Rohan Browning has produced his best run of the year to send a message at the Commonwealth Games.
The 24-year-old won his heat in a time of 10.10 in a spectacular turnaround from the World Championships in Oregon last month where he was unable to get out of the heats.
The cult hero, popularly referred to as ‘The Flying Mullet’, said he even has more power in the tank to go quicker in Birmingham.
Browning, who famously ran 10.01 to win his heat at the Tokyo Olympics last year, looks like he is the real deal once again.
His time sees him go through to the semi-finals as the equal-fourth fastest runner, but the fact that he did it while easing up at the back end says everything.
“The gun went and he reacted well and he stayed relaxed through those middle phases. Even at the back end, he looked like he switched off a little bit and looked to his side of him and said ‘I’ve got this’.
“This is very similar to his heat at Tokyo. He opens up that leg stride. I have got
a nice forward lean. You can still tell he is looking across and he has got a bit more. Look at that face. He is so relaxed. That is exactly what you want to see from a sprinter running at top pace. He will be very happy with that.”
He was.
It’s a sign that the magical 10.0 second mark could finally fall for him.
“I always planned on running this round hard, at this level you have to treat every round with respect, but there’s two more rounds to come,” he said.
“I don’t want a repeat of Tokyo where I was out in the semis. I want to keep a bit of powder dry for the finals.”
He said part of his bounce back from the world championships is the “humiliating” factor of failing to reach the semi-finals.
“I try not to take it to heart,” he said.
“There’s always that humiliation element when you get run out in the heats, but just trying to bounce back from it and not take it to heart and just trust that the form is there, it’s just in the execution. I think I’ve tapped into a good vein of form.”
Jake Doran, Australia’s second-fastest man, also qualified for the 100m semi-finals, finishing second in his heat with a time of in 10.39 seconds.
Browning’s time was just 0.04 seconds short of being the fastest in the heats.
Team Australia dominated the Commonwealth Games medal tally in Birmingham in the opening four days, sitting comfortably in front – thanks largely to more dominance in the pool.
Australia claimed a stunning eight gold medals on day one, including five of a possible seven in the pool! On day two, Australia added five more golds.
The gold rush continued with nine on day three, highlighted by Emma McKeon making history with a record-breaking 11th Commonwealth Games gold medal when she took out the Women’s 50m freestyle final.
Australia has dominated again on day four with another NINE gold medals, coming in judo, lawn bowls, cycling and gymnastics — along with the usual big haul in the pool.
Australia has opened day five with a 72nd medal of the Games, this time a bronze in the men’s vault in artistic gymnastics.
DAY 5 LIVE: Athletics begins as Browning opens 100m campaign; McKeon and Simpson eye final swim day
DAY 4 WRAP: Aussies win NINE golds in wild Games medal blitz; Chalmers win ‘hard to enjoy’
Read on for more details and the full medal tally.
Australia sit on top of the medal tally with 31 gold, 20 silver and 21 bronze (71 total!), ahead of England and New Zealand.
The Aussies topped the tally with 198 medals — including 80 gold — in the Gold Coast four years ago.
You can track the live medal tally for every country here, with key Aussie wins and updates as they happen.
Click here for a full list of EVERY Aussie medal winner!
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COMMONWEALTH GAMES MEDALS TALLY (AS OF 5:30AM WEDNESDAY)
RANK/COUNTRY/GOLD/SILVER/BRONZE/TOTAL
1. Australia — 37, 28, 30, 95
2.England—28, 30, 17, 75
3.New Zealand—13, 7, 5, 25
4. Canada — 10, 14, 19, 43
5. South Africa—6, 5, 5, 16
6. India — 5, 4, 3, 12
7.Scotland—3, 8, 15, 26
8. Wales—3, 2, 8, 13
9. Malaysia — 2, 2, 3, 7
10. Nigeria — 2, 1, 4, 7
See the full live medal tally here.
DAY-BY-DAY MEDAL LIST
DAY FIVE
James Bacuetti claimed Australia’s first men’s gymnastics medal of these Games, winning bronze in the men’s vault. 20-year-old English sensation Jake Jarman won gold – his FOURTH of the Games – ahead of Fellow Englishman Giarnni Regini-Moran.
