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Israel Advances Plans For New Homes In Disputed Areas; Japan's Prime Minister To Join Obama At Pearl Harbor Memorial; Carrie Fisher Has Died. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired December 27, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00] JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Jake Tapper in for Wolf Blitzer. Wherever you are watching from around the world, thanks for joining us today.

Israel says it is pushing ahead with a plan to build hundreds of new homes in east Jerusalem, despite a U.N. resolution condemning new settlement construction there and in the west bank with the U.S. government and international community referred to as occupied territory.

The resolution has sparked a bitter rogue between the Israeli prime minister and the White House. The U.S. abstained in the U.N. security council vote but the Israelis had wanted the U.S. to veto the measure.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN that they had, quote, "iron clad information" that the U.S. secretly colluded with other countries to bring the resolution forward. But the Israelis have yet to produce any of this proof publicly and the Obama administration vehemently denies the charge.

White House deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, went on Israeli television last night to push back on Netanyahu's description of the event as a shameful ambush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN RHODES, U.S. DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: It's not an ambush when President Obama and Secretary Kerry have been saying in hundreds of conversations and in public comments that Israeli settlement activity was pushing into the west bank in a way that was making the two-state solution unachievable over time.

So, this was not a preferred outcome. We would have much rather there be restraint shown in that type of settlement activity and a peace process underway. But in the absence of those steps over many years, we felt compelled to abstain on this resolution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: CNN Correspondent Oren Lieberman is following the story from Jerusalem and CNN Global Affairs Correspondent Elise Labott is live for us at the State Department.

Elise, you have some new reporting on the claims being made by the Israelis. What can you tell us?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Jake, over the last several days, the Israelis have been very coy about how they know their claims that the United States, in particular, secretary of state John Kerry, was behind this resolution.

A senior Israeli official told me just a while ago that the Israelis have information from Arab sources that Secretary Kerry and his staff pushed this through kind of hiding behind the Palestinians, hiding behind the Egyptians, getting them to put the resolution through.

And then, after the Egyptians took it off the table, that Secretary Kerry and his staff, as this Israeli official said, was working a covert actor, in terms guesting other countries to re-introduce the resolution. And you saw that's what New Zealand and others did.

But talking to U.S. officials, Jake, they say that this is, really, just a distraction for what happened with the vote itself which is in response to what they call excessive and really accelerated settlement growth that is really having that two-state solution. The idea of a Palestinian state slipping away, vehemently denying the charges and saying, listen, the real issue here is that settlements need to stop.

And this is an issue the whole international community voted on last week -- Jake.

TAPPER: Oren, we're hearing from the Palestinian side on this. Here is what a senior member of the PLO told CNN this morning. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANAN ASHRAWI, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER, PLO: This is something that Israel is not used to, because it's used to getting preferential treatment, and to violating the law with impunity.

And we've been urging the U.S. to do what is consistent with its own long-held positions since the days of Ronald Reagan. Every single administration has said that the settlements are illegal and must stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That's Hanan Ashrawi, Executive Committee Member of the PLO.

Oren, do you think a U.N. resolution changes anything on the ground for either side in this dispute?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not really. The resolution is a guideline. It's non-binding. And that's why when you hear the Palestinian talk, they'll talk about waiting and seeing what effect this resolution will have and what decision Israel decides to take.

According to the resolution, there's no punishment for not following it. And we saw in the announcement that Israel will keep moving forward or advancing plans for hundreds of homes in east Jerusalem. Israel, much like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised is still ignoring the resolution.

The concern is what comes next? There isn't an expectation that too much will happen in the security council, if anything at all under a Trump administration, but the resolution is on the books which is to say there is a precedent now that Israeli settlements in the west bank and east Jerusalem are illegal or, in the exact wording of the resolution, they have no legal validity.

That's not going away even if that has no immediate effect on the lives of Israelis and Palestinians here in Jerusalem and around the country.

TAPPER: All right. Oren Lieberman in Jerusalem, Elise Labott at the U.S. State Department. Thank you both.

Some history today as the Japanese prime minister visits Pearl Harbor in Hawaii 75 years after the attack. Shinzo Abe will join President Obama this afternoon to visit the "USS Arizona" memorial.

[13:05:03] Abe is the first sitting Japanese prime minister to do that. This victim comes seven -- this visit comes seven months after President Obama made his historic visit to Hiroshima in Japan.

