By JOHN HANNA, HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, and JOSH FUNK

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An oil spill in a creek in northeastern Kansas shut down a major pipeline that carries oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, briefly causing oil prices to rise Thursday.

Canada-based TC Energy said it shut down its Keystone system Wednesday night following a drop in pipeline pressure. It said oil spilled into a creek in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles northwest of Kansas City.

The company on Thursday estimated the spill's size at about 14,000 barrels and said the affected pipeline segment had been "isolated" and the oil contained at the site with booms, or barriers. It did not say how the spill occurred.

"People are sometimes not aware of of the havoc that these things can wreak until the disaster happens," said Zack Pistora, who lobbies the Kansas Legislature for the Sierra Club's state chapter.

Concerns that spills could pollute waterways spurred opposition to plans by TC Energy to build another crude oil pipeline in the Keystone system, the 1,200-mile (1,900-kilometer) Keystone XL, which would have cut across Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Critics also argued that using crude from western Canada's oil sands would worsen climate change, and President Joe Biden's cancelation of a U.S. permit for the project led the company to pull the plug last year.

In 2019, the Keystone pipeline leaked an estimated 383,000 gallons (1.4 million liters) of oil in eastern North Dakota.

Janet Kleeb, who founded the Bold Nebraska environmental and landowner rights group that campaigned against the Keystone XL, said there have been at least 22 spills along the original Keystone pipeline since it began service in 2010. She said federal studies have shown the type of heavy tar sands oil the pipeline carries can be especially difficult to clean up in water because it tends to sink.

"All oil spills are difficult, but tar sands in particular are very toxic and very difficult, so I'm awfully concerned," said Kleeb, who is also the Nebraska Democratic Party's chair.

But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said there were no known effects yet on drinking water wells or the public, and the oil didn't move from the creek to larger waterways. Randy Hubbard, the Washington County Emergency Management coordinator, said there were no evacuations ordered because the break occurred in rural pastureland.

TC Energy said it had set up environmental monitoring at the site, including around-the-clock air quality monitoring.

"Our primary focus right now is the health and safety of onsite staff and personnel, the surrounding community, and mitigating risk to the environment," a company statement said.

Oil prices briefly surged at midday Thursday amid news of the spill, with the cost of a barrel of oil for near-term contracts rising by nearly 5%, and above the cost of oil contracts further into the future. That typically suggests anxiety in the market over immediate supply.

A U.S. Energy Information Administration spokesperson said the Keystone pipeline moves about 600,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada to Cushing, Oklahoma, where it can connect to another pipeline to the Gulf Coast. That's compared to the total of 3.5 million to 4 million barrels of Canadian oil imported into the U.S. every day.

Past Keystone spills have led to outages that lasted about two weeks, but this outage could possibly be longer because it involves a body of water, said analysts at RBC Capital Markets in a note to investors. Depending on the spill's location, it's possible that a portion of the pipeline could restart sooner, they said.

"It's something to keep an eye on," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which tracks gasoline prices. "It could eventually impact oil supplies to refiners, which could be severe if it lasts more than a few days."

The spill was 5 miles (8 kilometers) northeast of Washington, the county seat of about 1,100 residents. Paul Stewart, an area farmer, said part of it was contained on his land using yellow booms and a dam of dirt. The spill occurred in Mill Creek, which flows into the Little Blue River.

The Little Blue feeds the Big Blue River, which flows into Tuttle Creek Lake, north of Manhattan, home of Kansas State University. The EPA said the oil did not affect the Little Blue.

Dan Thalmann, publisher and editor of The Washington County News, a weekly publication, said crews were creating a rock path to the creek because recent rains made fields too soft to move in heavy machinery.

"Gosh, the traffic past my house is unbelievable — trucks after trucks after trucks," said Stewart, who took down an electric fence he'd finished putting up Wednesday, fearing it might be knocked down and dragged into a field.

Chris Pannbacker said the pipeline runs through her family's farm. She and her husband drove north of their farmhouse and across a bridge over Mill Creek.

"We looked at it from both sides, and it was black on both sides," said Pannbacker, a reporter for the Marysville Advocate newspaper.

Junior Roop, the sexton of a cemetery near the spill site, said people could smell the oil in town.

"It was about like driving by a refinery," he said.

Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas, and Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. AP Business Writer Cathy Bussewitz contributed reporting from New York.

Follow John Hanna on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna

By JOHN HANNA, HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, and JOSH FUNKTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An oil spill in a creek in northeastern Kansas shut down a major pipeline that carries oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, briefly causing oil prices to rise Thursday.Canada-based TC Energy said it shut down its Keystone system Wednesday night following a drop in pipeline pressure. It said oil spilled into a creek in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles northwest of Kansas City.The company on Thursday estimated the spill's size at about 14,000 barrels and said the affected pipeline segment had been "isolated" and the oil contained at the site with booms, or barriers. It did not say how the spill occurred."People are sometimes not aware of of the havoc that these things can wreak until the disaster happens," said Zack Pistora, who lobbies the Kansas Legislature for the Sierra Club's state chapter.Concerns that spills could pollute waterways spurred opposition to plans by TC Energy to build another crude oil pipeline in the Keystone system, the 1,200-mile (1,900-kilometer) Keystone XL, which would have cut across Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Critics also argued that using crude from western Canada's oil sands would worsen climate change, and President Joe Biden's cancelation of a U.S. permit for the project led the company to pull the plug last year.In 2019, the Keystone pipeline leaked an estimated 383,000 gallons (1.4 million liters) of oil in eastern North Dakota.Janet Kleeb, who founded the Bold Nebraska environmental and landowner rights group that campaigned against the Keystone XL, said there have been at least 22 spills along the original Keystone pipeline since it began service in 2010. She said federal studies have shown the type of heavy tar sands oil the pipeline carries can be especially difficult to clean up in water because it tends to sink."All oil spills are difficult, but tar sands in particular are very toxic and very difficult, so I'm awfully concerned," said Kleeb, who is also the Nebraska Democratic Party's chair.But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said there were no known effects yet on drinking water wells or the public, and the oil didn't move from the creek to larger waterways. Randy Hubbard, the Washington County Emergency Management coordinator, said there were no evacuations ordered because the break occurred in rural pastureland.TC Energy said it had set up environmental monitoring at the site, including around-the-clock air quality monitoring."Our primary focus right now is the health and safety of onsite staff and personnel, the surrounding community, and mitigating risk to the environment," a company statement said.Oil prices briefly surged at midday Thursday amid news of the spill, with the cost of a barrel of oil for near-term contracts rising by nearly 5%, and above the cost of oil contracts further into the future. That typically suggests anxiety in the market over immediate supply.A U.S. Energy Information Administration spokesperson said the Keystone pipeline moves about 600,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada to Cushing, Oklahoma, where it can connect to another pipeline to the Gulf Coast. That's compared to the total of 3.5 million to 4 million barrels of Canadian oil imported into the U.S. every day.Past Keystone spills have led to outages that lasted about two weeks, but this outage could possibly be longer because it involves a body of water, said analysts at RBC Capital Markets in a note to investors. Depending on the spill's location, it's possible that a portion of the pipeline could restart sooner, they said."It's something to keep an eye on," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which tracks gasoline prices. "It could eventually impact oil supplies to refiners, which could be severe if it lasts more than a few days."The spill was 5 miles (8 kilometers) northeast of Washington, the county seat of about 1,100 residents. Paul Stewart, an area farmer, said part of it was contained on his land using yellow booms and a dam of dirt. The spill occurred in Mill Creek, which flows into the Little Blue River.The Little Blue feeds the Big Blue River, which flows into Tuttle Creek Lake, north of Manhattan, home of Kansas State University. The EPA said the oil did not affect the Little Blue.Dan Thalmann, publisher and editor of The Washington County News, a weekly publication, said crews were creating a rock path to the creek because recent rains made fields too soft to move in heavy machinery."Gosh, the traffic past my house is unbelievable — trucks after trucks after trucks," said Stewart, who took down an electric fence he'd finished putting up Wednesday, fearing it might be knocked down and dragged into a field.Chris Pannbacker said the pipeline runs through her family's farm. She and her husband drove north of their farmhouse and across a bridge over Mill Creek."We looked at it from both sides, and it was black on both sides," said Pannbacker, a reporter for the Marysville Advocate newspaper.Junior Roop, the sexton of a cemetery near the spill site, said people could smell the oil in town."It was about like driving by a refinery," he said.____Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas, and Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. AP Business Writer Cathy Bussewitz contributed reporting from New York.___Follow John Hanna on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna

Oil spill in rural Kan. creek that shut down pipeline is contained

KEARNEY, NE – The Buffalo County Fair Board and Midway Auto Dealerships is pleased
to present An Evening with Jo Dee Messina on Friday July 28th at the
Buffalo County Fair. Jo Dee Messina kicked off her notable career with “Heads
Carolina, Tails California,” a single that immediately made her a household
name. Following the success of her debut, Jo Dee posted nine No. 1 hits and
sixteen Top 40 songs and was honored by the ACM Awards, CMA Awards, and GRAMMY
Awards. As Jo Dee’s résumé grew, she proved to be a trendsetter and
history-maker, becoming the first female in country music history to celebrate
three consecutive multi-week, chart-topping songs.

“We recently saw her
perform in Nashville and Jo Dee has some vocals! You will know every song she
sings and will be blown away by her high-energy performance”, Fair Manager Dave
Roseberry stated. “Come join us for a night of nostalgic night of entertainment”.

