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☆ Ian Gelder, ‘Game of Thrones’ star, dead at 74
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

London CNN —British actor Ian Gelder, best known for his role as Kevan Lannister in “Game of Thrones,” has died at age 74, his husband and fellow actor Ben Daniels announced on Tuesday. “It is with huge huge sadness and a heavy heart broken into a million pieces that I’m leaving this post to announce the passing of my darling husband and life partner Ian Gelder,” Daniels wrote on Instagram. “He was the kindest, most generous spirited and loving human being,” Daniels wrote in tribute to his “rock” and partner of 30 years. Over the course of a decades-long career, Gelder appeared in TV shows like “Torchwood,” “His Dark Materials” and “Doctor Who,” but it was his performance in “Game of Thrones” that catapulted him to a new level of fame. Gelder was also a veteran stage actor, playing major roles including Antonio in “The Merchant of Venice” and the Duke of Clarence in “Richard III” at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).

Persons: Ian Gelder, Kevan, ”, Ben Daniels, ” Daniels, costars Dean, Charles Chapman, Julian Glover, Gelder, Daniels, Who, Tywin Lannister, Antonio, Venice ”, Duke, Clarence, “ Richard III ”, “ Withnail, Richard E Grant, Ian, “, Russell T, Davies Organizations: London CNN, Julian Glover HBO, “, Venice, Royal Shakespeare Company, RSC Locations: British, “ The

☆ How Jewish People Built the American Theater
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Jesse Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +46 min

Let Us Tell You A Story How Jewish people built the American theater as we know it. The theater, which for many Jews was a major way of becoming American in the first place, seems unable to acknowledge that the danger that American Jews face is not just historical, and not just onstage. (Both of Adler’s parents were Yiddish theater stars — her father, Jacob Adler, was a renowned Shylock in 1903.) Embedding their own observation and experience within Stanislavsky’s, along with the best of Yiddish theater and a generous dollop of Freud, they converted the American theater to Judaism. Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesThe Jewish contribution to the creation of the American theater was built on the acknowledgment of a larger humanity alive within each of us, available to some, with natural empathy and rigorous training.

