Prisoner Swap: Russia yesterday released imprisoned American basketball player Brittney Griner in exchange for Victor Bout, the Russian international arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death.” 

  The announcement of the exchange came suddenly yesterday morning.

  The swap did not include Paul Whelan, a US, Irish, British, and Canadian citizen, accused by Russia of being involved in an intelligence operation and sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges he has denied. US authorities said they had proposed swapping both Griner and Whelan for Bout.

 White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said,  “This was not a choice for us on which American to bring home. It was a choice between bringing home one American or none.” 

  Griner arrived in San Antonio last night and was taken immediately for medical evaluation. In a picture of her seated on an airplane she looked bright, alert, and cheerful. Griner had been arrested at the Moscow airport last February with cannabis-based vaping cartridges in her luggage, was sentenced to nine years and was most recently held in a Russian labor camp. 

  Bout was lured to Thailand in 2008 for a phony arms deal and was arrested by US agents. He was tried and sentenced to 29 years. Yesterday a drug enforcement involved in Bout’s capture expressed outrage that the US gave up the world’s largest weapons dealer for one woman who had trace amounts of  cannabis.

Marriage Protection: The House yesterday gave final approval to the law that grants federal recognition to same-sex marriages. Thirty-nine Republicans voted in favor. 

  The push to protect same sex marriage came after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said in his opinion on overturning the right to abortion that the court also “should reconsider” precedents marriage equality and access to contraception.

  Efforts to make concessions for Religious objections failed to gather much Republican support. “This bill only serves to further demonize biblical values,” said Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Republican of Missouri. “This is yet another step toward the Democrats’ goal of dismantling the traditional family, silencing voices of faith and permanently undoing our country’s God-woven foundation.”

It’s Political: Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced that she’s leaving the Democratic party to become an independent, putting a dent in the party’s narrow 51 seat majority in the senate. She said, “A growing number of Arizonans, like me, don’t feel like we fit into one party’s box.”

Sinema, however, says she will not caucus with the Republicans. She told Politico, that she intends to vote the same way she has for four years in the Senate, and  “Nothing will change about my values or my behavior.”

Royal Pain: Netflix has released he first three episodes of “Harry & Meghan,” the docuseries about the meeting, romance, engagement and marriage of actress Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. 

  While being careful not to directly attack the royal family, the series does get into accusations that  the royal family failed to help Meghan learn the protocols of royal life and protect her against racist stories in the press, because of her biracial heritage.

  One tabloid headline, the series notes, declared that she was “straight out of Compton,” the predominantly Black Los Angeles neighborhood where she has never lived.  Another said Harry had “gone gangster” by dating her. Harry says his family shrugged off the damage of such stories, revealing an unconscious racial bias.

  A couple of reveals so far, Meghan discovered that the royal family isn’t big on hugging and the couple refers to each other as “H” and “M,” rarely using their first names.

From the Pitch: Brazil remains as the favorite to win among the eight powerhouse teams left in the World Cup. Brazil, Argentina, France, and England have a combined for 10 world trophies and six second-place finishes. And Argentina still has Lionel Messi, one of the greatest soccer players ever.

  Netherlands plays Argentina today and Brazil squares off against 2018 finalist Croatia.

The Obit Page: Jim Stewart, the white man with a touch of soul who founded Stax Records and rivalled Motown, has died at age 92.

  Stewart launched the career of such greats as Otis Redding, and Booker T. He produced Sam & Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Coming.”

  Stewart grew up on country music and when he was young barely knew that soul and R&B existed. He once told The Associated Press that hearing Ray Charles sing “What’d I Say” was his epiphany. “I was converted immediately,” he said. “I had never heard anything like that before. It allowed me to expand from country to R&B, into jazz, into gospel, wrapped all in one. That’s what Stax is.”

The Spin Rack: The House overwhelmingly passed an $858 billion defense bill that would rescind the Pentagon’s requirement for troops to be vaccinated against the coronavirus vaccine over the objections of the Biden administration. Some Republicans in particular say the mandate has been discouraging enlistments. — About 1,100 unionized New York Times employees walked off the job yesterday demanding higher pay, among other things. Staff editors were left to write the stories and put out the paper.  

Below the Fold: Trevor Noah, one of the most incisive, cutting yet gentle comic hosts of our time, signed off last night as host of  Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

  He said last night’s show was “a celebration of the fact that we fixed America.”

  “When I started the show,” he said at the beginning of the episode, “I had three clear goals: ‘I’m going to make sure Hillary gets elected, I’m going to make sure I prevent a global pandemic from starting and I’m going to become best friends with Kanye West.’ I think it’s time to move on.”

  The South African host said, “Don’t be sad, be happy an African leader is leaving peacefully.”

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