Tickets go on sale Friday
December 16th at 10 am. Jo Dee Messina tickets are $17.99 plus fees.
All tickets available at: <a href="http://www.etix.com">www.etix.com</a> or by calling 866-301-1201. For more
information about the fair, visit <a href="http://www.buffalocountyfairgrounds.com">www.buffalocountyfairgrounds.com</a> or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
or TikTok. @buffalocofair #buffalocofair

Showtime: 7:30 pm on Friday July 28th

KEARNEY, NE – The Buffalo County Fair Board and Midway Auto Dealerships is pleased
to present An Evening with Jo Dee Messina on Friday July 28th at the
Buffalo County Fair. Jo Dee Messina kicked off her notable career with “Heads
Carolina, Tails California,” a single that immediately made her a household
name. Following the success of her debut, Jo Dee posted nine No. 1 hits and
sixteen Top 40 songs and was honored by the ACM Awards, CMA Awards, and GRAMMY
Awards. As Jo Dee’s résumé grew, she proved to be a trendsetter and
history-maker, becoming the first female in country music history to celebrate
three consecutive multi-week, chart-topping songs.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670596317856.jpeg" alt="Jo Dee Messina" />
 <figcaption>Jo Dee Messina</figcaption>
 </figure>“We recently saw her
perform in Nashville and Jo Dee has some vocals! You will know every song she
sings and will be blown away by her high-energy performance”, Fair Manager Dave
Roseberry stated. “Come join us for a night of nostalgic night of entertainment”.Tickets go on sale Friday
December 16th at 10 am. Jo Dee Messina tickets are $17.99 plus fees.
All tickets available at: <a href="http://www.etix.com">www.etix.com</a> or by calling 866-301-1201. For more
information about the fair, visit <a href="http://www.buffalocountyfairgrounds.com">www.buffalocountyfairgrounds.com</a> or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
or TikTok. @buffalocofair #buffalocofairBuffalo County FairJuly 26th – 31st, 2023 An Evening with Jo Dee MessinaShowtime: 7:30 pm on Friday July 28th<div><iframe title="An Evening with Jo Dee Messina at the Buffalo County Fair!" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=vk23t-13349e3-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=1&fonts=Times%20New%20Roman&skin=1b1b1b&font-color=&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00"></iframe></div>

Jo Dee Messina coming to Buffalo County Fair in Kearney

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona announced Friday that she now has registered as an independent, but she does not plan to caucus with Republicans, ensuring Democrats will retain their narrow voting majority in the Senate.

Sinema has modeled her political approach on the renegade style of the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and has frustrated Democratic colleagues at times with her overtures to Republicans and opposition to Democratic priorities Rather than assailing the Democratic Party in her statement, she said she was “declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington.”

While unusual for a sitting senator to switch party affiliation, the move appears to hold more impact on Sinema’s own political brand than the operations of the Senate.

In a video explaining her decision, she said: “Registering as an independent and showing up to work with the title of independent is a reflection of who I’ve always been. ... Nothing’s going to change for me.’’

The first-term senator wrote in The Arizona Republic that she came into office pledging “to be independent and work with anyone to achieve lasting results. I committed I would not demonize people I disagreed with, engage in name-calling, or get distracted by political drama. I promised I would never bend to party pressure.”

She wrote that her approach is “rare in Washington and has upset partisans in both parties” but “has delivered lasting results for Arizona.” Sinema also said that she has “never fit perfectly in either national party.”

While bold and to some extent rare to have a senator switch party affiliation, the move appears to hold more impact on Sinema’s own political brand than the operations of the Senate.

Before Sinema's announcement, Democrats were set to hold a 51-49 edge in the new Senate come January after the victory Tuesday by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia's runoff election. Until then, the Senate will remain even, with Vice President Kamala Harris the tiebreaking vote for Democrats.

Sinema told Politico in an interview that she will not caucus with Republicans and that she plans to keep voting as she has since winning election to the Senate in 2018 after three House terms.

She is expected to maintain her committee assignments through the Democratic majority, according to a Senate Democratic aide. Two current independents, Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine, caucus with Democrats and gain their committee seniority through the Democrats.

She is facing reelection in 2024 and is likely to be matched against a well-funded primary challenger after angering much of the Democratic base by blocking or watering down progressive priorities such as a minimum wage increase and President Joe Biden’s big social spending initiatives. She has not said whether she plans to seek another term.

Sinema’s most prominent potential primary challenger is Rep. Ruben Gallego, who has a long history of feuding with her.

The senator wrote that she was joining "the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington.”

Sinema bemoaned “the national parties' rigid partisanship” and said “pressures in both parties pull leaders to the edges — allowing the loudest, most extreme voices to determine their respective parties’ priorities, and expecting the rest of us to fall in line.”

“In catering to the fringes, neither party has demonstrated much tolerance for diversity of thought. Bipartisan compromise is seen as a rarely acceptable last resort, rather than the best way to achieve lasting progress,” she wrote.

She added: “My approach is rare in Washington, and has upset partisans in both parties."

Along with West Virginia's Joe Manchin, she has been one of two moderate Democrats in the 50-50 Senate, and her willingness to buck the rest of her party has at times limited the ambitions of Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Sinema is a staunch defender of the filibuster, a Senate rule effectively requiring 60 votes to pass most legislation in the 100-member Senate. Many Democrats, including Biden, say the filibuster leads to gridlock by giving a minority of lawmakers the ability to veto.

Last January, leaders of the Arizona Democratic Party voted to censure Sinema, citing “her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy″ — namely her refusal to go along with fellow Democrats to alter the Senate rule so they could overcome Republican opposition to a voting rights bill.

While that rebuke was symbolic, it came only a few years since Sinema was heralded for bringing the Arizona Senate seat back into the Democratic fold for the first time in a generation. The move also previewed the persistent opposition that Sinema was likely face within her own party in 2024.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670587177855.png" alt="Senator Krysten Sinema-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Senator Krysten Sinema-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona announced Friday that she now has registered as an independent, but she does not plan to caucus with Republicans, ensuring Democrats will retain their narrow voting majority in the Senate.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">In a natural extension of my service since I was first elected to Congress, I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington and formally registering as an Arizona Independent. 1/3 <a href="https://t.co/jUQHAeuxym">pic.twitter.com/jUQHAeuxym</a>&mdash; Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) <a href="https://twitter.com/kyrstensinema/status/1601170136781664256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>Sinema has modeled her political approach on the renegade style of the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and has frustrated Democratic colleagues at times with her overtures to Republicans and opposition to Democratic priorities Rather than assailing the Democratic Party in her statement, she said she was “declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington.”While unusual for a sitting senator to switch party affiliation, the move appears to hold more impact on Sinema’s own political brand than the operations of the Senate.In a video explaining her decision, she said: “Registering as an independent and showing up to work with the title of independent is a reflection of who I’ve always been. ... Nothing’s going to change for me.’’The first-term senator wrote in The Arizona Republic that she came into office pledging “to be independent and work with anyone to achieve lasting results. I committed I would not demonize people I disagreed with, engage in name-calling, or get distracted by political drama. I promised I would never bend to party pressure.”She wrote that her approach is “rare in Washington and has upset partisans in both parties” but “has delivered lasting results for Arizona.” Sinema also said that she has “never fit perfectly in either national party.”While bold and to some extent rare to have a senator switch party affiliation, the move appears to hold more impact on Sinema’s own political brand than the operations of the Senate.Before Sinema's announcement, Democrats were set to hold a 51-49 edge in the new Senate come January after the victory Tuesday by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia's runoff election. Until then, the Senate will remain even, with Vice President Kamala Harris the tiebreaking vote for Democrats.Sinema told Politico in an interview that she will not caucus with Republicans and that she plans to keep voting as she has since winning election to the Senate in 2018 after three House terms.She is expected to maintain her committee assignments through the Democratic majority, according to a Senate Democratic aide. Two current independents, Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine, caucus with Democrats and gain their committee seniority through the Democrats.She is facing reelection in 2024 and is likely to be matched against a well-funded primary challenger after angering much of the Democratic base by blocking or watering down progressive priorities such as a minimum wage increase and President Joe Biden’s big social spending initiatives. She has not said whether she plans to seek another term.Sinema’s most prominent potential primary challenger is Rep. Ruben Gallego, who has a long history of feuding with her.The senator wrote that she was joining "the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington.”Sinema bemoaned “the national parties' rigid partisanship” and said “pressures in both parties pull leaders to the edges — allowing the loudest, most extreme voices to determine their respective parties’ priorities, and expecting the rest of us to fall in line.”“In catering to the fringes, neither party has demonstrated much tolerance for diversity of thought. Bipartisan compromise is seen as a rarely acceptable last resort, rather than the best way to achieve lasting progress,” she wrote.She added: “My approach is rare in Washington, and has upset partisans in both parties."Along with West Virginia's Joe Manchin, she has been one of two moderate Democrats in the 50-50 Senate, and her willingness to buck the rest of her party has at times limited the ambitions of Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.Sinema is a staunch defender of the filibuster, a Senate rule effectively requiring 60 votes to pass most legislation in the 100-member Senate. Many Democrats, including Biden, say the filibuster leads to gridlock by giving a minority of lawmakers the ability to veto.Last January, leaders of the Arizona Democratic Party voted to censure Sinema, citing “her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy″ — namely her refusal to go along with fellow Democrats to alter the Senate rule so they could overcome Republican opposition to a voting rights bill.While that rebuke was symbolic, it came only a few years since Sinema was heralded for bringing the Arizona Senate seat back into the Democratic fold for the first time in a generation. The move also previewed the persistent opposition that Sinema was likely face within her own party in 2024.

U.S. Senate scrambled; Kyrsten Sinema quits Democrats

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Brittney Griner returned to the United States early Friday, nearly 10 months after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-freed-viktor-bout-swap-us-russia-ee51f5c14f35dc4d4cf21224a8e44eaa">the basketball star’s detention</a>&nbsp;in Russia made her the most high-profile American jailed abroad and set off a political firestorm.

Griner's status as an openly gay Black woman, her prominence in women's basketball and her imprisonment in a country where authorities have been hostile to the LBGTQ community heightened concerns for her and brought tremendous attention to the case. Russia's invasion of Ukraine after her arrest complicated matters further.

The deal announced Thursday that saw Griner exchanged for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/viktor-bout-russian-arms-dealer-brittney-griner-2afb6b2096e40e5c6b6b1fd26b4fbba0">notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout</a>&nbsp;achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden. But the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-prisons-antony-blinken-united-states-government-and-politics-975a9e0cccd5d6a8ee74925f9eb3f352">failed to win freedom</a>&nbsp;for another American, Paul Whelan, who has been jailed for nearly four years.

