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Sudan Officials: 30 Mass Graves With Remain Of More Than 1,000 People Found In West Darfur; 7th Attack On Ports Since Russia Ended Grain Deal; CNN Team Travels With Ukrainian Military To Liberated Town; Death Toll From Maui Wildfires Increases To 110; Hawaii Governor: "Probably Still Over 1,000" Missing; Son Urges U.S. to Help Free Father from Iranian Prison; Group Rescued after Being Lost at Sea 38 Hours. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired August 17, 2023 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CARI CHAMPION, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I was already on my way to being drafted. I was already on my way to actually, rather, correction, going to some great school. I had coaches coming after me since I was a young kid. So, I think --

[00:00:13]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: You didn't teach me football with ketchup and mustard on the table.

Listen, Cari Champion, good to see you. Thank you so much for the insight.

CHAMPION: You too.

BLACKWELL: And thank you for watching, our coverage continues now.

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, massacre in West Darfur, an exclusive CNN investigation pieces together the horror of one of the bloodiest days of Sudan's brutal civil war.

Plus, Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls it an attack on global food security. Following the latest Russian strike on a Ukrainian port.

And Maui says keep out, tourists are being asked to stay home as the popular vacation spot recovers from devastating wildfires.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: We begin with a gruesome discovery in Sudan as the civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces or RSF rages on 30 mass graves with the remains of more than a thousand people have been discovered in West Darfur, according to local officials.

In a CNN exclusive, CNN's Nima Elbagir and her team pieced together video from a massacre in West Darfur in June. That was one of the bloodiest in the region's history. It ended with bodies littering the streets and eventually being buried in the mass graves.

I want to warn you, some of the images you're about to see are graphic, and the report includes distressing descriptions of conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The streets of El Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region are eerily quiet, filmed at great risk by survivors. The video shows racist graffiti defacing walls and corpses littering the streets. Seen here in their own propaganda, Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, RSF, occupied Geneina in June, after a heavy shelling campaign and fighting in their war for dominance over Sudan's army.

A CNN investigation has now uncovered some of the cost of the RSF's victory here in Geneina. Survivors aid workers and body collectors described the CNN how together with their allies, the RSF gunned down hundreds of civilians in and around Geneina on June 15th, in one of the most violent massacres to date in the recent history of this genocide scarred Sudanese region.

Using satellite images, eyewitness testimony and geolocating what few videos have made it through the telecommunications blackout, cutting Darfur off from the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I lost eight members of my family that day during the escape from El Geneina to Chad.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): This man says he buried hundreds of victims in Darfur since April. But on that day, he couldn't even reach his slain relatives. The ISIS troops are drawn from Darfuri Arab tribes and together with its leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo A.K.A Hemedti are implicated in the years long in the region against African tribal groupings.

It's unsurprising then that the war between the RSF and Sudan's military for control of the country took an even more sinister turn here in Darfur, mirroring the RSF previous tactics, forcing civilians to flee many arriving in Geneina. That is until June 14th, when the West Darfur Governor seen here at his arrest by the RSF, was executed. The RSF blamed for the killing denies responsibility.

As hundreds attempted to flee they were harassed and threatened. Even children joined in. A lucky few made it to Chad.

SABRY MOHAMED, FORMER EL GENEINA RESIDENT AND EYEWITNESS (through translator): They were going into houses killing people. Snipers were everywhere.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): Bringing with them stories of ethnic targeting.

MOHAMED (through translator): On the road out of the city, we were stopped and searched. They took our phones. Men were separated from the women so they could kill us. We ran but they shot some of us.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): Evidence shows much of the killing occurred here outside the main hospital in Geneina. Then fleeing civilians were ambushed again in Wadi Kaja. Satellite images show the river which is usually shallow enough for cast across had water running high that day. Scores struggled in the water some shot as they drowned. Survivors say they heard gunfire from all directions.

[00:05:06]

JAMAL KHAMISS, HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER AND EYEWITNESS (through translator): I saw 17 kids who were shot dead then thrown into the water. This was one of the most surreal scenes I've witnessed.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): Even as they fled Geneina for Adre across the border in Chad, our evidence shows men, women and children was shot as they fled. At the MSF Hospital in Chad, survivors arrived with gunshot wounds in the back legs and buttocks. The lead doctor told CNN. All injuries consistent with being shot from the back.

