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Astronaut's Namesake School in Massachusetts Cheers Hero's Return; Judge Grants Freedom Request to Man in Missing Student Case; Ben & Jerry's Says Its CEO was Fired for Company's Political Posts. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired March 19, 2025 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: ... ceasefire even further. But in the meantime, before that actually happens, if it even happens, we know that the Israeli military is not only continuing to ramp up its ground activities now but continuing to carry out airstrikes in Gaza as well. About two dozen people were killed in the Gaza Strip overnight and today in Israeli strikes.
And also want to call your attention to one strike that hit a U.N. guest house in Gaza, killing one foreign United Nations worker, injuring five others. The Israeli military has said that it did not carry out a strike on this guest house whose location had been shared with it -- to it by the United Nations. But fragments examined at the scene of this attack were identified by two independent military experts to CNN as being those from an Israeli tank shell.
The Israeli foreign ministry says that the Israeli military will look into this further -- Boris.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much for the update from Tel Aviv.
Still ahead, astronaut Suni Williams may be back on Earth, but for a lot of kids out there, she's always going to be up in the sky and a star. We'll explain in just moments.
[15:35:00]
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SANCHEZ: It's a bittersweet day here at CNN NEWS CENTRAL because I've loved tracking the adventures of Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore. Right now, they're in Houston. They're back on Earth after, you know, that fiasco they had up in space.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We could keep tracking them. We'll be like, and they're still in Houston. They're going to Chick-fil-A.
SANCHEZ: Not quite as exciting as being not stuck or stranded up there on the International Space Station. They're getting used to gravity after they splashed down in the waters off of western Florida. This moment right here elicited cheers worldwide, including from some dolphins.
OK, I thought that was going to be the splashdown. It wasn't a splashdown.
KEILAR: OK, these are not dolphins. This is the ancestral village of Suni Williams' family, Jhulasan, India. I, too, was confused by that toss.
But yes, everyone's excited about this. And that celebration was just as loud stateside, especially at this restaurant in Needham, Mass, where Williams grew up. Some of the students of the Sunita L. Williams Elementary School talked about seeing their hometown hero back on Earth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRIYA BUTLER, FORMER STUDENT OF SUNITA L. WILLIAMS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: We all kind of feel relieved that she's, like, safe. And yes, we're so excited to see her again.
JAYA BUTLER, FORMER STUDENT OF SUNITA L. WILLIAMS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: It's, like, so cool that she's a part of our town. And like everybody knows her across the entire country. And I'm so proud to have gone to her school.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Joining us now is Kiana Brunson, the principal of Sunita L. Williams Elementary. All right, Principal Brunson, how excited are the kids and the staff at your school?
KIANA BRUNSON, PRINCIPAL, SUNITA L. WILLIAMS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: We're very excited. This has been a wonderful experience for our kids to be able to participate in and witness over these last nine months. But we're so thrilled that she made it back home safely. And we're going to be even more excited when we're able to connect with her again in person.
SANCHEZ: We actually have video from June of the students watching the Boeing Starliner launching Williams and Butch Wilmore up to the International Space Station. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHILDREN: Three, two, one, blast off!
Wow!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: How incredible is it for these students to participate in her success and to engage with her personally?
BRUNSON: I think it's an experience that we can't even measure. I can't remember when I witnessed an astronaut going to space in my elementary career. So it's something that's going to live with them forever.
And the fact that they feel like they know her because she's been here at our school. She is a local hero. She is a community friend. So it's an even stronger bond for them. And it just gives them hope into what they can do as they grow through their career here and in public schools and beyond.
KEILAR: Yes, she went to the school long before it was named for her. Tell us about her relationship with the school, because I know that she has really showed up and talked to the students and participated with them.
BRUNSON: So yes, so she is a Needham graduate. She was at our school when it was formerly called Hillside Elementary. So she was a student here. She graduated from Needham High. And she really makes an effort to have a strong connection and bond with our community. When you walk through the hallways of our school, there's not one corner that doesn't have a picture or a piece of memorabilia that gives tribute to who she is and what she does.
Since I've been a principal here, she's been at the school every year until she went to the ISS. We first had our first official Sunita Williams Day here at Sunita Williams Elementary in May of 2023. And she came and met with our entire school community, 500 of our students, 600 of our faculty members.
[15:40:00]
And then she went classroom to classroom for our students in grades kindergarten through fifth and connected with them and explained some of the work that she does and how the work that they're doing in their classrooms today is going to prepare them for something like what she's doing now as an astronaut.
And she's just so relatable. She's kind. She's caring. She's compassionate. And she has a natural spirit of a teacher that our kids really connect to. So we're really fortunate to have this strong bond with her.
KEILAR: Yes, hopefully they look at her and they say, if she can do it, I can do it. Principal Brunson, it's so great to speak with you. We're so excited that they're back home. And we're excited, of course, for the school as well. And when you get to connect with her. We'll be right back.
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[15:45:00]
SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. Millions of Americans are in harm's way as a dangerous new storm system revs up, bringing powerful winds, fires, and blizzard warnings.
You're looking at a dust storm right now that forced drivers to pull over along a highway in New Mexico. As the system pushes east, cities like Omaha, Nebraska, are now seeing temperatures plunge from the low 80s back to freezing in just 24 hours.
