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At This Hour

Paying Respects; Mall Madness; Biggest International Stories Of 2016. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired December 27, 2016 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:02] DAVID FAHRENTHOLD, WASHINTON POST REPORTER: We don't know. We do know what he gave to the Donald J. Trump foundation because the foundation has to release its tax return. So over -- since 1987, since he started it, Trump has given about $6 million to the Trump foundation. But other people have given much more, given about $9.5 million. In fact, the biggest donor after Trump himself is Vince and Linda McMahon, the pro wrestling moguls, who gave $5 million and as you know Linda McMahon was officially chosen by Trump as his nominee to be head of his small business administration.

KATE BOLBUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So David, now Donald Trump has said -- he has announced that he wants to -- his plans to dissolve the foundation. At the same time, you well know New York attorney general is still investigating the foundation, and says he can't legally shut it down until that investigation has kind of come to fruition. How does that play into all of this?

FAHRENTHOLD: Well, it's a sign, one of several signs, that the Trump family and Trump himself really have made no preparations for disentangling himself from things like this before he becomes president. They made this big announcement on Christmas eve saying he would shut down the Trump foundation. I think not understanding that they couldn't do it because there is this ongoing New York attorney general investigation, which is basically spawned by our reporting.

The New York attorney general was trying to identify times when Trump used the foundation's money to benefit himself, so he's going to answer for that. Trump has the sort of tell them which instances he did that. He's probably going to have to pay the foundation back give the application penalty taxes, all of that has to happen before he can legally shut his foundation down.

BOLBUAN: David Fahrenthold, thank you so much David. Great to hear from you, I'm sure there's a lot more to discuss on that going forward, appreciate the time.

So Donald Trump is also on Twitter, he's taking credit for making the world a brighter place and also taking credit for some Christmas spending. There's a couple tweet. He tweeted this "Before I won there was no hope. Now the market is up nearly 10 percent and Christmas spending is over $1 trillion. So did Donald Trump save Christmas and save Hanukkah? Let's bring in CNN's Cristina Alesci. Maybe another question we can answer so quickly in this segment Christina, but what about this issue that I've been having fun with. Can he take credit for Christmas spending now?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: No. Not really. Because we have to put this in a larger context, right? The economy has actually been doing fairly well since we reached the bottom in 2009. The stock market is up over 200 percent, people are out there spending. The question, that the gloomy atmosphere that he paints is not really represented in the economic data. People are, however, excited. They do see some hope, some optimism, some consumer confidence numbers came out just this morning that show people think that they're going to be more jobs available that their wages may go up.

But the question does that translate into actual spending? And right now most economists if you look at the economic forecasts, they haven't changed their economic forecast since the election. So if you look at the professionals who are actually dissecting the data, it doesn't seem like they're changing their tune, because of the election results.

BOLBUAN: What also about kind of this big milestone we've all been keeping our eye on with the Dow. The $20,000 mark. What are the expectations as we prepare to head into the New Year? What are you hearing?

ALESCI: It's really interesting, because there is a sentiment right now among smart investors that the market may have gone too far, too fast, and right now all of the policies, all of the economic policies that Trump has talked about, reducing taxes, reducing regulation, there is a fear that that has been baked into the market. So the prices reflect the fact that he's going to reduce taxes and reduce regulation.

Now the question is, is he really going to pull it off? Is there any bumps along the way, we may see that reflected in the stock market. And we also have to see how consumers react. How businesses react. When they save money in taxes, what do they do with that money? Do they spend it? Because that's pro-growth, bus if they save it, it's not as pro-growth as you would expect. So all of these things have to play out, the market may be a little bit ahead of itself at this point, but everybody's eagerly awaiting this 20,000 mark, and you know, for the most part it's a psychological number.

BOLDUAN: Psychological is something. Great to see you Cristina. Thank you so much. Cristina stole Christmas.

