in close touch with the whelan family and my thoughts and prayers are with them today. they have to have such mixed emotions today. and we'll keep negotiating in good faith for paul's release. i guarantee that. and i urge russia to do the same to ensure paul's health and humane treatment are maintained until we are able to bring him home. i don't want any american to sit wrongfully detained one extra day if we can bring that person home. our administration has now brought home dozens of americans who were held hostage abroad, many of whom have been held since before i took office. and today we also remember the other americans that are being held hostage and wrongfully detained in russia or anywhere else in the world. reuniti

wnba star brittney griner landing on u.s. soil this morning after the biden administration negotiated her release from a russian penal colony. >> she's lost months of her life, experienced needless trauma. >> reporter: it was an exchange for releting viktor bout, a russian arms dealer known as the merchant of death. the deal did not include american businessman paul whelan. >> the only deal we could secure was brittney for mr. bout. that was the only deal available to us. >> reporter: the prisoner swap is drawing praise and sharp criticism. >> we're glad she's coming home for christmas, but we all know paul whelan should be on the plane as well. >> reporter: whelan remains behind bars held on espionage charges which he and u.s. officials strongly deny. >> i don't understand why i'm still sitting here. i am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release. especially as the four-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up. >> reporter: the family called it a catastrophe for paul. >> i think the government h

brittney grind er is on her way back home.resident biden announced that she's been released. >> she's safe, on her way home, for months of being unjustly detained, held until intolerable circumstances. she'll soon by back in the arms of her loved ones, and she should have been there all along. >> you'll recall she was detained in february after cannabis oil was found in her suitcase. she was convicted and sentenced to nine years of hard labor at a camp. officials say it took months of negotiations to get here. the swap did not include paul whelan, another american that the state department has decwrongly detained. >> we understand there are other people who are out there enduring what i did. so thank you, everybody for support. this is a happy day for me and my family. i'm going to smile right now. >> a big smile from cherelle griner. first, let's bring in kylie atwood, and phil mattingly. kylie, from all of the reporting we've gathered, these negotiations just wrapped up in the last 48 hours. walk us through what happened. >>