wishing you all of the best and none of the worst in 2017. wishing you all of the best and -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com this is "cnn newsroom" live from atlanta. >> and ahead this hour, losing leia. the life and times of carrie fisher, dead at the age of 60 years old. from enemies to allies, u.s. president obama and japan's president abe pair a visit to pearl harbor 750 years after the surprise attack. plus a year of legends lost. devastating images of war and political divisiveness around the world. we will help you to get ready to ring in the new year with a proper good riddance to 2016. you know, i'm really ready to be done with this year. >> i think most people are. >> just a few days away. live from cnn world headquarters

in atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm george howell. >> and i'm rosemary church. this is "cnn newsroom." 2016 has seen yet another big name star leave us way too soon. carrie fisher, the actress best known as princess leia in the "star wars" movies, has died. fisher suffered a heart attack on a flight from london to los angeles last week. her daughter, billy lord, issued a statement through her publicist saying this -- "it is with a very deep sadness that billy lord confirms that her beloved mother, carrie fisher, passed away at 8:55 this morning." >> fisher's "star wars" co-star harrison ford issued the statement you see here. "carrie was one of a kind. brilliant, original, funny and emotionally fearless. she lived her life bravely. we will all miss her."

long-time friend and "star wars" creator george lucas also remembered fisher. he says this -- "in star wars she was our great and powerful princess. feisty, wise, and full of hope in a role that was more difficult than most people might think." >> carrie fisher as princess leia did not wait to be rescued by her male counterparts, luke skywalker and han solo. she bam a hero in her own right. >> and that is very important context. when you think back to it. in 2016 a female lead that doesn't need a man to save her might seem unusual, but in 1977 it was downright revolutionary. >> now what? >> do you have a plan for getting out? >> me? what the hell are you doing? >> somebody has to save our skins.

>> fans and celebrities around the world are rec carrie fisher. >> they are. and cnn's paul vercammen visited the hollywood walk of fame where fans are paying ribt to the beloved actress. >> rosemary george, they were sad, they were somber and then they perked up when they started remembering about carrie fisher. carrie fisher the actress, carrie fisher the writer of "post-cards from the edge." carrie fisher somebody who blazed a trail here in hollywood and one aspiring actress remembered her fondly. >> it's devastating. she was an amazing woman, an amazing actress, and she was an advocate for so many with mental disabilities, addiction, and for actresses in hollywood who are always, you know, with the ageism and the weight gain. it's just been great that she's been able to speak out about that and how it means so much to her. >> just now as i'm walking down this wall of fame here and you know, people remember her as princess leia and she'll always live on for that. but i remember her great role she played with the late bruno kirby in "harry met sally."

great flick. she was also great in that. but you know, carrie fisher will always live in. >> i know for my generation i grew up with "star wars." i saw the first one. every little boy back then was in love with her. you know, she was like the hottest thing going. farrah fawcett was out. "charlie's angels" were out. but once that movie broke she was like the hottest princess in the world. or in the galaxy. >> billy dee williams starred with carrie fisher in the "star wars" films and perhaps he characterize the mood here best. he basically said, "today the force is dark." back to you now, george, rosemary. >> thanks so much, paul. and cnn media critic brian lowry joins us live now from los angeles. thanks so much for being with us. sometimes of course it takes the passing of a star to really grass whap we've lost, doesn't it? carrie fisher was not only a great actress, also a successful author. her legacy goes beyond "star wars." but were all her other talents fully appreciated at the time?

>> well, i mean, her career was shaped obviously in most people's perceptions by "star wars," but she was really a multifaceted talent and a tremendous writer. wrote books and made a very good living as a script doctor working on movies like "hook" and "the wedding singer" and punching up dialogue on those. in terms of her acting career, "star wars" came so early in her career that it probably closed some doors for her, and she played comic roles and supporting roles. but the career that she had was really shaped and in many ways defined as anthony res by "star wars." >> yeah, that seems to be the case, doesn't it? and carrie fisher recently revealed that she and actor harrison ford had an intense affair while they were filming "star wars." but he hasn't commented on that so far. do you expect that he will now? >> well, he's basically sort of said carrie is carrie and has kind of acknowledged it without really getting into it. but look, she's been very open

