Transcripts For CNNW The Lead With Jake Tapper 20161207

Than flee. Cnn going inside aleppo to witness the horror up close. A day which will live in infamy. 75 years later. When japanese planes rained down on pearl harbor killing more than 2,000 americans. A 103yearold survivor and veteran today visits the lead to describe what he saw on that dark day. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. A source telling cnn the president elect donald trump will nominate another general to his cabinet. Retired marine general john kelly who will helm the department of Homeland Security pending senate confirmation. Also today president elect trump saying house secretary of state pick could come as early as next week. And mitt romney is still apparently in the running. Trump also said today he is honored to be named time magazines person of the year, but he did take some issue with the sub head tucked underneath his name. President of the divided states of america, it says. Trump denying he has done anything to divide the country. Okay. Also taking credit for the huge market rally since his election four weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrials closing at 1947 points, more than 1200 points above where it was on november 8th. Jason carroll is live outside trump tower. The Trump Transition Team confirmed trump has tapped Iowa Governor terry brand stad as the next ambassador to china. Reporter he has had a longstanding relationship with the Chinese Government since 1985. So perhaps he can smooth over some of the fallout that trump had with the taiwanese leader. Trump says he is feeling lucky he made the cover of time magazine. President elect donald trump can add another title to his name. Time magazine person of the year. Its a great honor. It means a lot. Reporter the caption on the cover calls him president of the divided states of america. A moniker donald trump told nbc news is not his fault. I didnt divide them. Theyre divided now. I mean, there is a lot of division. And were going to put it back together and were going to have a country thats well healed. Reporter trump took the same message on the road tuesday night at a rally in north carolina. We will heal our divisions and unify our country. When americans are unified, there is nothing we cannot do. Nothing. No task is too great, no dream too large, no goal beyond our reach. Reporter the president elects goal right now, piecing together his administration. Cnn confirms trump will name retired marine general john kelly, the former head of southern command, as his Homeland Security secretary. Today he also named Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as his ambassador to china. One reason, he has a decadeslong relationship with chinese president xi jinping. As for the secretary of state job, no decision yet. Trump saying mitt romney is still in the running and insists he isnt stringing the former rival along. No. Its not about revenge. Its about whats good for the country. We had some tremendous difficulty together, and now i think weve come a long way. Reporter its not just his cabinet. Trump is also calling out companies who he says are making bad deals for america. Like carrier and boeing. I hope i am judged from the time of the election as opposed to from january 20th, because the stock market has had a tremendous bounce. And people are seeing very good things for business in this country. Reporter trump threatened tuesday to cancel boeings deal to build a new air force one. Tweeting in part that costs are out of control. Since then trump says he has talked to boeings ceo and both agreed to work it out. Were going to get the prices down. If we dont get the prices down were not going to order them. Were going to stay with what we have. Reporter today trump met with rahm emanuel. About white house operations and how to make that work. Second, we also discussed immigration. Reporter his former boss, president obama, is also on trumps call list, telling nbc news that he and the current president have talked several times, asked for his advice and takes his recommendations seriously. The president is responsive to requests and phone calls from the president elect. He is certainly pleased that he can offer advice and assistance that may be useful to the incoming administration. Reporter and trump has continued to take meetings here today at trump tower, including meeting with oklahomas attorney general who is looking to be a likely choice to head up the epa much to the disappointment of many of pruitts critics saying he is too close to the fossil fuel industry. Trump tomorrow will be heading to osu to meet with victims and First Responders from there. Jake. Jason carroll, thank you so much. With the selection of retired marine general james kelly to lead the department of Homeland Security, Trumps National Security Team is taking shape. Last night at the second stop on his thank you tour, trump touted the credentials of his choice for defense secretary, retired marine general james patterns administration. He toasted a friendship with chinas president in 2012. Now Iowa Governor Terry Branstad is Donald Trumps nominee to be u. U. S. Ambassador to beijing. Under branstad iowas exports to china have grown exponentially. Branstads friendly approach to beijing contrasts sharply with president trumps vow to confront china on trade and national security. Trumps nominee to lead the pentagon is retired marine general james mattis. Pending a congressional waiver since he has not been out of uniform seven years, as required by law. Mad dog plays no games, right. Reporter like trump, mattis is