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CNN Live At Daybreak

'Hot Topics; Columbus Nightclub Shooting; Christmukkah Combines Christmas, Hannukkah

Aired December 09, 2004 - 06:30   ET

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


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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello live from New York from the Time Warner center. There's a lot going on this morning, so let's get to it, shall we?
The approval in the Senate was overwhelming, 89-2, for the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. intelligence since World War II. The Senate joined the House in approving the bill in a rare show of unity on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: In addition to the actual bill that we adopt, we send a message to the American people and to ourselves that even at the end of this very polarized 180th session of Congress, when the chips were down, when America's security was on the line, we forgot our party labels, we forget Republican-Democrat, we were all Americans, and we refused to give up on getting this bill done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The bill is now on President Bush's desk, and he is expected to sign it into law very soon.

So, now that our country is about to get a brand-new intelligence reform bill, will it mean we are better protected from terrorists? Or, as a "Wall Street Journal" editorial puts it, Washington gets another intelligence bureaucracy. Great.

It is our "Hot Topic" this morning. Ron Brownstein, our political analyst, is here to share his knowledge.

Good morning.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: So, Ron, let's start with who this intelligence director might be. Will it be an insider with intelligence ties, like, say Porter Goss?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, when Porter Goss was appointed to the CIA job earlier this year, the widespread expectation was that, in fact, he would be elevated to the director of national intelligence once the post was created, assuming Congress went along.

In fact, though, there has been a lot of controversy over his tenure. He's become a somewhat divisive figure in the CIA with a number of people leaving office. So, there has been more discussion lately about potential outsiders: Lee Hamilton and Tom Kean from the commission itself, the 9/11 Commission; Sam Nunn, the former Democratic senator; Warren Rudman, the former Republican senator, has also been involved.

My guess is that President Bush will be reluctant to move to someone with an independent power base from outside for this job. I would look for someone that the administration feels personally closer to.

COSTELLO: Interesting. You know, whoever gets the job, some say this is an impossible task. I mean, you have to organize and relate to 15 different spy agencies. Each has their own little fiefdom. So, it's going to be a tough job.

The editorial in "The Wall Street Journal" says it's just another layer of Washington bureaucracy, and I want to quote you something from that editorial. It says: "No spy satellite is boosted into orbit. Nobody is taught to speak Urdu, Farsi, Pashtun or Arabic. No intelligence assets are recruited in Iran or Syria or any other country that actually threatens us."

So, "The Wall Street Journal"...

BROWNSTEIN: And that is...

COSTELLO: Go ahead.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, that is the argument that George Tenet, the former occupant of the job, has made, and indeed that the White House initially made as the 9/11 Commission moved towards its final recommendations. It would simply add another layer of bureaucracy between the president and the CIA.

The advocates, though, have an argument on the other side, Carol. That this would inspire greater coordination of effort and also greater sharing of information by having one person at the top of the pyramid.

Look, we are in the midst of the greatest reorganization of our national security bureaucracy since World War II between the Department of Homeland Security and now this director of national intelligence. These are enormously difficult and complex tasks. There are going to be lots of bumps along the way, as there are in melding all of these agencies and the Department of Homeland Security.

But the hope is that if you do create this kind of structure, you have a better chance of the left hand knowing what the right hand was doing. And as the 9/11 Commission showed, that lack of communication was a big problem leading into the attacks.

COSTELLO: Ron Brownstein from Washington, thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you. COSTELLO: There are a few more political "Hot Topics" for you this morning: speculation that Treasury Secretary John Snow was on the way out. They were greatly exaggerated. President Bush called Snow a valued member of the economic team, and asked him to stay on at the Treasury Department. Snow replaced Paul O'Neill as treasury secretary earlier this year.

Al Sharpton made a pretty penny on the Kerry campaign. The former Democratic presidential candidate was paid $86,000 to stump for Senator Kerry in several cities. Most of the money went for travel expenses, although Sharpton did get $35,000 as a consulting fee.

We talked yesterday about Howard Dean's future and the Democratic Party. And he had plenty to say about the subject during a stop at George Washington University.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When some people say we should change direction, in essence they're arguing that our basic for guiding principles can be altered or modified. They cannot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Aides say Dean is deciding between a 2008 presidential run or a run for chairmanship of the party.

A terrifying scene for concertgoers in Columbus, Ohio. A gunman jumps on stage, shoots the lead guitarist of the band and other members of the band. Then he turns the gun on the crowd.

