Cable news ratings; CBS News breaks the Griner story; Media figures continue to amplify Kari Lake

CBS News was the first to report that WNBA star Brittney Griner has been released from a Russian prison, in a 1-for-1 prisoner swap with the Russians.
CBS’ Andres Triay, Pat Milton, Margaret Brennan, Christina Ruffini, Steven Portnoy, and Arden Farhi broke the news.
The team revealed that Griner, who was arrested back in February on drug smuggling charges for bringing less than one gram of CBD oil into Russia, is being traded in a prisoner exchange for convicted international arms dealer Viktor Bout — who is widely known as the “merchant of death.”
The deal was brokered in Moscow, and got President Joe Biden's signoff in the past week, while the prisoner swap occurred in the United Arab Emirates.
CBS learned about the agreement a week ago from five former U.S. officials, but agreed to delay publication given the chance that it could hurt the deal.
According to the CBS report, the Biden administration had been seeking the release of imprisoned Marine Paul Whelan as well in a two-for-two swap. But progress was made on the deal once the White House reduced their demand to one-for-one.
Prominent entertainers and athletes — particularly in the NBA and WNBA — have been active in lobbying for Griner’s return. Kudos to the CBS News team for breaking such a massive story, and for delivering the good news without jeopardizing Griner's safety.

Today's loser goes to any media figure that has given Kari Lake a platform without asking about her continued (and baseless) claims of voter fraud in the midterm elections.
Arizona’s top officials certified the midterm election results Monday. While officials confirmed Democratic wins over Republicans in the state, the certification opened a five-day window for formal election challenges.
Of course, Lake, who spent weeks criticizing the election, has since filed a lawsuit challenging the results, telling Steve Bannon, “we've got more issues than we saw in 2020 in that sham election."
"We have just a blatant sabotaging of Election Day — a disrespected, disregarded disenfranchisement of Election Day voters," she added while on War Room Wednesday.
Instead of ignoring the noise, or inviting Lake on to challenge her unfounded attacks on the election, certain networks and media figures have opted to amplify her voice without any form of accountability.
The former Arizona gubernatorial candidate was invited to Fox & Friends on Wednesday to discuss President Joe Biden's handling of the border crisis. Her stolen election claims were not mentioned.
She also appeared on Steven Crowder’s Louder with Crowder, during which she discussed Brittney Griner's release, bashed Biden, and not once was pressed on her baseless claims.