Aofie Coughlan took home the gold medal in the women’s 70kg judo final while Eileen Cikamatana set a new Games Record en route to a gold medal in the women’s 87kg weightlifting final.
in the swimming, Mollie O’Callaghan produced a stunning upset to win the gold in the womens’ 100m freestyle as Elizabeth Deckers won the women’s 200m butterfly.
nina kennedy secured the gold in the women’s pole vault.
DAY 5 LIVE: Athletics begins as Browning opens 100m campaign; McKeon and Simpson eye more gold
DAY FOUR
Australia ended day four with 31 gold, 20 silver and 21 bronze (71 total!), ahead of England and New Zealand.
Georgia Goodwin narrowly won gold in the women’s vault over Canada’s Laurie Denommee, while at the track, matthew glaetzer won gold in the men’s 1,000m time trial. Ellen Ryan won gold in the women’s lawn bowls singles and Tinka Easton caused an upset by claiming gold in judo.
in the pool, Kyle Chalmer won the 100m freestyle, Kaylee McKeown won the 200m backstroke and matthew levy claimed gold in the men’s 50m freestyle S7. Emma McKeon then narrowly clinched gold in the 50m breaststroke to extend her Games record to 12 golds, while the Aussies ended the night with victory in the men’s 4x200m freestyle.
Aussie weightlifter robbed of Gold?! | 00:26
Elsewhere, 49-year-old legend Jian Fang Lay has led the Aussie team to bronze in the women’s table tennis team event.
It began with victory in doubles alongside Yangzi Liu, who won her own singles game before Jian Fang Lay sealed the 3-0 over Wales with a singles victory of her own.
Kyle Bruce claimed silver in the men’s 81kg weightlifting after a heartbreaking jury decision overruled his final, gold-winning lift.
The Aussie men’s triples claimed silver in the lawn bowls, fighting back from 12-1 down in the final to level the score at 12-12 against England before falling 14-12.
DAY 4 WRAP: Aussies win NINE golds in wild Games medal blitz; Chalmers win ‘hard to enjoy’
GOLDEN HEARTBREAK: ‘Devastated’ Aussie in tears after gold ‘stolen away’
CHALMERS GOES ALL IN: Legends not surprised by last-minute withdrawal
BIG BLOW: Diamonds’ dream run soured as star sidelined with calf injury
Jian Fang Lay led the Aussies to bronze in table tennis!Source: Getty Images
DAY THREE
Australians Sam Harding and Jonathan Gorlach kicked off the day with superb silver and bronze medals in the men’s PTVI triathlon final.
Emma McKeon and Kaylee McKeown then added two more gold in the pool taking out the Women’s 50m freestyle and the 100m backstroke respectively.
McKeon led home meg harris in silver with Shayna Jack (24.36) finishing third.
In the men’s 50m breaststroke, Zac Stubblety-Cook (59.52) took home bronze.
The Women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team then completed a dominant campaign in the pool by breaking the world record.
Georgia Godwin won the all-round rhythmic gymnastics women’s final.
Australia’s Women’s 7s rugby side then put the pain of Tokyo behind them to claim gold in the final against Fiji.
In track cycling, matthew richardson won the men’s final sprint.
Kristina Clonan took home gold in the 500m time trial.
Georgia Baker won the women’s 25km points race, while Jessica Gallagher picked up her second gold medal of the Games in the Women’s tandem 1000m time trial with pilot Caitlyn Ward.
Day 3 WRAP: ‘Extraordinary’ Aussies break world record, McKeon makes history
‘It is shocking’: Thorpe stunned as England World record holder toppled in ‘unbelievable’ boilover
SHOCK CRASH: Cyclist catapults into crowd in horror scenes after Comm Games crash
‘Lost my s***’: Boxall goes bonkers AGAIN as Aussie coach celebrates WR win
‘Took all my courage and energy to swim’: Chalmers stuns in raw, emotional interview
DAY TWO
madison de rosario took out the women’s T53/54 marathon in style, dominating the field to win with a Commonwealth Games record time of 1:56:00.
Jess Stenson won the women’s marathon with an incredible run, going better than her two bronze medals in Glasgow and the Gold Coast.
It was another ripping day in the pool, with katja dedekind winning a gold meal in the women’s 50m freestyle S13 while both the men’s and women’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay finished first.
