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Feds Foil Portland Terror Plot; South Korean Vets Protest Shelling; Trampled in Shopping Frenzy; Face to Face with Salman Rushdie; Mighty Marketing; Aussie's First Thanksgiving; Shoppers Crowd Stores; Drug Tunnel, Explosives Cache Found in California
Aired November 27, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Here's the latest that we're learning about that foiled terror plot in Portland, Oregon. Police say a Somali-born suspect wanted to bomb the Christmas tree lighting ceremony there.
According to an FBI affidavit, suspect Mohamed Osman 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.
Then, on the 18th of this month, the undercover operatives say that they met with Mohamud to finalize details of the attack. Then, last night in Oregon, the FBI arrested Mohamud and charged him with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Law enforcement says the public was never in any real danger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. PETE SIMPSON, PORTLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT: There was no danger to the public at all last night. The device was an inert or fake device. The suspect believed it was real. The arrested went down several blocks away and nobody really was around the area when that happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: CNN's Paul Vercammen is now in Portland. He joins us on the phone.
So, Paul, according to the affidavit, Mohamud told FBI operatives that Oregonians would never suspect anything happening and that was a large part why this was an area being targeted. So what are people in the Portland area thinking and feeling today?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER (via telephone): Well, for one, they're in absolute shock, and this includes people here - I'm at Pioneer Square right now - who attended the tree lighting ceremony last night, and they said that everything went along and it was happy and it was merry. So it was a rather sort of almost surgical strike by the FBI that - who made this arrest at 5:40, local. Don't forget, the tree lighting ceremony started at 6:00, even, so this was done quickly and efficiently and without all sorts of pomp and circumstance.
You tell people that this sort of thing happened and they just can't believe it, why Oregon. And, as you alluded to, there's a quote in that federal affidavit in which the suspect, Mohamud, says, "It's in Oregon. Like, you know, nobody ever thinks about it."
And he said many other things that were extremely revealing throughout the affidavit. In another exchange with an undercover agent, he said, do you remember when 9/11 happened and those people were jumping from skyscrapers? That was awesome.
And the agent goes on to press him, and - and for - he says, well, you know, there might be families at this tree lighting ceremony. They estimate there were about 10,000 people here last night. He says I want whoever is attending that event - again, according to the affidavit - to leave either dead or injured.
WHITFIELD: Wow. And so, are police revealing or the FBI revealing, that there might be other arrests? Surely, this 19-year-old suspected here couldn't have acted alone?
VERCAMMEN: Well, right now, no, because many of the people who were linked to him were undercover agents who were, in a sense, allowing him to go through the process of gaining all the bomb making material, et cetera, et cetera. He was going to try to use a - a phone to detonate the bomb. Of course the bomb was actually put together by undercover FBI agents.
They do say that there was an unindicted man that he had been in contact with in Northwest Pakistan, but, obviously, he's beyond, you know, the scope of U.S. borders.
So, right now, no, there does not seem to be a strong indication that there's anybody else linked to him. Again, he's only 19 years old. But, in this affidavit, he also said that he had been having these Jihad dreams since he was 15.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
All right, Paul Vercammen from Portland, Oregon. Thanks so much. We look forward to more reporting throughout the day on this.
All right. Now, to the rising tensions on the Korean peninsula. At issue, North Korea's deadly shelling of a South Korean island. The focus today shifted to South Korea's capital of Seoul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD (voice-over): An angry group of protesters, including South Korean military veterans, clashed with riot police. They are demanding a stronger response to that shelling that killed four South Koreans.
CNN's Stan Grant was caught in the middle of the demonstration and filed this report. STAN GRANT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The protesters surged forward. They were hurling themselves at the police and the police firing tear gas and charging back into the protesters.
This is an indication of just how much tension there is on the streets of Seoul right now. As you can see, they're starting to move behind me, and we're going to try to keep our distance here.
As you can see, the - the pushing and shoving has started again. This is what the - this is what the police have been brought in here - this is what the police have been brought in here to try to stop. Now, we're in the middle of this, so we're going to try to get out of here, because this could flare again violently, so I'm just going to try - Fred, let's - let's try to get out of here.
Let's try to get out of here. This is not going to be safe for us. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
It's been quite confusing what has actually happened here today. Now, of course, violent scenes, lots of pushing, lots of shoving, these protesters charging towards the police, the police charging back at them.
