The Countdown: Brittney Griner heads home; ex-NYPD cop sentenced
In this edition of 'The Countdown,' we dig deeper into the reaction from Thursday's prisoner swap that is finally bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA star was released in a swap for convicted Russian arms dealer Victor Bout, who critics say is too dangerous to be released.
Griner was held in Russian prisons on drug charges for smuggling out cannabis. She was arrested in an airport near Moscow in February days before Russia invaded Ukraine.
Here are the other headlines from Thursday's show:
Michael Valva sentencing
A former NYPD officer was sentenced to 25 years to life in the murder of his son. A jury found Michael Valva guilty of five charges, including second-degree murder, last month. Prosecutors say he forced his 8-year-old son with autism, Thomas Valva, to sleep in the freezing garage of their Suffolk County home.
FDA COVID vaccine for kids
On Thursday, the FDA cleared doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 6 months to 5 years. The decision aims to better protect kids amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases around the country. This comes at a time when children's hospitals already are packed with kids suffering from other respiratory illnesses, including the flu.
Omicron-targeted booster shots made by Moderna and rival Pfizer already were open to everyone 5 and older.
Dr. Jay Varma joined 'The Countdown' to talk more about health concerns surrounding the so-called 'tripledemic.'
You can watch 'The Countdown' live Monday-Friday at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7NY.com or our ABC7NY app on Roku, FireTV, Apple TV and Android TV.
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