The prime minister says this tour is meant to soothe the souls of the victims. More than 2,400 souls were lost that day, December 7, 1941.

And our Athena Jones is in Honolulu with President Obama.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jake. Seven months after President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to travel to Hiroshima to pay his respects to the thousands who lost their lives there, Prime Minister Abe will do the same here at Pearl Harbor. These are two historic visits the White House says highlight the power of reconciliation.

The ability for these former adversaries to become the closest of allies. Today will kick off with a bilateral meeting between the two leaders followed by a wreath laying ceremony aboard the "USS Arizona" memorial.

And then, later, the two leaders will deliver remarks. Before making the trip, Prime Minister Abe said this visit would be a visit to soothe the souls of the victims. We should never repeat the ravages of the war.

Those are two themes we expect him to touch on in his remarks today. We know that he will be offering prayers to those who lost their lives in the attack but don't expect an apology. His will be a forward- looking speech.

And his visit is getting a lot of attention out here in Honolulu. I spoke with a 95-year-old witness to the Pearl Harbor attacks who told me, it's the greatest thing in the world to have Abe making this trip. He said it would be a culmination of the healing between the two nations -- Jake.

TAPPER: Athena Jones in Honolulu. Thank you.

Now, I want to bring in our Will Ripley for more on this. Will, why visit Pearl Harbor? What is the purpose of this trip for the Japanese prime minister?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's personal for Shinzo Abe because his grandfathered visited in the late 1950s when he was the prime minister. But back in those days, those visits were certainly not publicized because of the sensitivity, given how close the two countries were to the end of World War II.

Now, here we are, 71 years later, President Obama visited Hiroshima back in May. He gave that speech where he talked about the importance of a world without nuclear weapons.

Shinzo Abe expected to deliver a similar message. And this really is the last opportunity for these two leaders to put this kind of public image forward before the incoming Donald Trump administration, and a market shift in rhetoric where Donald Trump has talked about an arms race.

He mentioned it during the campaign. Japan potentially arming itself with nuclear weapons, much to the horror of many in that country who remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

So, this is a peaceful gesture and, really, the last opportunity for Abe to do so before he focuses on moving this partnership forward with the United States under the Trump administration.

TAPPER: And, Will, is there any backlash in Japan over this visit for prime minister Abe?

RIPLEY: There's mixed reaction, certainly among people who survived the atomic bombings. Some were quoted as saying, this is too little, too late. Why did it take 71 years for the Japanese prime minister to publicly make a visit to Pearl Harbor?

But then, you have another reaction from Chakli Morti (ph), he's the man in that photo, who famously hugged President Obama. I interviewed him in Hiroshima back in May and he said, this is a terrific moment and an important moment for the two countries to move forward with a peaceful future.

That's what he and many of those survivors are hoping for. And they feel that this will, perhaps, accomplish that.

TAPPER: All right. Will Ripley, thank you so much.

Coming up, Kim Jong-Un is making an ominous prediction for 2017, according to a defector. We will go live to the Pentagon with that report.

Plus, some of the missing Chibock girls finally start to make their way home. We'll bring you that as well.

[13:08:56] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

TAPPER: Some sad breaking news into CNN right now. Actress Carrie Fisher has died. Best known for her role in the original "Star Wars" film. She was also a gifted writer.

Fisher's heart stopped on a transatlantic flight last week. She's been in the hospital ever since. Our Stephanie Elam has more on Carrie Fisher's life on-screen and off.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARRIE FISHER, ACTRESS: I should have expected to find you holding Veta's leash.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carrie Fisher won the hearts of generations at Princess Leia in, arguably, the most beloved movie franchise ever, "Star Wars." Princess on-screen, Hollywood royalty off it. With a sharp wit and sharper pen. Fisher was born in Beverly Hills. Mother, actress Debbie Reynolds; father, singer Eddie Fisher.

CARRIE FISHER: I was primarily brought up by my mother but I saw my father.

ELAM: Fisher deafly wove her experiences as a showbiz kid who struggled with addiction into the best-selling comedic novel "Postcards from the Edge."

CARRIE FISHER: I was writing different takes on obsession so I think of that as sort of the edge and I thought of it in the car one day, driving back from Palm Springs with the music up loud.

ELAM: Fisher turned her acclaimed book into a movie starring Meryl Streep as a recovering addict embroiled in constant, often funny, mother-daughter drama.