Shopping, the day after Christmas turned violence, we're going to show you release but first in some chaotic scenes not just as one mall but several malls. Over a dozen malls across the U.S. is a mess. That's ahead.

[12:34:29] And also just ahead, the prime minister of Japan, making a historic visit to the "USS Arizona" memorial at Pearl Harbor today. A witness to the violent attack 75 years ago, share us what he saw that day and how he feels about this histori visit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BOLDUAN: Japan's Prime Minister is about to make a historic visit to Pearl Harbor today, appearing that President Obama, Shinzo Abe will become the first Japanese Prime minister to visit the "USS Arizona" memorial which honors the marines and sailors who died aboard the ship during Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor 75 years ago. More than 2,400 people died in the attack. 1,100 perished on the "USS Arizona" CNN's Athena Jones is traveling with the president.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kate. Today kicks off with a bilateral meeting between the president and prime minister followed by a replaying ceremony aboard the "USS Arizona". Later the two leaders will deliver remarks focused on the power of reconciliation. It's a historic visit. One witness to the Pearl Harbor attack I spoke with is welcoming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: 95-year-old Robert lee says he's glad to see Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe making this trip.

ROBERT LEE, PEARL HARBOR WITNESS: I think it's the greatest thing in the world. I think we've already gone through quite a bit of healing.

JONES: He remembers well the day of Japan's surprise attack 75 years ago when more than 2,400 people lost their lives.

LEE: It's very vivid in my memory. Very much so.

JONES: Still a young man, just two years out of high school ROTC, he looked on from his bedroom. Later dashing to his front lawn as Japanese bombers flew low over his home. Headed for battle ship row.

LEE: I grabbed my .22 caliber target rifle and shot all 16, .22 caliber lead shots.

JONES: At the plane?

LEE: At the planes.

JONES: Thinking that it would work?

LEE: Of course not. No, it was just to kill a mouse.

JONES: He watched assess the "USS Arizona" just a mile away exploded.

LEE: It was that orange, red-orange color. About three seconds, and then it exploded.

The fire went up hundreds of feet from this, from the whole ship, and the crackling of the fire was overwhelming.

[12:40:11] JONES: As those who could fought back, Lee helped to wash the oil off sailors who jumped to safety. Their ship's under attack. Later helping transport the injured to treatment facilities. By midnight, he had joined the military, serving domestically throughout the war. It was a long, emotional day that left Lee angry. But he isn't angry anymore.

LEE: Hate is the greatest destroyer of anyone. The idea that you can harbor hate will destroy you.

JONES: It's that understanding the president celebrated at Hiroshima.

BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: Since that fateful day we have made choices that give us hope. The United States and Japan forged not only an alliance but a friendship that has one far more for our people than we could ever claim through war.

JONES: A message Prime Minister Abe is certainly to echo, as he pays tribute at this watery grave now a sacred site.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: The Prime Minister will offer prayers for those who lost their lives in the attack, bu don't expect an apology. His will be a forward-looking speech. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Athena, thanks for bringing that story to us.

Ahead for us, a fight in a food court that turned into terrifying brawls. Not just one -- at just one food court in one mall but more than a dozen across the country. One day after Christmas. Coincidence or coordinated? Up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:44:59] BOLDUAN: Shopping malls from Arizona to North Carolina fell into chaos the day after Christmas. Just watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god. What the ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That was essentially the scene over and over again in more than a dozen malls across the country. The same day after Christmas. Several of these malls are forced to evacuate innocent shoppers caught in the mayhem or going to lockdown after the massive brawls broke out. CNN Sara Sidner has been looking into all of this. She's joining me now. Sara, what are you learning from authorities? In I mean more than a dozen different places, what happened?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. About 11 different malls, more than a dozen fights. There were several fights in some of these malls. And what they're trying to -- authorities are trying to figure out is exactly how this came about. We know now that in Colorado according to police that this was something that was coordinated, if you will, by a social media post. That there was something put out there saying there was going to about fight to come to it and then hundreds of people showed up. And some of them took part in a fight. What exactly is going on and whether that is connected to some of these other fights, law enforcement doesn't have that sticking point that evidence just yet, but they're certainly looking as to whether that is true. And this was really scary for a lot of families. Like if you look at some of this video, you'll see people running and in some cases, people were actually injured as they were trying to get out of the way trying to get out of the mall, to get away from some of this. Seven people we know in New York, for example, were injured, just trying to leave the mall because of all the madness going on there.