Persons: Glocca, “, Lerner, Loewe, ”, Isidore Hochberg, Burton Lane, né Burton Levy, William Goldman, “ Killybegs, Sammy Davis Jr, Julie Andrews, Connie Francis, Rosemary Clooney, Tommy Dorsey, Davis, —, Arthur Miller’s “, joyously, Jason Schmidt, Christine Jones, Miller, I’ve, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Brustein, Neil Simon’s, ” Cynthia Ozick, Sholom, Philip Roth, Simon, Leonard Bernstein, Matt Nadel, Bradley, Bernstein, “ Maestro, Shylock, William Shakespeare’s “, Venice ”, Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe’s, Farah Karim, Cooper, Bard ”, “ Merchant, Tom Stoppard’s, Sara Krulwich, Ansky’s, Stella Adler, Bessie Berger, Clifford Odets’s, Arthur Miller, Elia Kazan, Francis Joseph Bruguière, Billy Rose, Eugene Smith, Roth, Arthur Schnitzler, Juliet Stevenson, Ruth Wolff, Lorraine Hansberry’s, Sidney’s, Alex Edelman’s “, Leo Frank, Bernard B, Frank, Mandy Patinkin, James Lapine, Stephen Sondheim’s, George, Martha Swope, outspokenness, creatives, Oscar Isaac, Sidney, “ Sidney Brustein, Isaac, Stevenson, Robert Icke, Roman Catholic Cooper, Rachel Brosnahan, Maisel, Joan Rivers —, Brosnahan, Sidney Brustein’s, Alec Guinness, Fagin, “ Oliver Twist, I’m, Micaela Diamond, Ben Platt, Lucille, Alfred Uhry, Jason Robert Brown’s, Rivers, Wolff, Robert, Republic ”, isn’t, LEE Strasberg, Konstantin Stanislavsky’s, Fyodor Ivanovich, Strasberg, Israel Strassberg, Zalmon, Srulke, Joseph Stein, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock’s “, Bette Midler, Jackie Hoffman, Photofest Stanislavsky, Theater’s, Isaac Butler, Stanislavsky, Harold Clurman, George Bernard Shaw, Henrik Ibsen, Clurman, Adler, Jacob Adler, Freud, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Ruthie Rivkin, Jerome Weidman, Harold Rome’s “, John Weidman, disown Strasberg, Sanford Meisner, Bobby Lewis, né, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Meisner, Robert Duvall, Lewis, Meryl Streep, Clifford Odets, Jacob Garfinkle, Jules Garfield, Odets, Sam Feinschreiber, Garfield, Ralph Berger, wasn’t, John, Tovah Feldshuh, Golda Meir, William Gibson’s, Aaron Epstein, exigencies, Bessie, Feinschreiber —, loveless, William Fox, Louis B, Mayer, Jack Warner, Marjorie Morningstar ”, Morgenstern, Marjorie, Natalie Wood, Anne Frank ”, Millie Perkins, Audrey Hepburn, Susan Strasberg —, Ibsen, Sholom Aleichem, August Wilson, Daveed Diggs, Thomas Jefferson, Lin, Manuel Miranda’s “ Hamilton ”, Adrian Lester, Emanuel Lehman —, Barbra Streisand, Marmelstein, George Silk, Miller’s, Sophie Okonedo, Elizabeth Proctor, Ben Whishaw, John Proctor, Jan Versweyveld, Don’t, — Bernstein, Stoppard, Schnitzler, Jeanine Tesori, Tony Kushner’s “ Caroline, Sharon D Clarke, Adam Makké, Noah Gellman, Leo, Stoppard —, Hermine, ” Leo Frank, there’s, Matthew Broderick, Eugene Jerome, it’s, Edelman’s, Queens bigots, David Yosef Shimon ben Elazar Reuven Alexander Halevi Edelman, Woody Allen, Joshua Harmon’s, — George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, Porgy, Bess ”, Barns, Alex Edelman, Paula Vogel, Harvey Fierstein, Jordan Taylor Fuller, — that’s, Wendell Pierce, Friedman, Jacobs, Hirschfeld, Gershwin, Rodgers, PAULA VOGEL, BRANDON URANOWITZ, DAVID CROMER, MICAELA DIAMOND, TONY KUSHNER, Diamond, Monica Rich Kosann, Marco Bicego, JESSE EISENBERG, MATTHEW BRODERICK, AMY HERZOG, LESLIE RODRIGUEZ KRITZER, JOEL GREY, Herzog, Michael Kors, Kritzer, Marco, HARVEY FIERSTEIN, LIEV SCHREIBER, ETHAN SLATER, IDINA MENZEL, TINA LANDAU Organizations: Broadway, Broadway’s Lyceum, “, of Venice, New York Times, Defamation League, New York Public Library, Performing, Vandamm, Billy, Billy Rose Theatre Division, Performing Arts, New, Jacobs, Empire State, Nazi, Goyim Defense, The New York Public Library, Roman Catholic, New York City, Street, Moscow Art, Group, Hollywood, Disney, Everett, The New York Times, Philadelphia, Brit, Times Locations: Poland, American, kilts, E.Y, Harburg, Kilkerry, Kildare, Philadelphia, New York, Polish, Massachusetts, Vichy, Biloxi, Venice, Malta, of, ”, Germany, playgoers, Sweden, England, United States, Pittsburgh, Nazi, Brustein’s, Greenwich, Georgia, Gutenberg, “, Atlanta, Republic, New, Konstantin Stanislavsky’s Moscow, Russian, America, Moscow, Stanislavsky’s, Clurman, Eastern Europe, Czech, Austrian, Auschwitz, Heini, Southern, Brighton, Rivers, French Republic, “ Brigadoon

☆ Russia’s ‘Merchant of Death’ Is Looking to Forge a New Life in Politics
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Valerie Hopkins | More About Valerie Hopkins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As an arms trafficker, he operated in some of the world’s most dangerous places, becoming one of the world’s most wanted men and earning the nickname “Merchant of Death,” not to speak of a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S. But now, nine months after returning to Russia in a prisoner exchange, Viktor A. “I’ve been for 15 years locked up in your federal system,” he said in an interview conducted in somewhat stilted English at his party’s Moscow headquarters. “So what do you expect for me, that I have to take time to take vacation? He was long suspected of having links to Russia’s military intelligence agency, the G.R.U.