Biden’s authorization to release Bout, the Russian felon once nicknamed “the Merchant of Death,” underscored the heightened urgency that his administration faced to get Griner home, particularly after the recent resolution of her criminal case on drug charges and her subsequent transfer to a penal colony.

Griner,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-wnba-dunk-talent-good-c42a6465a3f3afcd2987ae0f12a6ad61">a two-time Olympic gold medalist</a>&nbsp;and Phoenix Mercury pro basketball star, was seen getting off a plane that landed Friday at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas.

“So happy to have Brittney back on U.S. soil. Welcome home BG!” tweeted Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs.

The WNBA star, who also played pro basketball in Russia, was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February after Russian authorities said she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil. The U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” — a charge that Russia has sharply rejected.

Griner pleaded guilty in July but still faced trial because admitting guilt in Russia’s judicial system does not automatically end a case. She was sentenced to nine years.

She acknowledged in court that she possessed canisters with cannabis oil but said she had no criminal intent and accidentally packed them. Her defense team presented written statements that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday's swap, saying in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that the exchange took place in Abu Dhabi and Bout had been flown home.

Biden spoke by phone with Griner. U.S. officials said she would be offered specialized medical services and counseling.

In releasing Bout, the U.S. freed a former Soviet Army lieutenant colonel whom the Justice Department once described as one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers. He was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and extradited to the U.S. in 2010.

Bout was serving a 25-year sentence on charges that he conspired to sell tens of millions of dollars in weapons that U.S officials said were to be used against Americans.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A plane believed to be carrying Brittney Griner landed in the United States early Friday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-freed-viktor-bout-swap-us-russia-ee51f5c14f35dc4d4cf21224a8e44eaa">nearly 10 months after the basketball star was detained in Russia</a>&nbsp;and became the most high-profile American jailed abroad.

Griner was exchanged for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/viktor-bout-russian-arms-dealer-brittney-griner-2afb6b2096e40e5c6b6b1fd26b4fbba0">notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout</a>. A plane believed to be carrying her touched down at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas.

The deal achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden — but failed to win freedom for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/bbf0c7e3029fea40d604b11fd271533f">another American, Paul Whelan</a>, who has been jailed for nearly four years.

Griner, who also played pro basketball in Russia, was arrested at an airport there after Russian authorities said she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil. Before her conviction, the U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” — a charge that Russia has sharply rejected.

Griner is a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-wnba-dunk-talent-good-c42a6465a3f3afcd2987ae0f12a6ad61">two-time Olympic gold medalist</a>, Baylor University All-American and Phoenix Mercury pro basketball star. Her status as an openly gay Black woman, locked up in a country where authorities have been hostile to the LBGTQ community, injected racial, gender and social dynamics into her legal saga and brought unprecedented attention to the population of wrongful detainees.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the swap, saying in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that the exchange took place in Abu Dhabi and Bout had been flown home.

Following Griner’s arrest at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February, she pleaded guilty in July but still faced trial because admitting guilt in Russia’s judicial system does not automatically end a case.

She acknowledged in court that she possessed canisters with cannabis oil but said she had no criminal intent and she accidentally packed them. Her defense team presented written statements that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670583590715.png" alt="In this image made from video provided by Russian Federal Security Service, WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner sits in the plane as she flies to Abu Dhabi to be exchanged for Russian citizen Viktor Bout, in Russia, Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. (Russian Federal Security Service via AP)" />
 <figcaption>In this image made from video provided by Russian Federal Security Service, WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner sits in the plane as she flies to Abu Dhabi to be exchanged for Russian citizen Viktor Bout, in Russia, Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. (Russian Federal Security Service via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Brittney Griner returned to the United States early Friday, nearly 10 months after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-freed-viktor-bout-swap-us-russia-ee51f5c14f35dc4d4cf21224a8e44eaa">the basketball star’s detention</a>&nbsp;in Russia made her the most high-profile American jailed abroad and set off a political firestorm.Griner's status as an openly gay Black woman, her prominence in women's basketball and her imprisonment in a country where authorities have been hostile to the LBGTQ community heightened concerns for her and brought tremendous attention to the case. Russia's invasion of Ukraine after her arrest complicated matters further.The deal announced Thursday that saw Griner exchanged for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/viktor-bout-russian-arms-dealer-brittney-griner-2afb6b2096e40e5c6b6b1fd26b4fbba0">notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout</a>&nbsp;achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden. But the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-prisons-antony-blinken-united-states-government-and-politics-975a9e0cccd5d6a8ee74925f9eb3f352">failed to win freedom</a>&nbsp;for another American, Paul Whelan, who has been jailed for nearly four years.Biden’s authorization to release Bout, the Russian felon once nicknamed “the Merchant of Death,” underscored the heightened urgency that his administration faced to get Griner home, particularly after the recent resolution of her criminal case on drug charges and her subsequent transfer to a penal colony.Griner,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-wnba-dunk-talent-good-c42a6465a3f3afcd2987ae0f12a6ad61">a two-time Olympic gold medalist</a>&nbsp;and Phoenix Mercury pro basketball star, was seen getting off a plane that landed Friday at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas.“So happy to have Brittney back on U.S. soil. Welcome home BG!” tweeted Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs.The WNBA star, who also played pro basketball in Russia, was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February after Russian authorities said she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil. The U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” — a charge that Russia has sharply rejected.Griner pleaded guilty in July but still faced trial because admitting guilt in Russia’s judicial system does not automatically end a case. She was sentenced to nine years.She acknowledged in court that she possessed canisters with cannabis oil but said she had no criminal intent and accidentally packed them. Her defense team presented written statements that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain.The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday's swap, saying in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that the exchange took place in Abu Dhabi and Bout had been flown home.Biden spoke by phone with Griner. U.S. officials said she would be offered specialized medical services and counseling.In releasing Bout, the U.S. freed a former Soviet Army lieutenant colonel whom the Justice Department once described as one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers. He was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and extradited to the U.S. in 2010.Bout was serving a 25-year sentence on charges that he conspired to sell tens of millions of dollars in weapons that U.S officials said were to be used against Americans.___SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A plane believed to be carrying Brittney Griner landed in the United States early Friday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-freed-viktor-bout-swap-us-russia-ee51f5c14f35dc4d4cf21224a8e44eaa">nearly 10 months after the basketball star was detained in Russia</a>&nbsp;and became the most high-profile American jailed abroad.Griner was exchanged for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/viktor-bout-russian-arms-dealer-brittney-griner-2afb6b2096e40e5c6b6b1fd26b4fbba0">notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout</a>. A plane believed to be carrying her touched down at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas.The deal achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden — but failed to win freedom for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/bbf0c7e3029fea40d604b11fd271533f">another American, Paul Whelan</a>, who has been jailed for nearly four years.Biden’s authorization to release Bout, the Russian felon once nicknamed “the Merchant of Death,” underscored the heightened urgency that his administration faced to get Griner home, particularly after the recent resolution of her criminal case on drug charges and her subsequent transfer to a penal colony.Griner, who also played pro basketball in Russia, was arrested at an airport there after Russian authorities said she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil. Before her conviction, the U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” — a charge that Russia has sharply rejected.Griner is a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-wnba-dunk-talent-good-c42a6465a3f3afcd2987ae0f12a6ad61">two-time Olympic gold medalist</a>, Baylor University All-American and Phoenix Mercury pro basketball star. Her status as an openly gay Black woman, locked up in a country where authorities have been hostile to the LBGTQ community, injected racial, gender and social dynamics into her legal saga and brought unprecedented attention to the population of wrongful detainees.The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the swap, saying in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that the exchange took place in Abu Dhabi and Bout had been flown home.Biden spoke by phone with Griner. U.S. officials said she would be offered specialized medical services and counseling.In releasing Bout, the U.S. freed a former Soviet Army lieutenant colonel whom the Justice Department once described as one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers. He was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and extradited to the U.S. in 2010.Bout was serving a 25-year sentence on charges that he conspired to sell tens of millions of dollars in weapons that U.S officials said were to be used against Americans.Following Griner’s arrest at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February, she pleaded guilty in July but still faced trial because admitting guilt in Russia’s judicial system does not automatically end a case.She acknowledged in court that she possessed canisters with cannabis oil but said she had no criminal intent and she accidentally packed them. Her defense team presented written statements that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain.___

Brittney Griner back home in US after Russian prisoner swap

WASHINGTON (AP) —U.S. regulators on Thursday cleared doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccines for children younger than age 5.

The Food and <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-updated-bivalent-covid-19-vaccines-children-down-6-months">Drug Administration’s decision</a> aims to better protect the littlest kids from severe COVID-19 at a time when children’s hospitals already are packed with tots suffering from a variety of respiratory illnesses.

Omicron-targeted booster shots made by Moderna and rival Pfizer already were open to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-business-covid-daaf1a4e5223d3b1251c4606b422ee0d">everyone 5 and older.</a>

The FDA now has cleared their use in tots starting at age 6 months -- but just who is eligible depends on what vaccinations they’ve already had, and which kind. Few youngsters have gotten the full primary series since shots for the littlest kids&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-rochelle-walensky-222bc528985a897c2a2d6173cd3659a9">began in June.</a>

--Children under age 6 who’ve already gotten two original doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine can get a single booster of Moderna’s updated formula if it’s been at least two months since their last shot.

--Pfizer’s vaccine requires three initial doses for tots under age 5 -- and those who haven’t finished that vaccination series will get the original formula for the first two shots and the omicron-targeted version for their third shot.

--Children under 5 who already got all three Pfizer doses aren’t yet eligible for an updated booster. Data expected next month should help the FDA determine if and when those tots need the omicron-targeted booster.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to sign off soon, the final step for shots to begin.

Just 3% of tots under 2 and nearly 5% of those 2 to 4 have gotten their primary doses so far, according to the CDC.