about her life. she took great joy really in writing about her upbringing. she was born into hollywood, the daughter of debbie reynolds and eddie fisher. her father famously left her mother for elizabeth taylor. and she spoke of herself as being born to simple folk in her one-woman show. so she took great pleasure in sort of documenting -- even though she was very much a part of hollywood and had grown up in hollywood, she took great pleasure in documenting the eccentricities and foibles of the town. >> she certainly did, didn't she? and she was also a hero for many people and fans across the globe who suffered from mental health issues. she had so many of her own demons to overcome. did she successfully overcome them in the end? >> she seemed to. she was an eccentric character. she was on stephen colbert's show recently and brought her dog with her, who sat with her through the whole segment. but she was very open about

having wrestled with addiction and bipolar condition and really was someone who was very comfortable talking about her life and turning it into not just something that she talked about but something she could share in a very relatable and entertaining way and that basically came through in her writing. >> all right. brian lowry, thank you so much for joining us and shedding more light on the life of carrie fisher. we will talk to you again, next hour in fact. thanks. >> she was tough and fearless both on screen and off and an icon for so many. >> she was indeed. moving on now to pearl harbor and a day of reflection and reconciliation. the u.s. president barack obama and the prime minister of japan shinzo abe stood together tuesday in hawaii at a place that was once the site of war. >> the leaders paid tribute to those who died in the japanese attack 75 years ago and asserted their nation's alliance. cnn's athena jones reports.

>> reporter: hi there. a historic day here at pearl harbor. a moment 75 years in the making. and pictures and videos the likes of which we've never seen before. these two leaders, a u.s. president and a japanese prime minister, going together to the "uss arizona memory toll pay their respects to the fallen. both leaders later delivering emotional, moving remarks. both leaders evoking the sights and sounds of that day in 1941 when more than 2400 people never made it home. president obama saying that abe's presence here shows what is possible between nations and how two former foes can become the closest of allies. >> as nations and as people we cannot choose the history that we inherit. but we can choose what lessons to draw from. and use those lessons to chart our own futures. wars can end. the most bitter of adversaries can become the strongest of allies. the fruits of peace always

outweigh the plunder of war. this is the enduring truth of this hallowed harbor. >> prime minister abe saying that his visit to the "uss arizona left him speechless. here's more of what he had to say. >> translator: as the prime minister of japan i offer my sincere and everlasting condolences to the souls of those who lost their lives here as well as to the spirits of all the brave men and women whose lives were taken by a war that commenced in this very place and also to the souls of the countless innocent people who became victims of the war. >> and so there you heard japanese prime minister offering his sincere and everlasting condolences to the souls of those who lost their lives here, but not offering an apology for the actions his nation took here

75 years ago. but it's important to note that president obama speaking at hiroima in may also declined to offer an apology for the u.s. action there, the dropping of the atomic bomb. both leaders choosing instead to deliver forward-looking mijessas focusing on the future of the u.s.-japan alliance. athena jones, cnn, pearl harbor. the trump transition, the president-elect not officially president of the united states yet. january 20th will be the date. but donald trump has been busy on twitter again. congratulating himself. he posted this late tuesday. "the u.s. consumer confidence index for december surged nearly four points to 113.7. the highest level in more than 15 years. thanks donald!" >> earlier in the day the president-elect took a swing at his predecessor writing this, "president obama campaigned hard and personally in the very

important swing states and lost. the voters wanted to make america great again." >> so let's use that as the starting point of our chat. our trump transition discussion with our guests democratic strategist matthew lipman. live from los angeles and also from l.a., republican consultant john thomas. gentlemen, good to have you with us this hour. so look, last month we saw president obama and the president-elect sit down together in the oval office after a very bruising campaign. they appeared to bury the hatchet. things seem to have changed. though the president said monday that he could have won a third term and donald trump responded on twitter saying, "no way." and then tuesday in hawaii the president of the united states had this to say. let's talk about it on the other side. let's listen. >> it is here that we remember that even when hatred burns hottest, even when the tug of tribalism is at its most primal we must resist the urge to turn

inward. we must resist the urge to demonize those who are different. >> so john, the question to you, the president at a site that was once the site of war taking a swipe at donald trump? >> absolutely. i mean, he just can't contain himself. and i think it's largely because what president barack obama said on the campaign trail when he vigorously campaigned for hillary clinton is this is a reflection on my legacy and my reputation as president, you must -- my policies are on the ballot, you must vote for hillary clinton. so it was a big smackdown to the president. and i think he's still hurting from it. >> matthew so, the president suggested that his message would have resonated with the electorate, that he would have beaten trump if he were able to run for a third term. the question is is he misreading the electorate? voters who gave donald trump the win in 2016. >> so i don't think there's any