For the latest on this, let's go to Columbus and Tracy McCool from CNN affiliate -- what affiliate are you from, Tracy?

TRACY MCCOOL, CNN AFFILIATE WJW REPORTER: Carol, I'm from WJW out of Cleveland.

COSTELLO: Out of Cleveland.

MCCOOL: Yes. And as you mentioned, it certainly has been a very deadly night here in Columbus. We're actually live outside the Alrosa Villa, where a number of people gathered last night to see the band, a very popular band called Damageplan. They were just seconds, seconds, into their first song when the shots rang out.

Now, this happened right around 10:18 last night. Damageplan had just started playing their act. Just 30 seconds into the first song, a man with a gun walked up on the stage and started firing.

Now, witnesses say the band's guitarist, Darrell Dimebag Abbott, was shot at close range at least five times. Eventually, the gunman turned his semiautomatic on the crowd. Witnesses say at first they thought this was part of the act, but soon realized something was very, very wrong.

There was a uniformed officer in the area when the call for help came in. Witnesses say when the officer arrived, the gunman had taken a hostage. That's when the officer fired, killing the suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wasn't like he rushed the stage. He went on to the side like he knew how to get there. He went up around the left-hand side, walked right behind it, right on stage straight for the guitarist like he had something with him and just started unloading on him. He probably shot him about five times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCCOOL: And again, the investigation continues here at the Alrosa Villa on the north side of Columbus this morning. We understand that, Carol, that about 60 detectives have been called in to interview all of the witnesses. About 500 people gathered inside this nightclub to see the band.

The names of the victims have not been released, along with the name of the shooter as well. And it's unclear if that guitarist is among the dead.

COSTELLO: Well, Tracy, just a question about this guitarist, because he was very popular in the heavy metal community. His name was Dimebag Darrell, and he came from a more popular group, a more popular group, you know, in our pop culture, called Pantera. Do you know anymore about him?

MCCOOL: Well, we do understand that Abbott and another person with this band, once members of that popular heavy metal group called Pantera, apparently they were hot back in the '80s and '90s. This group, Damageplan, on a national tour, and they still had quite a following.

COSTELLO: And the other question I had for you, there was no security at the doors to this nightclub.

MCCOOL: There was security inside. The security, they were bouncers. And then normally here in Columbus at many of the nightclubs, they have uniformed police officers outside doing security in the parking lot. The bouncers take care of everything inside. And if they're needed, the police officers will be called in.

Here at the Alrosa Villa last night did not have a uniformed police officer on duty in the parking lot. Apparently the bar owner didn't feel like the crowd was big enough to have security outside in the parking lot.

COSTELLO: Tracy McCool reporting live from Columbus from WJW in Cleveland. Thanks so much.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, want to give the gift of green this holiday season? There's a right way and a wrong way to give financial presents. Ali Velshi will explain.

And you've got religious friends of all faiths. What kind of card do you send? Wait until you see what some people are putting in the mail.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:41 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Witnesses believe a gunman was targeting the band when he opened fire last night during a heavy metal concert in Columbus, Ohio. Five people are dead, including the gunman and at least one member of the band, Damageplan.

In money news, if you want to trade it in or resell it someday, buy a Honda. For the second straight year, "Automotive Lease Guide" picks Honda as the brand that keeps its value best.

In culture, R&B singer Usher picked up 11 trophies at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. Usher had the biggest album and four No. 1 singles this year.

In sports, the outgoing president of Notre Dame University disagrees with the school's decision to fire football Coach Tyrone Willingham. Reverend Edward Malloy says Willingham with 20 wins and 15 losses over three seasons should have had more time to succeed.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

Martha Stewart may not be ready for daytime TV right now, but she will be next year when her prison and home detention sentences have been served. It was announced yesterday that Stewart, the domestic lifestyle mava (ph) -- maven, rather, will host a daily syndicated TV show beginning next fall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK BURNETT, "SURVIVOR" CREATOR: Millions of people feel like Martha got a raw deal, and America loves comeback stories. And celebrities are people, like everybody else, and are going to be on the show, as well as regular fans who will be in the audience interacting with Martha. So that when it comes down to style, decorating, cooking or just life, Martha is interacting with people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The "New York Post" reported this week that Stewart's company was near agreement with NBC on a five-day-a-week show that could pay Stewart $8 million a year.