There were silver medals for maeve plouffe in the women’s 3000m individual pursuit, Brendon Smith in the men’s 400m IM, Emma McKeon in the women’s 100m butterfly and the artistic gymnastics team.
DAY 2 NEWS
WRAP: McKeon makes history amid swim gold rush; rugby stars win thriller
‘A load of s***’: Chalmers explodes at media for ‘ruining it all’ over love triangle claims
‘Dream big’: ‘Extraordinary’ journey behind ‘one of the great’ Aussie athletics triumphs
‘I was just guessing’: New Aussie cult hero’s shock reveal after ‘epic’ career-best run
DAY ONE
matt hauser had the honor of being the first Australian to win a medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, taking home the silver medal in the Men’s Triathlon Sprint Distance Final.
Ariarne Titmus won gold in the women’s 200m freestyle, 18-year-old Aussie Mollie O’Callaghan claimed silver in an unbelievable late charge, ahead of Madison Wilson.
Elijah Winnington won gold in the men’s 400m freestyle, ahead of fellow Aussies Sam Short and Mack Horton. Zac Stubblety-Cook won gold in the men’s 200m breaststroke while Kiah Melverton took silver in the women’s 400m Individual Medley.
In the final race of night one, Australia won gold in the mixed 4x100m relay.
The parents of a child who was murdered during the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting delivered emotional testimony in a Texas court on Tuesday, telling a jury that the lies pushed by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones have stained the legacy of their son and tormented them for years.
The jury hearing the case will determine how much in damages Jones will have to pay the parents, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, who won a default judgment against him earlier this year. An attorney representing Heslin and Lewis asked the jury last week to award Heslin and Lewis $150 million.
Fighting back tears at times, Heslin told the jury that Jones, through his conspiratorial media organization Infowars, “tarnished the honor and legacy” of his son. Heslin said that he couldn’t “even begin to describe the last nine-and-a-half years of hell” he has endured because of Jones.
“There’s got to be a strong deterrent that shall prevent him from peddling this propaganda,” Heslin said, adding that through his testimony he wanted “to restore my credibility, my reputation, and Jesse’s legacy that he so much deserves.”
As Heslin testified, a television screen in the court showed a photograph of his murdered son, six-year-old Jesse Lewis. Jones, who is expected to testify in his own defense later on Tuesday, was absent from the courtroom during Heslin’s testimony and the first part of Lewis’ testimony. Heslin called that absence “a cowardly act.”
“I’ve been here for a week and a half and [during] my final testimony Mr. Alex Jones does not have the courage to sit in front of me or face me,” Heslin said.
An attorney representing Heslin and Lewis told CNN the two have needed to be in isolation and under the protection of professional security during the trial.
Heslin also said on the stand that the lie pushed by Jones “resonates around the world” and that he has realized “how dangerous” it is.
Heslin described being repeatedly confronted by those who believed Jones over the last ten years, saying such interactions occur “right up to this day.”
“My life has been threatened,” Heslin said. “I fear for my life. I fear for my safety and my family’ safety and their life.”
Lewis also testified in court that she has been harassed and received death threats, including at her own home, all of which she said reopens the wounds surrounding her son’s murder.
“The fear and anxiety and unsafeness … keeps me from healing,” Lewis said. “It definitely negatively impacts the healing process.”
Lewis described the conspiracy theories about Sandy Hook as “deeply unsettling.”
“I feel compromised,” Lewis said, describing how she feels about her own personal safety.
Roy Lubit, a forensic psychiatrist who was hired to conduct an examination of Heslin and Lewis, testified to the court on Monday how terrified and worried for their personal safety the two parents are.
Lubit told the court that Lewis and Heslin “are very, very frightened.” When asked to specify who they are frightened of, Lubit responded, “Some follower of Jones trying to kill them.”
Lubit elaborated that Lewis sleeps with a gun, a knife, and pepper spray on her night stand. Lubit added she won’t even turn on the air conditioning during hot days for fear of not being able to hear an intruder possibly coming to hurt her.
Lewis testified Tuesday that she owns a gun to keep her other son safe, telling the jury that she failed to keep one son safe and will do everything in her power to ensure that no harm happens to her other child.
Jury selection for a similar trial involving Jones and Sandy Hook families commenced on Tuesday in Connecticut, where Jones was also found liable for damages earlier this year.