Just look around here and you can see that we're talking about heavily armed riot squad. Now, these people are used to this type of protest, but this gives an indication of just how much anger there is on the streets of Seoul right now. And, just through in here, you can see the protesters themselves. I think you can see, one of them is now taking his shirt off, the others wearing banners around their heads.
Now, all the men have been pushed back up there against the wall and surrounded by these police. All you can see through here are the heads, the black helmets of the police riot squad.
With the United States and South Korea about to begin this new war games in the Yellow Sea, and North Korea warning that that will take the whole Korean Peninsula to the brink of war. And now, that tension is spilling over onto the streets, more and more people angry, and more and more people demanding that the South Korean government take a tougher line and move in harder against North Korea.
And here, over here, you can see the protesters themselves as they're starting to disperse.
So calm has been restored right now, but, as you can see, this is a situation that is fluid and could always explode again at any minute.
Stan Grant, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Back in this country, President Barack Obama is said to be feeling fine, despite being elbowed in the face during a basketball game yesterday. The Commander in Chief was accidentally elbowed by Ray Decerega, a director in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The president got a local anesthesia and 12 stitches by the White House medical staff. You can see him leaving there. And then, if you look really hard through the window, you can see him holding an ice pack on his lip.
Decerega says the president, in all of this, was a good sport.
Some early bird shoppers got more than they bargained for yesterday. A man had to be rushed to the hospital after getting trampled trying to get into a Target store in Buffalo, New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD (voice-over): Keith Krantz is circled in white. He's on the ground there. He was pinned against the door support, shoppers stepping all over him.
He says he now has a herniated disk.
KEITH KRANTZ, INJURED SHOPPER: At that moment, I was thinking, I - I don't want to die here on the ground. That's - that's exactly what I thought.
I see it as a little absurd. I don't think it's worth standing out there all night to get - to get trampled or to trample somebody else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: People, relax.
So, in response, Target officials said they plan, "well in advance of Black Friday... continually analyze and improve those plans, and will do so in this case," end quote.
All right. Salman Rushdie. Well, he opens up about the fatwa Iran put out on his life back in the '80s and all the years that he had been spending in hiding, what has he been doing? My "Face to Face" conversation with the author of "Satanic Verses," and now a new children's book, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Salman Rushdie is clearly a - a man who enjoys his craft. He has penned nearly 20 books, including his latest children's novel, "Luka and the Fire of Life." But the book he's best known for is "Satanic Verses." Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini deemed it blasphemous to Islam and in 1989 issued a death fatwa against Rushdie, forcing him into hiding for nine years.
He's writing about that traumatic experience so that he can share it with everyone for the first time.
"Face to Face," a talk to get Rushdie to try and shed a little light.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: So, it seemed like a long time ago, but you are probably one of the most recognizable writers of the world, and that was in large part because of that book.
SALMAN RUSHDIE, AUTHOR: Well, it's - and I'm writing a memoir right now. I mean, I've just decided to tell the story of what - what happened. It starts off with talking about the - the events that happened around the publication of "Satanic Verses."
But, in order to tell that story, I sort of have to tell much more of an autobiography than that because, I mean, I think, for readers, what's interesting is the personal story, you know, what would it be like to be the person to whom something like that happened? What would it be like to be in those shoes, you know? Not just me, but my family and friends, I mean, and colleagues and so on.
So - so, in a way, it's like - it is like writing a novel. You know, you have to create characters, except one of them happens to be me.
So it's - I mean, it's a different challenge, but I'm quite enjoying it.
WHITFIELD: Well, that memoir goes far back as when you were writing "Satanic Verses," you know, if you were mindful that there were people who would interpret it as blasphemous and that it might lead to what it lead to?
RUSHDIE: I'm going to talk - well, I'm going to talk about how the book came to be, yes. I mean, I - so - so I'll come back in a couple of years and talk about it.
WHITFIELD: How does one do that, go into seclusion or -
RUSHDIE: Most difficult.
WHITFIELD: -- go into hiding for a period of time and then eventually emerge?
RUSHDIE: Yes, well it was tough, you know? I wouldn't recommend it. I mean, if - the whole if you can avoid being sentenced to death by a tyrannical leader of a foreign county, then, you know, avoid it, if you can.
WHITFIELD: Well, did you end up having a lot of security?
RUSHDIE: There was security for - yes, for nine years. Nine years. And that's also - you know, I've talked to a lot of people who've had to enter that world of security and - including, you know, politicians and public figures.
So it's the - the thing that is worst about it is the loss of spontaneity. You - I mean, it's not that you can't do things, it's that you can't do them when you want to do them. You know, if you want to go for a walk, you say, I'd like to go for a walk, and they say, well, give us 20 minutes, then you go for a walk.