When reindeers and menorahs collide, you get something that looks a little like this. Yes. Cashing in on the newest spin on the holiday season, Christmukkah, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Live from six blocks away, let's head to the "AMERICAN MORNING" studios and check in with Bill and Soledad to see what's coming up on their show.

Good morning.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol. Good morning to you.

O'BRIEN: Good morning to you. Some of the headlines that we're taking a look at this morning, that NBA brawl. Charges are now filed against five players and five fans. A look this morning at just who could get jail time. We'll talk with one of the fans who has been charged. We'll also talk with announcer Dick Enberg of CBS Sports about all of this.

HEMMER: Also, this story developing out of central Ohio. Carol, you've been talking about it a lot today. A nightclub shooting there in Columbus. Five are dead, including a band member performing at the time on stage. A number of questions are already out there today. How did the gunman get in and why? What was the security there? We'll talk to Columbus police and also an eyewitness as to what happened there, and making a lot of headlines already today.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, demolition dynasty. For one family, it's the family business of blowing stuff up. We'll talk to them about how they got started and some of the most impressive things that they've brought down. That's ahead.

HEMMER: We call that the coolest story of the morning.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it is the coolest story of the morning. That's ahead this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING." Carol, see you in just a little bit.

COSTELLO: All right. That is a cool story. Thanks to you both.

Oy, joy, 'tis the season for Christmas trees and dradles (ph). The White House menorah and the Capitol Hill Christmas tree will light up today. Both are signs for interfaith families that Christmukkah is on the way. In case you're a little sleepy, that's the combination celebration of Christmas and Hanukkah.

And if you're not a 20-something, the word, Christmukkah, is gaining popularity, thanks to an episode of Fox's, "The OC." And that has spawned a bit of controversy, which is funny, since holiday cards depicting a blend of the seasons have been around for a long time. In fact, Christmukkah cards and gifts are becoming incredibly popular.

Pam Fink is with American Greetings. She's an Orthodox Jew and is the woman behind their line of blended holiday cards. She joins us live from Cleveland this morning.

Good morning. PAM FINK, AMERICAN GREETINGS: Hi. Good morning. Happy to be here.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. I want to show our viewers an example. This card -- you're going to see it in just a second. It depicts Santa as saying, "On Izzi (ph), on Eli, on Abe," to his reindeer. And at the bottom, the line, "If Santa converted," which is very cute.

But, you know, some religious figures out there say that this blending of the holidays is not such a good idea, because Hannukkah and Christmas ought to be separate.

FINK: Yes. I mean, they obviously have very, very different bases. And American Greetings cards in this vein are really just treating the subjects in a light-hearted way, kind of comparing the icons of the season and sending out a humorous message.

COSTELLO: Yet we like the humorous message. But for Christians celebrating Christmas, sometimes humor is a little too much, because it's a pretty serious holiday for Christians. And as for Jews, that holiday is the celebration of Jewish culture. So, they're quite different holidays.

FINK: Definitely. Definitely. And again, we don't take it too far. We stay within humorous boundaries. And we know these cards aren't for everyone. American Greetings also offers a wide variety of conventional cards with traditional Hannukkah subject matter and, of course, our Christmas line that has a traditional Christmas matter.

But these kinds of cards we just want people to get a chuckle out of, send good wishes for the season, and just enjoy.

COSTELLO: Another card that you designed, this one depicts Santa at a bar buying a beer for a man who seems to be an Orthodox Jew, which is really cute. How do you know, though, when a line is crossed or not?

FINK: Well, we haven't had any consumer complaints that I know of. Again, it's not for everybody. Like books or music, people have different tastes. But even the card that you just mentioned, it just says "Shalom, happy holidays." You know, one faith reaching out to another faith and sending just a nice message to say hello at the holiday time.

COSTELLO: See, it's interesting you say that no one has ever complained about your cards, because since this episode of "The OC," people are complaining in droves.

FINK: Oh, really?

COSTELLO: So, maybe...

FINK: Well, as far as our product, I don't know of any complaints of our products. You know, again, we offer a wide variety. So, if people do not want to choose this message, they can certainly choose something else to send.

COSTELLO: All right. Pam Fink live from Cleveland. Thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

If you just can't decide what gifts to give this holiday season, think no more. DAYBREAK contributor Ali Velshi has a gift idea that's a perfect fit for just about everyone on your -- are you ready?