Jones has lashed out at the judicial proceedings taking place, baselessly claiming last week that he was being tried in Texas before a “kangaroo court.” Infowars has also published content attacking the judges overseeing the cases in viscous terms.
Jones’ media company, Free Speech Systems, which is the company that operates Infowars, filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday.
Attorneys representing some Sandy Hook families have accused Jones of having drained Free Speech Systems of assets in recent years as part of an effort to protect himself from potential judgments he may be ordered to pay.
One of the attorneys, Avi Moshenberg, told CNN on Tuesday that the bankruptcy filing made by Free Speech Systems indicated that $62 million in assets had been withdrawn from the company in 2021 and 2022.
“If you look at the bankruptcy filing, leading up to the declaration of bankruptcy, Alex Jones, the sole owner [of Free Speech Systems], took $62 million in draws in 2021 and 2022,” Moshenberg told CNN. “Just straight up draws. That’s why the company has few assets.”
A lawyer representing Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday morning. But a hearing is scheduled on Wednesday in which W. Marc Schwartz, the chief restructuring officer for Free Speech Systems, is expected to testify.
A guest on Antiques Roadshow was left stunned after the ring which she described as an “ugly lump of glass” was given a whopping evaluation by the show’s jewelery expert.
Valuer on the UK TV show Susan Rumfitt revealed a guest’s Art Deco cocktail ring with a yellow sapphire was worth almost $9000.
The guest explained the ring had belonged to a relative of her mother’s who lived in Philadelphia in the US, The Sun reports.
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“When she died, her jewelery was sent to my mum, which included rings and brooches,” she said.
She confessed she thought the ring was “an ugly lump of glass” and “a bit too much” for her.
Rumfitt replied: “That’s a shame, it’s a gorgeous color though, it’s a really pretty colour.
“And if it is glass, it’s definitely a nice piece of glass.”
But then the guest was shocked to discover the jewel was in fact a huge yellow sapphire.
“I can understand why you thought it might have been a citrine as you do get that range of yellows from that light, very punchy yellows,” Rumfitt said.
She said the sapphire was about 16 carats, leaving the guest open-mouthed.
“It’s certainly brightened up my day, and if it went into auction you would be looking at an estimate of between £4000 and £5000 ($A7000 to $A8700),” Rumfitt said.
“You’re kidding me,” the guest replied. “That’s ridiculous.”
This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission
Australia have wrapped up the Commonwealth Rugby Sevens gold medal in a 22-12 win over Fiji in a dominant display.
It’s redemption for the Aussies after a heartbreaking loss at the previous Commonwealth Games in Australia.
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Australia lost an epic final in 2018 on the Gold Coast, down 17-12 in extra-time to New Zealand.
But after edging past the Kiwis in a dramatic semi-final and losing a pool game to Fiji, Australia made no mistake in the final.
Faith Nathan scored a first half double as well as a try to Madison Ashby opened up a massive 17-0 lead at halftime.
The Aussies then scored immediately after the half through Maddison Levi, making it a 22-0 lead.
Although the Fijians finally got a pass to stick and scored a try as well as a consolation two minutes after full-time, it was nowhere near enough as the Aussies claimed the gold medal.
It had been the one medal Australia had been missing, having won in Rio in 2016, and coming into the tournament as the reigning Rugby Sevens women’s world champions after winning four of the six tournaments in the 2021-22 World Series.
Aussie star Charlotte Caslick said it was nearly a perfect performance from gold medalists.
“I think in those physical contests, we dominated nearly every single one of those and that’s what we had to do,” Caslick said after the match.
“I wouldn’t say it was perfect (performance) but it was close to.
“We’ve had an amazing World Series and been dominant year so to be rewarded in front of an awesome crowd is pretty special.”
And it was more redemption after Australia was bundled out of the Tokyo Olympics in a 19-0 quarterfinal thrashing by Fiji.
While the women’s side will bring home the extra baggage of the gold medals, the men couldn’t follow suit.
After a semi-final loss to South Africa earlier in the day, the Aussies fell 26-12 to New Zealand in the bronze medal match to miss the podium.
It was a tough break for Australia who are second on the World Series ladder behind South Africa with one tournament left in Los Angeles in late August.
South Africa broke to the men’s title in a 31-7 obliteration of Fiji.
