Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Pop Superstar George Michael Dead at 53; Family Celebrates Conjoined Twins' Separation; President-elect to Dissolve Trump Foundation. Aired 3:30-4p ET.
Aired December 26, 2016 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00] IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As we know, a mega star, then into the '90s and 2000s. He struggled with drug addiction, had a few run-ins with the law. In 2011, he came down with acute pneumonia. And he said there for a while it was really touch and go, which really transformed his life and he was, as we said, planning another album coming out with music producer naughty boy and was looking forward to putting out some new music.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah, as well all of his fans. Ian Lee, thank you very, much for that insight.
George Michael's success was both swift and even jaw-dropping. He'd already sold more than 25 million records with Wham before breaking off on a solo career that brought him even more fame and fortune. But Michael also had his embarrassing controversies along the way. So, let's take a closer look at his career and his legacy. Anthony DeCurtis is a Contributing Editor for "Rolling Stone" magazine. Anthony thanks very much for being with us today.
ANTHONY DECURTIS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, ROLLING STONE: Thank you.
SAVIDGE: George Michael, you know, clearly resonated with the pop music crowd, but his sound appealed to a very broad audience. I was a very big fan. He just had that way of reaching many people.
DECURTIS: Well, I mean, I think you had somebody who kind of started out as a teen pop idol but who really had a classic, very soulful voice. And, yeah, I mean, as he, I mean, he called one of his albums "Older". And I think that idea that like, that he was going to mature and be an artist with a long career is I think something he really aspired to and something that he certainly had the talent to achieve.
SAVIDGE: Do you think in some ways, you know, because he was known initially as this pop artist, that he felt limited in the minds of fans, that somehow he, no, I'm a much more serious artist and I can prove it to you?
DECURTIS: Yeah, I think that was true. And I think he struggled with that. You know, there was a sense early on, you know, Wham was a great, you know, kind of teen pop band. But I think, you know, he made a real effort to prove that, you know, he could stand out on his own as a singer. And, you know, there were moments with Wham even with, you know, anybody was of a mind to dismiss them. I think as soon as you heard a song like "Careless Whisper" or "Father Figure," these ballads that he could deliver, you knew that you were in the presence of a real talent.
SAVIDGE: And he was not just a performer he was a singer-songwriter too.
DECURTIS: Well, absolutely. You know, he would essentially play all the instruments on his albums and, you know, write the songs and produce. And I think, you know, again, that level of, you know, being kind of 360 artist of, you know, a fully dimensional artist was something that was meaningful to him. He very much wanted to be more than just a kind of, you know, a kind pin-up.
SAVIDGE: Right. Because I think that is when you say pop artist, that's sort of the feeling people might have is that the songs were written for him, the music was performed for him, it is just a pretty face that stood up there and had to mouth the words. And no, he was a true artist.
DECURTIS: Yes. And when he was rising up, you know, he was at that moment of, you know, like kind of MTV powerhouse fame, where, you know, that level of visibility was, you know, I think really something that shook him. And he wanted his fame to really rest on something substantial, which is to say his singing ability and talent as a writer and musician. And, you know, he did achieve that. But I don't know that it ever necessarily satisfied him. I think, he was the kind of person who was haunted by self-doubt.
SAVIDGE: The -- he was also one who like to bring use his music, to bring attention to serious issues of the time. AIDS being, you know, certainly one of the most deadly. So, he often would put his music out there for free but encourage people to contribute or give to various causes, right?
DECURTIS: Yeah, exactly. I mean, I think, you know, he struggled with his sexual identity, certainly, early on in his life. You know, there was a famous arrest for public lewd behavior that he confronted head-on and, you know, talked about in interviews and eventually came out as gay. And, you know, that was an important moment, you know, for the gay community.
I think it's one of the reasons why you hear, you know, a lot of other important figures in the gay community speaking out in sorrow at his death because he was inspirational. An inspirational beyond that community as well, I mean for anyone, you know, kind of stand up for their beliefs and what their life is like.
SAVIDGE: Right, courageous is a word that comes to mind. And again, it's not something when somebody says pop artist you think of, but he was courageous.