“Vaccines remain the best defense against the most devastating consequences of disease caused by the currently circulating omicron variant,” FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said in a statement.

The updated vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer are combination shots, containing half the original vaccine and half tweaked to match the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron strains that until recently were dominant. Now BA.5 descendants are responsible for most COVID-19 cases.

The CDC&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-covid-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-government-politics-cac663e28e4d6e44800f57c8ad50c707">last month</a>&nbsp;released the first real-world data showing that an updated booster, using either company’s version, does offer added protection to adults. The analysis found the greatest benefit was in people who’d never had a prior booster, just two doses of the original COVID-19 vaccine -- but that even those who’d had a summertime dose were more protected than if they’d skipped the newest shot.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1635537216378.png" alt="The FDA now has cleared their use in tots starting at age 6 months -- but just who is eligible depends on what vaccinations they’ve already had.-Photo courtesy Pfizer" />
 <figcaption>The FDA now has cleared their use in tots starting at age 6 months -- but just who is eligible depends on what vaccinations they’ve already had.-Photo courtesy Pfizer</figcaption>
 </figure>By LAURAN NEERGAARDWASHINGTON (AP) —U.S. regulators on Thursday cleared doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccines for children younger than age 5.The Food and <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-updated-bivalent-covid-19-vaccines-children-down-6-months">Drug Administration’s decision</a> aims to better protect the littlest kids from severe COVID-19 at a time when children’s hospitals already are packed with tots suffering from a variety of respiratory illnesses.Omicron-targeted booster shots made by Moderna and rival Pfizer already were open to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-business-covid-daaf1a4e5223d3b1251c4606b422ee0d">everyone 5 and older.</a>The FDA now has cleared their use in tots starting at age 6 months -- but just who is eligible depends on what vaccinations they’ve already had, and which kind. Few youngsters have gotten the full primary series since shots for the littlest kids&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-rochelle-walensky-222bc528985a897c2a2d6173cd3659a9">began in June.</a>The FDA decided that:--Children under age 6 who’ve already gotten two original doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine can get a single booster of Moderna’s updated formula if it’s been at least two months since their last shot.--Pfizer’s vaccine requires three initial doses for tots under age 5 -- and those who haven’t finished that vaccination series will get the original formula for the first two shots and the omicron-targeted version for their third shot.--Children under 5 who already got all three Pfizer doses aren’t yet eligible for an updated booster. Data expected next month should help the FDA determine if and when those tots need the omicron-targeted booster.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to sign off soon, the final step for shots to begin.Just 3% of tots under 2 and nearly 5% of those 2 to 4 have gotten their primary doses so far, according to the CDC.“Vaccines remain the best defense against the most devastating consequences of disease caused by the currently circulating omicron variant,” FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said in a statement.The updated vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer are combination shots, containing half the original vaccine and half tweaked to match the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron strains that until recently were dominant. Now BA.5 descendants are responsible for most COVID-19 cases.The CDC&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-covid-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-government-politics-cac663e28e4d6e44800f57c8ad50c707">last month</a>&nbsp;released the first real-world data showing that an updated booster, using either company’s version, does offer added protection to adults. The analysis found the greatest benefit was in people who’d never had a prior booster, just two doses of the original COVID-19 vaccine -- but that even those who’d had a summertime dose were more protected than if they’d skipped the newest shot.—-

FDA clears updated COVID-19 vaccines for kids under age 5

By JOHN HANNA and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH&nbsp;

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An oil spill in a creek in northeastern Kansas shut down a major pipeline that carries oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, briefly causing oil prices to rise on Thursday.

Canada-based TC Energy said it shut down its Keystone system Wednesday night following a drop in pipeline pressure. It said oil spilled into a creek in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles (241 kilometers) northwest of Kansas City.

The company said in a news release that the pipeline segment where the spill occurred had been “isolated” and that the company was using booms, or barriers, to keep the spilled oil from moving downstream. It didn't say how much oil was spilled or what caused the spill.

“People are sometimes not aware of of the havoc that these things can wreak until the disaster happens,” said Zack Pistora, who lobbies the Kansas Legislature for the Sierra Club's state chapter.

Concerns that spills could pollute waterways spurred opposition to plans by TC Energy to build another crude oil pipeline in the Keystone system, the 1,200-mile Keystone XL, which would have cut across Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Critics also argued that using crude from western Canada's oil sands would make climate change worse, and President Joe Biden's cancelation of a U.S. permit for the project led the company&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-joe-biden-keystone-pipeline-canada-environment-and-nature-141eabd7cca6449dfbd2dab8165812f2">to pull the plug last year.</a>

In 2019, the Keystone pipeline&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nd-state-wire-ne-state-wire-us-news-mo-state-wire-sd-state-wire-d3f301c4e5014981949be28fae8e15d7">leaked an estimated 383,000 gallons</a>&nbsp;(1.4 million liters) of oil in eastern North Dakota, damaging about five acres.

Janet Kleeb, who founded the Bold Nebraska environmental and landowner rights group that campaigned against the Keystone XL, said there have been at least 22 spills along the original Keystone pipeline since it went into service in 2010. She said federal studies have shown that the type of heavy tar sands oil the pipeline carries can be especially difficult to clean up in water because it tends to sink.

“All oil spills are difficult, but tar sands in particular are very toxic and very difficult, so I’m awfully concerned,” said Kleeb, who is also the Nebraska Democratic Party's chair.

But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said there were no known effects yet on drinking water wells or the public. Randy Hubbard, the Washington County Emergency Management coordinator, said there had been no evacuations because the break happened in a rural area in the middle of a pasture.

Keystone said in its statement: “Our primary focus right now is the health and safety of onsite staff and personnel, the surrounding community, and mitigating risk to the environment through the deployment of booms downstream as we work to contain and prevent further migration of the release.”

There was a brief surge in oil prices midday Thursday as word of the spill in Kansas began to spread, with the cost for a barrel of oil for near-term contracts rising by nearly 5%, and above the cost of oil contracts further into the future. That typically suggests there is anxiety in the market over immediate supply.

A U.S. Energy Information Administration spokesperson said the Keystone pipeline moves about 600,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada to Cushing, Oklahoma, where it can connect to another pipeline to the Gulf Coast. That’s compared to the total of 3.5 million to 4 million barrels of Canadian oil imported into the U.S. every day.

Past Keystone spills have led to outages that lasted about two weeks, but this outage could possibly be longer because it involves a body of water, said analysts at RBC Capital Markets in a note to investors. Depending on the spill’s location, it’s possible that a portion of the pipeline could restart sooner, they said.

“It’s something to keep an eye on, but not necessarily an immediate impact for now,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which tracks gasoline prices. “It could eventually impact oil supplies to refiners, which could be severe if it lasts more than a few days.”

The spill was 5 miles (8 kilometers) northeast of Washington, the county seat of about 1,100 residents. Paul Stewart, an area farmer, said part of it was contained on his land using yellow booms and a dam of dirt. The spill occurred in Mill Creek, which flows into the Little Blue River. That river feeds the Big Blue River, which flows into Tuttle Creek Lake, north of Manhattan, home of Kansas State University.

Dan Thalmann, the publisher and editor of The Washington County News, a weekly publication, said crews were creating a rock path to the creek because recent rains made the fields too soft to move heavy machinery over them.

“Gosh, the traffic past my house is unbelievable — trucks after trucks after trucks,” said Stewart, who took down an electric fence he'd finished putting up Wednesday, fearing that heavy equipment might knock it down and drag it into a field.

Chris Pannbacker said the pipeline runs through her family's farm. She and her husband drove north of the family's farmhouse and across a bridge over Mill Creek.

“We looked at it from both sides, and it was black on both sides,” said Pannbacker, who also is a reporter for the Marysville Advocate newspaper.

Junior Roop, the sexton of a cemetery near the site of the spill, said people could smell the oil in town.

“It was about like driving by a refinery,” he said.

“Much of the oil through Keystone gets exported, so we expect little to no impact on domestic gasoline prices,” said Andrew Gross, spokesman for AAA. “Any spike in reaction will likely subside quickly as other news takes over.”

Randy Hubbard, the Washington County Emergency Management coordinator, said there had been no evacuations because the break happened in a rural area in the middle of a pasture. He didn’t know the name of the creek or what body of water it flows into.

He said the pipeline operator hasn’t disclosed how much oil was discharged and that it could take a day and a half to get that data.

He said he hadn’t been to the site but is supporting investigators with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and and Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

The Kansas department's spokesman, Matt Lara, said it was sending a team to the site but had no information. The EPA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment and officials with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration didn’t immediately respond to questions about the oil spill Thursday.

“Everyone is in their fact-finding process,” Hubbard said.

There was a brief surge in oil prices midday Thursday as word of the spill began to spread, with the cost for a barrel of oil for near-term contracts rising by nearly 5%, and above the cost of oil contracts further into the future. That typically suggests there is anxiety in the market over immediate supply.