ALI VELSHI, CNN DAYBREAK CONTRIBUTOR: Well, for Christmukkah.

COSTELLO: For Christmukkah.

VELSHI: Yes. It's the holiday season. People are giving gifts all over the place. So, a lot of people think about giving cash. They are very common gifts for cash. I just want to give some things for you to think about.

One of the things that you need to think about is if you are giving cash, you can give up to $11,000 per person tax-free. You can give $11,000 to all sorts of people, and they don't pay any tax on it.

Now, bonds are a little bit different. Savings bonds are very popular. But if you do have savings bonds, they're a little different. Now, I spoke to one of our good friends, financial planner Doug Flynn. He's with FlynnZito.com. And he was saying, know this before you give savings bonds to someone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG FLYNN, FLYNNZITO.COM: With savings bonds, however, you have to be careful in gifting over savings bond you already own, because when you do, you're transferring over your original purchase price to the recipient. So, if it's an old bond that has highly appreciated, you're actually turning over the tax bill to the younger person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Now, this is what we're talking about. The issue that when you give a gift, you're being generous, but you want to make sure that you're not passing on a tax burden to other people.

Another popular gift to give is stocks. Now, if you are giving stocks, it gets just a little bit more complicated than this. If a stock you bought at a lower price, if you want to pass that on to somebody else at a higher price, this is what you need to think about. When the recipient goes to sell that stock, they are actually going to pay the tax on the difference between what you paid for it and what they get for it.

COSTELLO: Oh.

VELSHI: So, you could end up giving somebody a bigger tax bill than you planned to. So, make sure, you know, you're being generous. You're giving this big gift over, and they might get saddled with this huge bill and never be able to actually sell the stock.

Now, one of the most interesting things that you can do for somebody is set up a college savings plan.

COSTELLO: Yes.

VELSHI: 529 college savings plans. And we can talk in detail about that a little later. But the beneficiary of a 529 plan can be absolutely anyone. It doesn't have to be a family member. It doesn't have to be -- people set them up for themselves, in fact. So, they work like a Roth IRA. It's money you've already paid taxes on. You put it into an account. And the money grows tax-free as long as it's used for education.

Let's see what Doug has to say about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLYNN: If you're the recipient of a college savings plan, that money absolutely needs to be used for college; otherwise, there will be a 10 percent penalty and the income tax on any of the gains that were made on that account.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Now, what if the ungrateful little tyke decides college isn't in the future. He wants to be a rock star. You can't use the 529 money for that. Will your money have gone to waste? Doug?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLYNN: It leaves your estate for estate purposes, but you can still control it by changing the beneficiary. There isn't any other asset that I know of that you can actually give money to control and then change the beneficiary if you don't like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: And that's the benefit of it. The bottom line is if the person you name doesn't want to go to college, you just change it over. You get to control the money.

COSTELLO: That just seems nasty, though, because it's a gift to that person.

VELSHI: But it's -- and there are other ways of giving gifts to people where they control it, but a lot of people say, my kid can't handle money. If my parents had options like this, they would never have given me any money, because it would have been better if they had just stayed with it and managed it themselves.

COSTELLO: I think we got that one.

VELSHI: Yes.

COSTELLO: Ali Velshi, thank you.

VELSHI: The guy who really shouldn't be giving people any money advice. But, you know, I wake up early. COSTELLO: That's not true. I wake up early, and we're glad.

Coming up next, parents learn to just say no. But first, this is DAYBREAK for a Thursday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Finally on DAYBREAK, are you tired of telling your kids to clean up their rooms and do their chores? Then go on strike. That's what the Barnards did. Mom and dad are camping out on the picket line, also (UNINTELLIGIBLE) their driveway in Florida. They refuse to cook, clean or drive their two children anywhere until the kids shape up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAT BARNARD, MOM ON STRIKE: I'm quite stiff and sore in the morning, but I'm digging in for the long haul. If we have to be out here at Christmas, we have to be out here at Christmas. Whatever it takes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Wow! Cat moved into a tent, as you can see, after her son refused to help her with the yard work on Sunday, even though she was recovering from oral surgery.

I don't know, Rob. I think my parents would have kicked me out of the house. I think they have it backwards somehow.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, there's no -- how could anyone kick you out of the house, Carol?

COSTELLO: Oh, believe me.

MARCIANO: OK, we'll move along then. I don't want to ask you anymore questions.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello. Thank you for joining us this morning. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.