DECURTIS: That's right. That's right. You know, a lot of times pop artists are made to pay a heavy price for things like that. But, you know, he very much, you know, he kind of came in and out of focus as far as his fame was concerned. I don't think it was ever something that ever sat comfortably with him, even as, you know, it came to him to a very high degree. I think he, you know, he accepted it and, obviously, you know, valued his fans. But I think he -- the kind of focus on his life made him very uncomfortable. And, you know, that led I think to some of his other problems, you know, perhaps with drugs and things like that.
[15:35:06] SAVIDGE: Still, a remarkable, remarkable talent. Anthony DeCurtis thanks very much.
DECURTIS: My pleasure. Thank you.
One of several music icons that we lost in 2016, we also said goodbye to Prince, David Bowie, Glenn Frey and a handful of other legends.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NATALIE COLE, R&B ARTIST: I miss you like crazy. I miss you like crazy, ever since you went away every hour and everyday.
DAVID BOWIE, POP SINGER: No one pop, 100,000 miles. I'm feeling very scared. And I think my spaceship knows which way to go well.
GLENN FREY, EAGLES BAND: And I wish I'd lived in the land of fools. No one knew my name. But what you get is not quite what you choose.
MAURICE WHITE, EARTH, WIND & FIRE BAND: Do you remember the 21st night of September? Love was changing minds or pretenders, while chasing the clouds away.
LEONARD COHEN, CANADIAN ARTIST: Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: An historic moments about to get under way between the U.S. and Japan. We are waiting for the arrival of Japan's prime minister in Hawaii. Shinzo Abe departed Japan a few hours ago. And he will pay a visit to Pearl Harbor. Now his visit comes 75 years after Japan's attack in 1941.
[15:40:15] He's not the first Japanese prime minister to visit Pearl Harbor, but he will be the first to visit the memorial dedicated to those killed in the World War II attack.
Abe's visit comes just months after President Obama became the first American president to visit Hiroshima, the site of the U.S. atomic bombing that led to the end of the war. Obama's now in Hawaii with his family for the holidays. Abe will meet with the president tomorrow.
Twenty five days from now, Donald Trump will be sworn into the office of president. Right now, the President-elect says, he plans to shut down his charitable organization, the Trump foundation, to avoid possible conflicts of interest. But doing that might be a bit more complicated because of an investigation of New York's attorney general.
Let's bring in CNN's Politics Reporter Eugene Scott. And, Eugene, it's not just that simple. Trump can't just declare that I'm shutting it down. There are others involved here.
EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: That is true, Martin. And -- as you mentioned earlier, the charity is currently under investigation from the New York State Attorney General's Office concerning some violations in the past regarding donations and the IRS, whether or not he will be able to move forward in the direction he's hoping to as soon as possible is unclear.
SAVIDGE: So, can the New York attorney general actually demand that he not do this? In other words do they fear that, perhaps, the Trump organization might be, I don't know, trying to hide something by shutting it down?
SCOTT: Well, whether or not the Trump organization is trying to hide something or not, that won't stop the investigation from revealing what it is, that it's hoping to find and get clarity on before everything comes to a close. The charity, from what we understand, cannot be officially closed until the investigation is complete, which is why the Trump transition team said they intend to dissolve opposed to immediately shutting down.
SAVIDGE: OK, I understand. Thanks for the clarification. Trump got into some other issues. This one involving the United Nations and the Israel situation, that he was tweeting ahead of the vote on Friday that the U.S. should veto the anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. Security Council, it was actually on Thursday. He got a lot of criticism about this, because it raises the issue of; wait a minute, one president at a time, right? I mean, I think that was sort of the idea.
SCOTT: That is very true. We've seen Donald Trump receive quite a bit of criticism since being elected regarding taking steps that we usually do not see a president-elect take so early. President Barack Obama is still very much involved in foreign policy issues related to Israel and the United Nations to see Donald Trump speak out so quickly and so defensively or opposed to what it is that President Barack Obama's administration seems to support has received quite a bit of negative feedback.
SAVIDGE: Although his supporters would say, look, that's exactly the guy I voted for. I want you to listen to this from President Obama, when he was asked about his campaign promise of hope.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: In the wake of the election and Trump winning, a lot of people have suggested that somehow it really was a fantasy. I am confident in this vision because I'm confident that if I -- if I had run again and articulated it, I think I could have mobilized a majority of the American people to rally behind it.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: We should point out it would have been against the law for the president to run again. But he says he could have beaten Trump if he had, any indicators that that really is the case?