hawkish on iran. The Iranian Regime in my mind is the single most enduring threat to stability to peace in the middle east. Reporter while trump has repeatedly praised russia wouldnt it be nice if we actually did get along with russia. Reporter and denied moscow interfered in the u. S. Election, he sarussia sees mattd putin as a grave threat. Trumps leading choices for secretary of state also have fundamentally different views of the russia threat. Mitt romney famously identified moscow as americas leading Foreign Policy challenge during his run for president in 2012. I wont wear rose colored glasses when it comes to russia or putin. Reporter also rex tillerson, a possible nominee for state, has close ties to russian president putin signing a multibillion dollar deal with russias state oil company in 2011 for exploration in the arctic. Today trump said hes days away from a final decision on his top diplomat. Fairly close. Next week i think will be the time i announce it. Reporter trumps pick for Homeland Security, retired army general john kelly and the president elect are very much likeminded on another Key International security issue. Protecting the u. S. Southern border. As kelly testified before congress in 2015. If a terrorist or almost anyone wants to get into our country, they just pay the fare. No one checks passports. They dont go through metal detectors. Reporter he is, as we call them, a gold star dad, he lost his son First Lieutenant robert kelly, killed in fighting. A u. S. Marine in afghanistan in 2010. Thats his grave there. He is buried in Arlington National cemetery. I was embedded with the marines around the same time. Some of the fiercest fighting in his unit. His unit was one that lost the most of its personnel. General kelly has spoken movingly about that. Joining me now, kelly ayotte, she serves on the Armed Services committee. She gave her Farewell Speech on the senate floor. Thank you for being here. We hope youre not going to be a stranger even though you are moving on from the senate. Let me ask you about general mattis. Your colleague Kirsten Gillibrand says she is not comfortable approving of the waiver. You need to be out of the military for seven years according to the law to head up the pentagon. General mattis has only been out for three years. What do you think . I think that general mattis is one of the most distinguished military leaders in the history of our country, a phenomenal choice to be the secretary of defense. And i really admire the fact that, you know, he is not a yes man. He will call it like he sees it. He will give the president elect very solid advice. And so he deserves this waiver. And i think that unfortunately some people are going to play politics with it. They should not. This is about the safety and security of our country. And i think that general mattis will serve with such distinction as secretary of defense. I was talking to some republicans on the hill who told me that they have told the trump team that they dont think general David Petraeus could get confirmed, that there are enough not only democrats but republicans who are concerned enough about the breach of security through that happened when he shared the classified information and also that he lied to the fbi. Is that what you are hearing as well . Is that your impression . I dont know that thats my impression. I think there are many on the hill that admire the service also of general David Petraeus. I have had the chance of knowing him personally as well, and obviously he has really talked about his mistakes. He has moved forward. And no one can take away from him his Incredible Service to our country. No, of course not. But anyway, okay. You would know better than i. So your colleague, senator Lindsey Graham, says that hell have hearings on the russian hacking into the dnc and the russian hacking into the emails of john podesta, Clinton Campaign chairman. There is obviously a lot of concern by a lot of people, marco rubio, your colleague, has talked about how this has been, you know, unprecedented and its offensive. Take a listen to what Lindsey Graham had to say today to my colleague manu raju. Im going after russia in every way you can go after russia. I think theyre one of the most destabilizing influences on the world stage. I think they interfered with our elections and i want putin personally to pay a price. Do you share that view . I share the view that i think we need to be much tougher on russia. If you look at their behavior, i share the view that the reset policy of this past administration has really been a failure and we have seen a lot of bad behavior by russia. Its time to make sure that Vladimir Putin understands that well be quite serious when whether he is undermining our efforts to defeat isis, in syria and iraq, whether he is in a situation where there are cyber crime issues involved, what it is. I do think we need to take a stronger tack with russia. You must be concerned because thats not what were hearing from president elect trump. He seems to want to be even closer with Vladimir Putin. I dont think ive heard him criticize putin or russia ever. Well see. This will be one of the great challenges of this administration. Look at who he has nominated for secretary of defense. I think general mattis sees the issues clearly. Hell have his advice. He announced general kelly who has a tremendous military history as well. He is putting people around him who will give him the straight on this and hell approach russia im sure with toughness. Mitt romney is also being discussed as a possible secretary of state, he is from your neighboring