This is The Briefing, a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview.

Part I (00:13 - 09:00)
Welcomed Back into the Arms of Vladimir Putin: The Merchant of Death Returns to Russia in Brittany Griner Exchange

• Viktor Bout’s Release Is Hailed in Russia as a Kremlin Victory by New York Times (Richard Pérez-Peña)

Part II (09:00 - 16:11)
A New Morality of Hostage Takers: Why the U.S. (And Other Democratic Nations) Will Get the Short End of the Stick in Government International Hostage Situations

• U.S. Reluctantly Embraces New Era of Hostage Diplomacy by Wall Street Journal (Aruna Viswanatha and James T. Areddy)

Part III (16:11 - 18:48)
‘A Role Model and Inspiration to LGBTQI+ Americans’: The Political Pressure on the Biden Administration That Led to the Swap for Brittany Griner

• Brittney Griner Swap Puts Spotlight on Americans in Russia by New York Times (Valerie Hopkins, Anatoly Kurmanaev and Jonathan Abrams)
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, December 8, 2022 by The White House

Part IV (18:48 - 28:55)
There’s a New “Independent” in the Senate? Kyrsten Sinema Changes Political Affiliation — But This Is an Unfolding Story, With Interesting Wrinkles

• Kyrsten Sinema Switches to Independent, Complicates Democratic Control of Senate by Wall Street Journal (Eliza Collins and Lindsay Wise)

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