[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] OK, so now let's move on to St. Paul, Minnesota, for the hairiest hockey game in history, literally. That's a weird thing to celebrate! Over 1,000 mustached men gathered on the ice rink for the Minnesota Wild, setting a world record there. And onto Idaho now where they lit what officials say is the world's largest tallest living Christmas tree. The tree is twice as tall as the Rockefeller Center tree in New York, if you like checking that out. It takes more than 40,000 lights to spruce up the first tree and it's topped with a 10-foot star. Pretty stuff, getting you into the spirit of things. A terror plot in Oregon foiled. Details just now emerging as to why a Somali born college student is in jail, charged with a bomb plot. Trying to destroy a holiday tree lighting in Portland. The suspect is identified as Muhamed Osmond Mohamud. A 19-year-old student at the Oregon State University. According to an FBI affidavit, Mohamud met with undercover operatives on November 4th and detonated a bomb concealed in a backpack as a trial run. The next day, the affidavit alleges that Mohamud recorded a video in which he explains his reasoning for the bombing the reason why he wanted to bomb a public holiday gathering. And move forward now to the 18th of this month, the undercover operatives say they met with Mohamud to finalize details of the Portland attack. And then last night in Oregon, the FBI arrested Muhammad and charged him with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. CNN's Paul Vercammen is now in Portland. He joins us by phone. So, Paul, this took place over a course of days and weeks. They have been watch thing individual for a long time. And he's just 19 years old, do they believe he was acting alone? PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT
[Whitfield:] And apparently there were conversations, according to this affidavit, between this operative, FBI operative and Mohamud. Mohamud saying that it was the intention to target just innocent bystanders and in Oregon because no one would suspect Oregon as being a targeted place.
[Vercammen:] That's exactly true. He says that nobody thinks about Oregon, and in that affidavit, all sorts of other bone chilling statements made. At one point, one of the undercover operatives says to him, something to the effect that you realize there will be women and children there. He said, "that's OK, I want to go ahead and strike at families in this sort of a holiday setting." Also knowing that Pioneer Square where the tree is lit is in downtown Portland. There are not only 10,000 people viewing the lighting of the tree ceremony last night, but all around Pioneer Square, there are shops in all sorts of other foot traffic. He thought that he was going to be able to, as we talked about, inflict mass casualties and it's the same person that made that remark about the 911 tragedy and said that it was "awesome when he found people jumping out of the skyscrapers."
[Whitfield:] Paul Vercammen, thanks so much out of Portland. Also joining us from Portland now, the mayor from that city, Sam Adams. He is with us now on the phone. So give us an idea, Mr. Mayor, how this incident and this arrest now might impact any other planned public events. MAYOR SAM ADAMS, PORTLAND And did you know about this plan all the while?
[Adams:] No. These kinds of international terror suspect investigations are top secret. Until the individual or individuals are arrested.
[Whitfield:] OK. So back to my original question now, might what happened, this foiled attempt in that it was targeting a public event, might that in way change the city's approach to any kind of public or large public gathering, especially over the course of the holiday season?
[Adams:] Well, we're going to increase police presence in the shopping districts. But the FBI has assured us that this person acted alone. So we just want to be on the lookout for any sort of copy cats. But there is, according to the FBI, no reason for us to be concerned here in the Portland area.
[Whitfield:] Mayor Sam Adams, thanks so much for your time and glad this attempted bombing or this planned bombing was indeed foiled. I know there's a lot of relief in your city. Thanks so much. In San Diego county, California now, authorities have stopped searching the house they describe as a bomb-making factory. They say it was just too dangerous to continue because the explosives are so volatile. The house is owned by a unemployed computer software consultant who is now under arrest. Bomb squads were tipped off earlier this week when a gardener was injured after unwittingly setting off a small blast at that property. And now onto the crisis in Korea. Today in Seoul, the South Korean capital, an angry group of protestors, including South Korean military veterans, clashed with riot police. They are demanding the South Korean government respond more forcefully to North Korea's shelling of an island near the border. Four South Koreans were killed in the shelling earlier this week. Diplomats from several countries working to ease the tension. And in this country, retailers depend on black Friday to kind of kick off the holiday spending season. Well, one man and his band of merry minstrels wants you to actually stop spending or at least if you have to stop spending, then buy locally. Here's Reverend Billy, and he talked with our Randi Kaye.