WHITFIELD: Or did it mean even going into disguise?
RUSHDIE: No, no.
WHITFIELD: You didn't do that?
RUSHDIE: I look like this. It would be ridiculous to try and disguise me.
And - no. there was never any attempt to do that.
WHITFIELD: And how about for your family at that time?
RUSHDIE: No, they were - you know, fortunately, (INAUDIBLE), they were sort of OK. I mean, that was really - it seemed to be OK.
WHITFIELD: What perhaps may have been the most difficult thing about that loss of spontaneity and worried about with every turn or if I, you know, step in front of this window - I mean, there were all - just about every tiny, little minute thing became an issue of security for you.
RUSHDIE: Well, for a while it did, because for a while we didn't know how serious the threat was and, you know, you had to take very extreme precautions. And then - I mean, it didn't end overnight. It sort of gradually got better.
And so it's - and there's a whole political campaign dimension which, you know, I have to go around the world and talk to politicians and get them - governments on my side and so on. And - and it took nine years.
WHITFIELD: Is that threat completely gone, lifted?
RUSHDIE: It feels all right now. Yes. I mean, it really - since - it ended, really, about 12 years ago, so the last 12 years is pretty normal.
WHITFIELD: Do you find yourself every now and then kind of looking over your shoulder or worrying or wondering?
RUSHDIE: You don't look dangerous to me.
WHITFIELD: I'm glad about that.
But you are recognizable. People stop you all the time, and -
RUSHDIE: Yes, but it's always - so far, it's, you know, --
WHITFIELD: Did they always want to ask you about that period of your life?
RUSHDIE: No. No. It's just been - I mean, usually it's because they read some - some book of mine. That's usually - that's usually why it is -
WHITFIELD: Yes. RUSHDIE: -- and that's - it's usually a very friendly interchange. I mean, always, actually.
WHITFIELD: So as you craft your memoir, do you return to some of the places that elicit certain responses or feelings that you had at that time?
RUSHDIE: I do have a lot of - I kept a journal and I had a lot of diary notes and so I have a lot of material actually about - about that period. And I've just been re-immersing myself in that and writing - and writing out of that, really.
So, I mean, you're right. I may at some point, it may be a good idea to go and revisit some locations here and there. And I have it in mind to maybe do that. But certainly at this first draft phase, I'm just trying to use my diaries, journals and memories of the past to try and get that into some kind of shape.
WHITFIELD: Would there be an area that you might find difficult to delve into?
RUSHDIE: No.
WHITFIELD: Even dangerous?
RUSHDIE: No. No. That's OK.
WHITFIELD: No feeling of danger anymore.
RUSHDIE: No, no, no. We have to stop -
WHITFIELD: Either to explain or -
RUSHDIE: We have to stop thinking in those kind of, you know, Lily (ph) leaded ways. If you have books to write, you write them.
WHITFIELD: And so as you, you know, work on these memoirs throughout 2011, do you kind of, you know, put yourself in a place where you say, you know what, I can't interact with anybody for a while. I'm just kind of close -
RUSHDIE: No. No, I'm not like that.
WHITFIELD: -- close shop for like 30 days.
RUSHDIE: I'm not like that as a writer. I would - I find that it's actually helpful to me at the end of a day's work to get out of my head, you know, to go see some friends or go see a movie or whatever it might be. I think it keeps - it actually keeps it fresh for me. I mean, there are writers who like to lock themselves away, you know?
But I find that my temperament is like this, and if I spend a very hard day's work, you know, in my room by myself with my work, with my pages, you know, that at the end of that, it's really helpful to leave it behind and go do something else, you know, and it just as I say refreshes it. So, no, I don't think I'm going to be - I'm not very monastic by nature.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Salman Rushdie, writing is his life's work, and he finds how hard it is to get started. So what advice does Salman Rushdie have for future writers? Find out next hour when our "Face to Face" continues in the 4:00 Eastern hour.
And, next week, "Face to Face with Katherine Schwarzenegger." The name might sound familiar. She's the daughter of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and journalist Maria Shriver. The 20-year-old is now an author, and, in her book "Rock What You've Got", the young college student opens up about her struggles to develop a healthy body image.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: You look at your mom, Maria Shriver as a very strong individual. She's beautiful. She's smart. And it's almost like looking in the mirror, is it not? But you were somehow looking at yourself and not seeing the same qualities that you endeared about your mom.