The Keystone pipeline&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nd-state-wire-ne-state-wire-us-news-mo-state-wire-sd-state-wire-d3f301c4e5014981949be28fae8e15d7">in 2019 leaked</a>&nbsp;an estimated 383,000 gallons (1.4 million liters) of oil in eastern North Dakota, damaging about five acres.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670525599435.png" alt="Oil spilled into a creek in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles northwest of Kansas City.- Photo courtesy TC Energy&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Oil spilled into a creek in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles northwest of Kansas City.- Photo courtesy TC Energy&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNA and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH&nbsp;TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An oil spill in a creek in northeastern Kansas shut down a major pipeline that carries oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, briefly causing oil prices to rise on Thursday.Canada-based TC Energy said it shut down its Keystone system Wednesday night following a drop in pipeline pressure. It said oil spilled into a creek in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles (241 kilometers) northwest of Kansas City.The company said in a news release that the pipeline segment where the spill occurred had been “isolated” and that the company was using booms, or barriers, to keep the spilled oil from moving downstream. It didn't say how much oil was spilled or what caused the spill.“People are sometimes not aware of of the havoc that these things can wreak until the disaster happens,” said Zack Pistora, who lobbies the Kansas Legislature for the Sierra Club's state chapter.Concerns that spills could pollute waterways spurred opposition to plans by TC Energy to build another crude oil pipeline in the Keystone system, the 1,200-mile Keystone XL, which would have cut across Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Critics also argued that using crude from western Canada's oil sands would make climate change worse, and President Joe Biden's cancelation of a U.S. permit for the project led the company&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-joe-biden-keystone-pipeline-canada-environment-and-nature-141eabd7cca6449dfbd2dab8165812f2">to pull the plug last year.</a>In 2019, the Keystone pipeline&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nd-state-wire-ne-state-wire-us-news-mo-state-wire-sd-state-wire-d3f301c4e5014981949be28fae8e15d7">leaked an estimated 383,000 gallons</a>&nbsp;(1.4 million liters) of oil in eastern North Dakota, damaging about five acres.Janet Kleeb, who founded the Bold Nebraska environmental and landowner rights group that campaigned against the Keystone XL, said there have been at least 22 spills along the original Keystone pipeline since it went into service in 2010. She said federal studies have shown that the type of heavy tar sands oil the pipeline carries can be especially difficult to clean up in water because it tends to sink.“All oil spills are difficult, but tar sands in particular are very toxic and very difficult, so I’m awfully concerned,” said Kleeb, who is also the Nebraska Democratic Party's chair.But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said there were no known effects yet on drinking water wells or the public. Randy Hubbard, the Washington County Emergency Management coordinator, said there had been no evacuations because the break happened in a rural area in the middle of a pasture.Keystone said in its statement: “Our primary focus right now is the health and safety of onsite staff and personnel, the surrounding community, and mitigating risk to the environment through the deployment of booms downstream as we work to contain and prevent further migration of the release.”There was a brief surge in oil prices midday Thursday as word of the spill in Kansas began to spread, with the cost for a barrel of oil for near-term contracts rising by nearly 5%, and above the cost of oil contracts further into the future. That typically suggests there is anxiety in the market over immediate supply.A U.S. Energy Information Administration spokesperson said the Keystone pipeline moves about 600,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada to Cushing, Oklahoma, where it can connect to another pipeline to the Gulf Coast. That’s compared to the total of 3.5 million to 4 million barrels of Canadian oil imported into the U.S. every day.Past Keystone spills have led to outages that lasted about two weeks, but this outage could possibly be longer because it involves a body of water, said analysts at RBC Capital Markets in a note to investors. Depending on the spill’s location, it’s possible that a portion of the pipeline could restart sooner, they said.“It’s something to keep an eye on, but not necessarily an immediate impact for now,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which tracks gasoline prices. “It could eventually impact oil supplies to refiners, which could be severe if it lasts more than a few days.”The spill was 5 miles (8 kilometers) northeast of Washington, the county seat of about 1,100 residents. Paul Stewart, an area farmer, said part of it was contained on his land using yellow booms and a dam of dirt. The spill occurred in Mill Creek, which flows into the Little Blue River. That river feeds the Big Blue River, which flows into Tuttle Creek Lake, north of Manhattan, home of Kansas State University.Dan Thalmann, the publisher and editor of The Washington County News, a weekly publication, said crews were creating a rock path to the creek because recent rains made the fields too soft to move heavy machinery over them.“Gosh, the traffic past my house is unbelievable — trucks after trucks after trucks,” said Stewart, who took down an electric fence he'd finished putting up Wednesday, fearing that heavy equipment might knock it down and drag it into a field.Chris Pannbacker said the pipeline runs through her family's farm. She and her husband drove north of the family's farmhouse and across a bridge over Mill Creek.“We looked at it from both sides, and it was black on both sides,” said Pannbacker, who also is a reporter for the Marysville Advocate newspaper.Junior Roop, the sexton of a cemetery near the site of the spill, said people could smell the oil in town.“It was about like driving by a refinery,” he said.------------TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An oil spill in a creek in northeastern Kansas shut down a major pipeline that carries oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, briefly causing oil prices to rise on Thursday.Canada-based TC Energy said it shut down its Keystone system Wednesday night following a drop in pipeline pressure. It said oil spilled into a creek in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles (241 kilometers) northwest of Kansas City.The company said in a news release that the pipeline segment where the spill occurred had been “isolated” and that the company was using booms, or barriers, to keep the spilled oil from moving downstream. It didn't say how much oil was spilled or what caused the spill.Concerns that spills could pollute waterways spurred opposition to plans by TC Energy to build another crude oil pipeline in the Keystone system, the 1,200-mile Keystone XL, which would have cut across Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Critics also argued that using crude from western Canada's oil sands would make climate change worse, and President Joe Biden's cancelation of a U.S. permit for the project led the company&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-joe-biden-keystone-pipeline-canada-environment-and-nature-141eabd7cca6449dfbd2dab8165812f2">to pull the plug last year.</a>In 2019, the Keystone pipeline&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nd-state-wire-ne-state-wire-us-news-mo-state-wire-sd-state-wire-d3f301c4e5014981949be28fae8e15d7">leaked an estimated 383,000 gallons</a>&nbsp;(1.4 million liters) of oil in eastern North Dakota, damaging about five acres.There was a brief surge in oil prices midday Thursday as word of the spill in Kansas began to spread, with the cost for a barrel of oil for near-term contracts rising by nearly 5%, and above the cost of oil contracts further into the future. That typically suggests there is anxiety in the market over immediate supply.“It’s something to keep an eye on, but not necessarily an immediate impact for now,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which tracks gasoline prices. “It could eventually impact oil supplies to refiners, which could be severe if it lasts more than a few days.”Past Keystone spills have led to outages that lasted about two weeks, but this outage could possibly be longer because it involves a body of water, said analysts at RBC Capital Markets in a note to investors. Depending on the spill’s location, it’s possible that a portion of the pipeline could restart sooner, they said.“Much of the oil through Keystone gets exported, so we expect little to no impact on domestic gasoline prices,” said Andrew Gross, spokesman for AAA. “Any spike in reaction will likely subside quickly as other news takes over.”Randy Hubbard, the Washington County Emergency Management coordinator, said there had been no evacuations because the break happened in a rural area in the middle of a pasture. He didn’t know the name of the creek or what body of water it flows into.He said the pipeline operator hasn’t disclosed how much oil was discharged and that it could take a day and a half to get that data.He said he hadn’t been to the site but is supporting investigators with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and and Kansas Department of Health and Environment.Keystone said in its statement: “Our primary focus right now is the health and safety of onsite staff and personnel, the surrounding community, and mitigating risk to the environment through the deployment of booms downstream as we work to contain and prevent further migration of the release.”The Kansas department's spokesman, Matt Lara, said it was sending a team to the site but had no information. The EPA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment and officials with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration didn’t immediately respond to questions about the oil spill Thursday.“Everyone is in their fact-finding process,” Hubbard said.-------TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An oil spill in a creek in northeastern Kansas shut down a major pipeline that carries oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, briefly causing oil prices to rise on Thursday.Canada-based TC Energy said it shut down its Keystone system Wednesday night following a drop in pipeline pressure. It said oil spilled into a creek in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles northwest of Kansas City.The company said in a news release that the pipeline segment where the spill occurred had been “isolated” and that the company was using booms, or barriers, to keep the spilled oil from moving downstream. It didn't say how much oil was spilled or what caused the spill.There was a brief surge in oil prices midday Thursday as word of the spill began to spread, with the cost for a barrel of oil for near-term contracts rising by nearly 5%, and above the cost of oil contracts further into the future. That typically suggests there is anxiety in the market over immediate supply.“It’s something to keep an eye on, but not necessarily an immediate impact for now,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which tracks gasoline prices. “It could eventually impact oil supplies to refiners, which could be severe if it lasts more than a few days.”Past Keystone spills have led to outages that lasted about two weeks, but this outage could possibly be longer because it involves a body of water, said analysts at RBC Capital Markets in a note to investors. Depending on the spill’s location, it’s possible that a portion of the pipeline could restart sooner, they said.“Much of the oil through Keystone gets exported, so we expect little to no impact on domestic gasoline prices,” said Andrew Gross, spokesman for AAA. “Any spike in reaction will likely subside quickly as other news takes over.”Randy Hubbard, the Washington County Emergency Management coordinator, said there had been no evacuations because the break happened in a rural area in the middle of a pasture. He didn’t know the name of the creek or what body of water it flows into.He said the pipeline operator hasn’t disclosed how much oil was discharged and that it could take a day and a half to get that data.He said he hadn’t been to the site but is supporting investigators with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and and Kansas Department of Health and Environment.The Kansas department's spokesman, Matt Lara, said it was sending a team to the site but had no information. The EPA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment and officials with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration didn’t immediately respond to questions about the oil spill Thursday.“Everyone is in their fact-finding process,” Hubbard said.The Keystone pipeline&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nd-state-wire-ne-state-wire-us-news-mo-state-wire-sd-state-wire-d3f301c4e5014981949be28fae8e15d7">in 2019 leaked</a>&nbsp;an estimated 383,000 gallons (1.4 million liters) of oil in eastern North Dakota, damaging about five acres.

Oil spill in rural Kansas creek shuts down pipeline

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House gave final approval Thursday to legislation protecting same-sex marriages, a monumental step in a decadeslong battle for nationwide recognition of such unions that reflects a stunning turnaround in societal attitudes.

(Click below to watch Speaker Pelosi and Members of the Equality Caucus, sign the Respect for Marriage Act.)

President Joe Biden is expected to promptly sign the measure, which requires all states to recognize same-sex marriages, a relief for hundreds of thousands of couples who have married since the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision that legalized those marriages nationwide.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-religion-gay-rights-marriage-clarence-thomas-2d09d9213472d04195c64d09644f124c">bipartisan legislation,</a>&nbsp;which passed 258-169 with almost 40 Republican votes, would also protect interracial unions by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.” Kansas 3rd District Congresswoman Sharice Davids was the only member of the Kansas House delegation to vote in favor of the bill.