Over 850 people flooded the hospitals in Adre between June 15th to 17th, according to MSF. More than any other period since fighting began in April. Body collectors say according to their count, around 1,000 people were killed on the day of June 15th, buried in dozens of mass graves. Survivors say the RSF is replicating these same tactics across the region, even as they're supposed to celebrate in the aftermath of mass killings and the sweep of escalating ethnically targeted attacks.

ELBAGIR (on camera): A spokesperson for the Rapid Support Forces told CNN that they categorically deny the assertions that we put forward in our reporting, without though denying any of the specifics that we shared with them.

It's also important to note that the RSF had previously denied the findings of an investigation where we uncovered evidence that RSF troops had engaged in rapes, before subsequently the leader of the RSF stating that those who had been implicated in violations were to be prosecuted.

Nima Elbagir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: New round of Russian drone strikes in the past 24 hours hit grain facilities in Ukraine critical for the global food supply.

The drone attack destroyed warehouses, granaries and other agricultural machinery in the port city of Reni along the Danube River. Small ports on the Danube like this one become vital for Ukraine to export grain ever since Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal last month.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says this is the seventh Russian attack on a port since that Grain Deal fell apart, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): These Russian strike is a blow to world food prices, a blow to social and political stability in Africa and in Asia. Basic things that provide a normal life to every society, it is food on the table in households. No other terrorist to the world apart from Russia has ever so openly and intentionally targeted the security of so many nations at once.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, a Hong Kong flag of cargo ship carrying food products departed the port of Odesa on Wednesday becoming the first container ship to leave the Black Sea in a month, the ship transited through a temporary quarter opened up to evacuate vessels that were already in Ukrainian ports at the time of Russia's full scale invasion.

All right, joining me now is Matthew Schmidt, Associate Professor of national security at the University of New Haven and former professor of strategic planning at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Thanks so much for being here with us.

So first, I mean, we heard from President Zelenskyy there. Concretely, what effect will this have on food security and on Ukraine economically, this attack on the -- on the granaries?

MATTHEW SCHMIDT, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Basically, nothing at this scale right now. What we have to understand is that the market has already priced in the war. If you actually look at the spot price of wheat right now, it's lower than it was a few weeks ago when Russia formally pulled out of the Grain Deal.

So, the market is factoring this in. And the truth is, there's a lot of slack in the U.S. and in Canada, where there's wheat that they can put out on the market, it's going to take time to move it, to change suppliers and these kinds of things.

But it's there, that doesn't mean it's not a bad deal for Ukraine, Ukraine is hurting because of this. But the fact of the matter is, is those price effects are already in the system.

BRUNHUBER: All right, so the markets are handling it. But what does this attack signal to you then in the bigger picture?

SCHMIDT: Well, the Danube port is essentially the last port that Ukraine can move goods on. There's a series of locks, you can move essentially from that point in Ukraine all the way to the North Sea. And you can get those goods out to places like Germany and other potential markets.

But again, the hard truth there is moving goods through that river system is slow, and the throughputs very small, you're not going to put out the kind of tonnage that you need to put out really, but it's deeply important nonetheless, because there's not -- there's nothing else is going anywhere.

[00:10:07]

BRUNHUBER: Right. So, those Danube ports then establishes an alternative route to shipping from ports right on the Black Sea. But then, despite Moscow ending the grain agreement, as I just mentioned, a few minutes ago, one ship defied Russian threats and left the ports.

I mean, things seem sort of on a knife's edge here. Will Russia allow this? Or will they stop or even attack this or future shipping along this corridor?

SCHMIDT: I think you said it right. It's a nice edge. And what they're trying to do in warfare here is to keep everyone on that nice edge, because that's going to raise insurance costs.

The real target here is the marine insurance market. It's Lloyd's of London and others that are going to allow global shipping firms to be able to protect themselves and engage in this trade.

And if those prices go so high, because Russia is threatening to stop ships or shoot us ships, then Russia doesn't have to stop anyone, because shipping companies will stop sending ships in Ukraine in the first place. And this is all designed to strangle the Ukrainian economy, and they don't have to do it with bullets.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Raising the stakes even more here, if we show the map, I mean, you can see the attacks. I mean, they're relatively close to Romania, which is a NATO member.

So, how dangerous could this be in terms of potentially dragging NATO into the conflict?

SCHMIDT: It's certainly risky. But Russia has been very careful about it. And we have to remember that should something happen on Romanian soil. This isn't some instantaneous NATO rolls tanks into Ukraine kind of situation, NATO will confer, they'll decide to let it go. They'll decide to pretend it didn't happen. They'll decide to say it happened just on the other side of the line that they're drawing on a map.

