Hey there, it's Allison, and I know it's been a while since you've heard from me. I'm back just for today because I really think you need to hear this. I've got something to share that I just know you're going to love. It's a new daily morning podcast called The 7. And yes, you guessed it, the show brings you the seven stories that you need to hear to start your day. The Post's daily morning newsletter, which is also called The 7, has been this huge hit among our readers, so we're bringing you a podcast version with the same punch and distinct mix of stories that have made the newsletter so popular.
So my colleague Jeff Pierre hosts the show and he brings such a great energy. It never feels like homework, more like checking in with somebody who just knows what's happening out there. You're about to hear it, so have a listen. And if you like what you hear, find The 7 in your favorite podcast app. All right, here it is. A homecoming today for Brittany Greiner after being held in Russia for nearly a year. That's where we're starting The 7 from The Washington Post. I'm Jeff Pierre. It's Friday, December 9th. Let's get you caught up with today's 7 stories.
Brittany Griner landed this morning in San Antonio. She was released yesterday in a prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer Victor Boot. President Biden stood alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and Griner's wife, Sherelle Griner, as he announced the release. She's safe. She's on a plane. She's on her way home. After months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances, Brittany will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones, and she should have been there all along.
Griner spent 10 months in captivity for bringing less than a gram of cannabis oil into Russia. The U.S. had also hoped to bring home another person, a former Marine imprisoned in Russia on spying charges. But Paul Whelan wasn't included in the swap. U.S. officials say that they'll keep fighting for his freedom. Number two, Congress passed a landmark bill to protect same-sex marriage. On this vote, the yeas are 258, the nays are 169, present one. The motion is adopted.
The Respect for Marriage Act would enshrine marriage equality, including interracial marriages, into federal law. The bill goes to President Biden, who is expected to sign it into law. This underscores a nearly three-decade evolution on LGBTQ rights in the U.S., and it ensures protections that some people feared were at risk after the Supreme Court's ruling on abortion this past summer. Number three, prosecutors ask the judge to hold Donald Trump's office in contempt. The Justice Department says that the former president hasn't fully complied with an order to return all classified documents. If the U.S. district judge agrees, the most likely outcome would be a daily fine until a list of demands are met. A hearing is scheduled for later today.
The FDA approved an updated coronavirus booster for young children. That's our fourth story today. Children who are six months through five years old will be eligible. Moderna shot was reformulated to target Omicron variants. Now it needs a CDC sign off, which is expected soon. The FDA also cleared an updated version of Pfizer's vaccine for young children. It has three doses and the third shot has been tweaked for the newer variants. Number five.
A major storm is brewing for the western and central U.S. It's expected to bring heavy rain and snow to parts of the Pacific Northwest in California. This could happen between tomorrow and Monday. After that, the storm will sweep into the Rockies and the Plains. The eastern part of the country will have to keep waiting for more snow. Weather models are now predicting mild weather into the middle of this month.
Our sixth story is about how world leaders are trying to create a plan to save the Earth's animals. A UN conference on biodiversity kicked off this week in Montreal. It's called COP15. The goal is to get countries to agree to preserve 30% of their land and water by 2030. It would set aside forests and other ecosystems where wildlife can thrive. Scientists fear that without some sort of intervention, a mass extinction is coming.
And at number seven, art created by artificial intelligence is taking the internet by storm. You've probably seen this pop up on your Instagram feed. Since last week, millions of people have downloaded an app called Lenza. The app uses machine learning to generate images of you based on photos you upload. The AI has been trained with images scraped from the internet without people's consent, including porn. My colleague at the Post, Tatum Hunter, has been reporting on the app. Lenza says the app isn't for people under 13, but that's always tough to enforce. And some people have said that even when they input images of themselves as children, the app spits out not-safe-for-work content.
There are also some concerns stemming from the app's vague privacy policy, but Lenza says it's not sharing people's data. Tatum lays out a lot more in a great video and a longer story. You can get to it by going through the briefing link in our show notes. And just like that, you are all caught up. It's Friday, so you know we gotta give a shout out to the crew. The crew is assistant producer Taylor White. The staff writers are Tess Homan and Jamie Ross. John Taylor is our editor. Our engineer is Jim Briggs. The seventh theme is by Edith Mudge. Our copy editors are Francis Moody and Melissa Ngo. I'm Jeff Pierre. Have a good weekend, and I will meet you back here next week.
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