After months of talks, the Senate passed the bill last week with 12 Republican votes.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In debate ahead of the vote, several gay members of Congress talked about what it would mean for them and their families. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., said he was set to marry “the love of my life” next year and that it is “unthinkable” that his marriage might not be recognized in some states.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., said he and his husband should be able to visit each other in the hospital just like any other married couple and receive spousal benefits “regardless of if your spouse’s name Samuel or Samantha.”

Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., said that the idea of marriage equality used to be a “far fetched idea, Now it’s the law of the land and supported by the vast majority of Americans.”

Democrats moved the bill quickly through the House and Senate after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">Supreme Court’s June decision that overturned the federal right to an abortion.</a>&nbsp;That ruling included a concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas that suggested same-sex marriage should also be reconsidered.

The legislation lost some Republican support since July, when 47 Republicans voted for it — a robust and unexpected show of support that kick-started serious negotiations in the Senate. But most of those lawmakers held firm.

“To me this is really just standing with the Constitution,” said Republican Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri, who voted for it both times. She pushed back on GOP arguments that it would affect religious rights of those who don't believe in same sex marriage.

“No one’s religious. liberties are affected in any way, shape or form,” Wagner said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., presided over the vote as one of her last acts in leadership before stepping aside in January. She said the legislation "will ensure that “the federal government will never again stand in the way of marrying the person you love.”

The legislation would not require states to allow same-sex couples to marry, as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-courts-marriage-supreme-court-of-the-united-states-united-states-government-9e1933cd1e1a4e969ab45f5952bbb45f">Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision now does</a>. But it would require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed and it would protect current same-sex unions if the Obergefell decision were overturned.

While it's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-oklahoma-couples-marriage-fd530c9c3042503f134d5e09af9afb8f">not everything</a>&nbsp;advocates may have wanted, passage of the legislation represents a watershed moment. Just a decade ago, many Republicans openly campaigned on blocking same-sex marriages; today more than two-thirds of the public support them.

Still, most Republicans opposed the legislation and some conservative advocacy groups lobbied aggressively against it in recent weeks, arguing that it doesn’t do enough to protect those who want to refuse services for same-sex couples.

“God’s perfect design is indeed marriage between one man and one woman for life,” said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va, ahead of the vote. “And it doesn’t matter what you think or what I think, that’s what the Bible says.”

Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., choked up as she begged colleagues to vote against the bill, which she said undermines “natural marriage” between a man and a woman.

“I’ll tell you my priorities,” Hartzler said. “Protect religious liberty, protect people of faith and protect Americans who believe in the true meaning of marriage.”

Democrats in the Senate, led by Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin and Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema, tried to address those GOP concerns by negotiating an amendment that would clarify that the legislation does not affect the rights of private individuals or businesses that are already enshrined in current law. The amended bill would also make clear that a marriage is between two people, an effort to ward off some far-right criticism that the legislation could endorse polygamy.

In the end, several religious groups, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-relationships-gay-rights-utah-07847f4b7e3e96d81c10a298a199b860">came out</a>&nbsp;in support of the bill. The Mormon church said it would support rights for same-sex couples as long as they didn’t infringe upon religious groups’ right to believe as they choose.

Thursday's vote came as the LGBTQ community has faced violent attacks, such as the shooting earlier this month at a gay nightclub in Colorado that killed five people and injured at least 17.

“We have been through a lot,” said Kelley Robinson, the incoming president of the advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. But Robinson says the votes show “in such an important way” that the country values LBGTQ people.

“We are part of the full story of what it means to be an American,” said Robinson, who was inside the Senate chamber for last week’s vote with her wife and young son. “It really speaks to them validating our love.”

The vote was personal for many senators, too. The day the bill passed their chamber, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was wearing the tie he wore at his daughter’s wedding to another woman. He recalled that day as “one of the happiest moments of my life.”

Baldwin, the first openly gay senator who has been working on gay rights issues for almost four decades, tearfully hugged Schumer as the final vote was underway. She tweeted thanks to the same-sex and interracial couples who she said made the moment possible.

“By living as your true selves, you changed the hearts and minds of people around you,” she wrote.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670518871901.png" alt="House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Chuck Schumer celebrate passage of HR 8404, the Respect for Marriage Act." />
 <figcaption>House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Chuck Schumer celebrate passage of HR 8404, the Respect for Marriage Act.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The House gave final approval Thursday to legislation protecting same-sex marriages, a monumental step in a decadeslong battle for nationwide recognition of such unions that reflects a stunning turnaround in societal attitudes.(Click below to watch Speaker Pelosi and Members of the Equality Caucus, sign the Respect for Marriage Act.)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FNancyPelosi%2Fvideos%2F1336075067163768%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=126" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>President Joe Biden is expected to promptly sign the measure, which requires all states to recognize same-sex marriages, a relief for hundreds of thousands of couples who have married since the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision that legalized those marriages nationwide.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-religion-gay-rights-marriage-clarence-thomas-2d09d9213472d04195c64d09644f124c">bipartisan legislation,</a>&nbsp;which passed 258-169 with almost 40 Republican votes, would also protect interracial unions by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.” Kansas 3rd District Congresswoman Sharice Davids was the only member of the Kansas House delegation to vote in favor of the bill.After months of talks, the Senate passed the bill last week with 12 Republican votes.&nbsp;&nbsp;In debate ahead of the vote, several gay members of Congress talked about what it would mean for them and their families. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., said he was set to marry “the love of my life” next year and that it is “unthinkable” that his marriage might not be recognized in some states.Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., said he and his husband should be able to visit each other in the hospital just like any other married couple and receive spousal benefits “regardless of if your spouse’s name Samuel or Samantha.”Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., said that the idea of marriage equality used to be a “far fetched idea, Now it’s the law of the land and supported by the vast majority of Americans.”Democrats moved the bill quickly through the House and Senate after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">Supreme Court’s June decision that overturned the federal right to an abortion.</a>&nbsp;That ruling included a concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas that suggested same-sex marriage should also be reconsidered.The legislation lost some Republican support since July, when 47 Republicans voted for it — a robust and unexpected show of support that kick-started serious negotiations in the Senate. But most of those lawmakers held firm.“To me this is really just standing with the Constitution,” said Republican Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri, who voted for it both times. She pushed back on GOP arguments that it would affect religious rights of those who don't believe in same sex marriage.“No one’s religious. liberties are affected in any way, shape or form,” Wagner said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670513089801.png" alt="House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the legislation "will ensure that “the federal government will never again stand in the way of marrying the person you love.”-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the legislation "will ensure that “the federal government will never again stand in the way of marrying the person you love.”-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., presided over the vote as one of her last acts in leadership before stepping aside in January. She said the legislation "will ensure that “the federal government will never again stand in the way of marrying the person you love.”The legislation would not require states to allow same-sex couples to marry, as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-courts-marriage-supreme-court-of-the-united-states-united-states-government-9e1933cd1e1a4e969ab45f5952bbb45f">Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision now does</a>. But it would require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed and it would protect current same-sex unions if the Obergefell decision were overturned.While it's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-oklahoma-couples-marriage-fd530c9c3042503f134d5e09af9afb8f">not everything</a>&nbsp;advocates may have wanted, passage of the legislation represents a watershed moment. Just a decade ago, many Republicans openly campaigned on blocking same-sex marriages; today more than two-thirds of the public support them.Still, most Republicans opposed the legislation and some conservative advocacy groups lobbied aggressively against it in recent weeks, arguing that it doesn’t do enough to protect those who want to refuse services for same-sex couples.“God’s perfect design is indeed marriage between one man and one woman for life,” said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va, ahead of the vote. “And it doesn’t matter what you think or what I think, that’s what the Bible says.”Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., choked up as she begged colleagues to vote against the bill, which she said undermines “natural marriage” between a man and a woman.“I’ll tell you my priorities,” Hartzler said. “Protect religious liberty, protect people of faith and protect Americans who believe in the true meaning of marriage.”Democrats in the Senate, led by Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin and Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema, tried to address those GOP concerns by negotiating an amendment that would clarify that the legislation does not affect the rights of private individuals or businesses that are already enshrined in current law. The amended bill would also make clear that a marriage is between two people, an effort to ward off some far-right criticism that the legislation could endorse polygamy.In the end, several religious groups, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-relationships-gay-rights-utah-07847f4b7e3e96d81c10a298a199b860">came out</a>&nbsp;in support of the bill. The Mormon church said it would support rights for same-sex couples as long as they didn’t infringe upon religious groups’ right to believe as they choose.Thursday's vote came as the LGBTQ community has faced violent attacks, such as the shooting earlier this month at a gay nightclub in Colorado that killed five people and injured at least 17.“We have been through a lot,” said Kelley Robinson, the incoming president of the advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. But Robinson says the votes show “in such an important way” that the country values LBGTQ people.“We are part of the full story of what it means to be an American,” said Robinson, who was inside the Senate chamber for last week’s vote with her wife and young son. “It really speaks to them validating our love.”The vote was personal for many senators, too. The day the bill passed their chamber, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was wearing the tie he wore at his daughter’s wedding to another woman. He recalled that day as “one of the happiest moments of my life.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">PASSED: H.R. 8404 The Respect for Marriage Act 🏳️‍🌈 This is the first major LGBTQ+ civil rights bill to pass Congress in a decade. This bipartisan legislation provides crucial safeguards for same-sex &amp; interracial couples.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LoveWins?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LoveWins</a> <a href="https://t.co/Y0fZoLJgLb">pic.twitter.com/Y0fZoLJgLb</a>&mdash; LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus (@LGBTEqCaucus) <a href="https://twitter.com/LGBTEqCaucus/status/1600889118845997057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Baldwin, the first openly gay senator who has been working on gay rights issues for almost four decades, tearfully hugged Schumer as the final vote was underway. She tweeted thanks to the same-sex and interracial couples who she said made the moment possible.“By living as your true selves, you changed the hearts and minds of people around you,” she wrote.

🎥Bill protecting same-sex marriage going to Biden for his signature

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, with the U.S. releasing notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, the White House said. The swap, at a time of heightened tensions over Ukraine, achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden, but carried a heavy price — and left behind an American jailed for nearly four years in Russia.