question that the president would have beaten donald trump. and the reason why i say that is because hillary beat donald trump by 3 million votes. barack obama's popularity rating is a record high, close to 60%. donald trump, this is in his honeymoon phase, almost 2/3 of the american public doesn't approve of donald trump. i don't think there's any question if president obama were rung against donald trump president obama would trounce donald trump. and we all know if obama says something like that donald trump with his very thin skin is going to respond immediately. >> here's the question. this match-up is never going to happen. the election is done. donald trump will be the president. it's just interesting to see these two men -- >> it's sour grapes, george. it's a woulda, shoulda, coulda. >> let's move on from sour grapes to a big announcement that came tuesday. trump naming thomas bossert as his homeland security adviser. here's a little background on boss yertd. he served in the george w. bush administration. so far his selection has gotten

positive reaction, especially from establishment republicans, and trump has actually elevated that position, saying he will be on equal footing with national security adviser lieutenant general michael flynn. the reaction from some democrats and former white house officials, they say it could be a power struggle in the making. congressman chris collins of new york denies that, though. here's what he had to say. >> the decisions are going to be made by president-elect trump. he thrives on bringing in a group of experts, 8, 10, or 12, letting them debate the issues while he sits fairly quietly. he takes notes. he certainly probes where appropriate. and when he's done listening to different opinions, different nuances, donald up from then makes the decision. >> so we have heard before, gentlemen, of a team of rivals. is that what we're seeing play out here, john? is it one balancing out the other? >> yeah, i do. i think president-elect trump is

trying to put together disse dissenting voices. and that's a smart thing to do you when you don't have a lot of experience in government or foreign affairs or a lot of other -- you need to bring in different opinions. donald trump is being a smart ceo here saying i don't want to surround myself with a bunch of yes men. >> matthew, your thoughts there. >> well, i don't think that that's what's going on here. the fact is donald trump just doesn't have a lot of fully formed opinions and i don't agree with chris collins' analysis of how trump sees his cabinet meetings and meeting with these folks and listening to all his opinions and that's his history. he's been doing this for about a month. and the reason right now you have people with such divergent point of view is because donald trump has no core philosophy. i think this is a recipe for draft. you have people who have very divergent points of view on russia, on israel, on the economy, on taxes, all of whom are going to be fighting with each other. and the other bad part of it is most of them don't have any experience in government. so how they're going to govern

is a real mystery to me. >> but the point they always make is there is a lot of business experience that's coming with many of the people that will be rounding out the cabinet. again, we'll all just have to wait and as many people say give that administration time to come together. let's also talk about russia. donald trump has made it very clear he hopes to improve ties with moscow, specifically to improve ties with vladimir putin. not all see it that way, though. there are three u.s. senators on a trip right now to the baltic states. two of them leading republicans, john mccain and lindsay graham. they had some critical words for the president rekt on some have i important topics. first let's listen to what republican senator john mccain had to say. >> i believe that vladimir put zinn a thug and a bully and that's become apparent. and one of the reasons qulinds graham and i are here is to reassure our allies of strong support from the united states senate and the armed services

committee. >> mccain predicts that trump will eventually change his tune on putin. matthew, is that likely? >> i think the republicans have been changing hoping that trump changes his tune on many issues since he started running. we've been hearing things like this all along. there's no reason to believe trump is going to change his mind now. but listen, what's happened here is while all of our national security agencies, the fbi, the cia, have been telling the government that russia got involved in the election on behalf of trump, trump says that really didn't happen or we have no evidence of that. and the reason he says that is because he doesn't want anybody questioning his very small victory, right? because he lost by 3 million votes to hillary clinton in the popular vote he doesn't want any questioning of that. well, the problem is he's catering to putin and not to the facts here and that is going to be an issue for the remember party. >> i know you want to get in on there. i have to stop it right here just for time. i'm so sorry, gentlemen. we appreciate you being with us. >> that's okay. >> i'm sure it's okay for you. matthew littman and john thomas,

thanks so much for being with us. wish we had a little more time. let's take a quick break here. up next, u.s. president barack obama is getting ready to hand off a list of foreign crises to donald trump. plus israel remains defiant about its plans to expand settlements despite the u.n. resolution. more ahead on the claims that it's making about the u.s. involvement in the security council's vote, something the u.s. denies. next. known for its perfect storm of tiny bubbles, it has long been called the champagne of beers. ♪ if you've got the time welcome to the high life. ♪ we've got the beer ♪ miller beer this is your tax return. ok. now, there are many right ways to fill out this tax return. and the irs will accept them all. one of them gets you the most money back.