Persons: Merchant of, ”, Viktor, Vladimir V, “ I’ve, I’ve Locations: U.S, Russia, Ulyanovsk, Moscow, Thailand, Manhattan

☆ The former Russian arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death" who the US exchanged for Brittney Griner is back in Russia and now learning to use a smartphone
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The US swapped Viktor Bout, a once notorious Russian arms dealer, for WNBA star Britney Griner, last year. Known as the "Merchant of Death," Bout spent 15 years in a US prison. Bout is now back in Russia, adjusting to modern life, and running for local office. Advertisement Advertisement Watch:The career pivot isn't the only challenge facing Bout, who was first arrested by police in Thailand in 2008 before his extradition to the United States. Since his release, Bout has been a vocal supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.

Persons: Viktor Bout, Britney Griner, Brittney Griner, Griner, it's, Bout, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: WNBA, Service, New York Times, Times, Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party Locations: Russian, Russia, Wall, Silicon, United States, Ulyanovsk, Moscow, Thailand, Ukraine, He's

☆ Russian ex-arms dealer freed for Brittney Griner to run for far-right party in local vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 2 (Reuters) - A Russian arms dealer freed last December in a prisoner swap for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has been chosen as the candidate of a far-right party for a seat in a Russian regional legislature, state news agency RIA reported on Sunday. RIA cited an official in Russia's ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR)'s local organisation as saying that Bout had been nominated as a candidate for the legislative assembly of the Ulyanovsk region in central Russia. Bout publicly joined the LDPR following his return to Russia. Despite its name, the LDPR holds far-right, ultra-nationalist views and strongly supports President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Lugovoi has served as an LDPR member of Russia's national parliament since 2007.

Persons: Brittney Griner, Viktor Bout, RIA, Bout, Griner, Vladimir Putin's, Andrei Lugovoi, Alexander Litvinenko, Lugovoi, Felix Light, Gareth Jones Organizations: U.S, Liberal Democratic Party, U.S . Department of Justice, Thomson Locations: Russian, United States, Ulyanovsk, Russia, Thailand, Washington, Ukraine, Britain

☆ House Passes Resolution Calling on Russia to Free U.S. Prisoners
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Why It MattersThe House has weighed in to condemn Mr. Whelan’s detention in the past, but Tuesday’s resolution was the first time that either chamber of Congress had officially called for Mr. Gershkovich’s release. Mr. Gershkovich’s arrest came just a few months after a high-profile prisoner swap in which Brittney Griner, an American W.N.B.A. American officials tried and failed to secure the release of Mr. Whelan in the deal. Mr. Whelan, who holds American, Canadian, Irish and British passports, has insisted he was visiting Russia as a tourist, and was set up. It is not clear which Russian prisoners the Kremlin would seek in exchange for either Mr. Gershkovich or Mr. Whelan, or both.

Persons: Biden, Gershkovich’s, “, Marc Fogel, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Mr, Antony J, Blinken, Roger D, Carstens, Biden’s, Gershkovich, Soviet, Brittney, Viktor Bout, Whelan, Griner’s, ”, — Organizations: American, Kremlin Locations: U.S, Russia, Russian, American, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, United States

☆ Brittney Griner faced 'excessive harassment' by a right-wing social-media personality at Dallas airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A right-wing 'provocateur' appeared to harass Brittney Griner at a Dallas airport on Saturday. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyWNBA player Brittney Griner was confronted by a right-wing social-media personality at a Dallas airport on Saturday. In the video, Stein shouts, "Do you still want to boycott America, Brittney?" Stein also shouts that Griner "hates America" and "What about the merchant of death Brit?" The Phoenix Mercury had been in Texas for a game against the Dallas Wings, which they lost 90-77.