Click below watch the statement from the President and Cherelle Griner.

“She’s safe, she’s on a plane, she’s on her way home," Biden said from the White House, where he was accompanied by Griner's wife, Cherelle, and administration officials.

The deal, the second such exchange in eight months with Russia, procured the release of the most prominent American detained abroad. Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist whose monthslong imprisonment on drug charges brought unprecedented attention to the population of wrongful detainees.

Biden's authorization to release a Russian felon once nicknamed “the Merchant of Death" underscored the escalating pressure that his administration faced to get Griner home, particularly after the recent resolution of her criminal case and her&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=brittney+griner+apnews+penal+colony&amp;rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS917US917&amp;oq=brittney+griner+apnews+penal+colony&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160j33i299l2.4982j0j4&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">subsequent transfer to a penal colony.</a>

The Russian Foreign Ministry also confirmed the swap, saying in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that the exchange took place in Abu-Dhabi and that Bout has been flown home

Russian and U.S. officials had conveyed cautious optimism in recent weeks after months of strained negotiations,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=biden+apnews+hopeful+griner&amp;rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS917US917&amp;sxsrf=ALiCzsaPtI5zlZPVtSI7pfSj2KywAlWLRA%3A1670495004369&amp;ei=HLuRY5eNFoShptQPpPmByA4&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiXi9bq5un7AhWEkIkEHaR8AOkQ4dUDCBA&amp;uact=5&amp;oq=biden+apnews+hopeful+griner&amp;gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQAzoKCAAQRxDWBBCwAzoFCCEQoAE6BQghEKsCSgQIQRgASgQIRhgAULkDWOIIYLcJaAFwAXgAgAFqiAHMBJIBAzYuMZgBAKABAcgBCMABAQ&amp;sclient=gws-wiz-serp">with Biden saying in November</a>&nbsp;that he was hopeful that Russia would engage in a deal now that the midterm elections were completed. A top Russian official&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-entertainment-sports-moscow-paul-whelan-1606112a3e89f85be2deecc0e476d333">said last week</a>&nbsp;that a deal was possible before year's end.

Even so, the fact that the deal was a one-for-one swap was a surprise given that U.S. officials had for months expressed their their determination to bring home both Griner and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/paul-whelan">Paul Whelan,</a>&nbsp;a Michigan corporate security executive jailed in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government has said are baseless.

“We’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan,” Biden said. “We will keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release.”

Whelan's brother David said in a statement he was “so glad” for Griner's release but also disappointed for his family. He credited the White House with giving the Whelan family advance notice and said he did not fault officials for making the deal.

“The Biden Administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen,” he said.

In releasing Bout, the U.S. freed a a former Soviet Army lieutenant colonel whom the Justice Department once described as one of the world's most prolific arms dealers. Bout, whose exploits inspired a Hollywood movie, was serving a 25-year sentence on charges that he conspired to sell tens of millions of dollars in weapons that U.S officials said were to be used against Americans.

The Biden administration was ultimately willing to exchange Bout if it meant Griner's freedom. The detention of one of the greatest players in WNBA history contributed to a swirl of unprecedented public attention for an individual detainee case — not to mention intense pressure on the White House.

Griner’s arrest in February made her&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-sports-europe-basketball-arrests-c8796efac2149da8d097b7fce98b6332">the most high-profile American jailed abroad</a>. Her status as an openly gay Black woman, locked up in a country where authorities have been hostile to the LBGTQ community, infused racial, gender and social dynamics into her legal saga and made each development a matter of international importance.

Her case not only brought unprecedented publicity to the dozens of Americans wrongfully detained by foreign governments, but it also emerged as a major inflection point in U.S.-Russia diplomacy at a time of deteriorating relations prompted by Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

The exchange was carried out despite deteriorating relations between the powers. But the imprisonment of Americans produced a rare diplomatic opening, yielding the highest-level known contact between Washington and Moscow —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-moscow-antony-blinken-sergey-lavrov-paul-whelan-54d694915c7c6c7222d2bb8893f93b04">a phone call between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov</a>&nbsp;— in more than five months.

In an extraordinary move during otherwise secret negotiations,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=substantial+proposal+blinken+apnews+eric+tucker&amp;rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS917US917&amp;oq=substantial+proposal+blinken+apnews+eric+tucker&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57.5839j1j4&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">Blinken revealed publicly</a>&nbsp;in July that the U.S. had made a “substantial proposal” to Russia for Griner and Whelan. Though he did not specify the terms, people familiar with it said the U.S. had offered Bout.

Such a public overture drew a chiding rebuke from the Russians, who said they preferred to resolve such cases in private, and carried the risk of weakening the U.S. government's negotiating hand for this and future deals by making the administration appear too desperate. But the announcement was also meant to communicate to the public that Biden was doing what he could and to ensure pressure on the Russians.

Besides the efforts of U.S. officials, the release also followed months of back channel negotiations involving Bill Richardson, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a frequent emissary in hostage talks, and his top deputy, Mickey Bergman.

Griner was arrested at the Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in February when customs officials said they found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-russia-trial-live-updates-bc4c1d9efd490eed0eb522c8c59e9197">She pleaded guilty in July</a>, though still faced trial because admitting guilt in Russia's judicial system does not automatically end a case.

She acknowledged in court that she possessed the canisters, but said she had no criminal intent and said their presence in her luggage was due to hasty packing.

<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=griner+sentenced+apnews&amp;rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS917US917&amp;oq=griner+sentenced+apnews+&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160l4.3326j0j4&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">Before being sentenced on Aug. 4</a>&nbsp;and receiving a punishment her lawyers said was out of line for the offense, an emotional Griner apologized "for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them.” She added: “I hope in your ruling it does not end my life.”

Her supporters had largely stayed quiet for weeks after her arrest, but that approach changed in May once the State Department&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-sports-business-phoenix-mercury-united-states-b6aaaeee14b825bd247e2d853a9d708c">designated her as unlawfully detained</a>. A separate trade, Marine veteran&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-united-states-prisoner-exchange-8fd1e58e690350019c7aab55af41bbbf">Trevor Reed for Konstantin Yaroshenko</a>, a Russian pilot convicted in the U.S. in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy, spurred hope that additional such exchanges could be in the works.

Whelan has been held in Russia since December 2018. The U.S. government also classified him as wrongfully detained. He was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison.

Whelan was not included in the Reed prisoner swap, escalating pressure on the Biden administration to ensure that any deal that brought home Griner also included him.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia freed WNBA star&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/brittney-griner">Brittney Griner</a>&nbsp;on Thursday in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, with the U.S. releasing notorious Russian arms dealer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=viktor+bout+apnews&amp;rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS917US917&amp;oq=viktor+&amp;aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j46i433i512l2j0i433i512j0i131i433i512l2j46i433i512j0i433i512l2.1068j0j4&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">Viktor Bout</a>, American and Russian officials said. The swap, at a time of heightened tensions over Ukraine, achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden, but carried a heavy price — and left behind an American jailed for nearly four years in Russia.

The swap was confirmed by U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations who were not authorized to publicly discuss the deal before a White House announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity. Biden spoke with Griner on the phone Thursday while her wife, Cherelle, was in the Oval Office. The president was to address reporters later in the morning.

“Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home,” Biden tweeted.

Besides the efforts of U.S. officials, the release also followed months of backchannel negotiations involving Bill Richardson, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a frequent emissary in hostage talks, and his top deputy Mickey Bergman. The men had made multiple trips abroad in the last year to discuss swap scenarios with Russian contacts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia freed WNBA star&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/brittney-griner">Brittney Griner</a>&nbsp;on Thursday in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, with the U.S. releasing notorious Russian arms dealer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=viktor+bout+apnews&amp;rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS917US917&amp;oq=viktor+&amp;aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j46i433i512l2j0i433i512j0i131i433i512l2j46i433i512j0i433i512l2.1068j0j4&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">Viktor Bout</a>, American officials said. The swap, at a time of heightened tensions over Ukraine, achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden, but carried a heavy price — and left behind an American jailed for nearly four years in Russia.

The swap was confirmed by U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations who were not authorized to publicly discuss the deal before a White House announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity.

🎥Griner for arms dealer: WNBA star freed in US-Russia prisoner swap

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Some of Geoff Bond's rowers loved and appreciated his demanding style. They thrived on how the coach at the University of California-San Diego pushed them to the limit while preparing them to take on the real world.

But for others, Bond was a nightmare, with over-the-top intensity, an unpredictable temper and rage they abhorred. They say he regularly threatened to harm or kill team members. One heartbroken couple insists Bond's behavior was to blame for their son's suicide.

Bond left his post earlier this year without any explanation from the school, and his employment status is unclear. In his wake, a debate now rages in college sports and athletics at every level: What constitutes bullying, and what is merely good, hard-nosed coaching that aims to get the most out of young adult athletes?

"There absolutely is a fine line between those two things, and it actually allows for somebody to behave in a more bullying manner under the guise of 'I'm pushing you to be the best that you can be.' And then the victim is kind of forced to accept that," said Deidre Abrons, a licensed marriage and family psychotherapist in Oakland, California, with extensive trauma and PTSD experience.

Sports programs across the county are weighing whether such tough coaching styles have a place in a world where student-athletes demand more sensitive treatment and more individualized training. Athletes of this younger generation also wield greater personal power over their career paths, which can force coaches to accommodate them or risk losing top talent.

There is evidence that coaching has become less autocratic, less brutal — that Bond was just a throwback from the days when legends such as Bear Bryant pushed football players to the brink and Bobby Knight erupted in volcanic outbursts at his basketball teams.

These days, athletes are speaking up about their experiences on and off the playing field, regardless of whether they are on high-profile teams or in smaller, non-revenue sports. As transfer rules have eased, students have also acquired more freedom to change schools, along with the ability to capitalize financially on their fame.

Many coaches have changed too, tailoring their dealings with each athlete based on that person's individual needs, rather than applying the one-size-fits-all approach of the past.