state of massachusetts. He actually has a home in new hampshire. He does. I think you think pretty highly of him. Do you think he would be a good pick . I think he is incredibly qualified. He handles himself very well. He obviously understands international issues. And really, the president elect is interviewing a number of qualified people for that position, there is no doubt. This is a very important job, and there is so much work to be done after john kerry and the issues that need to be addressed, whether its with iran, whether its russia, china, and its a very important position. Lastly, youre leaving the senate. What do you think what are you proudest of, and what is your biggest regret of your time in the senate . I am really proud of the work that we have done. In fact, in helping turn around getting resources on the Opioid Epidemic facing my state. We passed the comprehensive addiction and recovery act this summer. I helped to lead that. Will you no the 21st cures bill to help those struggling with addiction. I am very proud of that. In terms of looking of things i know there is so much more work we need to do for our veterans. My husband is a combat veteran. I am passionate about making sure our veterans need the very best care. That has not happened. I hope this administration really takes that to heart and does make sure that our veterans, for what they have sacrificed on our behalf, get the very best care. Thats so important. Please come back. We want to keep talking to you. Appreciate it. Thank you. Its glitzy and glamorous, the president elect new hotel in washington, d. C. The Trump Organization is already profiting from Foreign Governments booking rooms there. That story next in our series on conflict of interest watch. Stay with us. Why are you checking your credit score . You dont want to drive old blue forever, do you . [brakes squeak] credit karma, huh . Yep, its free. Credit karma. Give yourself some credit. Since we started shopping at way bfingerhut. Com. First down as close as two friends trying to annihilate each other can be. Ahh, interception thats because with fingerhut. Com we can shop over 700,000 items from brand names like samsung, keurig and sony. Go to fingerhut. Com to get low Monthly Payments and the credit you deserve. And get great stuff like this awesome flat screen tv. [doorbell rings] fingerhut mans here oooh maybe he brought you some defense. cause thats a touchdown, buttercup oww so we know how to cover almost almoanything. Hing, even a rodent ridealong. [dad] alright, buddy, dont forget anything [kid] i wont, dad. [captain rod] happy Tuesday Morning captain rod here. Its pretty hairy out on the interstate. Traffic is literally crawling, but there is some movement on the eastside overpass. Getting word of another collision. [burke] it happened. December 14th, 2015. And we covered it. Talk to farmers. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum every day starts better with a healthy smile. Start yours with Philips Sonicare, the no. 1 choice of dentists. Compared to oralb 7000, Philips Sonicare flexcare platinum removes significantly more plaque. This is the sound of Sonic Technology cleaning deep between teeth. Hear the difference . Get healthier gums in just 2 weeks vs a manual toothbrush and experience an amazing feel of clean. Innovation and you. Philips sonicare. Save now when you buy Philips Sonicare. Were back with another installment of our series conflict of interest watch. We are tracking how Donald Trumps business dealings could create mess wri, unethical, even illegal situations after his inauguration. One of the most glaring problems may be just down the street from the white house at the trump hotel. Who folks trying to ingratiate themselves with the new president find themselves becoming regular customers . In the last 24 hours events at the hotel may be seen as an attempt to make nice with the incoming commander in chief. Cnns ellise labott joins us. Reporter one ambassador told me that they expected a lot of orcounterparts would be Holding Events at this hotel. Its a nice hotel and a great way to make brownie points with donald trump. What a better way for your foreign leader to visit and when the white house asks where theyre staying to say the president s hotel. When theyre lining the president s pockets with maoney its causing a lot of controversy. Donald trumps new hotel in the Historic Post Office steps from the white house is the place to be for washington insiders looking to make inroads with the president elect. Today diplomats and u. S. Officials descended on the hotel for bahrains national day celebration. Tuesday night the heritage foundation, a conservative think tank with ties to the transition invited their donors to the hotel to hear from Vice President elect mike pence. Sales were soft when the property opened in september despite promotion by the candidate himself. This is the most coveted piece of real estate in washington, d. C. , the best location. But that all changed after election night. Just days later diplomats packed a ballroom to hear a sales pitch, a special promotion through the arab of commerce boasted a new level of luxury in d. C. With unparalleled service. The aggressive marketing is paying off. The hotel is almost fully booked for holiday parties and sold out for inaugural weekend. Trump pointing to its prime location on his visit to capitol hill. But its not without controversy. Next week the mercedembassy of azerbaijan is going to be holding an event there. They told cnn, quote, it was done purely on a pragmatic basis that had nothing to do with trump