Aired December 9, 2004 - 06:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello live from New York from the Time Warner center. There's a lot going on this morning, so let's get to it, shall we?
The approval in the Senate was overwhelming, 89-2, for the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. intelligence since World War II. The Senate joined the House in approving the bill in a rare show of unity on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: In addition to the actual bill that we adopt, we send a message to the American people and to ourselves that even at the end of this very polarized 180th session of Congress, when the chips were down, when America's security was on the line, we forgot our party labels, we forget Republican-Democrat, we were all Americans, and we refused to give up on getting this bill done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The bill is now on President Bush's desk, and he is expected to sign it into law very soon.

So, now that our country is about to get a brand-new intelligence reform bill, will it mean we are better protected from terrorists? Or, as a "Wall Street Journal" editorial puts it, Washington gets another intelligence bureaucracy. Great.

It is our "Hot Topic" this morning. Ron Brownstein, our political analyst, is here to share his knowledge.

Good morning.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: So, Ron, let's start with who this intelligence director might be. Will it be an insider with intelligence ties, like, say Porter Goss?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, when Porter Goss was appointed to the CIA job earlier this year, the widespread expectation was that, in fact, he would be elevated to the director of national intelligence once the post was created, assuming Congress went along.

In fact, though, there has been a lot of controversy over his tenure. He's become a somewhat divisive figure in the CIA with a number of people leaving office. So, there has been more discussion lately about potential outsiders: Lee Hamilton and Tom Kean from the commission itself, the 9/11 Commission; Sam Nunn, the former Democratic senator; Warren Rudman, the former Republican senator, has also been involved.

My guess is that President Bush will be reluctant to move to someone with an independent power base from outside for this job. I would look for someone that the administration feels personally closer to.

COSTELLO: Interesting. You know, whoever gets the job, some say this is an impossible task. I mean, you have to organize and relate to 15 different spy agencies. Each has their own little fiefdom. So, it's going to be a tough job.

The editorial in "The Wall Street Journal" says it's just another layer of Washington bureaucracy, and I want to quote you something from that editorial. It says: "No spy satellite is boosted into orbit. Nobody is taught to speak Urdu, Farsi, Pashtun or Arabic. No intelligence assets are recruited in Iran or Syria or any other country that actually threatens us."

So, "The Wall Street Journal"...

BROWNSTEIN: And that is...

COSTELLO: Go ahead.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, that is the argument that George Tenet, the former occupant of the job, has made, and indeed that the White House initially made as the 9/11 Commission moved towards its final recommendations. It would simply add another layer of bureaucracy between the president and the CIA.

The advocates, though, have an argument on the other side, Carol. That this would inspire greater coordination of effort and also greater sharing of information by having one person at the top of the pyramid.

Look, we are in the midst of the greatest reorganization of our national security bureaucracy since World War II between the Department of Homeland Security and now this director of national intelligence. These are enormously difficult and complex tasks. There are going to be lots of bumps along the way, as there are in melding all of these agencies and the Department of Homeland Security.

But the hope is that if you do create this kind of structure, you have a better chance of the left hand knowing what the right hand was doing. And as the 9/11 Commission showed, that lack of communication was a big problem leading into the attacks.

COSTELLO: Ron Brownstein from Washington, thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you. COSTELLO: There are a few more political "Hot Topics" for you this morning: speculation that Treasury Secretary John Snow was on the way out. They were greatly exaggerated. President Bush called Snow a valued member of the economic team, and asked him to stay on at the Treasury Department. Snow replaced Paul O'Neill as treasury secretary earlier this year.

Al Sharpton made a pretty penny on the Kerry campaign. The former Democratic presidential candidate was paid $86,000 to stump for Senator Kerry in several cities. Most of the money went for travel expenses, although Sharpton did get $35,000 as a consulting fee.

We talked yesterday about Howard Dean's future and the Democratic Party. And he had plenty to say about the subject during a stop at George Washington University.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When some people say we should change direction, in essence they're arguing that our basic for guiding principles can be altered or modified. They cannot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Aides say Dean is deciding between a 2008 presidential run or a run for chairmanship of the party.

A terrifying scene for concertgoers in Columbus, Ohio. A gunman jumps on stage, shoots the lead guitarist of the band and other members of the band. Then he turns the gun on the crowd.

For the latest on this, let's go to Columbus and Tracy McCool from CNN affiliate -- what affiliate are you from, Tracy?

