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CNN Live At Daybreak
Latest Developments in Investigation into Nightclub Shooting Spree in Columbus, Ohio; Recapping Closing Arguments in Penalty Phase of Scott Peterson Trial
Aired December 10, 2004 - 05:00 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we've got many officers on the way, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, we...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, listen. We've got officers on the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The cries of terror from a nightclub as people realize that gunshots are not part of the show.
The government decides 600,000 Dodge Durango and Dakota trucks may not be safe for you to drive.
And coming out of the dark -- it's time to see the light and beat those sad emotions.
It is Friday, and thank goodness for that.
It's December 10.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, jurors will be back for deliberations this morning in the penalty phase of the Scott Peterson trial. They deliberated for two hours yesterday following closing arguments.
DaimlerChrysler has been asked to recall hundreds of thousands of Dodge trucks due to possible problems with their wheels falling off. The investigation involves Durango and Dakota trucks made between 2000 and 2003. The FBI is warning that terrorists could use lasers to blind airline pilots in flight. A September incident in Salt Lake City where a pilot was injured by a laser during landing is still under investigation. Six crew members remain missing two days after their freighter ran aground off the coast of Alaska. They were lost when a Coast Guard helicopter crashed during rescue operations. The resulting fuel spill from the freighter could take months to clean up.
To the forecast center.
Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers this morning -- good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Police say they may never know just what prompted the deadly shooting at a Columbus, Ohio nightclub. Five people were killed, including the lead guitarist and founder of the band Damageplan. And this morning, two people employed by the band remain in critical condition.
CNN's Keith Oppenheim has more on this story from Columbus.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One night after the mourners came. Holding candles and holding each other, young people stood in front of the nightclub where a rock star's life came to a brutal end.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Someone is shooting the band on the stage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone's shooting the band on the stage?
OPPENHEIM: The emergency calls reflect the chaos. A man identified as 25-year-old Nathan Gale jumped onto the stage and shot Darrell Abbott, the lead guitarist of the heavy metal band called Damageplan. The gunman also fired at the crowd, killing three others, and the shots can be heard on the 911 line.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're still shooting.
OPPENHEIM: Two hundred fifty concertgoers scattered, fearing for their lives.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to get out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am, ma'am, get out of the building. Get out of the building.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't! I can't!
OPPENHEIM: Investigators believe more people might have been killed if not for Officer James Niggemeyer, who ended the rampage with one shot, killing Nathan Gale.
Darrell Abbott was known in the heavy metal world as "Dimebag" Darrell. He and his brother formed Damageplan after their previous band, the Grammy nominated Pantera, broke up last year. Suspicious fans have their own theories as to what caused Nathan Gale to kill.
NATHAN HEIBERGER, DAMAGEPLAN FAN: It was basically a rumor. Nobody was for sure Pantera ever really broke up. And this kid like took it way too far and put the blame on them. And I think he like acted out on it.
OPPENHEIM (on camera): Police are not jumping to the same conclusions. They say they don't know what caused Nathan Gale to kill a man who, to many fans, was an icon of hard core rock music.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Columbus, Ohio.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: We'll talk much more about this in the coming minutes on DAYBREAK.
In other news across America this morning, the FBI investigating the disappearance of a Wisconsin woman during a cruise to Mexico. Agents say they are not ruling out anything, including the possibility she jumped or fell from the ship at sea. Employees found her purse near the ship's railing, but she wasn't found during a search of the surrounding waters.
A West Point cadet is facing life in prison after being charged with raping a female cadet. Tracey Rivers was also charged with indecent assault for allegedly breaking into the rooms of four separate female cadets while they slept. Another cadet was charged with unlawful entry and indecent acts in a separate incident.
Nurses coming to the United States for work may have to wait up to three years to get work permits. Immigration officials are blocking a shortcut that allowed thousands of nurses to obtain temporary work permits in just 60 days. The policy change could leave many hospitals understaffed during a nationwide nurse shortage.
The prosecution says Scott Peterson is a monster who should be put to death. The defense claims the convicted murderer's life is worth saving. In just a matter of hours, jurors will try again to decide if he'll spend the rest of his life in prison or be put to death.