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welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell. just weeks before he leaves office, foreign policy is at the forefront for the u.s. president, barack obama, and his critics. mr. obama is facing major international challenges, including the latest u.n. security council vote on israel. we get more now from cnn's global affairs correspondent elyse labott. >> reporter: today israel announced plans to build hundreds of new settlement units in east jerusalem in defiance of a u.n. vote calling them illegal and sharpened attacks on the u.s., accusing the white house of orchestrating the vote. >> it's deeply, deeply disappointing to the state of israel.

>> reporter: as president obama deals with the fallout, new questions about the world he's leaving to his successor. something he reflected on in his last press conference. >> there are places around the world where horrible things are happening and because of my office, because i'm president of the united states, i feel responsible. >> reporter: take syria. after calling for president assad's ouster six years ago, the civil war rages on. a political vacuum in syria and neighboring iraq paved the way for isis to rise. president obama's reluctance to go what he called all in meant he only offered limited support to moderate rebels. >> we wanted to do something, and it sounded like the right thing to do, but it was going to be impossible to do this on the cheap. >> reporter: meanwhile, russian air strikes helped regime forces tighten their grip. now aleppo in ruins. a humanitarian catastrophe unfolds. russian president president putin also on the march in europe, seizing crimea from

ukraine and moving nuclear-capable missiles to nato's doorstep. while an aggressive china expands its reach in the south china sea. experts say president obama's restraint emboldened america's adversaries. >> he's made clear that he does not see the united states leading a global security system against those predator states, be it china, be it iran, north korea, be it russia, that are challenging the status quo. >> we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. >> reporter: an early offer to engage with america's foes led to a landmark nuclear deal with iran. but it didn't stop iranian agrefgs. president-elect donald trump has threatened to tear up that deal or renegotiate it. with three weeks to go until trump takes over, world leaders are watching with hope and concern about this promise from the new commander in chief. >> it's time to shake the rust off america's foreign policy. >> there's nothing wrong with unorthodox approaches. the question is what is the basic bottom line? is vladimir putin, are the

chinese people who we can share an orderly world with? the jury is out on both of those. >> reporter: secretary of state kerry will deliver a major speech wednesday at the state department, laying out a vision for how he believes the conflict between israelis and palestinians can be resolved. and then it will be up to the trump administration to decide whether to take that advice or go its own route. elite elyse, labott, cnn, washington. joining us is david rhode, a security analyst and national investigations editor for reuters. he is in new york. thank you so much for being with us. so it appears israel is now thumbing its nose at the u.n. security council by advancing plans to build hundreds of new homes in east jerusalem despite the u.n. security council passing that resolution demanding an end to these settlements. what does this signal, do you think? >> i think of determination by

prime minister netanyahu to push ahead with these settlements. he's clearly extremely angry with the united states and the obama administration in particular for not vetoing this resolution. he argues that it would lead to less chances for peace and these new settlements do endanger the peace process. so it's an escalation from the israeli side. >> and israel is still insisting it has evidence to prove the u.s. was pushing for this resolution, even orchestrated it aparentally, that according to israel. the u.s. denies that claim. what proof do you think israel has on this? >> it's hard for me to say. i don't know. again, the israelis say they have this evidence. there was a trip where secretary of state john kerry was in new zealand. that's where some israeli officials have alleged there were some talks possibly about this resolution. the u.s., the obama administration flatly denies