himself. Others are objecting. They say the party is a celebration of religious freedom and diversity. And when you compare that to the messages that have come from the Trump Campaign for the last years, that is exactly opposite of what we have been hearing. Reporter some diplomats admit spending money at trumps hotel is an easy, friendly gesture to the new president. Others commend the hotels Impeccable Service and discounted promotional rates. Critics worry Foreign Governments and special Interest Groups will patronize the hotel to curry favor with the president elect, a clause in the u. S. Constitution warns, quote, no Person Holding any office can profit from any Foreign Government. The president of the United States is not an inkeeper certainly not for foreign diplomats. In order to be an effective president he is going to have to make this change over to being president. Reporter now, were expected to hear in the next few weeks how donald trump is going to transfer his business over to his family, including this hotel, before taking office. Now, he also may be in violation of the hotels lease that says that no member of the government who holds office can hold any part of this lease. But, jake, the controversy does not end at that hotel in washington. Lebron james of the Cleveland Cavaliers says he and several of his teammates will not be staying at the scheduled stop of trumps hotel in soho when they play the New York Knicks this week in manhattan. Thank you so much. Some transition news coming in. The Trump Campaign announcing that the president elect will lap Linda Mcmahon to head the Small Business administration. She is the former chief executive officer of the wwe, that is World Wrestling entertainment for those of you who dont tune into monday night raw. She launched a failed bid for the senate in 2010 and in 2012. Donald trumps new hotel in d. C. Is not the only conflict of interest concern, but the House Speaker doesnt seem to worried. A baby seven days old among hundreds of people forced from their homes in the war zone. The new warning from the Syrian Regime next. vo its the holidays at verizon, and the best deals are on the best network. both yes vo with no surprise overages, you can use your data worry free and even carry over the data you dont use. And right now get four lines and 20 gigs for only 40 per line. And, just for the holidays, get the Samsung Galaxy s7 edge for only 15 per month. No tradein required. I love you in that, no, i love you in that. No, i love you in that vo hurry, these offers end soon. Get the best deals and the best network, only on verizon. Yeahashtag stuffy nose. Old. Hashtag no sleep. I got it. Hashtag mouthbreather. Yep. Weve got a mouthbreather. Well, just put on a breathe right strip and. Pow it instantly opens your nose up to 38 more than Cold Medicine alone. So you can breathe. And sleep. Shut your mouth and say goodnight mouthbreathers. Breathe right. they tell me im wrong to want to stand alongside my, my love whoa, talkin bout my love to want to stand alongside my, my love dont just eat. Mangia bertolli. Generosity is its oyou can handle being a mom for half an hour. Im in all the way. Is that understood . I dont know what shes up to, but its not good. Cant the world be my noodles and butter . Get your mind out of the gutter. Mornings are for coffee and contemplation. That was a really profound observation. You got a mean case of the detox blues. Dont start a war you know youre going to lose. Finally you can now find all of netflix in the same place as all your other entertainment. On xfinity x1. Welcome back to the lead. Staying with politics. For years donald trump openly questioned whether president obama was born in america. Spoiler alert he was. Now that hes met obama he says he actually really likes him. Lets bring in ari fleischer. Usa today senior politics reporter heidi presbela and Washington Bureau chief who wrote the cover story for time person of the year which in 2016 goes to donald trump. Thanks for being here one and all. Ari, the president elect said of obama, although they disagree on a lot of policies he has taken president obamas advice. I never met him before this, and i never spoke to him before this. I really i do like him. I love getting his ideas. I take his recommendations very seriously, and there are some people that i will be appointing, and in one case have appointed, where he thought very highly of that person. So, obviously saying that, you know, he is really he likes him, he is taking his advice. You have some insight into the world of the president s club. Does that surprise you . It does and it doesnt. In a year in which everything surprised everybody, why should we be surprised when these two get along. He says he has an ability to act differently than he did on the campaign trail. We saw that when he went to mexico. In one level it doesnt surprise me. For barack obama, it strikes me, he is the ultimate lobbyist for his administration. He has the ear of the next president. Hell influence him to keep his policies. Michael, the president elect said he was honored to be named times person of the year 2016. But he also did take some exception to the sub head there president of the divided states of america. Take a listen. Its divided i am not president yet. So i didnt do anything to divide. So he he really thinks he it nothing to divide. Anybody . I think he really thinks that right now he is trying to unify. And thats what that message is. I think thats why he is praising president obama so much. One of the first things he said to his advisers, i want to be the president of all americans. Why