CNN's Ted Rowlands brings us up to speed.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In an effort to save Scott Peterson's life, a subdued Mark Geragos begged jurors to ..".end this cycle now. There's no reason to put him to death." Geragos went on to say that when all is said and done, putting Peterson to death wouldn't bring Laci back and wouldn't bring closure to her mother and the rest of her family, saying, "I think it will haunt them."
Geragos argued that any lingering doubt in jurors' minds is enough to spare Scott Peterson's life. The prosecution spent just under an hour trying to convince the jury of the opposite, that death is the punishment Peterson deserves, saying, "For 116 days, Peterson let his wife's body rot in the water while her family wondered where she was." Standing next to the defendant, Prosecutor Dave Harris pointed and said that if people are concerned about what effect a death sentence would have on Peterson's family, "he's the one who's responsible."
Harris played a clip of Peterson crying on "Good Morning America," saying he was a liar playing the part of a grieving husband. Then Harris showed photos of Peterson smiling at a vigil for his missing wife and played a recording of a call he made that night to girlfriend Amber Frey.
In the end, Harris said Scott Peterson is the worst of the worst, a manipulative liar who deserves to die.
Attorney Mark Geragos buried his head in his hands and Peterson family members wept openly as the judge read final instructions to the jury that must decide whether Scott Peterson will live or die.
(on camera): Jurors spent a total of two hours deliberating before being sent to the hotel where they will be sequestered for the length of their deliberation process. They're expected to be back at work deciding Peterson's fate starting at 8:00 a.m. Pacific time.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: Some new facts coming to light on that town hall meeting in which Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld came under fire. We now know only troops were permitted to ask Rumsfeld any questions. But an embedded reporter from the "Chattanooga Times Free Press" says he worked with two hometown Guardsmen to get his question asked. The question brought cheers from troops at the base in Kuwait.
Here's the soldier expressing his concern.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPEC. THOMAS WILSON, U.S. ARMY: Our soldiers have been fighting in Iraq for coming up on three years. A lot of us are getting ready to move north relatively soon. Our vehicles are not armored. We're digging pieces of rusted scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass that's already been shot up, dropped, busted, picking the best out of this scrap to put on our vehicles to take into combat. We do not have proper armament vehicles to carry with us north.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That question prompted a response from the commander- in-chief. President Bush said if he were a soldier overseas, he'd want to ask the secretary of defense the very same question. And he said the military is working to address the issue.
So what's the holdup?
Casey Wian has that for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Last fall, only about 200 Humvees in Iraq were designed to protect troops against armor piercing bullets or improvised explosive devices. In fact, the Humvee was originally built to provide light, maneuverable transportation, not to be a combat vehicle. But that was before U.S. troops faced a new type of enemy -- Iraqi insurgents using IEDs and guerrilla style small arms fire.
LT. GEN. STEVEN WHITCOMB, 3RD ARMY COMMANDER: Those attacks took many forms, some very simplistic, using unexploded ordinance, bombs, explosive packages that were put together using the bodies of dead animals up along rail guards on highways. You name it and the enemy dreamed up a way to use them. And they began having an impact on our soldiers, a deadly impact, as we all know.
WIAN: One way the Pentagon responded was to order more so-called up armored Humvees, surrounded by steel plating. One problem, according to congressional testimony by the Army's chief of staff, was that commanders kept revising the number they needed. Within a few months, the Pentagon's up armored Humvee request went from about 200 to 1,400 to 3,000, then 4,150, then 6,200, then finally 8,100, where it stands today.
The civilian manufacturers of up armored Humvees quickly boosted their production rates from 60 a month to 450 monthly, to meet the demand. They say that's the most they could build without sacrificing quality. Now that they've done it, they say they're prepared to speed production again, but are waiting for orders from the military, which is waiting for funding from Congress.
Lawmakers already have approved more than $1 billion for vehicle armor upgrades.
GEN. MICHAEL MAGEE, MARINE CORPS COMMANDANT: We should provide the very best armor that we can for these Marines and soldiers, and I believe that we are doing that. We should provide the very best technology that we can, and I believe that we are doing that.
WIAN: Still, existing Humvees and other military vehicles are being retrofitted with armor protection kits, which offer less protection and can hurt performance.
(on camera): Altogether, the Pentagon has about 30,000 vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 8,000 of those do not have armor and civilian contractors say the military still doesn't know how many should.
Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEO TAPE) COSTELLO: He claims he was abducted, but the military says something else. At 32 minutes past, we'll tell you why a U.S. Marine -- that one -- is now facing charges.
What happens today could make or break Italy's prime minister. At 36 minutes past, Silvio Berlusconi's five year trial nears an end.
And inside out on some cold, dark feelings? We'll tell you how to forget about any sad times ahead. That's at 53 minutes past.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH FENNER, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, "FORTUNE": "Fortune" chose this particular Air Stream trailer because it's a beautiful update of a classic design. The Bambi trailer looks sort of similar on the outside to the old version, but the inside is completely new and redone and sleek. This updated Bambi is definitely a classic look for a trailer. It's petite. It's not one of these gargantuan things. It's a great, little, fun thing to put on the back of your car.
The Flo bicycle is so cool because it's the first bike that is a really great trail bike, but it collapses into such a small space you can actually put it into a suitcase that's small and light enough to be checked on an airplane without having overage charges. It is tough enough to do some serious riding and yet if you're a big traveler, it's perfect for you. It's really an amazing development in bikes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:15 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
A massive amount of heating oil continues to pour out of a grounded cargo ship that's almost broken in half off of Alaska's Aleutian Islands. In the meantime, the search goes on for six missing crew members.
Secretary of State Colin Powell will be at the Hague today. He'll be meeting with E.U. officials to discuss the president's interest in improving relations with Europe. This is Powell's last trip to Europe representing the Bush administration.
In money news, the government's giant printing presses are about to go into overdrive. The Treasury Department just got the go ahead from Congress to start printing other countries' money. In culture, Retired General Tommy Franks is the new face of a company that keeps track of teens on the road. The company's GPS technology in cell phones tells parents where their teenagers are and if they're driving too fast.
In sports, the Portland Trailblazers had to score a set -- had a score to settle with the Celtics, and they did just that at the Rose Garden last night. It all came down to a final shot. Shariff Abdul- Rahim scored at the buzzer, giving Portland the game, 89-87 -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Hey, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
We're starting to learn more about what it was like inside that Ohio nightclub when a lone gunman went on a shooting rampage. Police say they have no idea what made 25-year-old Nathan Gale snap. He killed four people before he was shot dead by a police officer.
Authorities are releasing the tapes of some of the 911 calls made that night.
We'd like to take you beyond the sound bite now and have you listen to some of those calls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911 emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm at the Alrosa Villa and there's a shooting. Someone is shooting the band on the stage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone's shooting the band on the stage?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On the stage at the Alrosa Villa. And they just, they're screaming call 911.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, stay on the line with me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
Oh (OBSCENE WORD OMITTED), they're still shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Supplement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're still shooting. The person is still (UNINTELLIGIBLE) with the gun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any description? Do you see who has the gun?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pardon? I can't see. There's a thousand people here and he's basically (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I'm serious. There's a thousand -- he's still got a gun and he's still back there. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it a male white, male black? What does he look like?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't see anyone at all. They just turned the lights on, but it just made everybody (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I know that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is everyone leaving right now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A little bit. Not like they should be, no. Look, this guy -- this guy had five shells pumped into him from close range.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, so someone's been shot then?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay on the line for me.
Frank Larowen (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All I know is his name is "Dimebag" Darrell and he's from Damageplan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait. Do you know who the shooter is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you see him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, no. They were just in the middle of a song and shots rang out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does anyone around you see him or anything?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a white guy and he's a big guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A big guy as in fat, tall, what do you mean?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OBSCENE WORD OMITTED).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to get out!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am, ma'am, get out of the building. Get out of the building.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't! I can't! I'm being...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit down. Sit down on the ground, OK? Ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, buddy, please hurry. Please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen to me. Can... UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). (OBSCENE WORD OMITTED) we're out of the building.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. Listen, listen, listen. You've got (UNINTELLIGIBLE) around for you. I need to know, do you see him? When you said he's a big guy, is he tall, is he fat? What does he look like?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't see him. I don't see him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just get out of the way. Get out -- get out of the line of fire, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're -- I'm out of the building now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. You're out of the way?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I don't know if I'm completely out of the way or not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you see the person with the gun?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). No, I didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am, listen to me. We've got officers en route, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. I'm going to go and disconnect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Of course, we all know what happens next. A police officer, a Columbus police officer entered the building, entered the nightclub and shot the suspect dead with one blast from a shotgun. Police are still trying to figure out a motive and now people are turning the area outside that nightclub into a makeshift memorial, leaving everything from flowers to a six pack of beer.