So, this isn't -- this isn't a, you know, an instant button that's going to get pushed and bring NATO into the war.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, but Russia may be careful, but still accidents happen. We only have about a minute left. But I did want to ask you about this. I mean, we're speaking of NATO, we're seeing more tension between Poland and Belarus. Poland now sending thousands of troops to its border there. We've seen Wagner reportedly trying to recruit in Poland. How concerning is the growing tension there?

SCHMIDT: I think it's very concerning their long standing tensions along that border. And especially with Wagner group there, if you have Prigozhin there, he's a seasoned commander. Whenever you think of these guys, they were -- they were pretty good on the battlefield.

And so, it's a threat that Poland and NATO has to take seriously. I would not expect things to happen. But the threat itself will force NATO to redeploy forces. And that's really the first order of effect here. That's what Russia is trying to do is to get NATO to redeploy.

BRUNHUBER: I really appreciate your expertise on all this, Matthew Schmidt, thank you so much.

SCHMIDT: My pleasure.

BRUNHUBER: On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces have liberated another village in the eastern Donetsk region, the second in as many weeks. Now, the gains may be incremental and slow going, but it shows Ukraine's counter offensive against Russia continues to move forward and momentum is on keep side.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh traveled with Ukraine's military as they entered the newly liberated town.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): There may be ruined around them. But that direction is forwards. We're with the 35th Ukrainian Marines. The first reporters to get to the outskirts of Urozhaine. Yet another village announced liberated Wednesday. The victories may be small but constant.

WALSH: So, just down here Urozhaine yet another town taken as the counter offensive does move forwards. We were just seeing the neighboring village taken last week, but they keep moving.

That much incoming, we're getting out of here as quick as we can while they control Urozhaine. The Russians do everything they can to make it a nightmare the Ukrainians to be there.

The unit showed us the intense fight captured by drone, this there tank advancing, dropping a string of anti-mine explosives behind it, they said which then once it turned detonated.

The unit released a video of them in the town Wednesday of how they turned their firepower on what was once a Russian stronghold that shelled them. The company commander recalls many more Russians hidden there than he expected.

[00:15:04]

Very many died, he says, especially when they started to run, and when they held houses, lots of them died there.

But they were caught as they fled, the smoke around Russians likely made by cluster munitions. Ukraine has said it is already using some rounds controversially supplied by the United States. We could not confirm if these fight here were the new American cluster bombs, but the losses suffered were clear. And they say their use is less of an ethical dilemma when you're in this brutal fight

I don't understand it, he says, that site is using whatever they want. Our people are dying from all this and it's OK. When the other side die, it's not. I don't understand it.

His footage shows how young some in the assault were. He has no time for Western analysts who say this should be moving faster. I would say, they can always come to me as a guest and fight with me,

he says. If someone believes that you can fly over the minefield on a broom like in Harry Potter, it doesn't happen in a real fight. If you don't understand that, you can sit in your armchair and eat your popcorn.

Out here, the last month of advances feel both empty and grueling. Littered now with Russian dead. They haven't moved perhaps as far as it has felt.

WALSH: These just empty farm fields in which many have died to take each kilometer.

WALSH (voice over): The Russians mind so hard here. They use this machine to do it. So much damage done, it's hard to imagine what plans Moscow had for here at all had they kept it.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, near Urozhaine, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Maui has always been a heavy draw for tourists. But for now, those visitors are being urged to stay away as island residents grapple with the horrific losses. We'll have that story up next, please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Tensions are flaring in Pakistan's Punjab province where a crowd vandalized and set on fire eight churches after accusations of blasphemy against Islam. Several homeless were also targeted.

According to a police report, two Christian men were charged on the grounds of desecrating the Quran and abusing the Prophet Muhammad. Pakistan's minority Christian communities are regularly attacked and targeted within the country's strict blasphemy laws. The Caretaker Prime Minister condemned the violence.

110 people are now confirmed dead in Maui and the Hawaii governor says more than a thousand others may still be missing. Search and recovery teams have combed through almost 40 percent of the disaster zone as experts work on identifying the victims.

[00:20:11]

Meanwhile, there are growing questions about what caused the fire and why the sirens failed.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino has this report from Maui.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): The scope of the devastation here stands in stark contrast to Maui's stunning beauty.