KATHERINE SCHWARZENEGGER, AUTHOR, "ROCK WHAT YOU'VE GOT": Yes. I think we - you know, we, as women, we look in the mirror and we don't see what other people see. We automatically jump and only focus on the flaws, the things we wish we could change about ourselves. And I think that's really true for women of all ages.
And, you know, I was in fourth grade and I was doing exactly that. And I think, you know, to me, my mom wasn't Maria Shriver the beautiful journalist, she was just my mom to me. And so when she told me, you're beautiful, Katherine, I was like, yes, sure, whatever. Yes, you have to say that.
I think that's what a lot of young girls think. And I really want young girls to know that if your mom is saying these things to you, it's important to believe it, because your mom wouldn't say you're doing a great job, you're really smart in school, unless she believed it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: "Face to Face with Katherine Schwarzenegger" next weekend, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Twenty-six to travel for turkey, would you do it? Well, that was the plan for one Australian who accidentally got on a Florida family's Thanksgiving e-mail chain. We'll meet him and hear the story in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Today's "Turnaround" features a small business with a mix of innovative products and successful viral marketing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TERRENCE KELLEMAN, FOUNDER DYNOMIGHTY DESIGN: Hi, welcome to Dynomighty.
Dynomighty actually my company, I started it eight years ago. It was - the whole concept for Dynomighty evolved out of a product essentially that I had found while rummaging through the garbage, of all things.
But what I was doing was working at the Museum of Modern Art at the time. And I stumbled upon - literally stumbled upon this idea for this magnetic bracelet. So it took me a year to invent this product and then I started selling it at the Museum of Modern Art, and eight years later, here we are.
Based on the success of the jewelry, I did other organizers in magnets. This is actually - it's called a desktop desk organizer. It's all magnetic beads that hold your business cards together or you can use it for your pictures or whatever.
Then we had our YouTube success, which really changed and redefined the business entirely. And I did all these tricks and put them on a video on YouTube that lasted about a minute. And within a month, we were a featured video on YouTube and we had just an enormous response. And within the space of three months, we had sold $130,000 worth of jewelry.
Now, we have almost 140 videos online and YouTube is our number one referrer beyond all other referrers. To have a dream from, you know, the point at which I was working at my day job 9:00 to 5:00, to have an idea for a product and then to bring that to fruition, and now eight years later, to have a company that our biggest problem is our rapid success. I mean, that's the - the thing I'm most proud of.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanksgiving is for family and friends, right? Well, for the Tran Family in Florida, it meant meeting a new friend who was kind of part of the family already.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMES P. WEST, THANKSGIVING GUEST: What surprised me was the - the level of generosity, I think, and the level of - just the level of friendliness that I have experienced so far.
CAROLE TRAN, THANKSGIVING HOSTESS: I feel like I've known him forever. He's just so much fun, the nicest guy that you could have ever had on Thanksgiving.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So you've got to hear how this all started. It started with an errant e-mail and ended with an Australian man flying 26 hours to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with his new family. So let's meet some of them.
James West lives in Port St. Lucie, Florida and James P. West, that's right, the one in black - and James P. West, the one in the light blue there, lives in Sydney, Australia. But today, they're all of course together in Florida.
OK. So help me understand this James West plural or James West squared, right? OK. So, James P., the Aussie, explain how this happened.
JAMES P. WEST: Yes.
WHITFIELD: You started getting a flood of e-mails from the Tran Family over a period of years, right?
JAMES P. WEST: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And what do those e-mails usually say?
JAMES P. WEST: Like, three - for three years, dozens of e-mails, like this enduring case of mistaken identity, Fredricka. It started three years ago. And I would just ignore them, like, they were about like who's going to bring the cheese, broccoli or the famous double yoked eggs to Thanksgiving.
And though it was just like this sort of pretty normal family e-mails, and I didn't think about it. Until this year, when I went, right, this is enough. I need to know who these people are, where they are, their food sounds good, I want to be there.
WHITFIELD: OK. And then how did you go about trying to track them down?
JAMES P. WEST: Well, I first put out a - a YouTube video, because I wanted to - to let the Tran Family know what I looked like, you know, I knew what -
WHITFIELD: OK.
JAMES P. WEST: I knew all about them, basically. And so I wanted to put myself out there and - and go, look, I'm not a freak, and you know, I'd love - I'd love to meet you. I know so much about you.