that. other diplomats from the security council say the u.s. never made its position clear on the resolution until the vote itself. again, a very, very bitter fallout between the netanyahu cabinet and administration and the obama administration, and it's unprecedented. it will all change in a few weeks with donald trump taking office. but there will be more of this in the coming days i think. >> indeed. i wanted to ask you about that. because i wonder how different will u.s.-israeli relations likely be once the trump administration is sworn in? and what do you expect mr. trump to do about this u.n. security council resolution that was passed friday? >> he's dismissed the u.n. as a body and he's criticized this resolution. he lobbied against it. he made a call to egypt to ask them not to introduce the resolution. four other countries went ahead and did that. and he's appointed an ambassador that supports -- a new u.s. ambassador to israel that supports more settlements, you know, the direct opposite of the

obama administration's position. it will be a very different situation on january 20th. there's now news that tomorrow the current secretary of state john kerry will give a speech outlining the obama administration's vision for a two-state settlement. this close to the end of their term it's hard to see what impact that would have. but you me, if kerry gives the speech as planned, that will just add to more recriminations between netanyahu and obama as the end of obama's term approaches. >> and i have do ask of course where does this all leave efforts for peace in the middle east? >> it doesn't appear to be improving them. george mitchell, a former u.s. envoy on the mideast peace, he has said this resolution and the fallout politically is pushing peace farther away. the danger is that this is popular to the pro-settlement sort of base that supports netanyahu. will that lead to more radical elements that oppose a peace

deal and the palestinians, will you see protests there? if you're fueling the xreemsz on either side, that does make a peace less likely. it's a very unusual situation. and we'll see what john kerry says tomorrow. >> we'll have to just do that indeed. david rohde, thank you so much for being with us. appreciate it. >> thank you. the family of pop star george michael says they are touched by the ongoing emotional tributes. what his partner's saying about finding the singer dead on christmas day. plus, we look back on all the other music a-listers we lost this year.

welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. you are watching "cnn newsroom." it is good to have you with us. i'm george howell. >> and i'm rosemary church. we want to check the headlines for you this hour. japanese prime minister shinzo abe made an historic visit to pearl harbor on tuesday, offering condolences to those who died in the japanese attacks 75 years ago. mr. abe and u.s. president barack obama spoke of reconciliation and affirmed their nation's alliance. israel is defying a u.n. security council resolution, moving forward with its plans to build settlements in east jerusalem. the council approved a resolution last week demanding an end to settlements in east jerusalem and in the west bank. in the meantime, the u.s. secretary of state john kerry is set to give a speech on wednesday, laying out the country's vision for peace in the middle east. fans and celebrities around the world are remembering carrie fisher, the iconic actress best

known for her role as princess leia in the "star wars" movies died on tuesday. fisher suffered an apparent heart attack during a flight on friday. she was 60 years old. >> and of course the loss of another great, pop star george michael. so many people around the world are still mourning his loss. the celebration of his career and his legacy, it continues outside his home in north london. >> fans have been singing his hits, laying down flowers and cards with messages. his partner says he went to wake michael up for lunch on christmas day and found him dead in his bed lying peacefully. his partner says on twitter, "i will never stop missing you." what a year. it has been a sad year for music. we've seen so many legendary performers go, leaving behind their remarkable legacies. here's a look. february 3rd, 1959. buddy holly, richie valens, and

the big bopper killed in a plane crash. it was the day the music died. ♪ there must be some kind of way out of here ♪ then came a sad 11-month stretch in 1970 through '17 when the world lost jimi hendrix, janis joplin, jim morrison, and louis armstrong. then came 2016. like a jukebox of sad songs on repeat. so many legends lost. it began january 10th when david bowie, the iconic ziggy stardust singer, lost his 18-month-long battle with cancer. david bowie was 69 years old. ♪ living it up at the hotel california ♪ a week later eagles co-founder glenn frey, co-writer of "hotel california," died from rheumatoid arthritis complications at age 67. founding members of jefferson airplane, earth wind and fire, emerson lake & palmer and a tribe called quest passed away

in early 2016. then on april 6th we lost grizzled country music legend merle haggard. the 79-year-old died from pneumonia complications. ♪ why do we scream at each other ♪ ♪ this is what it sounds like when doves cry ♪ april 21st, we learned what it sounds like when the doves cry. the prolific, timeless sounds of prince silenced by an overdose of painkillers. prince was 57 years old. ♪ hallelujah on november 10th canadian crooner and "hallelujah" writer leonard cohen died at age 82. he released an album about mortality and god earlier in the year. three days later the master of time and space, leon russell, died in his sleep at 74. on november 18th soul and funk singer sharon jones lost her