MERYL STREEP, ACTRESS: Remember my 17th birthday party when you lifted your skirt up in front of all of those people?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did not lift my skirt.

STREEP: It was including that guy, Michael.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It twirled up.

ELAM: Fisher poked fun at the sturdies of showbiz life and all manner of self-medication, including taking pills to control her emotions.

CARRIE FISHER: Any mood stabilizer is a weight gainer. So, whether you feel better but then you're fat. So, what you gain is a loss. It's just -- it's not a good situation.

ELAM: Fisher spoke about being bipolar and often turned pain into humor. Also writing, wishful drinking, and chocaholic (ph). There seemed no lack of material. After all, Elizabeth Taylor became her stepmother when Eddie Fisher remarried.

Fisher was briefly married to singer, Paul Simon, in the 1980s. Years later, she gave birth to a daughter, Billie Kathrine, from her relationship with agent Bryan Lourd. She debuted in the acclaimed film, "Shampoo."

CARRIE FISHER: I'm (ph) like my mother.

ELAM: In between the "Star Wars" movies, Fisher landed a mish-mash of movie roles, "Some Stinkers," "Under the Rainbow," "Hollywood Vice Squad."

CARRIE FISHER: You have names for every part of your body.

ELAM: Received praise for "Soap dish."

CARRIE FISHER: I think we've found our waiter.

ELAM: And played Meg Ryan's wise-cracking friend in "When Harry Met Sally."

CARRIE FISHER: Someone is staring at you in personal growth.

ELAM: But nothing could, would, or perhaps should loom larger on screen than Fisher in "Star Wars."

[13:15:02] CARRIE FISHER: It transported you. It was extraordinary entertainment filmmaking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you like the princess?

CARRIE FISHER: I have her over sometimes. She's a little bitchy, you know?

KING: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nearly 40 years after making "Star Wars," she wrote a book base on her diaries and for the first time revealed an intense affair with the real Han Solo, Harrison Ford.

"It was Han and Leia during the week and Carrie and Harrison during the weekend," she wrote. Ford has not commented. Fisher spent a lifetime trying to separate the princess from the person, one wise crack at a time.

FISHER: I always felt like I was restricted because I was bigger than life and twice as unpleasant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: And Cnn's Paul Vercammen joins me now live from Los Angeles. Paul, what can you tell us?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just got confirmation of Carrie Fisher's death through a family spokesman and let me read it. It says, "It is with very deep sadness that Billie Lourd, that's her daughter, confirmed that her beloved mother, Carrie Fisher has passed away at 8:55, that's West Coast Time this morning. She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly."

Carrie Fisher, 60 years old, as you had pointed out earlier, Jake, she had been returning from London and about 20 minutes before arriving in Los Angeles, late last week, she suffered a massive heart attack, and she was hospitalized at UCLA.

TAPPER: Joining me on the phone now is Chris Witherspoon from New York. He's an Entertainment Analyst and Fandango Correspondent. And, Chris, a sad day for those of us who have followed Carrie Fisher's career ever since she burst on that screen in the original "Star Wars" in the late '70s. She actually had quite a long career as a script doctor, helping people get their dreams to screen, even if she didn't get credited.

CHRIS WITHERSPOON: Oh, yeah. I mean, Carrie Fisher is a phenomenal actress and people will be -- will always love her for her roles in "Star Wars" as Princess Leia, but she was a force behind the screen as well as a script doctor as you said.

Several films she after her name that folks would bring her and she would kind of rework scripts, rewrite scripts and, I mean, that kind of whit and humor, you played from clips of her, you know, during her interviews. One of my favorite things to do is watch her in her interviews.

She has this kind of down to earth really human way about her. She was raised by showbiz parents to -- in that spotlight from a very young age, but got the perils of Hollywood in real life. But it, you know, at the end of the day, show business is life, too.

You know, it's a part of -- I mean, just being human and being down to earth is a part of every actor's journey. And so having her behind the screen with the pen writing these scripts, re-doing scripts was a perfect fit for her.

TAPPER: And obviously, she's only -- she was only 60 years old, but she had battled health problems in the past. Very sad and relatively young.

WITHERSPOON: Oh, so young. And it's also shocking that just two days ago her mother, Debbie Reynolds put a statement out saying that she was in stable condition. We were hoping she'd be out of the hospital soon, so just see this big turn in her health is kind of shocking.