FRANK TAYLOR, NEVADA TASK FORCE 1, SEARCH & RESCUE IN HAWAII: It looks like it started up there and ended down there.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Frank Taylor, with FEMA's search and rescue team found Lahaina reduced to ashes, now a graveyard for everything and everyone caught in the wilds fire's path.

TAYLOR: There's nothing left. Cremation, basically. This is the absolute worst disaster I've ever seen.

PAZMINO (voice-over): More than a hundred dead. Now search teams face the grisly task of finding many more in the days to come. Using dogs trained to locate cadavers in this restricted zone.

TAYLOR: They are absolutely essential to this and they're trained just for human remains. We can walk through and do visual searches, but you send a dog in there and they'll find them. I'm very confident we'll find everybody.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Main roads are just starting to open here, FEMA is providing disaster relief and families hoping to lay the victims to rest are fighting exhaustion amid their grief.

MICHAEL RICHTER, LOST STEPFATHER IN FIRE: I just want to identify the body. The police have really helped, but I have run into a lot of people that I understand are tired. I'm tired too. I haven't slept in six days.

PAZMINO (voice-over): For some survivors, not knowing how the deadly fire started and how it was able to cause so much destruction so quickly adds to their suffering. A warning system that never sounded despite being tested just days before the fires raged.

GOV. JOSH GREEN (D-HI): The cell phones were immobilized, the power line were down and we had no service. But the sirens, some were broken, and we're investigating that.

PAZMINO (voice-over): And some locals point to down power lines and loss of water pressure as the flames ravaged the landscape, fueled by months long drought, extreme winds and flammable grasses. But one local Hawaii reporter says he finds solace in the close knit community of Lahaina after losing at least four members of his extended family.

JONATHAN MASAKI SHIROMA, TRAFFIC ANCHOR, HAWAII NEWS NOW: The people of Hawaii have always been rooted in the spirit of ohana, which is family. And I know how painstaking this is. I know the hurt, I know the -- just the deep void we all feel.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BRUNHUBER: U.S. president and first lady will be traveling to Hawaii on Monday to survey the damage. Republicans have criticized Joe Biden for not going sooner and not saying more about the tragedy.

President Biden has said he's concerned his presence might be a distraction and slow down crucial recovery efforts since any presidential visit requires major security and logistical planning. But the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says they found a way to make it work, here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEANNE CRISWELL, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY ADMINISTRATOR: Our biggest goal was to make sure that we weren't going to disrupt the ability of our search and rescue teams to continue their operations.

And when I was just briefing the president and he spoke with the governor he asked the governor if this was going to be an appropriate time and the governor agreed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now tourists on the other hand are being told to stay away from Maui for the immediate future.

Hawaiian actor Jason Momoa posted this message from a local community group urging vacationers to stop traveling to Maui. Go home, it says, people have lost everything.

Visitors to the island have dropped sharply since last weekend but some vacationers remained and that's been deeply offensive to many residents as they cope with the fires grim aftermath. Tourism officials say hotels in West Maui have stopped accepting bookings for the time being because those rooms will be needed that has evacuees and emergency workers.

All right. Joining us live from Maui is Alice Lee, chair of the Maui County Council. Really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us on this.

I want to start there. I mean, it does seem jarring to say the least the thought of tourists surfing and sun tanning while workers are trying to identify the dead. I mean, should tourists cancel their trips?

ALICE LEE, CHAIR, MAUI COUNTY COUNCIL: Yes, I think they should cancel their trips to West Maui. There's still other parts of Maui that, you know, they could visit without disruption or causing disruption. But it is very disrespectful for visitors to come to West Maui while the search and recovery operation is still ongoing.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. And as we said, I mean, those resources are desperately needed, unfortunately, you know, calls to keep tourists away. I mean, that will just make the economic impact of this tragedy even worse. I mean, I was reading on Maui, some, you know, three million tourists bring in more than $5 billion, and this fire could cost almost $7 billion in losses.

[00:25:13]

LEE: And that's correct, you know, we do have to plan for our financial health under the circumstances. At some point, we need to come up with a priority plan to work with the federal state and, of course, our own county government to find ways to shore up our fiscal status.

However, for now, our main focus is on the people. And that's where it should be and will be for the foreseeable future.

Tourists can still come to other parts of Maui. And they're welcome. But we would hope that they try to avoid West Maui at all possible, if at all possible.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I mean, it is a delicate balancing act, as you say. And as you say, the human impact that's most important. I mean, the scale of what's happening now, the number of people dead and still missing is just unfathomable. Only a handful of victims have been identified so far. Why is it so hard to do this?