battle with cancer. she was 60 years old. and then on christmas day british pop star george michael died from heart failure. ♪ i've got to have faith, faith, faith ♪ from faith to "freedom," the 53-year-old singer sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. 2016, a year some might say the music died. >> here to reflect on the number of losses to the world of music over the course of 2016 is bob lifsitz, music writer for lifsitz later which has been published for a quarter a century. thank you so much for being with us. so 2016, it has certainly been a tough year, with the loss of so many music legends. the most recent of course george michael. before that leonard cohen, prince, david bowie, and so, so very many others. what impact do you think the loss of all these music legends

together has had on the world around us? >> well, this is a generational change. the classic rock era seemed to go on forever, even though john lennon was shot and george harrison ultimately succumbed to cancer. we felt that these people would rule forever. so we're shocked that these heroes of ours are dying and also the torch is being passed to a younger generation. so also it affects our own sense of mortality. but it's really the passage of time which we cannot fathom. >> yeah, there is a sense of that, isn't there? i think for so many of us when any of these artists died the memories that we had of them as we were growing up seemed to die along with them. but which of these artists do you think left the biggest mark on our world? is it possible to separate them out like that? >> we can play this game, although i'm not sure that it's wholly relevant. but the three big ones that come to mind are bowie, prince, and

glenn frey of the eagles. if you look at record sales and listenership, the eagles are the biggest by far of any of these three acts. now, if you want to talk about cultural impact, prince was african-american. he crossed over to the white generation. he was also a rocker and a soul guy. so you could say wow, no one did anything bigger and over a very long period of time. david bowie had a very -- i wouldn't say brief impact. his impact was not as lengthy as prince's but he had two bites at the apple. he had the original '70s era and he also had the mtv era with "modern love" and "china girl." it appears that all these people had huge impacts. and music is tribal. so each one of these acts has their tribes. with bowie we were surprised because we did not know he was sick. with prince we were shocked because only the weekend before he was riding his bicycle and said oh, the rumors of my denies are greatly exaggerated. then he died. insiders knew that glenn frey was sick, but we believe that

our heroes are going to live beyond us. and when they predecease us we do not know what to do with our emotions. >> yes, it's true. and david bowie of course appeared to even choreograph his death, didn't he? there is a sense of that. as you mentioned it is like a whole generation of music artists have been wiped out here. so who does carry the musical torch in 2017 in moving forward, do you think? the people who are fans of the artists who died ironically do not appreciate the younger artists. we've moved to streaming in the distribution of music and what we found out is hip-hop is even bigger than it is in sales. so many people who love these acts hate hip-hop. even though prince himself occasionally embraced hip-hop. but the big acts today are basically record producers who work with people like justin beener. they make very catchy tunes. but this is very hard for baby boomers to fathom because when we look back at the deceased artists most of them were one-man bands so to speak in

that they both wrote, performed, and sang the material. whereas everything today is collaborative. so it's a giant schism in the mind of the listener, not to mention the fact that these acts had a second career on mtv and now video doesn't mean so much. so music has been the canary in the coalmine with all this digital destruction, but in music we've figured it out. we have streaming services. you participate equivalent of ten pounds, $10 a month, you can get everything. but we have not figured out the music. and what we found is we have an incredible number of niches and everyone's listening to different stuff and it's a tower of babel society. the biggest act in the world is adele. she sells ten times what anybody else does. she can sing. her songs were melody. you can sing along. is that a harbinger for the future or is it like rock & roll in that we're going to totally discard the past? i can't tell you. but it has been a very sad time for music fans. >> it most certainly has.

bob lefsetz, thank you so much for joining us and giving us your perspective on this. we certainly appreciate it. >> absolutely. great to be here. 2016 has been a tough year for the entertainment industry. we've also seen so much political division around the world. and devastating images of war like this one that no one could really forget. up next, how to process and how to cope with all of the pain. dale! oh, hey, rob. what's with the minivan? it's not mine. i don't -- dale, honey, is your tummy still hurting, or are you feeling better to ride in the front seat? oh! is this one of your motorcycling friends? hey, chin up there, dale. lots of bikers also drive cars. in fact, you can save big if you bundle them both with progressive. i'd like that. great. whoo. you've got soft hands. he uses my moisturizer. see you, dale. bye, rob.

welcome back, everyone. well, of course 2016 has been a year of hard-hitting losses. and many are ready for it to be over. in entertainment "star wars" actress carrie fisher passed away on tuesday. >> two days earlier, on christmas day we lost british pop star george michael. in the months before him we said good-bye to so many. to prince, to david bowie and leonard cohen. >> and in sports we lost boxing great muhammad ali this year.