he is taking prosecution of Hillary Clinton off the table. He participated substantially in the divisive campaign. He is really trying in our interview with him last week for the person of the year story which is, for better or worse the most influential person, its not strictly an honor. He was even then moderating his positions, saying for instance that he wants to find out some accommodation for dreamers, which is not something you would have heard him say on the campaign trail. Certainly not. I want to play some sound of Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell talking about Vice President joe biden, who served for decades in the senate. Obviously, as Vice President , president of the senate. He was honored today. He has been blessed in many ways. He has also been tested. Knocked down, pushed to the edge of what anyone could be expected to bear. But from the grip of unknowable despair came a new man. A better man. Stronger. And more compassionate. He goes on from there. Its really very, very moving. It is we dont see a lot of that. Joe biden is likeable, period, by members who served with him on both sides of the aisle. Particularly in the aftermath of the very public way that he suffered with the death of his son. And he was up on the hill the other day to push this cancer to celebrate this cancer advancement of this cancer legislation. I think he had an emotional moment, and everybody could see that as well when he talked about, yes, maybe i will run again. So, again, it kind of brings out the humanity in joe biden. Thats not something that is a partisan thing. I think thats to the credit of joe biden that so many people feel about him that way, including Republican Leaders in congress. Do you think thats credible at all, him running for president in 2020 at the age of 78 . I think joe biden will never stop. Whether he is actually running, he will you will never have an interview with joe biden where he says im done for now. Im going to retire. Im going back to the house. Im getting a new corvette. Hes career has been about pushing forward. He always says he is in the running, he is in the hunt, he is a player. Thats who joe biden is. Bernie, hillary, all ought to run again. Something im really curious about, ari, you heard our segment earlier about conflict of interest watch. These potential conflicts that trump, as a Global Business leader, assuredly will have. And theyve already been cropping up here and there. What would you advise him if you were one of his senior staffers . He has to get it right. Look, what donald trump needs is for a neutral observer there are very few in this town someone who is not for him or against him, say he made that decision because he thought it was good for the country and not for his bottom line. He needs to carve out that relationship so he is not making decisions where people can make that accusation against him. I would start by making sure that his children dont go to meetings that a quasigovernmental or governmental. If you are going to have a separation it needs to be a strong black line that doesnt get crossed. The problem is, today with his taxes with his stock. He is acknowledging that because that was potential conflict of interest he sold them off. Yet those are not companies he controlled and directly drew a paycheck from. The ethics experts i talked to say there is absolutely no way to remove the potential not even for trump, but for people down lower in the food chain to get in trouble for quid pro quo and for conflict of interest unless he does remove ownership, okay, because what he is talking about right now is transferring controlling power to his kids. But he is still the owner. And that is the key, is the ownership. I just dont get a sense from what were seeing, at least publicly, unless there is something really big going on behind the scenes, that there is going to be a move. Especially not with the polls coming out saying the public also doesnt think he should do it. If you read the constitution, the emoluments clause is pretty clear that any gift from a Foreign Government which could be quantified simply by officials staying at his hotels, is a violation of that clause. Leave or be killed. Thats the dire warning from the Syrian Regime to people in eastern aleppo. Well go live to that shattered city next. Stay with us. Im hall of famer jerry west and my life is basketball. But that doesnt stop my afib from leaving me at a higher risk of stroke. Thatd be devastating. I took warfarin for over 15 years until i learned more about oncedaily xarelto. A latest generation blood thinner. Then i made the switch. Xarelto® significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. It has similar effectiveness to warfarin. Warfarin interferes with vitamin k and at least six blood clotting factors. Xarelto® is selective targeting one critical factor of your bodys natural clotting function. 