LEE: It's hard because the remains are ashes, for the most part are ashes. And in these cases, we need DNA to match what we're finding and to ensure that we can identify people correctly.

So, this is a very painstaking process. And it has to be, because these are people and they need -- they need to have, you know, the closure, and their families have closure. And we need to be accurate as far as making sure that identifications are correct.

So, until that happens, the process is going to remain a little bit slow.

BRUNHUBER: I mean, the focus obviously has to be on the recovery right now and all the victims, their families and so on, but I mean, many questions are still being asked about why the emergency sirens weren't activated.

And yesterday, Maui's Emergency Management chief defended the decision not to sound the siren saying it may have caused people to evacuate toward the danger. I mean, do you think that's right?

LEE: I think we need a full investigation. And I think the governor has already called for one. But it's not uncommon for those sirens to be used primarily for tsunamis.

And although they can be used for other things, but most of us who have grown up here on Maui, know that when you hear that siren, you head for the hills. And this is not the case with the fire. This is not what we would have wanted for people to do. Because that's where the fire was coming from, from the hills.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, so many unanswered questions, but we all want to wish you and everyone there the best as you try and recover from this awful tragedy.

Alice Lee, thanks so much for speaking with us. Appreciate it.

LEE: And thank you for the opportunity.

BRUNHUBER: While son has been pleading with U.S. officials to help his father get out of prison in Iran, but when his appeals fell short, they both went on a hunger strike. We'll have that story ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

[00:31:11]

We could soon know when the criminal case against Donald Trump and 18 codefendants will begin here in Georgia. The district attorney who charged Trump with attempts to overturn the state's 2020 election results has asked a judge for a trial date of March 4 of next year. That's the day before Super Tuesday, a critical date in the U.S. primary season.

One of Trump's codefendants is his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, who's now secured a hearing date with a federal judge in less than two weeks. He wants his case moved to federal court, arguing he should have federal immunity from the state charges as a former U.S. government employee.

Meanwhile, a woman in Texas has been arrested and charged with threatening the judge presiding over Trump's federal election interference case. Authorities say the woman left a voice mail threatening to kill just judge, seen here, if Trump isn't elected next year.

An American citizen held in a Russian prison camp had a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. Sources tell CNN that Paul Whelan was told to keep his faith, and that the U.S. is doing everything it can to bring him home. Whelan's brother later said the phone call had an additional meaning. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID WHELAN, PAUL WHELAN'S BROTHER: I think that Secretary Blinken has obviously sent a message, and that message is for Paul and for our family, because government is continuing to advocate for Paul and his release. And I think it's also a message for the Kremlin that the U.S. government hasn't let up and, in fact, their lead foreign policy person is -- is willing to call a prisoner, which is, I think, astounding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Whelan had been held for more than four years for alleged spying, and the U.S. considers him wrongly detained.

U.S. officials have said they don't hold any high-level Russians spies to entice Moscow to negotiate, so they're turning to allies for help.

After Blinken's phone call, Russia's ambassador to Washington said the U.S. should stop what he called hunting for Russians in other countries.

Meanwhile, the family of a U.S. resident held in Iran for seven years wants the State Department to do more to secure his release, but he's not among the five Americans recently moved from Iranian prisons to house arrest in a tentative deal that could bring them home.

CNN's Kylie Atwood reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shahab Dalili planned to come back to the U.S. in 2016 after visiting Iran for his father's funeral. But on the way to the airport, he was detained.

When news reports broke last week about a brewing deal between the U.S. and Iran to secure the release of five American detainees, two of whom are still unknown to the public, his son, Darian, thought his father might be headed home.

DARIAN DALILI, FATHER IMPRISONED IN IRAN: We were getting somewhat hopeful, and to have that all basically get crushed, last week Thursday, that was heartbreaking.

ATWOOD (voice-over): Shahab was charged with aiding and abetting a hostile nation. It's the same charge that Siamak Namazi faces. Namazi is one of the five Americans who U.S. officials are hoping will be home by next month.

But when top U.S. official said the group of detainees they were working to release were all deemed wrongfully detained, it quickly became apparent that the 60-year-old behind bars at Evin Prison was not in the mix.

Shahab has not been formally labeled as such by the State Department. Darian quickly emailed the State Department last week in protest.

DALILI: I included this note on the bottom: You are leaving my father there to die. And I think that got a reaction.

ATWOOD (voice-over): He got a call from a top State Department official, but still no answers as to specific efforts underway to secure his father's release.