England won a major women’s tournament for the first time as Chloe Kelly’s extra-time goal secured a 2-1 victory over Germany at a sold out Wembley on Sunday.
In front of a record crowd of 87,192 for any match in the history of the European Championships, Kelly prodded home a loose ball from close range to end English football’s 56-year wait for a World Cup or Euro victory.
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England looked set for victory in the 90 minutes when substitute Ella Toone’s sublime chip over Merle Frohms put the hosts in front.
Germany showed remarkable resilience to bounce back as Lina Magull leveled 11 minutes from time.
But for once, England were not to be denied a major tournament success. Kelly fought back from an anterior cruciate ligament tear to be fit in time for the tournament and made herself a national hero by being in the right place to pounce when Germany failed to clear a corner in the 110th minute.
The Manchester City winger tore her shirt off in celebration in scenes reminiscent of Mia Hamm’s famous reaction to scoring the winning penalty for the USA at the 1999 World Cup.
Fortune did not favor Germany, who lost captain and top goalscorer Alexandra Popp to a muscle injury in the warm-up.
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But England will feel their time for some luck was due as 12 months on from the Three Lions’ defeat on penalties to Italy in the Euro 2020 men’s final, the nation’s women went one better.
While England enjoy the celebrations, Germany manager Martin Voss-Tecklenburg was left aggrieved by the decision not to award a penalty to her side in the first half of Sunday’s Euro 2022 final defeat to England.
Lionesses captain Leah Williamson escaped after the ball hit her hand in a goalmouth scramble with the score still at 0-0.
After a VAR check, Ukrainian referee Kateryna Monzul was not told to review her initial decision not to give a penalty.
“On this level at the end of the European Championships this shouldn’t happen,” said Voss-Tecklenburg.
“I’d like to have a discussion why did not one look at it? This is something I would really like to ask. It happened to us today, but if it had happened to them I would feel the same. It really bothers me.”
Football’s home. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Germany suffered a major blow even before kick-off when captain and top goalscorer Alexandra Popp was forced to pull out in the warm-up due to a muscle injury.
Voss-Tecklenburg said the Wolfsburg striker, who had scored six goals in five games in the tournament, had suffered the injury in training on Saturday.
“We tried everything. Yesterday at the end of final training there were some problems, which we didn’t expect,” she added.
“This morning it looked a bit better but it was clear the decision had to be hers. I trusted her 1000 percent and today she said she couldn’t run or shoot properly.
“I have even higher respect to her to say that after such a special tournament, she won’t play a final. She is a great personality.”
German newspaper Bild called the final “another Wembley fraud”. England’s only previous major tournament win in either the men’s or women’s game came in the 1966 World Cup with a 4-2 win over West Germany that is still remembered for the Three Lions’ controversial third goal that may not have crossed the line.
Lions forward Eric Hipwood insists Brisbane can win the AFL premiership from anywhere in the top eight, saying form – rather than ladder position – was the key heading into next month’s finals series.
Brisbane has dropped to fifth spot after their seven-point weekend loss to Richmond at the MCG.
With three rounds of the regular season remaining, the Lions should still make the top four if they can beat Carlton, St Kilda and Melbourne this month.
But if Brisbane has to settle for a spot in the bottom half of the top eight, Hipwood believes his side can still win the flag, provided form and consistency is found in the next three weeks.
Under the current finals system, the Western Bulldogs are the only team to clinch the premiership from outside the top four, having won the flag in 2016 after finishing seventh on the ladder.
“That’s what you strive for at the start of the season, to get that double chance (by finishing in the top four), but you’ve seen teams win the grand final from outside the top four,” Hipwood said.
“We’d like (a top-four spot), but we just want to be competitive come the end of the season.”
Hipwood was adamant Brisbane would find form before the finals, saying there were “positives” to take from the loss to the Tigers, who fought back from 42 points down to win and keep alive their hopes of playing football finals this season.
“It was disappointing that we did lose, but we’re still optimistic. We had a lot of opportunities to win the game and we just couldn’t ice it,” Hipwood said.
“We played some really good footy, especially in that first half.”
“What hasn’t been spoken about enough is that Richmond are a bloody good team.
“They’re certainly up there with the best and they brought that on the weekend. I don’t think the ladder position (ninth) represents where they’re at.”