We'll talk more about this in the minutes to come on DAYBREAK.
Also coming up next, next week, that is. The FCC will begin reviewing one of its rules concerning cell phones. They're considering changing the rules that ban the use of cell phones on airplanes in flight. But a final report on whether cell phones have an effect on an airplane's navigation system, well, that's not due until 2006. Yet some airlines are already experimenting with cellular bases on planes.
So we wanted to know what you think. Should people be allowed to use cell phones on planes? Can you imagine?
We're playing "Happy Birthday." It's no one's birthday -- well, it's someone's birthday out there, and if it is, happy birthday.
But let's get back to the cell phone question. Should they be banned from planes? Can you imagine sitting on an airplane with the guy in the middle seat talking on the phone? Man, that would bug me.
Send me your e-mails this morning. Daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com. And, of course, we'll read your responses a little later on on DAYBREAK.
Coming up next, it's a dog's life. If your dog has been extra good this year, Santa may bring him some bling-bling.
Plus, if dark days get you down, don't worry. Artificial light may help. That story still ahead.
You are watching DAYBREAK for Friday, December 10.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's been a long week, hasn't it? I know it has been for me. So it's time to laugh.
The big news out of Washington this week has been the intelligence bill. And don't think for a moment the late night talk show hosts didn't take note of the name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO," COURTESY NBC)
JAY LENO, HOST: In one of Washington's great ironies, President Bush has passed the intelligence bill. That's kind of like Bill Clinton passing the celibacy bill, isn't it, a little bit? It was yesterday over in Kuwait, Donald Rumsfeld held a question and answer session with soldiers on their way to Iraq. And one soldier asked him a really tough question. Did you see it? It was kind of embarrassing. He asked why don't we have proper armor for our vehicles? And the guy who asked the question was Army Specialist Thomas Wilson. No, I'm sorry. No. Latrine Specialist Thomas Wilson. I'm sorry. He's been reassigned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, I'm not sure if Rumsfeld found that too humorous. We'll have more on the actual story about that in the next half hour of DAYBREAK. Is there too much reality on TV? That's what some parents think. But with reality shows making millions for their respective networks, is there any way to turn them off?
CNN's Lisa Sylvester has the answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Fox show "Married By America" was fined more than $1 million by the FCC earlier this year for showing a racy bachelor party. As reality TV has sunk to new lows, the volume of criticism has cranked up.
BRENT BOZELL, PARENTS TELEVISION COUNCIL: When you see these reality shows interspersed with drama and comedy shows, you tend to blur it all into one thing. And people tend to forget these are real people doing real things and, in many cases, with real consequences to their lives.
SYLVESTER: Shows like "The Swan" have been criticized for glorifying plastic surgery, "Fear Factor" for putting contestants in humiliating situations; and "Wife Swap," where wives leave their homes to live with other families.
It raises the question, what does it say about our culture that shows that appeal to the lowest common denominator are so popular?
ADAM THIERER, CATO INSTITUTE: There's always been a chicken and egg question with broadcast television programming and content, which is that did broadcast TV drag us down into the moral swamp or did culture generally decline, or whatever else? The question really is difficult to answer.
SYLVESTER: Mark Burnett, creator of "Survivor" and "The Apprentice," says there is good and bad reality TV. But the reality is unscripted TV is here to stay.
MARK BURNETT, TELEVISION PRODUCER: Asking me when people are going to tire of reality is a silly question. It's like asking me when are they going to get tired of drama or comedy.
SYLVESTER: Network broadcasters and free speech advocates say if someone doesn't like what they see, they can always change the channel. But parents' groups say they shouldn't have to, since the broadcasters are using airwaves owned by the public.
(on camera): Fox is appealing the FCC's ruling, arguing the broadcast indecency rule is unconstitutional because it does not apply to cable or satellite television.
Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: Still ahead on DAYBREAK, your puppy deserves some extra loving this holiday season. What to get your pooch when a tennis ball just won't do.