TRACY MCCOOL, CNN AFFILIATE WJW REPORTER: Carol, I'm from WJW out of Cleveland.

COSTELLO: Out of Cleveland.

MCCOOL: Yes. And as you mentioned, it certainly has been a very deadly night here in Columbus. We're actually live outside the Alrosa Villa, where a number of people gathered last night to see the band, a very popular band called Damageplan. They were just seconds, seconds, into their first song when the shots rang out.

Now, this happened right around 10:18 last night. Damageplan had just started playing their act. Just 30 seconds into the first song, a man with a gun walked up on the stage and started firing.

Now, witnesses say the band's guitarist, Darrell Dimebag Abbott, was shot at close range at least five times. Eventually, the gunman turned his semiautomatic on the crowd. Witnesses say at first they thought this was part of the act, but soon realized something was very, very wrong.

There was a uniformed officer in the area when the call for help came in. Witnesses say when the officer arrived, the gunman had taken a hostage. That's when the officer fired, killing the suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wasn't like he rushed the stage. He went on to the side like he knew how to get there. He went up around the left-hand side, walked right behind it, right on stage straight for the guitarist like he had something with him and just started unloading on him. He probably shot him about five times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCCOOL: And again, the investigation continues here at the Alrosa Villa on the north side of Columbus this morning. We understand that, Carol, that about 60 detectives have been called in to interview all of the witnesses. About 500 people gathered inside this nightclub to see the band.

The names of the victims have not been released, along with the name of the shooter as well. And it's unclear if that guitarist is among the dead.

COSTELLO: Well, Tracy, just a question about this guitarist, because he was very popular in the heavy metal community. His name was Dimebag Darrell, and he came from a more popular group, a more popular group, you know, in our pop culture, called Pantera. Do you know anymore about him?

MCCOOL: Well, we do understand that Abbott and another person with this band, once members of that popular heavy metal group called Pantera, apparently they were hot back in the '80s and '90s. This group, Damageplan, on a national tour, and they still had quite a following.

COSTELLO: And the other question I had for you, there was no security at the doors to this nightclub.

MCCOOL: There was security inside. The security, they were bouncers. And then normally here in Columbus at many of the nightclubs, they have uniformed police officers outside doing security in the parking lot. The bouncers take care of everything inside. And if they're needed, the police officers will be called in.

Here at the Alrosa Villa last night did not have a uniformed police officer on duty in the parking lot. Apparently the bar owner didn't feel like the crowd was big enough to have security outside in the parking lot.

COSTELLO: Tracy McCool reporting live from Columbus from WJW in Cleveland. Thanks so much.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, want to give the gift of green this holiday season? There's a right way and a wrong way to give financial presents. Ali Velshi will explain.

And you've got religious friends of all faiths. What kind of card do you send? Wait until you see what some people are putting in the mail.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:41 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Witnesses believe a gunman was targeting the band when he opened fire last night during a heavy metal concert in Columbus, Ohio. Five people are dead, including the gunman and at least one member of the band, Damageplan.

In money news, if you want to trade it in or resell it someday, buy a Honda. For the second straight year, "Automotive Lease Guide" picks Honda as the brand that keeps its value best.

In culture, R&B singer Usher picked up 11 trophies at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. Usher had the biggest album and four No. 1 singles this year.

In sports, the outgoing president of Notre Dame University disagrees with the school's decision to fire football Coach Tyrone Willingham. Reverend Edward Malloy says Willingham with 20 wins and 15 losses over three seasons should have had more time to succeed.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

Martha Stewart may not be ready for daytime TV right now, but she will be next year when her prison and home detention sentences have been served. It was announced yesterday that Stewart, the domestic lifestyle mava (ph) -- maven, rather, will host a daily syndicated TV show beginning next fall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK BURNETT, "SURVIVOR" CREATOR: Millions of people feel like Martha got a raw deal, and America loves comeback stories. And celebrities are people, like everybody else, and are going to be on the show, as well as regular fans who will be in the audience interacting with Martha. So that when it comes down to style, decorating, cooking or just life, Martha is interacting with people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The "New York Post" reported this week that Stewart's company was near agreement with NBC on a five-day-a-week show that could pay Stewart $8 million a year.

When reindeers and menorahs collide, you get something that looks a little like this. Yes. Cashing in on the newest spin on the holiday season, Christmukkah, next.

