The American basketball star and Olympic champion Brittney Griner is being released from prison. She had been held in Russia for almost 10 months. The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that Griner was on an airplane back to the U.S. She was arrested in February. Russian officials said they found two small containers of marijuana oil in her bags as she arrived at the airport in Moscow. She pleaded guilty to the charge in July and then faced trial. Griner said she mistakenly packed the objects in a rush to get to the airport. In August, she was sentenced to a prison term of nine years. After months of negotiations between Russian and American officials, Griner was released in a prisoner swap. Russian weapons seller Viktor Bout is being sent home. Bout was serving a sentence of 25 years. American officials said they had been hoping to also gain the release of businessman Paul Whelan. He was charged with spying in December 2018 and given a 16-year sentence in 2020. In announcing the release of Griner, Biden spoke about Whelan. He said: “we’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan…We will keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release.” Whelan’s brother, David, said the U.S. made the right choice to bring Griner home instead of waiting for a trade “that wasn’t going to happen.” Officials said the prisoner exchange happened in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.
Title: US Basketball Star Griner Exchanged for Russian Arms Dealer
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/A9.wav' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='US Basketball Star Griner Exchanged for Russian Arms Dealer' data-article-id='6329'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='6896'>The American basketball star and Olympic champion Brittney Griner is being released from prison. </span> <span data-start-time='6896' data-end-time='11667'>She had been held in Russia for almost 10 months.</span> <span data-start-time='11667' data-end-time='19729'>The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that Griner was on an airplane back to the U.S. </span> <span data-start-time='19729' data-end-time='23083'>She was arrested in February.</span> <span data-start-time='23083' data-end-time='33458'>Russian officials said they found two small containers of marijuana oil in her bags as she arrived at the airport in Moscow.</span> <span data-start-time='33458' data-end-time='39521'>She pleaded guilty to the charge in July and then faced trial. </span> <span data-start-time='39521' data-end-time='46583'>Griner said she mistakenly packed the objects in a rush to get to the airport. </span> <span data-start-time='46583' data-end-time='52771'>In August, she was sentenced to a prison term of nine years.</span> <span data-start-time='52771' data-end-time='62021'>After months of negotiations between Russian and American officials, Griner was released in a prisoner swap. </span> <span data-start-time='62021' data-end-time='67000'>Russian weapons seller Viktor Bout is being sent home. </span> <span data-start-time='67000' data-end-time='72625'>Bout was serving a sentence of 25 years.</span> <span data-start-time='72625' data-end-time='79333'>American officials said they had been hoping to also gain the release of businessman Paul Whelan. </span> <span data-start-time='79333' data-end-time='88583'>He was charged with spying in December 2018 and given a 16-year sentence in 2020.</span> <span data-start-time='88583' data-end-time='94104'>In announcing the release of Griner, Biden spoke about Whelan. </span> <span data-start-time='94104' data-end-time='102208'>He said: “we’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan…We will keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release.”</span> <span data-start-time='102208' data-end-time='111813'>Whelan’s brother, David, said the U.S. made the right choice to bring Griner home instead of waiting for a trade “that wasn’t going to happen.”</span> <span data-start-time='111813' data-end-time='119417'>Officials said the prisoner exchange happened in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/A9.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=19090 data-hint-location='52771' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/which_of_the_following_is_a_definition_of_the_word_swap.wav'>Which of the following is a definition of the word swap?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='an exchange'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/an_exchange.wav'><span>an exchange</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/to_bat_away.wav'><span>to bat away</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/a_white_gooselike_bird.wav'><span>a white, goose-like bird</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/a_waterbased_activity.wav'><span>a water-based activity</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=19091 data-hint-location='111813' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/where_did_the_exchange_occur.wav'>Where did the exchange occur?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='Abu Dhabi'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/abu_dhabi.wav'><span>Abu Dhabi</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/atlanta.wav'><span>Atlanta</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/alexandria.wav'><span>Alexandria</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/osaka.wav'><span>Osaka</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=19092 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/the_american_basketball_star_and_olympic_champion_brittney_griner_is_being_released_from__blank__.wav'>The American basketball star and Olympic champion Brittney Griner is being released from <span class='blank'>prison</span>. </div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='prison'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/prison.wav'><span>prison</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/poison.wav'><span>poison</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/pigeon.wav'><span>pigeon</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5726/prism.wav'><span>prism</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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