Plus, do not forget our E-mail Question of the Morning. Yes, they're thinking of allowing cell phones on airplanes during flight. Should they be banned? Is this a good idea? We will have that here for you this morning -- daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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 10, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we've got many officers on the way, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, we...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, listen. We've got officers on the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The cries of terror from a nightclub as people realize that gunshots are not part of the show.
The government decides 600,000 Dodge Durango and Dakota trucks may not be safe for you to drive.
And coming out of the dark -- it's time to see the light and beat those sad emotions.
It is Friday, and thank goodness for that.
It's December 10.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, jurors will be back for deliberations this morning in the penalty phase of the Scott Peterson trial. They deliberated for two hours yesterday following closing arguments.
DaimlerChrysler has been asked to recall hundreds of thousands of Dodge trucks due to possible problems with their wheels falling off. The investigation involves Durango and Dakota trucks made between 2000 and 2003. The FBI is warning that terrorists could use lasers to blind airline pilots in flight. A September incident in Salt Lake City where a pilot was injured by a laser during landing is still under investigation. Six crew members remain missing two days after their freighter ran aground off the coast of Alaska. They were lost when a Coast Guard helicopter crashed during rescue operations. The resulting fuel spill from the freighter could take months to clean up.
To the forecast center.
Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers this morning -- good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Police say they may never know just what prompted the deadly shooting at a Columbus, Ohio nightclub. Five people were killed, including the lead guitarist and founder of the band Damageplan. And this morning, two people employed by the band remain in critical condition.
CNN's Keith Oppenheim has more on this story from Columbus.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One night after the mourners came. Holding candles and holding each other, young people stood in front of the nightclub where a rock star's life came to a brutal end.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Someone is shooting the band on the stage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone's shooting the band on the stage?
OPPENHEIM: The emergency calls reflect the chaos. A man identified as 25-year-old Nathan Gale jumped onto the stage and shot Darrell Abbott, the lead guitarist of the heavy metal band called Damageplan. The gunman also fired at the crowd, killing three others, and the shots can be heard on the 911 line.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're still shooting.
OPPENHEIM: Two hundred fifty concertgoers scattered, fearing for their lives.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to get out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am, ma'am, get out of the building. Get out of the building.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't! I can't!
OPPENHEIM: Investigators believe more people might have been killed if not for Officer James Niggemeyer, who ended the rampage with one shot, killing Nathan Gale.
Darrell Abbott was known in the heavy metal world as "Dimebag" Darrell. He and his brother formed Damageplan after their previous band, the Grammy nominated Pantera, broke up last year. Suspicious fans have their own theories as to what caused Nathan Gale to kill.
NATHAN HEIBERGER, DAMAGEPLAN FAN: It was basically a rumor. Nobody was for sure Pantera ever really broke up. And this kid like took it way too far and put the blame on them. And I think he like acted out on it.
OPPENHEIM (on camera): Police are not jumping to the same conclusions. They say they don't know what caused Nathan Gale to kill a man who, to many fans, was an icon of hard core rock music.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Columbus, Ohio.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: We'll talk much more about this in the coming minutes on DAYBREAK.
In other news across America this morning, the FBI investigating the disappearance of a Wisconsin woman during a cruise to Mexico. Agents say they are not ruling out anything, including the possibility she jumped or fell from the ship at sea. Employees found her purse near the ship's railing, but she wasn't found during a search of the surrounding waters.
A West Point cadet is facing life in prison after being charged with raping a female cadet. Tracey Rivers was also charged with indecent assault for allegedly breaking into the rooms of four separate female cadets while they slept. Another cadet was charged with unlawful entry and indecent acts in a separate incident.
Nurses coming to the United States for work may have to wait up to three years to get work permits. Immigration officials are blocking a shortcut that allowed thousands of nurses to obtain temporary work permits in just 60 days. The policy change could leave many hospitals understaffed during a nationwide nurse shortage.
The prosecution says Scott Peterson is a monster who should be put to death. The defense claims the convicted murderer's life is worth saving. In just a matter of hours, jurors will try again to decide if he'll spend the rest of his life in prison or be put to death.
CNN's Ted Rowlands brings us up to speed.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In an effort to save Scott Peterson's life, a subdued Mark Geragos begged jurors to ..".end this cycle now. There's no reason to put him to death." Geragos went on to say that when all is said and done, putting Peterson to death wouldn't bring Laci back and wouldn't bring closure to her mother and the rest of her family, saying, "I think it will haunt them."