BOLDUAN: I can see some little kids caught in this. Their parents, or -- were trying to run them out of there. Did police make any arrests? Where do things stand right now?

SIDNER: They did. There were several arrests made, for example in Colorado. We saw the video evidence of that as well. Including women. This wasn't just men fighting each other, young men, teenagers fighting each other. There were young women as well involved in some of brawls and we saw two of them had handcuffs on them and were definitely detained in these cases.

There is one particular case that was interesting that wasn't a fight. Inventory was actually firecrackers that were blown off and it made people think that there were people shooting in the mall. That terrified people, and they all went running out trying to figure out what was going on and later found out, police saying, hey, you know, those fireworks might have been a diversion to someone trying to shoplift. Sop there's a lot going on here, but it does seem rather odd you have all of these cases across the country in malls, many of them near food courts, that this wasn't coordinated. And that's what law enforcement is looking into now.

BOLDUAN: And especially, unfortunately, in this day and age, so far from funny that this is all going down. Even especially with the fireworks. Sara, thanks so much. Authorities are still looking into really what's going on here. Sara is on that. Thank you.

So on this final week of 2016, we are counting down the top 10 stories that grabbed headlines from around the world. Bring that to you in just a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:51:25] BOLDUAN: So what is the lasting story or headline that you will remember this past year and these final days in 2016? We asked that question of CNN's Senior International Correspondent Clarissa Ward. Here are the top 10 stories of the year from around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We begin our top 10 with Brazil, a country whose roller coaster of scandals and triumphs made news the world over. A mosquito-borne Zika virus outbreak, leading to spate a rare birth defects.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brazil is losing the battle against this virus. WARD: Then a political crisis disrupt with the corridors of power.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Senate removed Dilma Rousseff as president.

WARD: All of this a back track to Brazil's moment in the sun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole world will be watching Brazil as it hosts the Olympics.

WARD: Which, despite, a few setbacks was widely considered a success.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Turkish military announcing it has taken over the country and imposed martial law.

WARD: In the death of night, machine gun fire rings out as a coup attempt takes hold. And almost as quickly as it began it was over. The president survives the coup attempt, but some 290 others would not. Seeking retribution, President Erdogan would go on to detain and dismiss tens of thousands of people.

A diplomatic thawing sees a U.S. president touch down on Cuban soil for the first time in 88 years infuriating Fidel Castro. Eight months later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news out of Cuba, Fidel Castro has died.

WARD: For some, grief of the loss of a revolutionary. For others, celebration of the death of a ruthless dictator. Cuban exiles thrilled as they remember a tyrant who imprisoned and executed his opponents and brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.

A global crisis migrant crisis worstening by the minute, 65 million people now displaced.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 2016 has been the deadliest year ever for migrants and refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Among those rescued, this 5-day-old infant peering out of his pink blanket.

WARD: War, terror, poverty. Seeing migrant camps across the world swelling to unsustainable levels. One camp in France bulldozed to the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Through Ward): What is this life? Have mercy on us. Have mercy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): I wanted to tell you that you're not alone.

WARD: Coming in at number six, seismic stations around the world pick up on the unmistakable signs of North Korean aggression. But this time it's different.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: North Korea exploding its most powerful nuclear warhead ever. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The equivalent of at least 10,000 tons TNT detonated deep underground.