[Rev. Bill Talen, "the Church Of Life After Shopping":] You don't have to buy a gift to give a gift. If you're going to buy a gift, buy local. Local-leuai, amen.
[Randi Kaye, Cnn Correspondent:] OK. What you're talking about is entrepreneurship and the socially responsible spending, you also have a song for us, don't you?
[Talen:] You said it. Hallelujah! We're going to sing a song. This is the life after shopping gospel choir. We got a question we want to ask. What would Jesus buy, amen? What would Jesus buy. What would Jesus buy.
[Whitfield:] OK. He says stop the shopping. Stop the spending. Instead, spend some quality time with people. That's not what retailers want you to do. Did you know, in fact, today is small business Saturday. Well, it's the very first one, so don't feel like you're in the dark if you didn't know about that. It's part of a national campaign to encourage people to shop locally. The goal promote mom and pop shops. All right. Well, folks are out in droves as we understand. They're shopping this Saturday. Just take a look right there. The malls across the country are filled with bargains and people. Sandra Endo is among them. She's in a shopping mall in MacLean, Virginia. What store are you in right now?
[Sandra Endo, Cnn Correspondent:] That's right, Fred. We're in Macy's, and there are a lot of deals. That's why a lot of people are out here today. Take a look at this. $19.99 for a Kenneth Cole shirt, and originally it was $60. So a pretty good deal here. We're seeing a lot of that kind of thing. $39.99 with an extra 20 percent off for these jeans. And take a look at this 65 percent off the original price. Take another extra 20 percent
[Whitfield:] 85 percent off?
[Endo:] Yes, I can help you out here. Take a look, a lot of people are out here and actually opening up their wallets. Yes, a lot of people making their purchases behind me. The National Retail Federation is in fact anticipating that sales will be up 2.3 percent this year. But even though a lot of shoppers here, Fred, are eager to spend, they're also being very cautious. Have a listen.
[Scott Krugman, National Retail Federation:] I think people that shop online tend to rely on the technology for multiple purposes, not just for buying merchandise but for also researching. People going through the store, for them it's really the thrill of the hunt. Finding that great deal or discovering merchandise that they might not have thought they needed. But more and more what retailers are trying to do is mimic that experience via the internet. So if I am buying a television, I might get a pop-up window with some very helpful accessories I never thought of before.
[Endo:] Yes. So two very different types of shopping going on there. That's why shoppers are making sure that they're doing their homework, doing their research. They have a strategy when they come out here to the mall to really get those items that they've comparison shopped with, different stores, on line stores as well, and keep in mind, cyber Monday is coming up in just a couple of days. 88 percent of retailers are going to slash their prices on line. So if a lot of these people aren't finding what they want, they're going to be online on Monday.
[Whitfield:] Well, then you have to wonder how long these retailers are going to have money because they have to ship all those items to people even though they've got the incentives to, you know, slash those prices. It would seem that I don't know.
[Endo:] Actually
[Whitfield:] They're cutting into their profits.
[Endo:] Yes, Fred, they're really smart about it. They have a multi- prong approach. A lot of stores are on Facebook, Twitter, offering special online deals for their followers. So they've got their bases covered.
[Whitfield:] OK. I'm sure they do. All right. Thanks so much. Sandra Endo, there with the crush of shoppers in MacLean, Virginia. So shoppers hitting the malls this weekend in a very big way. They could also be getting fake merchandise without knowing it. Counterfeit goods aren't just sold on the streets, details coming up on what you need to know and what you need to do. All right. So acclaimed author Salman Rushdie said there's one quality that every successful writer must have. He reveals it "Face to Face."