Also, U.S. fighter jets in the Red Sea still trading attacks with Houthi rebels in Yemen. Earlier today, the Iranian-backed militant group claimed to have carried out its fourth attack in 72 hours on the USS Harry Truman carrier group, this after the U.S. stepped up its assault on the Houthis last week over the group's attacks on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea.
And the U.S. Department of Energy is putting South Korea on a watch list. Washington's acting ambassador to Seoul says South Korean visitors to U.S. laboratories mishandled sensitive information. He didn't elaborate, but last year, the Biden administration fired a contractor who tried boarding a flight to South Korea with nuclear reactor design software. It's unclear if that case is related to this new designation -- Brianna.
KEILAR: The Iowa man believed to be the last person to see a missing U.S. college student in the Dominican Republic is no longer under police supervision. A judge granting Joshua Riibe's freedom request in that. Authorities had been keeping him in a hotel room amid the search for Sudiksha Konanki.
In the meantime, her parents are pleading with island officials to declare her dead so that they can finally begin to grieve. CNN's Jessica Hasbun is in Santo Domingo. Jessica, what's the latest?
JESSICA HASBUN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me tell you, the latest is at this point, Riibe has left the Riu Republica Hotel and is staying at an undisclosed location, according to his attorney, Beatriz Santana. Santana told CNN that they would be filing a formal request to get his passport back and his cell phone. Like you mentioned that judge in the Dominican Republic granting Riibe's request for freedom.
He was believed to be the last person to be seen with U.S. student Sudiksha Konanki when she vanished on March 6th, nearly two weeks ago on that beach at the Riu Republica Hotel in Punta Cana. Riibe argued that he was detained improperly without charges. And this came right after Konanki's parents urged Dominican authorities to declare their daughter dead just this Monday because they believe she drowned and there's foul play at the Riu Republica.
And Riibe will be leaving to the U.S. He has been asking to return to his hometown of Iowa. And let's see what happens in the coming days if he gets access to his passport and if he is indeed allowed to travel and head back home.
KEILAR: All right, Jessica Hasbun, thank you so much for that.
Still ahead, Ben and Jerry says its CEO is fired for the company's political posts. We'll have the scoop on this shakeup next.
[15:50:00]
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SANCHEZ: Ben & Jerry's is facing an icy situation. The ice cream brand is accusing its parent company, Unilever, of firing its CEO because of progressive political posts. And a complaint filed on Tuesday, lawyers for Ben & Jerry's said the company did not follow the proper protocols like getting the board's approval. Unilever hasn't responded yet to our request for comment.
But CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich, who joins us now, has been trying to get them on the phone. Vanessa, this is just the latest spat between Ben & Jerry's and Unilever.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, just the latest. And Ben & Jerry's is alleging that Unilever fired their CEO, David Stever, over the company's progressive views on political and social issues. And Ben & Jerry's also saying that Unilever did this really in breach of their contract, not getting full board approval before removing the CEO, and that's in violation of their contract, their merger agreement from 2000.
In this lawsuit filed just yesterday, this is a little bit of what Ben & Jerry's is alleging. They're saying that Unilever's motive for removing Mr. Stever is his commitment to Ben & Jerry's social mission and essential brand integrity, and his willingness to collaborate in good faith with the independent board, rather than any genuine concerns regarding his performance history.
Also, this is just the latest claim that Ben & Jerry's is making, basically alleging since about 2021 that the company has stopped them from posting on social media.
Here are just some of the things that the company wanted to post, but they say were blocked by Unilever.
Ending the war in Gaza, calling a ceasefire, abortion, climate change and universal health care issues, if it mentioned President Donald Trump. Also, posting about Palestinian refugee Mahmoud Khalil, who is a green card holder, but is currently in an ICE detention center.
And they also wanted to post about Black History Month, celebrating that month, but alleging that Unilever stopped them from posting those things on social media.
Now, Unilever is a U.K. brand. They said last year that they're planning on selling Ben & Jerry's. That has not come to fruition just yet, but we've reached out to the company, asking them about this latest firing and all of these other complaints. But Boris, we have yet to hear back from them on that -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Vanessa Yurkevich, thanks so much for bringing us that story.
[15:55:00]
Still ahead, a teenager making history, becoming the youngest person to run a sub four-minute mile. Details on the feat when we come back.
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SANCHEZ: Here's a question. What were you doing at 15 years old? KEILAR: I think I was taking a driving class, maybe. Something.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
KEILAR: You know, not like a whole lot. You?
SANCHEZ: Yes, most of it has been expunged from my record, fortunately.
KEILAR: That's good.
SANCHEZ: Probably you were not making history, right? However, one very fast kid in New Zealand just did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sam Ruthe right there. Woohoo! All right, that's a Sub four, baby.
KEILAR: All right. With that run, Sam Ruthe becomes the youngest person to run a mile in under four minutes. Ruthe ran the mile in three minutes, 58.35 seconds. Pretty definitive there. Beating his own personal best by three seconds.
[16:00:00]
That is fast.
SANCHEZ: It's fast. It's impressive. But honestly, I'm not that impressed. A young person doing that great. Give me the oldest person to ever run a sub four minute mile.
I'm not even 40 and I feel every day, like when I get out of bed, I'm Suni Williams getting out of the spacecraft, just like having people help me because my bones are calcified.
KEILAR: That's exactly how I feel. I don't think you feel that way. I think you probably run like a seven, six minute mile.
SANCHEZ: You think I run anywhere? I run to go watch "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt, which starts right now. Thanks so much for joining us today.
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