no—one wants to exchange a viktor bout for brittney griner. but brittney was innocent.ow, and so... but we have to have the courage to make those decisions that might be criticised, and they certainly were, you know, to do the right thing. it isn't, um... it isn't easy to do that. but without that, we let the bad guys win. diane foley, thank you so much forjoining me on hardtalk. it's my pleasure, stephen. hello there. as the wet and windy weather cleared south on new year's day, it opened the door for cold arctic air to spill right across the country and it's going to stay bitterly cold as we head into the weekend. 0vernight frost and ice could be a risk for some, and there's a potential for some disruptive snow. so we're under this, clearer skies at the moment, showers feeding in across the far north and west, that cold air descending right across the country. so ice could be an issue first thing, particularly along those exposed coasts where we've seen a rash of showers falling. elsewhere, a frosty start, a cold start, but lots of sunshine to look out for — just like

napheesa collier and breanna stewart, feature 36 players from the wnba, ranging from veterans like brittney grinerht—week league will have an average salary of more than $220,000, which is close to the maximum base salary in the wnba. japanese baseball star shohei ohtani is donating $500,000 to help firefighters and animals impacted by the wildfires in los angeles. posting on instagram he says, "we'll be donating to help those firefighters and those forced to live in shelter to help animals in need." the dodgers and other la—based sports teams are selling an la strong collection of t—shirts, with all proceeds benefiting the la fire department foundation and american red cross. and that's all the sport for now. a white supremacist has been jailed for attempted murder. he stabbed somebody in the chest and hand in worcester. he was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 22 years and eight months. this is the moment he was sentenced. taking account of all _ moment he was sentenced. taking account of all the _ moment he was sentenced. taking account of all the matters - account of all the matters

they may trade those folks for a high-level al qaeda operative is kind of reminiscent of the brittney griner, and president biden trying to compete with himself how many disastrous policies they can leave on president trump's doorstep january 202 20202020. we take more hostages and the adversaries are watching what president biden is doing and frankly, president obama was given the same opportunity to close gitmo. he promised 2008 you would do it here to even president obama came to the conclusion, it was totally responsible to do it and kept it open all eight years. joe biden supposedly the adult in the ramp has gone and release these guys. it is totally reckless in another example what donald trump will have to clean up. >> john: trump will be inaugurated less than two weeks and issued this morning to hamas about the hostages being held in gaza. listen here. >> if those hostages aren't back, i don't want to hurt your negotiation, if they are not backed by the time i get into office, all hell will break out in the middle east. it will not be good for hamas, and it will not be good, frankly,

it features 36 players from the wnba ranging from veterans like brittney griner and rookie angel reese. >> the new leak has the highest average salary for players of any women's sports leak. many earning six-figure salaries for the 8 week season that kicks off today. the league allows fans to see wnba players in person during the offseason. >> was always a narrative that, you know, nobody watches women's sports and as i as the narrative and i think over these past few years, we've really proven that a lot of who would do watch women's sports. >> the games will be played on a smaller court with different rules in the wnba, including an 18 0nd shot clock instead of 24 seconds. all games will be played in miami to minimize travel costs. many players say they're excited for the new week due to the higher salaries. no surprise there. and just 6 days remaining, america's favorite pet competition has 2 bay area dogs that are in the running to win $10,000 and a spot on the cover of modern dog magazine. the first is basco, a familiar face for us here. we first introduced you to him on the weeke

he was also part of a team that negotiated brittney griner's freedom as well as a complex multi-country led to release of evan gershkovich, alsu kurmasheva and paul whelan from russia. carstens is leaving his job in the coming days and he joins us now. ambassador, welcome back. in the middle east this is obviously a multiagency effort not only to negotiate a cease-fire but secure the release of hostages. we understand the president said a deal is close, possibly this week. has either party taken this deal? do you see it happening? mr. carstens: you have to be optimistic in these cases. it's hard to tell whether the sides are going to narrow the gap that has been between them in main part because we have been close before and have not been able to do it. we remain hopeful. i've had a chance to talk to the families about this. their hearts are breaking. they see how close a deal might be. i was in israel talking with my counterparts and we are all waiting. almost wringing her hands hoping this can get done. nothing would make me happier than to conclude this job watching people leave gaza

in addition, of course, to you and stewie, you've got stars like brittney griner, angel reese, alyssa. your league investors include people like the legendary coach don staley and tennis star coco goff. your analysts include women like candice parker and lisa leslie. . this is really a league built by women for women athletes. how does that sort of change how it's run, how the athletes are supported? napheesa: we have said from the very beginning, this is a players-led league. everyone who's playing this year has equity in the league, and so we are here for us. we're here for the players and so just working really closely about what that means and what that looks like, you know, what you guys need for recovery, what is gonna make this the best situation for you to grow as a player and to get better. and so i think you just see that where everyone has a vested interest literally in this business and so not only do we want to get better, but we want to do whatever we can to support the league as well. amna: napheesa collier, cofounder of the unrivaled league, thank you for joining us. g

and evgeny, you know, when i had the chance to interview brittney griner, who was an american obviouslye of the points that she made and including in her book is that, you know, the ordeal becomes an ordeal for the family as well. there's a certain incarceration for the family as well, for the wife and the children, because you have no idea whether you'll ever see your loved one again. talk to me about how you handled this situation. and how aware and how afraid were you given what happened to alexei navalny? >> i do believe that what vladimir has been doing for all of these years is right. >> i do believe that this is the right thing to do, and this is definitely worth fighting for. >> so when he was imprisoned, i thought that the best way i could help him was by continuing his work. >> my question to you then, vladimir kara-murza, and you know, we laud your bravery, and you are determined to continue to fight for a free russia. but i think for a lot of americans, what we've seen is vladimir putin entrenched. he now will have a very friendly regime in the united states that supports hi

adversary, recently "wall street journal" reporter evan gershkovich and wnba star brittney griner. >>r of countries, authoritarian countries, are seizing americans and using them as leverage. one of our challenges is making sure we're connecting with their families. >> our hope -- you know we're a small community of people, several dozen, maybe a couple hundred americans who have been subjected to this kind of hostage taking -- our hope is that people after us don't have to deal with these sorts of hurdles when they get home, and i don't think that they need to. >> reporter: yeah. it's hard enough to come back. >> look, in the scope of things, it's not nearly as bad as what we've been subjected to. and yet, we shouldn't have to deal with this. >> so this bill actually did pass the senate last year and unanimously, at that, but it failed to passes in the house before the end of the year, so that means it's back to the legislative drawing board. senator coons told me he's going to reintroduce this in this congress, and that it ultimately makes it to the president's desk. you heard from