Geragos argued that any lingering doubt in jurors' minds is enough to spare Scott Peterson's life. The prosecution spent just under an hour trying to convince the jury of the opposite, that death is the punishment Peterson deserves, saying, "For 116 days, Peterson let his wife's body rot in the water while her family wondered where she was." Standing next to the defendant, Prosecutor Dave Harris pointed and said that if people are concerned about what effect a death sentence would have on Peterson's family, "he's the one who's responsible."
Harris played a clip of Peterson crying on "Good Morning America," saying he was a liar playing the part of a grieving husband. Then Harris showed photos of Peterson smiling at a vigil for his missing wife and played a recording of a call he made that night to girlfriend Amber Frey.
In the end, Harris said Scott Peterson is the worst of the worst, a manipulative liar who deserves to die.
Attorney Mark Geragos buried his head in his hands and Peterson family members wept openly as the judge read final instructions to the jury that must decide whether Scott Peterson will live or die.
(on camera): Jurors spent a total of two hours deliberating before being sent to the hotel where they will be sequestered for the length of their deliberation process. They're expected to be back at work deciding Peterson's fate starting at 8:00 a.m. Pacific time.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: Some new facts coming to light on that town hall meeting in which Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld came under fire. We now know only troops were permitted to ask Rumsfeld any questions. But an embedded reporter from the "Chattanooga Times Free Press" says he worked with two hometown Guardsmen to get his question asked. The question brought cheers from troops at the base in Kuwait.
Here's the soldier expressing his concern.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPEC. THOMAS WILSON, U.S. ARMY: Our soldiers have been fighting in Iraq for coming up on three years. A lot of us are getting ready to move north relatively soon. Our vehicles are not armored. We're digging pieces of rusted scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass that's already been shot up, dropped, busted, picking the best out of this scrap to put on our vehicles to take into combat. We do not have proper armament vehicles to carry with us north.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That question prompted a response from the commander- in-chief. President Bush said if he were a soldier overseas, he'd want to ask the secretary of defense the very same question. And he said the military is working to address the issue.
So what's the holdup?
Casey Wian has that for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Last fall, only about 200 Humvees in Iraq were designed to protect troops against armor piercing bullets or improvised explosive devices. In fact, the Humvee was originally built to provide light, maneuverable transportation, not to be a combat vehicle. But that was before U.S. troops faced a new type of enemy -- Iraqi insurgents using IEDs and guerrilla style small arms fire.
LT. GEN. STEVEN WHITCOMB, 3RD ARMY COMMANDER: Those attacks took many forms, some very simplistic, using unexploded ordinance, bombs, explosive packages that were put together using the bodies of dead animals up along rail guards on highways. You name it and the enemy dreamed up a way to use them. And they began having an impact on our soldiers, a deadly impact, as we all know.
WIAN: One way the Pentagon responded was to order more so-called up armored Humvees, surrounded by steel plating. One problem, according to congressional testimony by the Army's chief of staff, was that commanders kept revising the number they needed. Within a few months, the Pentagon's up armored Humvee request went from about 200 to 1,400 to 3,000, then 4,150, then 6,200, then finally 8,100, where it stands today.
The civilian manufacturers of up armored Humvees quickly boosted their production rates from 60 a month to 450 monthly, to meet the demand. They say that's the most they could build without sacrificing quality. Now that they've done it, they say they're prepared to speed production again, but are waiting for orders from the military, which is waiting for funding from Congress.
Lawmakers already have approved more than $1 billion for vehicle armor upgrades.
GEN. MICHAEL MAGEE, MARINE CORPS COMMANDANT: We should provide the very best armor that we can for these Marines and soldiers, and I believe that we are doing that. We should provide the very best technology that we can, and I believe that we are doing that.
WIAN: Still, existing Humvees and other military vehicles are being retrofitted with armor protection kits, which offer less protection and can hurt performance.
(on camera): Altogether, the Pentagon has about 30,000 vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 8,000 of those do not have armor and civilian contractors say the military still doesn't know how many should.
Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEO TAPE) COSTELLO: He claims he was abducted, but the military says something else. At 32 minutes past, we'll tell you why a U.S. Marine -- that one -- is now facing charges.