Persons: Brittney, Alex Stein, —, Brittney Griner, Stein, Brit, Terri Jackson, Griner, Viktor Bout —, Brianna Turner, Turner, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez Organizations: WNBA, Service, Twitter, America, Washington Post, New York Rep, Capitol, Latina, Phoenix Mercury, Dallas Wings Locations: Dallas, Alexandria, Texas

CNN —Following the harassment of WNBA star Brittney Griner at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Phoenix Mercury’s leadership plans to make adjustments to prioritize players’ travel safety, head coach Vanessa Nygaard said Sunday. When asked if Griner was approved to charter flights and why she wasn’t chartering on Saturday, Nygaard said the team was following league-established rules and guidelines. Griner’s longtime teammate and WNBA star Diana Taurasi said that the harassment occurred during the team’s first public appearance since Griner’s release. Describing the incident as “unnerving,” Taurasi said the players’ safety comes first. “We implore the league and the teams not to wait another day to change the rule regarding travel.”

Persons: Brittney Griner, Vanessa Nygaard, Griner, ”, Viktor Bout –, Biden, ” Nygaard, Nygaard, Brianna Turner, “, Griner’s, Diana Taurasi, ” Taurasi Organizations: CNN, Fort Worth International, Phoenix, WNBA, “, “ League, Indiana Fever, Mercury, Basketball Players Locations: Dallas, Russia, of

CNN —Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who was freed from Russia late last year after being wrongfully detained, was harassed Saturday by a man described as a social media “provocateur” at a Dallas airport. A source familiar with the incident told CNN that around 9:30 am CT, Griner was at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport traveling with Phoenix Mercury teammates on their way to a game. CNN has reached out to local law enforcement and the DFW airport about the incident. “We remain steadfastly committed to the highest standards of security for players,” the statement reads. We demand better.”Unlike in the NBA, WNBA teams are not permitted to use charter planes for travel, CNN previously reported.

Persons: Brittney Griner, Griner, Viktor Bout –, ”, Biden, “, Brianna Turner, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, ” Colas Organizations: CNN, WNBA, Dallas Fort Worth International, Phoenix Mercury, DFW, “, Twitter, NBA Locations: Russia, Dallas, of, America

☆ Richard Dreyfuss on new Oscars diversity rules: ‘They make me vomit’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Actor Richard Dreyfuss is not a fan of the Academy Awards’ new diversity guidelines. Officials announced in 2020 that beginning in 2024, movies must meet certain criteria for representation to be eligible for the Academy Award for best picture. “I don’t think that there is a minority or a majority in this country that has to be catered to like that,” Dreyfuss went on to say during the interview. “Is someone else being told that if they’re not Jewish they shouldn’t play the Merchant of Venice? “Because it says that we’re so fragile that we can’t have our feelings hurt.”CNN has contacted reps for Dreyfuss for further comment but has not yet received a response.

☆ Viktor Bout, the 'Merchant of Death' arms dealer exchanged for Brittney Griner, says he fears for Trump's life and urged him to flee to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Arms dealer Viktor Bout, nicknamed the "Merchant of Death," is asking Trump to flee to Russia. He sent Trump a telegram, warning him to escape charges in New York and that his "life is in peril." Bout said Trump would find "safe haven" in Russia, where he could rebel against "globalists." They would sooner end your life than let you stand in their way," Bout's message read, Russian state media first reported. A photo of Bout's telegram, posted by Russian state media on the messaging app Telegram, shows the message was addressed to Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

☆ A bored hacktivist browsing an unsecured airline server stumbled upon national security secrets including the FBI's 'no fly' list. She says what she found reveals a 'perverse outgrowth of the surveill
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Easily accessible secretsCrimew told Insider it took just minutes for her to access the server and find credentials that allowed her to see the database. When looking at the list, Crimew told Insider, "you start to notice just how young some of the people are." crimew told Insider. The outcome of the 2021 case is still pending, crimew told Insider. And that really just shows like where the priorities lie," crimew told Insider: "I just hope they maybe learned their lesson the second time."