SCOTT: I imagine that the president is responding to his high favorability numbers and the support he has received from voters as he ends his time in the White House. Whether or not he would have been able to effectively convince many of the people who supported him in previous elections to get on board a third time remains to be seen -- or doesn't remain to be seen, because there won't be another election, another opportunity for people to vote for the president. But he has been very vocal in his belief that the people that he got to back him, Clinton and her team, were not as successful in doing so.
SAVIDGE: Right. It just perpetuates the, well, what if or if only kind of talk. Anyway, Eugene Scott, thank you very much for joining us.
SCOTT: Thank you for your time.
SAVIDGE: Up next, a massive search is under way right now, as a Russian military plane crashes into the Black Sea.
[15:44:53] What investigators are saying happened to that plane?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: Russian authorities say that it appears that there are no survivors from a military plane that went down in the Black Sea, with 92 people aboard, Christmas. A massive search operation is still under way.
CNN's Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance has more from Moscow.
MATTHEW CHANCE CNN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Martin, Russian officials have stressed terrorism is not being considered as a likely cause for the crash of this old Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft which plunged into the Black Sea, shortly after takeoff on Sunday morning, on Christmas Day, killing all 92 passengers and crew on board. The Russian Transport Ministry says, mechanical failure or pilot error are the most likely causes. But base before the crash investigation has been completed. In fact, recovery teams are still working to locate all the pieces of wreckage from the aircraft so they can piece together exactly what went wrong.
What we know, is that this was an aircraft operated by the Russian Defense Ministry. It took off from a military airport outside of Moscow on route to Syria and stop on Sochi on the Black Sea coast to Southern Russia to refuel. It was transporting 64 members of the official choir of the Russian military, the so-called Red Army Choir, internationally famous for their performances. They're meant to be holding a New Year concert in Syria for Russian troops who were stationed there. Russia held a day of mourning for the victims of the tragedy with entertainment programs on television channels canceled and church services held across the country. Meanwhile, that huge recovery operation continues around the deep water crash site with ships, submersibles and teams of naval divers working around the clock to locate what human remains they can. And to salvage the wreckage of the aircraft, so that investigators can finally determine why this aircraft plunged fatally out of the skies. Back to you, Martin.
[15:50:02] SAVIDGE: Thank you, Matthew.
Next, CNN takes you along for an update on the twins who have captured the hearts of so many born conjoined at the head. Jadon and Anias are now separated. Dr. Sanjay Gupta catches up with the McDonald family as their long rehabilitation journey begins.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: Weather is a pretty deciding factor in how long it will take most people to get home from the holidays.
Let's bring in CNN meteorologist Tom Sater. How is it looking, Tom?
TOM SATER, CNN REPORTER: In most cases, Martin, it's really looking better with each hour. There are some problems as winds kick up. And obviously the blizzard conditions in the North. But overall, we've got is rain in Seattle, in Portland, snow in the mountains. We've had a number of high temperature records that were set just a year ago on Christmas or broken yesterday on Christmas from Tallahassee to Paducah.
But the colors of purple and blue, this is it. Blizzard conditions have shut down highways in North and South Dakota into Minnesota all way to the Wyoming line. Three foot snow drips power lines are down. It's just too icy you can't see what wide condition so stay home for dawn.
Rainfall is now east of Chicago but winds will be picking up, could cause some delays. Sprinkling of some sleet freezing rain in New England will quickly change to rain so no big problems there as well.
All of the warnings in the Northern Tier states, we do want to give a big thank you and holiday wishes to the tens of thousands of road crews and power crews that are working in about 26 states right now.
Blizzard conditions still in effect parts of North and South Dakota, again, travel is advised against. Could see an inter rain in Minneapolis. Look for the winds to kick up causing some air delays there as well. There it feels like 2, but Chicago it feels like 50 degrees.
The records will continue to be set on the East Coast, maybe looking at another 32 high temperature record. So all in all, travel is getting much better, slowly but surely.
[15:55:03] SAVIDGE: All right. Good to hear. Tom Sater, thank you very much.
Fifteen month year old twins, Jadon and Anias McDonald have captured the world's hearts. The two brothers were born conjoined at the head. This holiday season, their family celebrates the success of the surgeries that separated them.
