60 Minutes 57x24 - Hostages, Voice of America, Left Behind

HOSTAGES – Correspondent Lesley Stahl dispatches toIsrael for her 5th report since the Oct. 7 terrorattack to interview freed Israeli and American hostages,including Yarden Bibas and Keith Siegel, who arespeaking out to share their experiences in captivity andwhat they witnessed at the hands of Hamas. They are nowfighting for a renewed ceasefire, to end the war and bringback the remaining hostages.  Shachar Bar-On is the producer. VOICE OF AMERICA – Voice of America (VOA), the storiedU.S. government-funded international broadcaster with an83-year history, is now off the air thanks to a Trumpadministration executive order and lockout of hundreds of itsemployees placed on suspended leave. Correspondent BillWhitaker reports the action has extinguished a trusted beaconof fact-based journalism for hundreds of millions worldwide.While the White House says, "taxpayers are no longer on thehook for radical propaganda," many believe the move cedes avital soft power tool to American adversaries in parts of theworld saturated with propaganda and disinformation. GrahamMessick and Jack Weingart are the producers.  LEFT BEHIND –When wildfires tore through the Pacific Palisades and Altadenaneighborhoods of Los Angeles three months ago, 9 billionpounds of toxic ash and debris were left behind. Now, amassive cleanup effort is underway to clear the 13-thousandproperties destroyed in the fire. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsigoes behind the scenes with the Environmental Protection Agencyas it completes the first step: removing the hazardous waste.The rest of the debris is in the hands of the Army Corps ofEngineers. Despite expedited cleanup efforts, some residentssay they still don't feel safe returning home. Lucy Hatcher isthe producer.