Youre witnessing the moment when the people in this room realize they can see, for the first time in years. Can you see my fingers . Their eyes and their faces begin to light up with a quiet sort of joy and wonder at the gift of sight. Doctors geoff tabin and sanduk ruit are eye surgeons, and now, they are life savers. Ai weiwei is chinas most famous political dissident. Hes also one of the most successful contemporary artists in the world a designer, sculptor, photographer and blogger whos earned legions of followers by using his art as a weapon to ridicule the authorities. Are you an artist, or are you an activist . I think, artist and activist is the same thing. Im steve kroft. Im lesley stahl. Im bill whitaker. Im anderson cooper. Im holly williams. Im scott pelley. Those stories, tonight on 60 minutes. hard exhalation honey . Can we do this tomorrow . grunts of effort can we do this tomorrow . If you have Heart Failure symptoms, your risk of hospitalization could increase, making tomorrow uncertain. But entresto is a medicine that was proven, in the largest Heart Failure study ever, to help more people stay alive and out of the hospital than a leading Heart Failure medicine. Women who are pregnant must not take entresto. It can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. Dont take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren. If youve had angioedema while taking an ace or arb medicine, dont take entresto. The most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high potassium in your blood. Tomorrow, tomorrow. When can we do this again, grandpa . Well, how about tomorrow . Ask your doctor about entresto and help make tomorrow possible. Ask your doctor about entresto the lincoln summer invitation is on. Its time for a getaway. Now get our best offers of the season. On the agile mkc. On the versatile midsize lincoln mkx. Or go where summer takes you in the exhilarating mkz. The lincoln summer invitation sales event. Ask about complimentary pick up delivery servicing. Right now get zero percent apr plus 1,000 dollars Summer Savings on the lincoln mkx, mkc and mkz thank you for barging in like that. Yes and if you need anything ever, work it out yourself. Wouldnt it be great if everyone said what they meant . The citi® double cash card does. Earn 1 cash back when you buy and 1 as you pay. Double means double. Stahl in the long, bloody history of terrorism, few acts of violence have been more savage or shocking than those carried out by isis, including the beheadings of Young American hostages in 2014. The videos went viral and catapulted isis onto the world stage. For the parents of one of those americans, art and shirley sotloff, the murder of their 31 yearold son steven was shattering because of the brutality of his execution, and because they think he couldve been saved if not for what even the Obama Administration admitted was its own ineffectiveness in dealing with the crisis. But, as we reported in january, what really sealed their sons fate, the sotloffs believe, was the governments policy against paying ransom. Steven sotloff i am Steven Joel Sotloff. Im sure you know exactly who i am by now and why i am appearing before you. Stahl Steven Joel Sotloff was beheaded by isis. His execution, on september 2, 2014, was seen around the world on a video. Did you ever watch it . Art sotloff i have viewed stevens body with his head on his chest. Shirley sotloff i had to see that because i needed to be sure that that was him. Stahl steven was born and raised in miami, attended college in israel and became a freelance journalist, reporting from war zones where information was scarce, like yemen, benghazi, libya and syria, where he went in the summer of 2013. Just before he crossed into aleppo, he called his dad. Art sotloff he contacted me and told me not to worry and. But, if i dont hear from him within four days, that i should get in touch with one of his colleagues. Stahl ooh, thats ominous. He didnt hear from his son, not just for four days; it was four excruciating months. Th, finallym letter with demands for the government to free all the muslims in u. S. Custody, or. Shirley sotloff then, there is a last option 100 Million Euros will secure stevens release. Stahl which is Something Like 137. Art sotloff 137 million. Stahl what was your reaction . Shirley sotloff the reaction was, how the hell are we going to get this money together . Stahl they thought the u. S. Government would help them, but they were bewildered and then infuriated when they say they met a stone wall the u. S. Policy forbidding the paying of ransom. Lisa monaco its some of the hardest work that ive done. Stahl lisa monaco was assistant to president obama for counterterrorism. She oversaw the hostage crisis. Monaco these are horrible choices. On the one hand, if you dont pay a ransom, you are putting an innocent life at risk. On the other hand, if you do, youre fueling the very activity thats put them at risk in the first place. Stahl did you feel ever that the policy might be wrong . Monaco the policy, thats been a decadesold policy of not paying ransom. I think is the right policy. Stahl so, you didnt question that. Monaco we didnt. We believed that that was important to maintain. Stahl but with the exception of the u. K. , most European Countries do pay ransom without publicly admitting it. Steven was held with 22 other hostages, including the three americans james foley, peter kassig and Kayla Mueller who were all killed. Once the european governments paid ransom, isis released their citizens, one of whom smuggled out this letter from steven. Art sotloff he was speaking how he cant stand seeing all the captives leave from all different countries. How could the United States just stand by and not do anything . Stahl as the european hostages came out and spoke of mock executions and waterboardings, the sotloffs decided they would try to raise at least some of the money themselves. But then, they and the other u. S. Families attended a meeting in washington with officials on the National Security council. Art sotloff