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been following the story exclusively. From surgery, from separation and now, under rehab.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Jadon and Anias. Jadon means God has heard. Anias, God has answered. And for mom and dad, Nicole and Christian McDonald, their prayers have been heard and answered.
NICOLE MCDONALD, MOTHER: I never doubt that they are a miracle. Not just that they were miraculously separated, it's been the miracles that took place every step of the way.
GUPTA: Miracles like Jadon's first tastes of peas.
CHRISTIAN MCDONALD, FATHER: Are you excited for peas? Say, hey, we're learning. There we go.
GUPTA: Or first words.
N. MCDONALD: Da-da-da.
GUPTA: And the simple miracle of the entire McDonald family, mom, dad, 3-year-old Aza, and his two little brothers, Jadon and Anias, being able to all spend time together as a family.
AZA MCDONALD: Oh, baby.
GUPTA: Conjoined at the head, Jadon and Anias were born sharing 1.5 centimeters of brain tissue fused together. But they defied the odds. They've endured four different operations. The most recent lasting 27 hours to separate the two of them.
I came to visit them one last time at their hospital before they moved to a children's rehab facility.
GUPTA: Hi, guys.
N. MCDONALD: Hi.
C. MCDONALD: Doctor, how are you?
GUPTA: And you, hi.
C. MCDONALD: For sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to see you here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, go, go. I'm up here.
N. MCDONALD: Pretty sure.
GUPTA: You guys have changed a lot already, just a few weeks.
So Jadon was starting to talk, babble before the operation. I remember you mentioning Anias liked to look at these books, to read books and think?
N. MCDONALD: Yes.
GUPTA: Do you think they're sort of back at that? Sort of leveled from -- before the operation?
N. MCDONALD: Yeah. I mean, Anias has been my talker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got it.
N. MCDONALD: He talks all day.
GUPTA: It is two months to the day--
N. MCDONALD: Yeah.
GUPTA: -- they've been separated. Does that surprise you? Christian, did you have any expectations to how long that part was going to take?
C. MCDONALD: I didn't have any expectations, you know. I knew it was going to kind of depend on them and depend on God. Doctor Guro (ph) said they have, you know, came back from this quicker than any set of twins.
GUPTA: I heard that.
C. MCDONALD: They have recovered quicker than any sets of twins. They said they have defied all the textbooks. They said thankfully they didn't read the book. So, you know, they are doing -- they're flying. They're doing really well.
GUPTA: Are you nervous to leave?
N. MCDONALD: Yes.
C. MCDONALD: I'm excited.
N. MCDONALD: It's -- I'm excited. They are different things. They are separate twins. A new set of people to teach other a new ones, you know. I know that they're going to take care of them, but I just -- after reinforce the trust, but a whole new group of people also.
GUPTA: And now this.
N. MCDONALD: And now this?
GUPTA: Separated, doing well, breathing, interacting. N. MCDONALD: Yeah. Poking each other in the eye. Poking in each other.
GUPTA: They're going to be true brothers. I love how Jadon smiles after he gives his brother one poke in the eye.
N. MCDONALD: Yeah. Yeah. Hey, yeah. Can't you pick out there.
GUPTA: Don't tease me, mommy.
GUPTA: When the boys were first born, Nicole and Christian would take them for rides around the hospital in a red wagon. And now they're leaving side by side in another red wagon.
(CROWD WOWING)
GUPTA: For the McDonalds, goodbye is bittersweet.
C. MCDONALD: Thanks for everything. I'm sure we're going to see you again, but it's been great. You have known the red wagon.
GUPTA: The whole world is watching you guys.
C. MCDONALD: The whole world. I know that for a fact.
N. MCDONALD: Hi, hi little Jadon.
GUPTA: And now it's time to say goodbye to their adopted family and adopted home.
N. MCDONALD: Are you ready? Let's go for a ride.
GUPTA: But it's also hello to a new home.
N. MCDONALD: Do you see your new home?
GUPTA: And hopefully to some more miracles.
N. MCDONALD: What do you see? Look here. Your eyes are everywhere.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN: That is a marvelous story to end on.
[16:00:00] I'm Martin Savidge. THE LEAD with Jake Tapper, starts right now.