But it's also been the silver lining in the past week, in the past few days seeing the fans and the outpouring on social media from the "Star Wars" fans. They are a really loyal bunch of people and they've come out and rose to see "Rogue One." There's talk of her possibly being in the next "Star Wars," episode 8 that will be out next year. So people can look forward to seeing that. But, I guess the silver lining is just seeing the support and the love from the fans on social media. TAPPER: And we're starting to see some response from fans and people who knew her. Here's one from William Shatner. "I'm deeply saddened to learn of the death of Carrie Fisher. I will miss our bantering. A wonderful talent and light has been extinguished." Shatner is obviously famous for the "Star Trek" series, something of a rival to the "Star Wars" series.

We also have a statement from Carrie Fisher's daughter, statement from Billie Lourd about the passing of her mother, Carrie Fisher. It says, "She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly." Very, very sad.

We have Michael Musto on the phone. He's a Columnist for "Out.com" and he joins us now. What do you think, Michael, Carrie Fisher's legacy was? What will she be most remembered for?

MICHAEL MUSTO, COLUMNIST, OUT.COM: Her legacy was as showbiz royalty because she was born to these incredible parents. Eddie Fisher, the lounge singer and Debbie Reynolds, the actress and became one of the biggest actresses in Hollywood, thanks to "Star Wars," but then emerged as really an acid commentator on the whole theme, not just showbiz but a life itself and some of her terrible relationships, or good relationships.

She suffered bipolar and was also, of course, a drug addict recovering and was very open and honest and made it OK for people going through similar things, because she would talk openly about it in her books and in her interviews.

[13:20:10] TAPPER: And it's interesting because she wrote the screenplay for -- and the book, I believe, "Postcards from the Edge," which starred Meryl Streep as a kind of stand-in for her, young actress, struggling in Hollywood with Shirley MacLaine as her mother, kind of a stand-in for her mother, Debbie Reynolds. And that film for the time was fairly open about what Hollywood is really like in terms of addiction and co-dependence issues.

MUSTO: It was and it was a brilliant book turned into an incredible film directed by Mike Nichols. But Carrie always had to battle the idea that people thought it was an exact autobiography and she told me that it was not at all and she almost felt that she had to pay the price from people who felt she shouldn't written an autobiography or who insisting that it was.

There an actually were elements with the insecure show business mother who wanted the daughter to be famous, but not more famous than herself. But every detail "Postcards from the Edge" is not really Debbie and Carrie.

And one of the beautiful things about Carrie's life is that she developed such a close bond with her mother, Debbie. There's an HBO documentary coming out in which you see the bond. Carrie basically became the parent to Debbie and they almost complete each other's sentences. It's kind of beautiful, the rapport that they had.

TAPPER: And yet, Michael, so tragic that Debbie Reynolds has outlived her daughter that something no parent ever wants.

MUSTO: It's very sad. And, Debbie, you know, she's older. She's pretty much retired from show business and this is very sad. I almost wish I hadn't told her, but, of course, you're going have to deal with this, and she has the love of the entire world rallying around and saying, you know, "We love you, Debbie, and we loved Carrie so much for her whit and wisdom."

TAPPER: Chris, do you think that the iconic nature of the Princess Leia character is what kind of kept her from -- I mean, she had good roles. She was in "Blues Brothers." She was in "When Harry Met Sally," but never really had an ever iconic role like Princess Leia and yet on the other hand many stars would dream of having a role like that?

WITHERSPOON: Yeah. I mean, that Princess Leia character I think is a role of a lifetime. I think Carrie realized that. If you saw her in any of the interviews that she gave for this most recent round for "Star Wars" (inaudible). She kind of expressed how proud she was to stand and note, she as Princess Leia.

And the character was really, I think part of the '70s liberation of women's empowerment to see Princess Leia, you know, the way that she would dress and the way that was sort of on -- I guess unparalleled in terms of the view that we saw women at that time period was iconic in itself and something that she'll never be able to sort of distance herself.

I mean, she was proud of it. She was very proud of that role and had the most incredible stories during her interviews about just being on- set and filming as Princess Leia. So, yeah, I think she loved that role.

TAPPER: Chris Witherspoon with Fandango, thank you very much. Michael, stay with us. I want to keep talking to you.