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COSTELLO: Live from six blocks away, let's head to the "AMERICAN MORNING" studios and check in with Bill and Soledad to see what's coming up on their show.

Good morning.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol. Good morning to you.

O'BRIEN: Good morning to you. Some of the headlines that we're taking a look at this morning, that NBA brawl. Charges are now filed against five players and five fans. A look this morning at just who could get jail time. We'll talk with one of the fans who has been charged. We'll also talk with announcer Dick Enberg of CBS Sports about all of this.

HEMMER: Also, this story developing out of central Ohio. Carol, you've been talking about it a lot today. A nightclub shooting there in Columbus. Five are dead, including a band member performing at the time on stage. A number of questions are already out there today. How did the gunman get in and why? What was the security there? We'll talk to Columbus police and also an eyewitness as to what happened there, and making a lot of headlines already today.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, demolition dynasty. For one family, it's the family business of blowing stuff up. We'll talk to them about how they got started and some of the most impressive things that they've brought down. That's ahead.

HEMMER: We call that the coolest story of the morning.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it is the coolest story of the morning. That's ahead this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING." Carol, see you in just a little bit.

COSTELLO: All right. That is a cool story. Thanks to you both.

Oy, joy, 'tis the season for Christmas trees and dradles (ph). The White House menorah and the Capitol Hill Christmas tree will light up today. Both are signs for interfaith families that Christmukkah is on the way. In case you're a little sleepy, that's the combination celebration of Christmas and Hanukkah.

And if you're not a 20-something, the word, Christmukkah, is gaining popularity, thanks to an episode of Fox's, "The OC." And that has spawned a bit of controversy, which is funny, since holiday cards depicting a blend of the seasons have been around for a long time. In fact, Christmukkah cards and gifts are becoming incredibly popular.

Pam Fink is with American Greetings. She's an Orthodox Jew and is the woman behind their line of blended holiday cards. She joins us live from Cleveland this morning.

Good morning. PAM FINK, AMERICAN GREETINGS: Hi. Good morning. Happy to be here.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. I want to show our viewers an example. This card -- you're going to see it in just a second. It depicts Santa as saying, "On Izzi (ph), on Eli, on Abe," to his reindeer. And at the bottom, the line, "If Santa converted," which is very cute.

But, you know, some religious figures out there say that this blending of the holidays is not such a good idea, because Hannukkah and Christmas ought to be separate.

FINK: Yes. I mean, they obviously have very, very different bases. And American Greetings cards in this vein are really just treating the subjects in a light-hearted way, kind of comparing the icons of the season and sending out a humorous message.

COSTELLO: Yet we like the humorous message. But for Christians celebrating Christmas, sometimes humor is a little too much, because it's a pretty serious holiday for Christians. And as for Jews, that holiday is the celebration of Jewish culture. So, they're quite different holidays.

FINK: Definitely. Definitely. And again, we don't take it too far. We stay within humorous boundaries. And we know these cards aren't for everyone. American Greetings also offers a wide variety of conventional cards with traditional Hannukkah subject matter and, of course, our Christmas line that has a traditional Christmas matter.

But these kinds of cards we just want people to get a chuckle out of, send good wishes for the season, and just enjoy.

COSTELLO: Another card that you designed, this one depicts Santa at a bar buying a beer for a man who seems to be an Orthodox Jew, which is really cute. How do you know, though, when a line is crossed or not?

FINK: Well, we haven't had any consumer complaints that I know of. Again, it's not for everybody. Like books or music, people have different tastes. But even the card that you just mentioned, it just says "Shalom, happy holidays." You know, one faith reaching out to another faith and sending just a nice message to say hello at the holiday time.

COSTELLO: See, it's interesting you say that no one has ever complained about your cards, because since this episode of "The OC," people are complaining in droves.

FINK: Oh, really?

COSTELLO: So, maybe...

FINK: Well, as far as our product, I don't know of any complaints of our products. You know, again, we offer a wide variety. So, if people do not want to choose this message, they can certainly choose something else to send.

COSTELLO: All right. Pam Fink live from Cleveland. Thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

If you just can't decide what gifts to give this holiday season, think no more. DAYBREAK contributor Ali Velshi has a gift idea that's a perfect fit for just about everyone on your -- are you ready?

ALI VELSHI, CNN DAYBREAK CONTRIBUTOR: Well, for Christmukkah.