WARD: The question now. Will the next warhead be mounted on a missile?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you have this manifesto you're eventually you'll get it right.

WARD: Unimaginable acts of terror in the name of ISIS leave a bloody trail beyond the borders of Iraq and Syria.

Two explosions rocking the main terminal at Brussels airport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Across town in the center of the city a bomb exploded on a metro train.

WARD: Those three suicide bombers killed 32 people.

[12:55:00] Three months later, another airport is hit. Three men, wearing explosive vests carrying ak-47s exiting a taxi curbside shooting at panicked travelers before blowing themselves up. 44 people would never make it out of that Turkish airport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About six to eight gunmen have taken over this bakery/restaurant in Dhaka in this more affluent posh area of the city in Bangladesh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Military commandos moved in, the siege ending with 13 hostages saved, but 20 other dead at the restaurant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are following breaking news out of France.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: More than a mile of carnage as the truck drove down the beachside promenade killing as many people as the driver could.

WARD: A day of celebration for French independence ending with a slaughter of 84 people.

Well, the so-called soldiers of ISIS waged war in cities across the world, back in Iraq, the land they once laid claim to was being taken back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Iraqi city of Fallujah, we understand, has been liberated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Iraq's military is claiming victory in Ramadi.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breaking news into CNN. In Iraq, an offensive to retake the key city of Mosul from ISIS is now under way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An effort with much international support. A lot of coalition planning, American air power -- this one came right at me. WARD: CNN's own team would later make it inside the city limits of Mosul, and very nearly would not make it out.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONL CORRESPONDENT: We realize we're trapped. Our EMRAP takes a direct hit.

We need to move, bet every time we try, gunfire drives us back.

WARD: Arwa Damon and her team would spend 28 hours trapped. An estimated 1 million civilians are still within this embattled city.

Across the border in Syria, another hellish landscape unfolds. Its biggest city, Aleppo, the epicenter of this horror.

This is what hell feels like.

(Foreign Language)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Syrian regime's latest aerial assault.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gallon drums filled with explosives and shrapnel shoved out of helicopters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're racing frantically before they say nine people still stuck under that rubble.

WARD: a dazed and shell shocked boy pulled from the wreckage of his home would become the bloody face of Syrian suffering.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He doesn't cry once. This is Omron. He's alive. We wanted you to know.

WARD: coming in at number two, Russia flexing its military muscle at home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vladimir Putin moving nuclear capable missiles to the border with Poland and Lithuania.

WAD: And on a global stage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S. is blaming Russia for bombing a humanitarian convoy in Syria.

WARD: Moscow is using its superior arsenal to turn the tides of war in favor of Syrian president Bashar al Assad.

He told us that Russian and regime forces target hospitals cynically and deliberately.

The diplomatic vacuum between the U.S. and Russia intensifying with accusations of hostile acts still shrouded in mystery.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ACNHOR: A series of cyber attacks on Democrats indicate Russia is trying to sway the election for Donald Trump.

WARD: And in our number one slot this year, the surge of populism across the west as voters rejected the establishment. Many feeling ignored by politicians and left behind economically.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The people have voted to leave the European Union.

NIGEL FARAGE, PRO-BREXIT LEADER: Dare to dream. But the dawn is breaking. Our independence, United Kingdom.

WARD: It was a vote that took the world by surprise. One of the main forces behind Brexit, anger over immigration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They should go back to where they came from this man says before we rip their heads off.

WARD: And of course, in the U.S., where President-elect Donald Trump capitalized on the issue.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT: Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.

WARD: The rejection of globalization resonating with voters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN projects Donald Trump wins the presidency.

WARD: Will the march of populism continue? With elections in France and Germany coming up, 2017 promises to be an interesting year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Clarissa, thanks so much for that, and thank you so much for joining me today. Our coverage continues now with Jake Tapper.

[13:0:13] JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Jake Tapper, in for Wolf Blizter.