What happens today could make or break Italy's prime minister. At 36 minutes past, Silvio Berlusconi's five year trial nears an end.
And inside out on some cold, dark feelings? We'll tell you how to forget about any sad times ahead. That's at 53 minutes past.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH FENNER, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, "FORTUNE": "Fortune" chose this particular Air Stream trailer because it's a beautiful update of a classic design. The Bambi trailer looks sort of similar on the outside to the old version, but the inside is completely new and redone and sleek. This updated Bambi is definitely a classic look for a trailer. It's petite. It's not one of these gargantuan things. It's a great, little, fun thing to put on the back of your car.
The Flo bicycle is so cool because it's the first bike that is a really great trail bike, but it collapses into such a small space you can actually put it into a suitcase that's small and light enough to be checked on an airplane without having overage charges. It is tough enough to do some serious riding and yet if you're a big traveler, it's perfect for you. It's really an amazing development in bikes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:15 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
A massive amount of heating oil continues to pour out of a grounded cargo ship that's almost broken in half off of Alaska's Aleutian Islands. In the meantime, the search goes on for six missing crew members.
Secretary of State Colin Powell will be at the Hague today. He'll be meeting with E.U. officials to discuss the president's interest in improving relations with Europe. This is Powell's last trip to Europe representing the Bush administration.
In money news, the government's giant printing presses are about to go into overdrive. The Treasury Department just got the go ahead from Congress to start printing other countries' money. In culture, Retired General Tommy Franks is the new face of a company that keeps track of teens on the road. The company's GPS technology in cell phones tells parents where their teenagers are and if they're driving too fast.
In sports, the Portland Trailblazers had to score a set -- had a score to settle with the Celtics, and they did just that at the Rose Garden last night. It all came down to a final shot. Shariff Abdul- Rahim scored at the buzzer, giving Portland the game, 89-87 -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Hey, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
We're starting to learn more about what it was like inside that Ohio nightclub when a lone gunman went on a shooting rampage. Police say they have no idea what made 25-year-old Nathan Gale snap. He killed four people before he was shot dead by a police officer.
Authorities are releasing the tapes of some of the 911 calls made that night.
We'd like to take you beyond the sound bite now and have you listen to some of those calls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911 emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm at the Alrosa Villa and there's a shooting. Someone is shooting the band on the stage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone's shooting the band on the stage?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On the stage at the Alrosa Villa. And they just, they're screaming call 911.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, stay on the line with me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
Oh (OBSCENE WORD OMITTED), they're still shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Supplement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're still shooting. The person is still (UNINTELLIGIBLE) with the gun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any description? Do you see who has the gun?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pardon? I can't see. There's a thousand people here and he's basically (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I'm serious. There's a thousand -- he's still got a gun and he's still back there. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it a male white, male black? What does he look like?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't see anyone at all. They just turned the lights on, but it just made everybody (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I know that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is everyone leaving right now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A little bit. Not like they should be, no. Look, this guy -- this guy had five shells pumped into him from close range.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, so someone's been shot then?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay on the line for me.
Frank Larowen (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All I know is his name is "Dimebag" Darrell and he's from Damageplan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait. Do you know who the shooter is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you see him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, no. They were just in the middle of a song and shots rang out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does anyone around you see him or anything?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a white guy and he's a big guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A big guy as in fat, tall, what do you mean?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OBSCENE WORD OMITTED).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to get out!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am, ma'am, get out of the building. Get out of the building.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't! I can't! I'm being...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit down. Sit down on the ground, OK? Ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, buddy, please hurry. Please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen to me. Can... UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). (OBSCENE WORD OMITTED) we're out of the building.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. Listen, listen, listen. You've got (UNINTELLIGIBLE) around for you. I need to know, do you see him? When you said he's a big guy, is he tall, is he fat? What does he look like?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't see him. I don't see him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just get out of the way. Get out -- get out of the line of fire, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're -- I'm out of the building now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. You're out of the way?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I don't know if I'm completely out of the way or not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you see the person with the gun?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). No, I didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am, listen to me. We've got officers en route, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. I'm going to go and disconnect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Of course, we all know what happens next. A police officer, a Columbus police officer entered the building, entered the nightclub and shot the suspect dead with one blast from a shotgun. Police are still trying to figure out a motive and now people are turning the area outside that nightclub into a makeshift memorial, leaving everything from flowers to a six pack of beer.