☆ A bored hacktivist browsing an unsecured airline server stumbled upon national security secrets including the FBI's 'no-fly' list. She says what she found reveals a 'perverse outgrowth of the surveill
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

A Swiss hacker says she found a copy of the FBI's "no-fly" list on an unsecured server. "The ever-expanding scope of these lists are due to the revelations of people in the course of investigations," Gray told Insider. When looking at the list, crimew told Insider, "you start to notice just how young some of the people are." crimew told Insider. "I just hope they maybe learned their lesson the second time," crimew told Insider.

☆ Brittney Griner makes appearance at Phoenix MLK Day march
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Brittney Griner made a surprise appearance at an MLK Day march in Phoenix, Arizona, on Monday, just weeks after her release from a Russian penal colony. The WNBA star surprised a group who had gathered for the march on what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.'s 94th birthday, attending the event with her wife, Cherelle Griner. Griner, 32, posed for photos with fans and was pictured riding on the back of a golf cart at the event. The Phoenix Mercury star said she was happy to be home after being detained in Russia for nearly a year, NBC affiliate KPNX, which is based in Phoenix, reported. The WNBA star was sentenced to nine years in prison for allegedly possessing the vape cartridges, which she said had been unintentional.

☆ Fact Check-Fabricated New York Post article about Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout taken seriously
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A fabricated news report saying the Biden administration is investigating a high-profile arms dealer for providing U.S. made weapons to Russia was created as satire. Viktor Bout, dubbed “the merchant of death” and “the sanctions buster”, is a Russian arms dealer who was arrested in 2008 for various charges related to arms trafficking, Reuters reported (here). ?”, “Got them from Afghanistan maybe” and “And the clown show continues.”A representative for New York Post told Reuters that the screenshot does not show one of its articles. Reuters did not find any evidence that an article with this headline exists on the New York Post website (here). An inauthentic New York Post article circulating online claiming a Russian arms dealer sent U.S. weapons to Russia has been taken seriously by some online.

☆ Notorious Russian arms dealer freed in Brittney Griner exchange awkwardly backs out of pledge to fight in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Freed arms dealer Viktor Bout appeared to reverse his position on whether he'd fight in Ukraine. After being freed in exchange for Brittney Griner last December, Bout said he'd "readily volunteer." It was a strong about-face from comments Bout made to Russian state TV only a month ago. Bout was freed from US jail on December 9, in exchange for WNBA star Brittney Griner, in a high-profile prisoner swap engineered by the Biden administration. Bout attracted the nickname of "The Merchant of Death" over his prominent arms dealing operation in the 1990s, as Insider previously reported.

☆ Putin’s New Strategy: Laying Claim to Traditional Values
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Yaroslav Trofimov | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer popularly known as “the merchant of death,” warned about the mortal peril facing humanity in his first TV appearance after returning home from an American prison. “What is happening in the West is a suicide of civilization,” said Mr. Bout, who was traded this month for detained American basketball star Brittney Griner. “Can you imagine, in American schools they teach first-graders that there are 72 genders! Not just gays and normal people, but 72!”

☆ Viktor Bout praises Putin, enjoys celebrity status after Griner exchange
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

He has since given high-profile interviews to state media and on Monday appeared on stage at a political event as he joined an ultranationalist party. Viktor Bout on a plane in Abu Dhabi before departing for Russia on Thursday. Russian media also showed him walking off a plane in Moscow, where relatives waiting with flowers embraced him. AFP - Getty ImagesSince his return home, Bout has given a pair of interviews to Maria Butina on the state-run TV channel RT. Like Butina, who was elected to the State Duma last year, Bout spared no time kicking off a potential political career.