all of us were saying, well, why cant we try to save our kids . And they said, because its against the law. We do not negotiate with terrorists. Stahl did they say you would be prosecuted . Art sotloff they said, you could be prosecuted, and also your donors could be prosecuted. Stahl so, if i gave you money, i could be prosecuted . Shirley sotloff yes. Art sotloff correct. Stahl did anybody say, are you kidding me . Art sotloff yes, they did. Yes, they did. Stahl so, it was a little bit contentious. Art sotloff oh, yeah. We kind of verbally fought back. Stahl they were threatened that they could be prosecuted. Is that true . Monaco so, whats true is that some families felt threatened, and that was unacceptable. And that should never have happened. Stahl are you suggesting they may not have been threatened . Monaco no. What im suggesting is, i wasnt present when any threats were made. But what matters, lesley, is that these families felt that way as they were going through the most horrific time they will ever encounter. Stahl but was that the policy . Was that true . Could they have actually been prosecuted . Could someone who contributed to pay ransom also be prosecuted . Monaco so, whats true is that the Justice Department has never prosecuted a family, or friends of a family that has paid a ransom. Stahl but was it the policy . Monaco well, whats. The. The policy is, the United States government will not pay ransoms or make concessions to terrorist hostage takers. Stahl that policy is based in part on a presumption that paying ransom invites more hostagetaking, but that is refuted by a new study that examined the case of every known western hostage taken since 9 11. It was coauthored by peter bergen, a counterterrorism expert, for the nonpartisan new america foundation. Peter bergen they dont know necessarily youre american when they take you. Its sort of a target of opportunity. So, some countries are known to pay ransom the french, the germans, the spanish. Stahl even though they dont admit it. Bergen they dont admit it, but they do. Their citizens have much Better Outcomes than americans. Americans are huge outliers here. Youre twice as likely to have a negative outcome compared to every other western hostage. Stahl you say negative outcome, you mean murdered. Bergen murdered, die in captivity or just remain in captivity. Stahl 14 of the european hostages held with steven made it home. Those from countries that dont pay ransom didnt; four americans and two brits died. I keep playing in my own head this horrible situation where the american hostages watched the other ones be set free, and i wonder if it wouldnt have been better if. If our government did what the european governments did, which was pay ransom but then deny it, in order to save their citizens. Why couldnt we have done that . Monaco wed still be fueling their terror activity. Whether its hostagetaking or whether its terrorist plots, to kill americans here in the homeland or elsewhere, is not activity that the United States government should be in the business of funding. Stahl what do you say to critics of the policy of not paying ransom . That the beheadings of the americans ended up having more value to isis than any money would have been. Thats really what put them on the international map. These beheading videos were a gold mine for isis. Do you. Do you see it that way . Monaco i dont, and i think its giving brutal, murderous thugs too much credit. Stahl what about the argument that if you pay ransom, youre just encouraging them to kidnap more . Also, that the money is going to go toward terrorism . And so, whats the comeback to that . Its a hard thing. Art sotloff going back to what president obama said to us in person, that he would do anything in his power to save his children if he was in the same situation. And i say that he should put himself in the same situation. And i think that the government has a responsibility to protect its citizens in whatever way that they can. Stahl what do you say when you hear people argue that steven knew he was putting his life at risk by going into syria at that point and, you know, kind of, the burdens on him. Art sotloff steven was driven by truth, that he had to report the truth. He saw that there wasnt information coming out of these areas, and thats really what drove him. Stahl in the summer of 2014, nearly a year after steven was abducted, president obama ordered a military operation to rescue the hostages. Monaco this involved a number of. A large number of military Service Members and special operators, who. Stahl putting their lives on the line. Monaco putting their lives on the line, going into the heart of isil territory in syria. And as we were monitoring the operation, word came back, some very devastating words its a dry hole, which meant that they werent there. Jihadi john this is james wright foley. Stahl about seven weeks later, james foley became the first of three american hostages beheaded. Steven appears at the end of the video. Jihadi john the life of this american citizen, obama, depends on your next decision. Stahl the sotloffs then received an audio message that sounds like steven was forced to record, designed to pressure the u. S. Government. It was given them by the f. B. I. Art sotloff this is always tough for me because its actually his voice, and it just makes me feel like hes still in the room with us. Steven sotloff to mom, i do not have much time and will probably not get this opportunity again, so i would like to get straight to the point. My life depends on obamas next decision. Mom, please dont let obama kill me. Mom, you can still save my life, just like the families of my previous cellmates whom im sure youve met. Fight for me, i love you. Shirley sotloff powerful. Art sotloff i got to blow my nose. Im sorry. If i could excuse myself . Stahl its okay. Its. Its cruel. Shirley sotloff very. I dont know what they wanted us to do. Stahl and always saying mom like that. Shirley sotloff mom. Stahl mom, mom. Shirley sotloff yeah. Stahl they learned of stevens death a few