this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening there is significant movement to report tonight in the effort to bring home americans brittney griner and paul whelan, both separately imprisoned in russia. late today, secretary of state antony blinken acknowledging there was a substantial proposal on the table to facilitate their release. griner, the wnba star detained since february, who has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing vape cartridges with cannabis oil whelan, a marine corps veteran, serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted of spying in 2020. both, the u.s. says, are wrongfully imprisoned blinken says the next step, a call with his russian counterpar sergey lavrov. believed to be on the table, a prisoner swap that could prove to be a bitter pill for the biden administration which has been under fire in its efforts to gain freedom for the americans. all this unfolding as griner told her story today inside a russian courtroom. andrea mitchell now
they could be swapped for that comes as griner testifies in her drug trial in moscow describing her arrest and what she says a language interpreter failed to do. also tonight, the fed announcing another aggressive interest rate hike, aimed at taming soaring inflation. what the fed chairman said today about whether the u.s. is already in recession. on the heels of our nbc news exclusive with attorney general merrick garland in which he vowed to pursue anyone responsible for january 6th, we re learning the doj is probing donald trump s actions as part of its criminal investigation. the questions they re asking president biden testing negative for covid, leaving isolation after six days how he s feeling. just in, the major reversal by senator joe manchin, weeks after he appeared to dash the democrats agenda. the breakthrough deal just announced the record breaking heat in the pacific northwest. and remembering one of the most beloved big brothers in sitcom history.