Carrie Fisher, was we've been discussing struggled with addiction during her life, and it was in 1990 when she spoke with then CNN Larry King about her addiction, and her best-selling book "Postcards from the Edge," which dealt with struggles and in a fictionalized way. She spoke just as the book was being made into a movie as we mentioned starring Meryl Streep.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: When did you know you were a writer, because we knew you first as an actress?

FISHER: Well, I was asked actually to write a book right after I got out of rehab about five and a half years ago. And it came after I had done an article on "Esquire" -- in "Esquire."

KING: Did you -- you didn't know before then that you could write? You didn't know as a kid you could write?

FISHER: Yeah. I started writing when I was about 13 or 14, really bad poetry, which I'll be doing a small series about some day. No. I wrote very bad poetry and I don't know, journals that I have to burn before -- if I ever get crushed in an elevator so they don't come to public light.

KING: But never thought you would be a best-selling writer of fiction?

FISHER: No, no. I had to be asked to do that. I don't think I ever would have had the nerve to suggest myself.

KING: Were you surprised at the success of "Postcards"?

FISHER: Very much so. I mean, I did it -- I didn't think of it as book. I thought of it more as a boop (ph) so that I didn't have to take it seriously when I wrote it. And it was more difficult writing the second novel, because I had to think of it as a novel and I don't like to think of anything as a novel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: We're still here with Michael Musto, a columnist for "Out.com" and he's on the phone. And, Michael, there were not many people and actually still to this day, who are as open and honest about their struggles with bipolar disorder, about their struggles with addiction as Carrie Fisher was, and that must have given a lot of people a lot of strength?

[13:25:17] MUSTO: It really did. You have to remember that when she came out with these problems, this was a time when it was a "scandal" for a celebrity to be bipolar or to admit that they had a drug problem and they were in rehab. She came right out with it. She wrote whether it was a novel or a stretch memoir or interviews.

She was always very bold and honest about it and she took a lot of the stigma away from all of that and she made people realized, "You're not a bad person if this is happening to you. It's just -- these are problems that need to be addressed in medical and psychological ways." And she dealt with the remedies as well. So, I really think she helped a lot of people by being so open.

TAPPER: And when you listen to her in that Larry King interview 26 years ago talking openly and honestly about just having gotten out of rehab, or when she started writing "Postcards from the Edge" after she got out of rehab and then you look in the paper and you still see people who are talking about, "Oh, I went away. I had to be hospitalized for exhaustion, because they still think there is still a stigma about responsibly dealing with a dependence issue." We still have a lot way -- a long way to go to catch up with where Carrie Fisher was a quarter century ago.

MUSTO: We do. And she told me at the time that she was dealing with a lot of insensitive journalists who just wanted to pump her for information about the drug used, and wanted her to blame other celebrities that she had either dated or hung out with for her drug used and she found it really crass, because it's a very sensitive subject. But what she managed to do was break through the sensitivity with humor, and honesty, and that was Carrie's gift to the world. She really had an acidic, very sharp take on everything that ever happened to her, including the bad stuff and everything I think to make her stronger and funnier.

I was hoping this latest heart attack was just another incident that was going to have her surviving and being stronger and funnier, but sadly it was her last moment.

TAPPER: She did seem to be -- there did seem to be something indestructible about her. You knew her. What do you think about when you think about her?

MUSTO: I think that she was one of the most hilarious people you'd ever want to meet. She just had a brilliant vision, a very pragmatic and yet hopeful. She wasn't just bitter, you know, after all she's been through she still was optimistic and had a positive view of life.

She even may made up with her father, Eddie Fisher, which you'll see in this HBO documentary that's going to be coming out three months before his death. They've kind of share niceties and it's kind of a lovely moment.

And she became closer and closer to Debbie, her mother and it was, you know, just lovely to see Carrie becoming the parent to her parents in a way and becoming a grown-up. There was no more little girl floundering around, not that aspect of Carrie anymore. She was very mature.

TAPPER: That's interesting when you think of Eddie Fisher and Shirley MacLaine, our own Dana Bash that they were almost like the original Brangelina. Two huge stars, but then have this incredibly successful child.

And we need to remember (inaudible) we own or have some ownership of Carrie Fisher to actually new her and actually loved her on a personal basis including her daughter, Billie Lourd.

You're looking at the statement from her right now. "She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers."

We're going to take a very quick break. When we come back we will continue to remember an icon of so many things, strength in the face of co-dependence, an actress, a writer, Carrie Fisher, who has passed away at the age of 60. Stay with us.

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