VEDANT PATEL, SPOKESPERSON, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: We assess the circumstances of detentions and look for indicators of wrongful detention and when appropriate, we will make a determination.

ATWOOD (voice-over): Shahab is an Iranian citizen and a legal permanent resident of the U.S. He was a trading ship captain in Iran before he retired in the U.S. with his wife and his two children.

[00:35:06]

DALILI: My emotion is just exhaustion. I have been in contact with so many people over the past seven years, trying to tell my father's story.

ATWOOD (voice-over): This week, Darian is protesting outside the State Department, even though he's clear-eyed about the near-term possibility of his father's release.

DALILI: The prospect of getting him on that same plane as everyone else, that's unlikely. But that -- that's getting lower every day. It's not zero. I never say it's zero until that plane lifts off.

ATWOOD: Shahab was initially put into solitary confinement when he was first sent to Iranian prison. He's no longer in solitary confinement.

But recently, he and his son Darian did engage in a multi-day hunger strike as they're trying to push U.S. officials to work actively to secure his release.

Kylie Atwood, CNN, the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Coming here on CNN NEWSROOM, a miraculous rescue at sea. Two Indonesian boat crewmembers and four Australian surfers saved after 38 hours of open water. We'll tell you their harrowing story, next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: The children of legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein are pushing back against online critics after the release of a trailer for the new biopic of their father's life, titled, "Maestro." Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRADLEY COOPER, ACTOR: So how long do we have to do this for?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to build a very strong connection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The film stars Bradley Cooper as Bernstein. He also cowrote and coproduced the film.

The Academy Award-nominated actor has drawn fire online for playing a Jewish man, though he isn't Jewish himself. Others have questioned the use of a prosthetic nose he appears to be wearing in the trailer, saying he it enforces anti-Semitic stereotypes.

Now, Bernstein's family released a statement, saying in part, quote, "It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice big nose. Bradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we're perfectly fine with that. We're also certain that our dad would have been fine with it, as well."

The British Museum in London says an employee has been dismissed and a police investigation launched over the alleged theft of jewelry and artifacts.

In the statement, the museum said a number of items from its collection were found to be, quote, "missing, stolen, or damaged," and legal action will now be pursued against the former staffer.

Most of the items were said to be small pieces, kept in a storeroom.

The British Museum's director said, quote, "The Museum apologizes for what has happened, but we have now brought an end to this, and we are determined to put things right."

Four Australians surfers and two Indonesian boat crew members say they're thrilled and grateful to be alive after spending nearly two days lost at sea.

Their vessel sank off the coast of Western Indonesia after being hit by a storm stranding them in open waters, but despite being rescued, their joy is incomplete. Ivan Watson reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[00:40:10]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The moment of relief after two nights lost at sea. Searchers spot the group of surfers and the crew of their boat, missing for over 38 hours in the waters off of Indonesia's West coast. But the joy is short- lived.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where's Elliot?

WATSON (voice-over): Two members of the group are not there. Australian Steph Weisse, Will Teagle and Jordan Short are safe, but they say fellow surfer Elliot Foote paddled away from the group to try to find help.

And just two of the three members of the Indonesian boat crew have been found.

"We drifted away very far," explains Mohammad Iqbal from the safety of the rescue boat. "It felt like we were just circling the area, and it was totally dark."

At home in Sydney, Australia, Elliot's father anxiously waits. Then, a text message comes through. Elliot's alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got everyone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yay.

WATSON (voice-over): The final member of the group of four Australians, pulled from the water by two local fishermen, according to a spokesperson for the families.

Reunited on dry land, the group of friends say they need time to recover from their ordeal. ELLIOT FOOTE, RESCUED SURFER: There were some moments out there where

we were all quite nervous and didn't quite know what the outcome was going to be. But we just banned together, and you know, I couldn't have been happier having mates there with me.

WATSON (voice-over): Indonesian rescue teams had led the search for the group of seven since Sunday night. The surfers' boat went down in rough weather while they were out chasing waves at a remote destination off of Indonesia's Aceh.

A private plane was pulled in to help, as were fishing vessels; and local tourist charters used their knowledge of the currents to plot a search area. But success is not complete.

FOOTE: Yes. Our thoughts are just with the families and friends of the missing one who is still out there. And you know, it's just hard to think about. And we just want the best for him.

WATSON (voice-over): Searchers say the capsized boat was found Wednesday morning, with no sign of the missing man.

Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM, but first, WORLD SPORT starts after the break.

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