Despite Brisbane’s loss, the towering Hipwood had his best game since returning in round nine after 10 months on the sidelines following a knee reconstruction.
He kicked four goals and grabbed six marks in an encouraging sign with the finals approaching.
“I’ve been quite inconsistent and I’m quick to identify that myself but I am building,” Hipwood said.
“I didn’t really have any practice games or anything like that prior to coming (back) into the AFL.
“I’m getting better week-in, week-out – that’s all that really matters.”
Rohan Browning has produced his best run of the year to send a message at the Commonwealth Games.
The 24-year-old won his heat in a time of 10.10 in a spectacular turnaround from the World Championships in Oregon last month where he was unable to get out of the heats.
The cult hero, popularly referred to as ‘The Flying Mullet’, said he even has more power in the tank to go quicker in Birmingham.
Browning, who famously ran 10.01 to win his heat at the Tokyo Olympics last year, looks like he is the real deal once again.
His time sees him go through to the semi-finals as the equal-fourth fastest runner, but the fact that he did it while easing up at the back end says everything.
“The gun went and he reacted well and he stayed relaxed through those middle phases. Even at the back end, he looked like he switched off a little bit and looked to his side of him and said ‘I’ve got this’.
“This is very similar to his heat at Tokyo. He opens up that leg stride. I have got
a nice forward lean. You can still tell he is looking across and he has got a bit more. Look at that face. He is so relaxed. That is exactly what you want to see from a sprinter running at top pace. He will be very happy with that.”
He was.
It’s a sign that the magical 10.0 second mark could finally fall for him.
“I always planned on running this round hard, at this level you have to treat every round with respect, but there’s two more rounds to come,” he said.
“I don’t want a repeat of Tokyo where I was out in the semis. I want to keep a bit of powder dry for the finals.”
He said part of his bounce back from the world championships is the “humiliating” factor of failing to reach the semi-finals.
“I try not to take it to heart,” he said.
“There’s always that humiliation element when you get run out in the heats, but just trying to bounce back from it and not take it to heart and just trust that the form is there, it’s just in the execution. I think I’ve tapped into a good vein of form.”
Jake Doran, Australia’s second-fastest man, also qualified for the 100m semi-finals, finishing second in his heat with a time of in 10.39 seconds.
Browning’s time was just 0.04 seconds short of being the fastest in the heats.
Examination of the substance in vape cartridges WNBA star Brittney Griner’s carried in February at a Moscow airport did not comply with Russian law, a defense expert testified Tuesday as her drug-smuggling trial in Russia continues amid US efforts to negotiate a prisoner swap for her release .
Among the violations is that results of the examination do not contain the amount of THC in the substance investigators tested, Griner’s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, said after the hearing.
“The examination does not comply with the law in terms of the completeness of the study and does not comply with the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” forensic chemist Dmitry Gladyshev testified for the defense during the roughly two-hour session.
The defense also interrogated prosecution expert Alexander Korablyov, who examined Griner’s cartridges taken from her luggage.
Griner’s appearance in the Khimki city courthouse marked her seventh hearing as Russian prosecutors accuse her of trying to smuggle less than 1 gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. She has pleaded guilty to drug charges – a decision her lawyers hope will result in a less severe sentence – even as the US State Department maintains she is wrongfully detained, and she faces up to 10 years in prison.
Supporters of the two-time Olympic gold medalist and Phoenix Mercury center who plays in Russia during the WNBA offseason have called for her release over fears she is being used as a political pawn amid Russia’s war on Ukraine. US officials face immense pressure from Griner’s family, lawmakers and the professional basketball community to bring her home, and Griner wrote to President Joe Biden pleading with him to do everything in his power to facilitate her release from her.
The 31-year-old sat Tuesday inside the defendant’s cage in the courtroom. The charge d’affaires of the US embassy in Moscow, Elizabeth Rood, attended Tuesday’s hearing and afterward said the US would “continue to support Miss Griner through every step of this process and as long as it takes to bring her home to the United States safely.”
Griner’s next hearing is set for Thursday.
At trial, Griner has testified that she has a doctor’s prescription for medical cannabis and had no intention of bringing the drug into Russia. Following her arrest of her in February, she was tested for drugs and was clean, her lawyers previously said.