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This as an estimated 200,000 civilians are held inside the rebelheld portion of the city. One expert saying the desperate hospitals there resembled, quote, slaughterhouses. Lets bring in frederik pleitgen. Tell us what you see out there. Reporter when you do see a lot of desperation here on the ground, jake. I was able to go to a district on the front line. That was actually under rebel control until yesterday. We went there a few hours after the Syrian Regime took over there. What we saw was many, many people fleeing. They were tired, they were hungry, they were weak and they were trying to get to a better place. Here is what we saw. This is what rebel desperation looks like during the nights. Firing at jets in the skies, unable to stop them from dropping their deadly load. This is what the rebels defeat looks like when day light comes. Thousands of civilians fleeing the old town of aleppo hours after Government Forces took most of it back. Among them, najua with her seven children, one of them her baby, bilal. When we left there was a lot of shelling behind us, a lot of shooting in front of us, and the airlines above us, she says. We barely managed to get out. Most seem weak and malnourished. Some resting, finally in safety in this former school. The smallest, a baby girl, azal, only seven days old, barn right as the battles were at their worst. Its remarkable some of the scenes we are witnessing here. Hundreds of people have already come across the Border Crossing between eastern and western aleppo. Many are taking shelter in buildings like this one, carrying only the very few possessions they could take as they fled. Soldiers take us to the places very recaptured from Opposition Forces only hours before. We cesarean troops evacuating weak and elderly. And rebel barricades showing just how intense the fighting was. Just look at all the destruction here. We are actually in the old town of aleppo right now. And this entire area, until a few days ago, was right on the front line. While this may not be the end of the oppositions fight in aleppo, many of those fleeing described the rebels morale sinking and the harrowing conditions in the besieged areas. We didnt have food and barely any bread, this man says. We were eight people. They would only give us two l f loaves of bread every two days. One thing expanding in eastern aleppo was the cemeteries. This one ran out of space as the bodies kept coming. Now that much of eastern aleppo has changed hands, syrian soldiers plant their flag on the ruins of the place theyve just conquered. Then, of course, jake, you do have those efforts by the international community, especially the u. S. , trying to get some sort of ceasefire going, a humanitarian ceasefire, for the eastern districts of aleppo. It really doesnt look like thats something currently in the cards. The Syrian Government has told us that they are giving the rebels two choices. Either lay down their arms and leave eastern aleppo or continue to face the current onslaught. Unclear how much longer the rebels will be able to hold out, jake. Fred, thank you so much. Please be safe. The date that lives in infamy. The attack on pearl harbor. 75 years ago today. Our next guest, that day, was rescuing the men around him and writing down names and dog tag numbers so he could tell parents just what happened to their sons. Stay with us. You tell your inthey made a mistake. The check they sent isnt enough to replace your totaled new car. The guy says they didnt make the mistake. You made the mistake. I beg your pardon . He says, you should have chosen fullcar replacement. Excuse me . Let me be frank, he says. You picked the wrong insurance plan. No. I picked the wrong insurance company. With Liberty Mutual new car replacement™, well replace the full value of your car plus depreciation. 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Lift the burden of getting a home loan with Rocket Mortgage by quicken loans. whisper rocket welcome back to the lead. On this date, december 7th, this date has indeed lived in infamy, ever since president Franklin Roosevelt said those words. It changed the course of world history. This morning in haugh sowaii so the veterans who lived through the attack whether on hand to pay their respects and recall their experiences. Retired Navy Lieutenant jim downing, age 103. He served on the uss West Virginia and lost 106 of his ship mates that day. Lieutenant downing, first off, thank you for your service and thank you for being with us today. Take us back to that morning, 7 55 a. M. , the bombs started dropping. Where were you . What happened . Actually, i was off the ship for the first 20 minutes. I had been married for five months, and my new bride and i lived about 20 minutes from the air station here. What scene plays most vividly in your mind when you think about today, 75 years ago . December 7th, 1941 . As i look back, the strongest thing was surprise. There were no satellites in those days. Radar was not yet accepted. So the first shock was surprise. The first japanese plane i saw was flying toward me low and slow. And the pilot the machine gunner cut loose, and the bullets went over my head and dug a trench behind me. So surprise had turned into fear. And then my fear turned into anger. Anger that the world had let japan build up a big war machine, and also angry at our own political and military leaders for letting us get caught like that. So those were the reactions. They were triggered by the fact that i lived just a few hundred yards from here. My battleship had been my home for years. It took nine torpedos. It then began taking on water and it sank and was on fire above the waterline. So i was really aggrieved to see my home of ten years sinking and on fire. You had a lot of friends who were badly injured. I am told you took a notebook and you offered to do something for them and their families thats pretty remarkable. Tell us about that. Yes. We were next to another battleship, the tennessee, which was almost undamaged. So i knew the flames were approaching ammunition storage. So i took a hose and tried to keep the fire away from this ammunition. But while i was doing that, i noticed some bodies lying around. It occurred to me that their parents would never know what happened. We had