Nine years for less than one gram of cannabis oil, the lead starts right now.

Olympic gold medalist and WNBA star Brittany Griner is found guilty by a Russian court

and sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.

Now that she's convicted, could this speed up a possible prisoner swap?

Then, any moment the jury in Texas could come back with a decision in the Alex Jones

case, but the far right conspiracy theorist may already be paying a price for his lives.

As the January 6th Committee and other law enforcement agencies now want access to the text

messages his lawyers accidentally sent to the plaintiffs.

Plus, changes to airline cancellation rules may be about to take off.

Why passengers could actually get refunds for all those cancelled and delayed flights?

Welcome to the lead-up, Jake Tapper.

We start today with our world lead, a Russian court found WNBA star Brittany Griner guilty

today of drug smuggling, quote, with criminal intent.

The judge ordering Griner to spend nine years in a Russian penal colony that's just under

the maximum sentence.

Griner was arrested and charged back in February for smuggling less than one gram of cannabis

oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport.

Griner's lawyers argued that she'd been packing quickly when traveling to Russia to play

for the Russian Premier League, and she didn't know that the cannabis oil, which had been

prescribed by a US doctor for her, was not allowed in Russia.

Griner delivering this plea as part of her closing statement.

And once again that I had no intent on breaking any Russian laws, I had no intent, I did

...