>> on the world stage haunting images of war in the middle east. in august remember this? 5-year-old umran. his family's home destroyed by an air strike in aleppo, syria. >> the brutal civil war in syria has claimed more than 400,000 lives since it started back in 2011. the u.n. says more than 11 million people have been forced from their homes. political divides around the globe only got deeper in 2016. europe is struggling with a huge influx of revese and crumbling economies. >> britain voted to leave the european union and perhaps nothing was as divisive as the presidential election right here in the united states. >> you can change your vote to donald trump. we'll make america great again. okay? she is not going to make america great. she will never make america great.

the clintons are the sordid past. >> my opponent can say whatever he wants about me. i don't really care. >> if you know anybody who's thinking about voting for trump, well, first of all, stage an intervention. i mean, it's -- [ applause ] >> well, the good news here is 2016 just a few more days before it is on the books. but to help explain how people can help process and cope with what happened this year we're joined now by socieologist anna akbari. >> her book "startup your life: hustle and hack your way to happiness." that is a great tile. thank you for being here to help us process and cope with all that we have witnessed in 2016, a year of losses, terror attacks and political divides. what do you say to people about how they can deal with the horror that they see every

single day? >> well, you know, i think as we were just reflecting on all of the great artists that we've lost, and i think we're feeling that in particular more acutely right now because of all the other atrocities that are going on. anytime we're at a moment where there's unrest and a time of great transformation, that's when we need our entertainers the most because they're so much more than entertainers. they're the people that give us guidance, that give us emotional support, that help us to make sense of the world. but i think what we can remember at a time like this is that creativity loves a void. and so i think the space, the emptiness that we're feeling is really an opportunity for new voices to rise up and to create and express and to contribute. >> you know, as a journalist i'm used to seeing so many different things. i'm a new parent. and now certain images just hit me a lot harder than maybe they

did before. you're a mother. i'm a father. but even if you're not a parent, just simply humanity makes you really think about this image. if we can show it. i'm sure the world remembers little umran. these are the images of war. this is what happened after a home was bombed in aleppo. and these images, they're heartbreaking and they are constantly at our fingertips. these images of war. the questions about politics in the united states and around the world. that stream is right here at your fingertips. you just scroll through your social media platform and there it is. maybe you're not prepared for it but you see it and you feel the emotions there. how do people deal with that? >> well, it certainly weighs heavily. and as the new year rolls around, unfortunately, there is no single new year's resolution that's going to make it all . >> we don't have to become heros overnight, and so i think if we

remember that and we think about what 2016 has given us, because it's given us a platform for growth and change. because greatness doesn't come from perfection. it comes from adversity. and certainly 2016 has dished up plenty of that. so if we really reflect on this year, we can see it as nudging us from our complacency and giving us a call to action from which we can really spring forward and grow in ways that perhaps we didn't think for previously imaginable. >> that's a good point. >> and we saw in britain the united states and across europe we've seen politics divide people in extreme ways, political differences putting strain on families over the holidays. what do you say to people about the divides, and how unusual is it, and if we can work into your book "how you hack your way the happiness". i love the title.

what's the key? >> one of the concepts in the book is something that startups use all the time. it's a pivot. essentially a pivot is just a euphemism for failure. what startups is do is take the mistakes and challenges and reflect on them and then they repackage it into something new and different and better. and i think this divisiveness is actually an opportunity for us to pivot in ways that perhaps we weren't expecting to go. new trajectories are opening us to us as a result of them. i think that divisiveness can actually usher in opportunity. >> anna with a little apt michl on the year soon to be was 2016. just a few more days to go. anna, thank you. >> we'll be right back after the break. my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis made a simple trip to the grocery store anything but simple.

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>> carry fisher died at the age of 60 from an apparent heart attack. >> "star wars" cast members and other celebrities are reacting to her passing. ♪

♪ ♪ thank you for watching cnn news room. i'm rosemary church. >> and i'm george howell.

hour number two is up right after the break. go, go!

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