☆ Despite GOP criticism of the prisoner swap that freed Brittney Griner, Fiona Hill said Trump was 'not particularly interested' in freeing Paul Whelan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Critics, including Trump, asked why Brittney Griner was freed while Paul Whelan remains jailed. Hill said Trump wasn't "particularly interested in Paul [Whelan]'s case" while in office. "If I made that deal the Dems would chant, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA!" "I also have to say here that President Trump wasn't especially interested in engaging in that swap for Paul Whelan," Hill said. However, she added, Whelan, Griner, and Reed were all caught up in what she called "political games" while doing things that "seemed completely ordinary."

A Russian lawmaker announced Saturday that he invited freed arms dealer Viktor Bout to be in "broad cooperation" with a government committee that he leads. The legislator, Leonid Slutsky, is head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs. Slutsky said Bout could help the committee on "issues of assistance to Russian citizens who find themselves in a difficult life situation abroad." "And the experience of interaction during the release of Victor will certainly be useful,” Slutsky said in a post on his Telegram account. The Russian official said Bout is holding up well for "all the trials he had gone through."

☆ The brother of the ex-US Marine jailed in Russia slams Donald Trump for exploiting his imprisonment to attack President Biden
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The brother of Paul Whelan, the ex-US Marine imprisoned in Russia, slammed Donald Trump. Trump criticized the Biden administration for the prisoner swap for Brittney Griner that didn't include Whelan. David Whelan said that Trump never mentioned his imprisoned brother during his presidency. Trump's former National Security Adviser, John Bolton, revealed on Friday that the Trump administration had the opportunity to swap Whelan for Bout in 2018 but chose not to. In his posts on Truth Social, Trump questioned why the Biden administration arranged the swap for Griner, who he said "openly hates our country," while not including Whelan.

He was interviewed by Maria Butina, a Russian gun-rights enthusiast-turned TV personality who now works for the network. Viktor Bout arrives at Westchester County Airport November 16, 2010 in White Plains, New York. When asked if he had a portrait of President Vladimir Putin in his prison cell, Bout said: “Yes, always. Griner, 32, returned to the United States early Friday after being released from custody in an exchange for an international arms dealer. The families of Griner and Whelan had urged the White House to secure their release, including via prisoner exchange if necessary.

WNBA star Brittney Griner arrived back in the United States early Friday after being freed from Russian custody, bringing a nearly yearlong ordeal to an end. Eric Gay / APIn earlier video, Russian media had showed Griner crossing paths with Bout after walking off a Russian plane in Abu Dhabi, where she was met by a U.S. official during the exchange. President Joe Biden, who said he approved the deal that saw Griner freed, said Thursday that she had been "held under intolerable circumstances." In a written statement Thursday night, the Griner family thanked Biden, his administration and others for their efforts. Whelan’s family said they had been told by the Biden administration in advance that he would not be part of the prisoner swap Thursday that freed Griner.

Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian penal colony Thursday as part of a prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was met with widespread celebration. Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison after vape canisters and cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage at the airport. “I wonder if she will respect our flag and country now,” self-proclaimed Trump supporter Collin Rugg wrote in a tweet liked 21,000 times. Such outdated definitions of patriotism disgrace the national anthem and the flag more than any peaceful protest ever could. She is a Black LGBTQ American, a wife, a daughter, an advocate, an Olympian and a world-class basketball star.

☆ Pentagon fears Viktor Bout, the so-called 'Merchant of Death' the US swapped for Brittney Griner, could restart his old arms business
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was released from US custody on Thursday. He gained notoriety during the 1990s for fueling deadly conflicts in various African countries. The Pentagon is concerned that with his release, he could return to his old business. Now, US officials worry the arms dealer could return to fueling deadly conflicts around the world. Bout fueled widespread death & destruction by arming UN-sanctioned regimes & groups in the #DRC, #Liberia, #SierraLeone, & beyond."

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