We'll talk more about this in the minutes to come on DAYBREAK.
Also coming up next, next week, that is. The FCC will begin reviewing one of its rules concerning cell phones. They're considering changing the rules that ban the use of cell phones on airplanes in flight. But a final report on whether cell phones have an effect on an airplane's navigation system, well, that's not due until 2006. Yet some airlines are already experimenting with cellular bases on planes.
So we wanted to know what you think. Should people be allowed to use cell phones on planes? Can you imagine?
We're playing "Happy Birthday." It's no one's birthday -- well, it's someone's birthday out there, and if it is, happy birthday.
But let's get back to the cell phone question. Should they be banned from planes? Can you imagine sitting on an airplane with the guy in the middle seat talking on the phone? Man, that would bug me.
Send me your e-mails this morning. Daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com. And, of course, we'll read your responses a little later on on DAYBREAK.
Coming up next, it's a dog's life. If your dog has been extra good this year, Santa may bring him some bling-bling.
Plus, if dark days get you down, don't worry. Artificial light may help. That story still ahead.
You are watching DAYBREAK for Friday, December 10.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's been a long week, hasn't it? I know it has been for me. So it's time to laugh.
The big news out of Washington this week has been the intelligence bill. And don't think for a moment the late night talk show hosts didn't take note of the name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO," COURTESY NBC)
JAY LENO, HOST: In one of Washington's great ironies, President Bush has passed the intelligence bill. That's kind of like Bill Clinton passing the celibacy bill, isn't it, a little bit? It was yesterday over in Kuwait, Donald Rumsfeld held a question and answer session with soldiers on their way to Iraq. And one soldier asked him a really tough question. Did you see it? It was kind of embarrassing. He asked why don't we have proper armor for our vehicles? And the guy who asked the question was Army Specialist Thomas Wilson. No, I'm sorry. No. Latrine Specialist Thomas Wilson. I'm sorry. He's been reassigned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, I'm not sure if Rumsfeld found that too humorous. We'll have more on the actual story about that in the next half hour of DAYBREAK. Is there too much reality on TV? That's what some parents think. But with reality shows making millions for their respective networks, is there any way to turn them off?
CNN's Lisa Sylvester has the answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Fox show "Married By America" was fined more than $1 million by the FCC earlier this year for showing a racy bachelor party. As reality TV has sunk to new lows, the volume of criticism has cranked up.
BRENT BOZELL, PARENTS TELEVISION COUNCIL: When you see these reality shows interspersed with drama and comedy shows, you tend to blur it all into one thing. And people tend to forget these are real people doing real things and, in many cases, with real consequences to their lives.
SYLVESTER: Shows like "The Swan" have been criticized for glorifying plastic surgery, "Fear Factor" for putting contestants in humiliating situations; and "Wife Swap," where wives leave their homes to live with other families.
It raises the question, what does it say about our culture that shows that appeal to the lowest common denominator are so popular?
ADAM THIERER, CATO INSTITUTE: There's always been a chicken and egg question with broadcast television programming and content, which is that did broadcast TV drag us down into the moral swamp or did culture generally decline, or whatever else? The question really is difficult to answer.
SYLVESTER: Mark Burnett, creator of "Survivor" and "The Apprentice," says there is good and bad reality TV. But the reality is unscripted TV is here to stay.
MARK BURNETT, TELEVISION PRODUCER: Asking me when people are going to tire of reality is a silly question. It's like asking me when are they going to get tired of drama or comedy.
SYLVESTER: Network broadcasters and free speech advocates say if someone doesn't like what they see, they can always change the channel. But parents' groups say they shouldn't have to, since the broadcasters are using airwaves owned by the public.
(on camera): Fox is appealing the FCC's ruling, arguing the broadcast indecency rule is unconstitutional because it does not apply to cable or satellite television.
Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: Still ahead on DAYBREAK, your puppy deserves some extra loving this holiday season. What to get your pooch when a tennis ball just won't do.
Plus, do not forget our E-mail Question of the Morning. Yes, they're thinking of allowing cell phones on airplanes during flight. Should they be banned? Is this a good idea? We will have that here for you this morning -- daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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