Amid public pressure and after months of internal debate, the Biden administration proposed a prisoner swap with Russia, offering to release a convicted Russian arms trafficker in exchange for Griner and another American detainee, Paul Whelan, people briefed on the matter have told CNN.
Russian officials countered the US offer, multiple sources familiar with the discussions have said, requesting in addition to arms dealer Viktor Bout the US also include a convicted murderer who was formerly a colonel with the Russian spy agency, Vadim Krasikov.
US officials did not accept the request as a legitimate counteroffer, the sources told CNN, in part because the proposal was sent through an informal backchannel. Krasikov’s release would also be complicated because he is in German custody.
“It’s a bad faith attempt to avoid a very serious offer and proposal that the United States has put forward and we urge Russia to take that offer seriously,” Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby told CNN, later adding, “We very much want to see Brittney and Paul come home to their families where they belong.”
Meantime, Griner’s trial carries on, with her legal team expected to continue questioning more witnesses before moving to closing arguments, during which the lawyers will elaborate on why they believe Griner’s detention was handled improperly. Closing arguments are expected in coming weeks.
Griner’s attorneys have already laid out some arguments claiming the basketball player’s detention was not handled correctly after she was arrested February 17 by personnel at the Sheremetyevo International Airport.
Her detention, search and arrest were “improper,” Alexander Boykov, one of her lawyers, said last week, noting more details would be revealed during closing arguments.
After she was stopped in the airport, Griner was made to sign documents that she did not fully understand, she testified. At first, she said, she was using Google translate on her phone from her but was later moved to another room where her phone from her was taken and she was made to sign more documents.
No lawyer was present, she testified, and her rights were not explained to her. Those rights would include access to an attorney once she was detained and the right to know what she was suspected of. Under Russian law, she should have been informed of her rights within three hours of her arrest.
In her testimony, Griner “explained to the court that she knows and respects Russian laws and never intended to break them,” Blagovolina – a partner at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin & Partners – said after last week’s hearing.
The detained player testified she was aware of Russian laws and had no intention of bringing the cannabis oil into the country, noting she was in a rush and “stress packing.”
Griner confirmed she has a doctor’s prescription for medical cannabis, Blagovolina said, which she uses to treat knee pain and joint inflammation.
“We continue to insist that, by indiscretion, in a hurry, she packed her suitcase and did not pay attention to the fact that substances allowed for use in the United States ended up in this suitcase and arrived in the Russian Federation,” Boykov, of Moscow Legal Center, has said.
Griner’s family, supporters and WNBA teammates continue to express messages of solidarity and hope as they wait for the conclusion of the trial and look forward to the potential of her release.
Before trial proceedings last week, the WNBA players union tweeted, “Dear BG … It’s early in Moscow. Our day is ending and yours is just beginning. Not a day, not an hour goes by that you’re not on our minds & in our hearts.”
This story has been updated with additional developments Tuesday.
correction: A prior version of this story missed Brittney Griner’s first name.
ANDERSON, Ind. — A man accused of fatally shooting an Indiana police officer during a traffic stop had made a song about killing an officer, investigators said Monday.
Carl Boards II was charged with murder and other crimes, a day after Elwood Officer Noah Shahnavaz was gunned down in the wee hours Sunday in Madison County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Indianapolis.
The 24-year-old officer was shot in the head after stopping Boards’ car. Investigators found 36 rifle bullet casings and damage to the patrol car’s hood, windshield and driver’s door.
Shahnavaz’ gun was still in its holster when he was taken to a hospital, Richard Clay of the Indiana State Police said in a court filing.
Boards, 42, owns a barber shop in Marion, Indiana. Police went to the shop and interviewed a man who lives in an apartment above the business.
The man indicated that Boards “made a recorded song making statements that if he was ever caught by police that he would kill them,” Clay said.
Boards was released from parole a year ago. His criminal record of him goes back to 1999 and includes convictions involving guns and drugs, Clay said.
It wasn’t immediately known if Boards has an attorney yet who could comment on the allegations.
Shahnavaz served in the US Army for five years before becoming a police officer about a year ago.
“His dream was to serve others and we are proud of what he has accomplished in such a short time, both in the military and with Elwood police,” Fishers High School Principal Jason Urban said. “The entire FHS Tiger family grieves this tragic loss of such a promising young man full of talent and potential.”
