cell in the courtroom, the judge ruling she acted deliberately when she tried to carry cannabis cartridges into the country. the wnba star gave a heartfelt apology. i want to apologize to my teammates, my klug, the fans, and the city of ekat for the mistake i made and the embarrassment i brought onto them. this adds to a stalemate between moscow and washingwashington over a prisoner. cnn s kylie atwood is at the state department. jeremy diamond is at the white house. let s check in with fred pleitgen. i understand griner s attorneys are speak. let s listen to them and then i ll come back to you. reporter: this correspondents to what s happening. it s totally going against the actual part of the russian penal code. we will appeal and we re very disappointed and surprised by this decision. how is britney feeling? she feels bad. any word a possible exchange? no, no one is discussing that was. it s a question for the administration. if appeal will not be granted. do you thi
also tonight, cnn has learned that former president trump s lawyers are now in direct talks with the u.s. justice department about the january 6th criminal investigation. stand by for our exclusive new reporting as sources now reveal that trump s attorneys have warned him that indictments, criminal indictments are possible and wnba star brittney griner is sentenced to nine years in prison after being convicted by a russian court on drug charges. the u.s. is now reviewing for moscow to accept a proposed prisoner swap aimed at bringing griner home. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. this is cnn breaking news. let s get straight to the breaking news right now. a texas jury awarding more than $4 million to the parents of the sandy hook shooting victim suing alex jones over defamation and distress over his repeated lies about the tragedy. cnn correspondent drew griffin is working the stor
hook parents for calling the massacre a hoax. also tonight, four current and former officers now facing federal civil rights charges for the raid that killed breonna taylor. what the justice department alleges they did. the biden administration declaring monkeypox a public health emergency. what it means for the federal response. the record-shattering heat. nearly 80 million on alert. al roker is standing by. the new twist in a nearly 40-year-old cold case. he spent decades in prison for a murder he didn t commit. who authorities have now charged. and the nfl preseason kicking off on nbc. why tonight s game head coaches. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening, everyone, from las vegas, where i m attending a gathering of black and hispanic journalists. we start tonight in moscow, where american pro basketball star brittney griner was sentenced today to nine years in a russian prison. the sentence coming right after the court pronounc