WHITFIELD: So you didn't want to just say, OK, let me just return an e-mail on this one. Hey, you guys, you know what? I think have the wrong James West. I'm actually over here. I don't know what you're talking about - about this Thanksgiving dinner stuff, but you know what, I'm in now. So can I come? You didn't want just to go the simple route.
JAMES P. WEST: Where's - where's the fun in that?
WHITFIELD: There's no fun. You're right. No fun.
JAMES P. WEST: It's a good question because it kind of started off as an experiment, you know? In 2010, we're all told this world is incredibly interconnected. That you can get on to Facebook or YouTube and - and, you know, we know everybody. And I wanted to really test that idea out, you know?
WHITFIELD: OK. So James West, I'm going to include you, American - I'm going to include you in this as well. But first, you know, so James P., Aussie, you -
JAMES P. WEST: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- you hatched this plan like four days before Thanksgiving, meaning, I'm going to get my plane ticket, I'm going to just arrive there. And -
JAMES P. WEST: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- did you arrive empty handed or did you bring the thing that was promised during e-mails that you were supposed to bring?
JAMES P. WEST: Well, look, yes. To give a bit of context to that, a couple of weeks ago, I wrote back to this big e-mail group -
WHITFIELD: OK.
JAMES P. WEST: -- and just saying, what should I bring? And they wrote back canned corn, which I later learned was a joke, but I was going to go through with it, you know? And I have to say, it's difficult flying this time of year because it got confiscated in security.
WHITFIELD: Oh, that's right, no liquids. OK. So, now you get on the plane, 26 hours, you arrive at the Tran Family house, Port St. Lucie of Florida.
Now, American James West, what were you impressions -
JAMES WEST, MEMBER OF TRAN FAMILY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- when James P. showed up and what was it like?
JAMES WEST: Well, I love the fact that he went on to YouTube because if he hadn't have done that and gone public like this, I - I think we would have been like, we really don't know you. But after watching his - his few YouTubes that he did, we all agreed, like, we need to invite this guy down, you know? He's -
WHITFIELD: Oh, my God.
JAMES WEST: He seems like a lot of fun.
WHITFIELD: OK. So now you're part of the family, James P. I mean, you got two James Wests in the family here now, James West squared.
JAMES P. WEST: That's right. That's right.
WHITFIELD: So how long do you plan on staying or would you be wearing out the welcome mat, what's going on? JAMES P. WEST: Well, you know what, I fly out tomorrow morning, if you can believe that.
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.
JAMES P. WEST: You know, I got a couple of days off work and it was so last minute and I pleaded and begged to come. And then since I've been here, it's just been sort of all on, they've been throwing me parties. You know, I walk down the street and there's people that go, hey, you're the guy - the YouTube guy.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my God.
JAMES P. WEST: You're the guy that came to Thanksgiving. And everyone's been so welcoming and, you know, the food has been - although I don't ever want to see turkey again in my life.
WHITFIELD: Well, that's the way most of us feel, too. You made a very big way on that - on that Thanksgiving Thursday.
So American James West now, give me an idea how thankful you and the Tran Family are that all of this came together in a very circuitous kind of roundabout way.
JAMES WEST: Oh, yes. It's been a great experience. We'll never forget this Thanksgiving. And I don't know if we can do this all the time. But I'm - I'm sure we're going to extend invites out to James for other family events and, you know, we talked about trying to get out to Australia, don't know if we can do it, but we're certainly going to stay in touch.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, he remained on the e-mail chain.
JAMES P. WEST: And if they do -
WHITFIELD: Go ahead.
JAMES P. WEST: -- they're very welcome in Australia.
WHITFIELD: Of course, of course. You're a one big global family now.
James P. and James West, thanks so much. Congratulations on a wonderful journey.
JAMES P. WEST: Thank you very much.
JAMES WEST: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: You took Thanksgiving to a whole other level. And now brothers. I can see it.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: All right, take care. Thanks so much -- from Port St. Lucie, Florida.
OK, the pressure is on, and the message is all too clear -- shop! The economy needs you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, these are trying economic times for holiday shoppers and retailers. That's straight ahead. But first a look at the top stories.
Law officers in Portland, Oregon, foil a plot to set off a bomb during a crowded tree lighting ceremony. A Somali-born teenager is in custody, accused of trying to detonate what he thought was a van full of explosives. It turns out the bombs were fake. He got them from undercover agents after they learned of the plot.
And South Korean military veterans protested in the streets of Seoul today. They accuse the government of not doing enough to respond to the North Korean threat. North Korea isn't backing down. It says if there were any civilian deaths when it shelled a South Korean island, that's because the South used those people as human shields.