days after that. Art sotloff and hes in a much better place. Shirley sotloff we know hes in a better place. Art sotloff and, you know, he isnt suffering anymore. Stahl a couple of months later, they met with president obama. Art sotloff i asked the president , i said, how did you feel when my son was being held up by his neck and they were saying that this message is for you, president obama; stevens life depends on your next decision . How do you feel about that . And he looked down, and he really couldnt answer the question. I guess its a question that shocked him because, it shocked me that i even asked him that. Stahl how do you feel now about what happened . Maybe your role with the families whose kids were beheaded. Monaco i feel like, in many respects, we did not do right by these families, that we failed them. Stahl you feel you. You failed the families . Monaco we have americans who were brutally killed. Stahl after the beheadings, she put together a task force to review how the government handles hostagetaking, that included a meeting with the families. Monaco it was a lot of raw emotion and a lot of frustration and grief. Stahl anger at you . Monaco anger at us, anger at the loss of their loved ones, anger at the government. Stahl one of the task forces conclusions was that the various Government Agencies working on hostages were not coordinating with each other, which led to the creation of this new unit. Have we seen any claims of responsibility . Not yet. Stahl led by the f. B. I. , it brings together all the key agencies that work on hostages including the c. I. A. , defense and state departments in one place to work side by side, 24 7. They share intelligence and keep the families informed. Any results . No, sir. Not yet. Stahl however, the noransom policy was not changed; it wasnt even reviewed, though the Justice Department, in this public document, all but promised not to prosecute a family or their friends who do pay ransom to terrorists. Is it a good policy now . Are you happy with the way it has turned out . Art sotloff its a better policy than what it was. I mean, now it gives at least people the opportunity to try to save their Family Members. Stahl uhhuh. Art sotloff but i think its far from really solving the problem, because there is still money that has to be raised and paid, and the average family just cant do that. Stahl and you think our government should. Art sotloff absolutely. Shirley sotloff its a human life. How do you let an american go like that, just let them be killed and murdered . Every human is valuable. Everybody has a family, and they want them to come home. Stahl the sotloffs have started a foundation in stevens memory called two lives that among other things funds Safety Training for freelance journalists traveling to war zones. On the political front, with dozens of Americans Still being held hostage, President Trump has maintained the u. S. Policy of not paying ransom. I needed something more to help control my type 2 diabetes. My a1c wasnt were it needed to be. So i liked when my doctor told me that i may reach my blood sugar and a1c goals by activating whats within me with onceweekly trulicity. Trulicity is not insulin. It helps activate my body to do what its suppose to do, release its own insulin. I take it once a week, and it works 24 7. It comes in an easytouse pen and i may even lose a little weight. Trulicity is a onceweekly injectable prescription medicine to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. Trulicity is not insulin. It should not be the first medicine to treat diabetes, or for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Do not take trulicity if you or a Family Member has had medullary thyroid cancer, if youve had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to trulicity. Stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have a lump or swelling in your neck, severe pain in your stomach, or symptoms such as itching, rash, or trouble breathing. Serious side effects may include pancreatitis, which can be fatal. Taking trulicity with a sulfonylurea or insulin, increases your risk for low blood sugar. Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite and indigestion. Some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may make existing kidney problems worse. Onceweekly trulicity may help me reach my blood sugar goals. With trulicity, i click to activate whats within me. If you want help improving your a1c and blood sugar, activate your within. Ask your doctor about onceweekly trulicity. Pcountries thatk mewe traveled,t what is your nationality and i would always answer hispanic. So when i got my ancestry dna results it was a shocker. Im everything. Im from all nations. I would look at forms now and wonder what do i mark . Because im everything. And i marked other. Discover the story only your dna can tell. Order your kit now at ancestrydna. Com. Cricket has something epic for you. Our plans start at only 30 month. Weve got more 4g lte coverage than tmobile or sprint. Plus switch now, and get a brand new smartphone for free. Cricket wireless. Something to smile about. Whitaker blindness and partial blindness are not epidemic here in the u. S. , but they are in certain parts of the world. Our story is about two doctors who decided to do something about it. And incredibly, to date, they have restored sight to more than 150,000 people. Doctors they have trained have restored sight to four million more. As we first told you in april, their partnership seems improbable. One is a hardcharging, ivy league, american adrenaline junkie; the other, a serene buddhist surgeon from the remote mountains of nepal. We joined them on one of their most Challenging Missions in the isolated country of burma. Their goal to lead burma out of darkness one patient at a time. One by one, the patches are peeled away and the world comes back into focus. Youre witnessing the moment when the people in this room realize they can see, for the first time in years. Can you see my fingers . Their eyes and their faces begin to light up with a quiet s