fireproof name tags and lanyards so the flames couldnt touch it. So i began memorizing a few of the names with the objective of writing to their parents and telling them about their heroic last minutes in this life. There are not a lot of people left who can share memories like the ones you are sharing with us today. Whats it like being back in hawaii with your fellow veterans on this anniversary . Well, i think the picture in our minds is really not the greatness of this island. It is frozen in our minds, the destruction that took place that morning. So its good to meet old friends and talk to them, but somehow that image of the attack is frozen in our minds, and that kind of overrules everything else. Lieutenant, i cannot thank you enough for your service and your sacrifice. To you and all of your fellow members of the greatest generation, thank you for what you did, and thank you for spending some time with us today. I thank you for the privilege of talking with you. The fires in tennessee killed 14 people and destroyed hundreds of homes. And now two people are facing charges. Who are they . Why did they do it . Thats next. My budget used to be hard on me. Especially around the holidays. I was pinchin more than pennies but thanks to fingerhut. Com, now you can shop over 700,000 items from brand names like samsung, rachael ray and fisher price. Happy holidays to me. All you gotta do is click on over to fingerhut. Com and get the credit you deserve to get all kinds of great stuff. [ doorbell rings ] oh, i hope its the microfiber recliner [ laughs ] ahhh. Lepes foods is a locally owned here in santa rosa. As a Small Business, were always looking to save money, and pg e was able to help us. I help the Small Businesses save money and energy. It feels great. We looked at their lighting, their refrigeration system, and with just those two small measures, they were able to save a good amount of money. I was shocked. I couldnt believe that i could save 1,500 a month. With the savings that we get from pg e, were able to pass it on to our customers. Its pretty awesome. Learn how your business can save at pge. Com businessenergycheckup. Together, were building a better california. Welcome back. In todays national lead, two juveniles are now in custody for their alleged roles in the wildfires that killed at least 14 people in tennessee. Both are being charged with aggravated arson. Authorities say the fire started around november 23rd in the Smoky Mountains National Park and spread towards the town of gatlinburg. We learned the juveniles are from tennessee. Given their young age, authorities would not say much about their identities. They are both now in the Detention Center and will get a Juvenile Court hearing in the next 72 hours. Opening statements today in the trial for dylann roof, who shot and killed nine africanamericans last year at a church in charleston, south carolina. After shooting roof told the police he had been trying to provoke a race war. Today prosecutors called his plan cold and calculated and urge jurors to consider his racist ideology. The defense says they will probably not call any witnesses. Ten women and two men will decide his fate on 33 federal charges related to the shooting. Nine jurors are white. Three are black. If convicted roof could face the death penalty. The rigorous search for bodies in the fire ravaged building in oakland, california, has come to an end. The total death toll stands at 36. Authorities have identified all but one of the victims. The blaze is under criminal investigation, but the cause or origin of the fire has yet to be determined. Officials have not ruled out arson. Also, an unsettling glimpse into what it was like inside the artists collective called the ghost ship. Court documents show it was under a pending investigation, officials looking into complaints that it had piles of garbage and was improperly remodeled for residential use. Its up to Governor John Kasich to decide if hell pass the strictest abortion law. He has ten days to sign it or veto it before it automatically becomes law. The law would ban abortions in ohio from the moment the heartbeat of a fetus can be detected. Now, doctors say thats typically around six weeks into a pregnancy. No other state bans abortions until at earliest the 20th week of a pregnancy. Kasich has not weighed in on this bill but told cnn earlier this year he is against abortion with the exception of rape, incest and the life of the mother. The aclu already plans to fight ohios socalled heartbeat bill if it becomes law. Other states passed similar laws but they were struck down after being found unconstitutional in federal courts. Tune in for the legacy of barack obama, Cnns Fareed Zakaria sits down with president obama for a full conversation and look at his presidency at 9 00 p. M. Eastern. Thats it for the lead. Im jake tapper. Follow me on twitter jake tapper. Now to wolf blitzer, he is nextdoor in a place i like to call the situation room. Happening now, the washington generals. Donald trump recruits another military leader, asking general john kelly to be Homeland Security secretary. Three generals are slated for top positions in his administration. General David Petraeus is still in the running for secretary of state. Is the president elect leaning too heavily on the military . Isis hostage. A journist held by terrorist forces appears in an isis video for the first time in five months and shows damage done by allied bombs in mosul. Is isis sending a signal with the latest propaganda piece . Targeting moscow. A Top Senate Republican vows to investigate russian interference of the