BRIAN STELTER, CNN HOST, CNN'S "RELIABLE SOURCES": There were high spirits this morning when this verdict was about to be read. These journalists believe they were going to be coming home. But they have now been sentenced to seven years in prison each, and one of the three is actually sentenced to ten years, had an additional three years because he had one souvenir bullet in his pocket from a story he had covered in the past. It is -- it's outrageous.</s>BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: The White House weighing in today condemning this. What does someone need to do to get them out?</s>STELTER: The White House incoming press secretary, Josh Earnest, said that this flouts the most basic standards of media freedom. He condemned it about strongly as he could. Secretary of State John Kerry did the same thing today and he urged the new president of Egypt to consider pardoning these three journalists as well as so many of the other prisoners who have been held and who have been tried in what feel like sham trials. The reality of this is it feels like a geopolitical battle between Egypt and Qatar. Qatar is the country that funds Al Jazeera. It is perceived to be supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is a group that Egypt has denounced as being a terrorist group, which has been banned in Egypt. This terrible tug of war between these two countries and the journalists are stuck in the middle.</s>BALDWIN: Stuck in the middle. Brian Stelter, thank you so much for the update on those journalists. Let's follow this one. Thank you. A 167 journalists, I should mentioned, are imprisoned around the world. This is according to this wonderful organization called "Reporters Without Borders." Another 28 killed this year along for simply doing their job, reporting the news. Coming up next, a major announcement today by the Iraqi government that opens the door for U.S. military advisers to enter the country. We have more on that. And Bowe Bergdahl seems to be making progress, albeit, it is slow, it is steady after five years in captivity with the Taliban. Cautious doctors say he can now take the first tentative steps towards freedom.
Outrage Over Journalists' Guilty Verdicts