COSTELLO: For Christmukkah.

VELSHI: Yes. It's the holiday season. People are giving gifts all over the place. So, a lot of people think about giving cash. They are very common gifts for cash. I just want to give some things for you to think about.

One of the things that you need to think about is if you are giving cash, you can give up to $11,000 per person tax-free. You can give $11,000 to all sorts of people, and they don't pay any tax on it.

Now, bonds are a little bit different. Savings bonds are very popular. But if you do have savings bonds, they're a little different. Now, I spoke to one of our good friends, financial planner Doug Flynn. He's with FlynnZito.com. And he was saying, know this before you give savings bonds to someone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG FLYNN, FLYNNZITO.COM: With savings bonds, however, you have to be careful in gifting over savings bond you already own, because when you do, you're transferring over your original purchase price to the recipient. So, if it's an old bond that has highly appreciated, you're actually turning over the tax bill to the younger person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Now, this is what we're talking about. The issue that when you give a gift, you're being generous, but you want to make sure that you're not passing on a tax burden to other people.

Another popular gift to give is stocks. Now, if you are giving stocks, it gets just a little bit more complicated than this. If a stock you bought at a lower price, if you want to pass that on to somebody else at a higher price, this is what you need to think about. When the recipient goes to sell that stock, they are actually going to pay the tax on the difference between what you paid for it and what they get for it.

COSTELLO: Oh.

VELSHI: So, you could end up giving somebody a bigger tax bill than you planned to. So, make sure, you know, you're being generous. You're giving this big gift over, and they might get saddled with this huge bill and never be able to actually sell the stock.

Now, one of the most interesting things that you can do for somebody is set up a college savings plan.

COSTELLO: Yes.

VELSHI: 529 college savings plans. And we can talk in detail about that a little later. But the beneficiary of a 529 plan can be absolutely anyone. It doesn't have to be a family member. It doesn't have to be -- people set them up for themselves, in fact. So, they work like a Roth IRA. It's money you've already paid taxes on. You put it into an account. And the money grows tax-free as long as it's used for education.

Let's see what Doug has to say about this.

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FLYNN: If you're the recipient of a college savings plan, that money absolutely needs to be used for college; otherwise, there will be a 10 percent penalty and the income tax on any of the gains that were made on that account.

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VELSHI: Now, what if the ungrateful little tyke decides college isn't in the future. He wants to be a rock star. You can't use the 529 money for that. Will your money have gone to waste? Doug?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLYNN: It leaves your estate for estate purposes, but you can still control it by changing the beneficiary. There isn't any other asset that I know of that you can actually give money to control and then change the beneficiary if you don't like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: And that's the benefit of it. The bottom line is if the person you name doesn't want to go to college, you just change it over. You get to control the money.

COSTELLO: That just seems nasty, though, because it's a gift to that person.

VELSHI: But it's -- and there are other ways of giving gifts to people where they control it, but a lot of people say, my kid can't handle money. If my parents had options like this, they would never have given me any money, because it would have been better if they had just stayed with it and managed it themselves.

COSTELLO: I think we got that one.

VELSHI: Yes.

COSTELLO: Ali Velshi, thank you.

VELSHI: The guy who really shouldn't be giving people any money advice. But, you know, I wake up early. COSTELLO: That's not true. I wake up early, and we're glad.

Coming up next, parents learn to just say no. But first, this is DAYBREAK for a Thursday morning.

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COSTELLO: Finally on DAYBREAK, are you tired of telling your kids to clean up their rooms and do their chores? Then go on strike. That's what the Barnards did. Mom and dad are camping out on the picket line, also (UNINTELLIGIBLE) their driveway in Florida. They refuse to cook, clean or drive their two children anywhere until the kids shape up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAT BARNARD, MOM ON STRIKE: I'm quite stiff and sore in the morning, but I'm digging in for the long haul. If we have to be out here at Christmas, we have to be out here at Christmas. Whatever it takes.

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COSTELLO: Wow! Cat moved into a tent, as you can see, after her son refused to help her with the yard work on Sunday, even though she was recovering from oral surgery.

I don't know, Rob. I think my parents would have kicked me out of the house. I think they have it backwards somehow.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, there's no -- how could anyone kick you out of the house, Carol?

COSTELLO: Oh, believe me.

MARCIANO: OK, we'll move along then. I don't want to ask you anymore questions.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello. Thank you for joining us this morning. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

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