Still, Bond is far from the only coach whose practices have come under attack. The complaints extend beyond colleges and into Olympic events.

Abrons said it's often hard for athletes "to recognize the abuse and call it abuse."

"That's really hard to come to terms with, especially when it's somebody in your life who is such a mentor, who's guiding you, who's supposed to be on your side. And so they often blame themselves, like: 'Oh, this is me. This person has it all together. I'm the problem.'"

Bond's career in San Diego ended Jan. 13, when the school announced that he would no longer be coach, but it offered no details. Bond, who previously coached at the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania, has challenged his dismissal in court, and the legal battle is ongoing.

Some rowers said his rage regularly went beyond intense coaching.

"He would make up the worst kinds of insults to people," said Dameon Engblom, a former assistant coach under Bond at Penn and in San Diego who also rowed for him as a high school athlete in the Bay Area.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670506970986.jpeg" alt="Brian Lilly wipes away tears while watching a video of his son, Brian Lilly Jr., deliver a speech to his rowing team, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, in Easton, Conn. Brian Lilly Jr., 19, who committed suicide on Jan. 4, 2021, was a rower at University of California San Diego. The Lillys have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the university and the rowing coach, Geoff Bond, who is no longer with the school. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)" />
 <figcaption>Brian Lilly wipes away tears while watching a video of his son, Brian Lilly Jr., deliver a speech to his rowing team, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, in Easton, Conn. Brian Lilly Jr., 19, who committed suicide on Jan. 4, 2021, was a rower at University of California San Diego. The Lillys have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the university and the rowing coach, Geoff Bond, who is no longer with the school. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)</figcaption>
 </figure>By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports WriterSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Some of Geoff Bond's rowers loved and appreciated his demanding style. They thrived on how the coach at the University of California-San Diego pushed them to the limit while preparing them to take on the real world.But for others, Bond was a nightmare, with over-the-top intensity, an unpredictable temper and rage they abhorred. They say he regularly threatened to harm or kill team members. One heartbroken couple insists Bond's behavior was to blame for their son's suicide.Bond left his post earlier this year without any explanation from the school, and his employment status is unclear. In his wake, a debate now rages in college sports and athletics at every level: What constitutes bullying, and what is merely good, hard-nosed coaching that aims to get the most out of young adult athletes?"There absolutely is a fine line between those two things, and it actually allows for somebody to behave in a more bullying manner under the guise of 'I'm pushing you to be the best that you can be.' And then the victim is kind of forced to accept that," said Deidre Abrons, a licensed marriage and family psychotherapist in Oakland, California, with extensive trauma and PTSD experience.Sports programs across the county are weighing whether such tough coaching styles have a place in a world where student-athletes demand more sensitive treatment and more individualized training. Athletes of this younger generation also wield greater personal power over their career paths, which can force coaches to accommodate them or risk losing top talent.There is evidence that coaching has become less autocratic, less brutal — that Bond was just a throwback from the days when legends such as Bear Bryant pushed football players to the brink and Bobby Knight erupted in volcanic outbursts at his basketball teams.These days, athletes are speaking up about their experiences on and off the playing field, regardless of whether they are on high-profile teams or in smaller, non-revenue sports. As transfer rules have eased, students have also acquired more freedom to change schools, along with the ability to capitalize financially on their fame.Many coaches have changed too, tailoring their dealings with each athlete based on that person's individual needs, rather than applying the one-size-fits-all approach of the past.Still, Bond is far from the only coach whose practices have come under attack. The complaints extend beyond colleges and into Olympic events.Abrons said it's often hard for athletes "to recognize the abuse and call it abuse.""That's really hard to come to terms with, especially when it's somebody in your life who is such a mentor, who's guiding you, who's supposed to be on your side. And so they often blame themselves, like: 'Oh, this is me. This person has it all together. I'm the problem.'"___Bond's career in San Diego ended Jan. 13, when the school announced that he would no longer be coach, but it offered no details. Bond, who previously coached at the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania, has challenged his dismissal in court, and the legal battle is ongoing.Some rowers said his rage regularly went beyond intense coaching."He would make up the worst kinds of insults to people," said Dameon Engblom, a former assistant coach under Bond at Penn and in San Diego who also rowed for him as a high school athlete in the Bay Area."He never pushed or shoved anybody or made any physical contact, but he would get up in people's faces. He'd threaten to kill people," one ex-Penn rower said on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution in the tight-knit rowing community.In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, a group of nine rowers from the 2016 Penn team wrote to more than 60 parents of fellow student-athletes expressing fears that the program was "unsafe" under Bond. The rowers were unsatisfied with what one called the university's "neutral response" to concerns shared during exit interviews.Bond "has shown a disregard for responsible oversight of the mental health of our team in a way that is counterproductive to Penn Rowing's performance," the athletes wrote.The rowers said Bond had "created an abusive environment by the repeated use of belittling nicknames and hostile language like, 'Talk to me again, I swear I will f------ cap you. I will f------ kill you,' and 'I will break through you.'"They also alleged that he "stigmatized the use of appropriate resources for managing stress by publicly shaming teammates" who utilized Penn's psychological services.When reached for comment about Bond's tenure, Penn said only that he stepped down at the end of his contract in 2019. A second request for details received no response.Some rowers who competed for him at UC San Diego have shared similar experiences, describing a culture in which Bond used crass and offensive language among other put-downs regularly uttered in front of athletes.Through an attorney, several of Bond's former collegiate rowers from Cal, Penn and UCSD reached out to the AP in support of the coach.Former Cal rower Vaclav Vochoska of the Czech Republic crossed an ocean for college and experienced severe isolation and depression from language and cultural barriers. He recalled how Bond checked on him one Thanksgiving when Vochoska was alone in the dorms. He calls his experience in Berkeley only "positive.""My time with Geoff Bond was nothing but special," Vochoska said by phone from Europe. "The challenge never came in a hurtful way ... It doesn't sound right he would be threatening anybody at practice."Gary Champagne, who rowed for Bond at Cal as a freshman in 2002-03, said via email: "I absolutely loved his style of coaching and feel it is a great fit for young college kids.""I give him tons of credit for turning many of us coddled young boys like myself into great, young, independent men with qualities and attributes that helped us so much in business and life. I always felt comfortable with Geoff as a coach and loved the man he was."But the parents of Brian Lilly Jr. are adamant that their son was verbally abused by Bond, leading to his suicide in January 2021. Brenda and Brian Lilly Sr. filed a wrongful-death suit against Bond, alleging that the coach mistreated their son largely because he challenged Bond's decision to allow a rower to remain on the team despite allegations of sexual assault against the athlete.Bond's defense said the coach hadn't seen Lilly in person for the nine months prior to his suicide and that the coach reached out during the pandemic lockdown period to inquire whether Lilly would return to school in San Diego from the East Coast where he had been living.A spokesman for UCSD, which is named in the suit, declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.___Olympic coaches have come under fire, too.Longtime U.S. national team swimming coach Teri McKeever faces allegations from former athletes at the University of California-Berkeley who described a culture of abuse.Former U.S. Olympic rowing coach Mike Teti resigned last fall after the Tokyo Games amid accusations of abusive behavior that spanned decades, including allegations that he physically threatened athletes or verbally attacked them if challenged. Most of the U.S. national team members who made the accusations spoke anonymously because they still fear the coach.That the athletes spoke out at all represents a sea change in the balance of power between athletes and the coaches who once held almost unquestioned authority over their teams.Now college athletes can use the NCAA transfer portal to change schools and teams if they are unhappy with their playing time or treatment. They can also make money in ways that were unimaginable until recently with new rules allowing compensation through endorsements and sponsorships. And with the rise of social media, student-athletes can share their opinions and experiences directly with the wider world.Some coaches are struggling to adjust with athletes who are newly emboldened."It is making it a little more challenging," said Wayne Tinkle, Oregon State men's basketball coach, referencing the flexibility that students have "to leave if things get tough or if you get pushed too hard, or if somebody's telling you they can give you more."But Tinkle said any pressure on coaches to be educators, not autocrats, is a good thing: "We've got to look ourselves in the mirror and show these young men that the biggest part of our job is taking them from late adolescence into early adulthood."Tinkle will be rooting for Gianni Hunt, a junior guard at Sacramento State who left Oregon State's program earlier this year. Hunt sought a fresh start after his playing time failed to develop as he had hoped. He took a leave of absence from the Beavers last season when his "love for the game had deteriorated," he said.The change worked out for Hunt, who is thrilled to get a new chance under first-year Sacramento State coach David Patrick, an Australian who previously served as coach at the University of California-Riverside and was a longtime assistant for several Division I programs.Patrick believes coaching now demands more personal relationships with players."Some of the coaches I've played for didn't know if I had a mother, father, brother, sister, what my upbringing was," Patrick said. Now it's more important "to a have a relational piece there before you can dive into coaching them hard and coaching them in life ... because they do know their rights, unlike we did when I was coming out."Kerry Keating, the former head men's basketball coach at Santa Clara who also worked as an assistant at UCLA and Tennessee, hopes more coaches focus on each individual's needs — a drastic change from coaching an entire team as one.Looking back on it, Keating said, he "wasn't raised that way" and "didn't do a great job" of coaching players individually. "It's one self-criticism I have."Hall of Fame Stanford women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer tries to consider the needs of each woman on her roster, and she has demonstrated over decades how to be successful without extreme tactics. She agrees that practices that were more prevalent in the past are no longer acceptable."In some ways, some people you can maybe be harder on and others not," said VanDerveer, the all-time winningest women's basketball coach. "Now there is a lot of talk among coaches of almost like, 'Don't even try to coach,' because a lot of players — they don't really want to be coached."Sometimes, VanDerveer said, coaches will say or do something 10 times without drawing any complaints, but the 11th occasion might be considered by someone to be "over the line.""I think it's always been challenging," she said, "but maybe now with social media, the portal, I think things are even more challenging for coaches."___More AP Sports at: https://apnews.com/hub/sports