A former U.S. ambassador says new material about to be released by Wikileaks could contain damaging information. The former envoy to Russia says the leaks may contain highly sensitive data that reveal U.S. negotiating positions and other confidential matters. The whistleblowing Web site is expected to release the material within days.
It's what a lot of retailers call make or break time. Here's why retailers say it's such a big deal. The National Retail Federation predicts shoppers will spend $447 billion before the end of the year. And if past years are any indication, retailers could make more than $41 billion this weekend alone.
Our Sandra Endo is out with shoppers in McLean, Virginia. You find any good deals, Sandra?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are some good deals, actually, Fred. And we've seen the crowd here be strong and steady. We've seen a lot of people with those big bags scoring some bargains out here. But clearly, there's a mood of eagerness to spend money and shop. But there's also a sense of caution out there. A lot of people have been bit hard by the recession, and now they're slowly coming out of it. They have a little extra money to spend, but they're being careful. And we spoke to some shoppers who are being smart about their spending.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been able to get everything pretty much paid off, so you know, it's just pay as you go, pretty much now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm watching my budget, you know. I don't -- unless we -- it's a need, maybe a little want, but more of a need this year.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ENDO: Yes, cash seems to be king, too, because a lot of people are trying to stay away from those credit cards. But retailers are hoping that a lot of people will be out here in robust numbers, spending a little more of that cash. The National Retail Federation actually, Fred, is anticipating a 2.3 percent increase in retail sales, which is good because last year, it was not as strong as that.
But I want to show you something here, Fred, because you can't replace this any time of the year. Of course...
WHITFIELD: Oh, yes!
ENDO: ... the big man himself...
(CROSSTALK)
MACK: ... the superstar -- yes. Santa Claus and that gorgeous little baby.
WHITFIELD: Aw!
MACK: And that's also a big lure for people to come out here and come to the stores and actually shop -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. That's incentive right there. Sandra Endo, thanks so much, in McLean, Virginia. Oh, Mom's got to get in the shot there. We see you, Mom. OK, right there. All right. Take care.
OK, so how do you fulfill that holiday gift list without going broke? Some advice from "Washington Post's"' personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHELLE SINGLETARY, AUTHOR, COLUMNIST: The most important thing is to shop with a plan. So you've got to budget first, and then have a plan or a list, just like when you go to the grocery store. Otherwise, just like when you go to the grocery store, you're going to be jumping down and taking things from the shelves. And I call it, you have to, you know, manage yourself so that you don't overspend your budget because it's very easy to do. You know, you saw all the reports this morning. People lose their minds when it comes to the holiday season!
WHITFIELD: They do. And of course, when they see something, you know, slashed 40 percent, it may not be on the list, but they have a tendency to want to buy it simply because it's a good deal and figure, You know what? Somebody on my list is going to get this. Is that smart...
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: ... take advantage of the bargains.
SINGLETARY: I call it the "oh" factor -- go, Oh, oh, oh! And next thing you know, you've busted your budget. (LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Right!
SINGLETARY: So you have to -- you have to get rid of the "oh" factor. You almost have to train yourself to not do that. And one of the ways I suggest for people, especially if this is your problem, you know, take a copy of your last year's credit card statements, when you overspent. Take a copy of your savings account statement that doesn't have enough savings in it. Or take your retirement account savings that went down, or the fact that you don't have a -- you know, a college fund for your kids. Put it all in a little card, put it on your credit card, put it in your wallet. So every time you get tempted to give into that "oh" factor, you're going to see it right there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Columnist Michelle Singletary breaking it down there, keeping it real for you and your finances. Another money- saving tip that Michelle suggests, paying cash to prevent any overspending.
Coming up, we'll get the latest on a bizarre discovery in southern California, a private residence packed full of explosives. Police are calling it a bomb-making factory.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, you know what that means, time to check out the videos grabbing people's attention on the Web. There's one in particular. Jacqui Jeras doesn't want to miss this one. Our Josh Levs is taking the weekend off, but before he left, he put together this look at the week's most popular videos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred! Hey, everybody! I'm sorry I can't be there live today. I'm off doing, you know, the post- Thanksgiving thing. But I couldn't leave without "Viral Video Rewind" for you. So check out what we have for you this week.
As you're looking for toys for kids, for your relatives, here's someone who got his son something unlike anything you've ever seen before. I know, at first, it's, like, What is this? And then you see it's a Rube Goldberg machine, basically, all around his room, using marbles. It's called a perimeter marble run on a Web site called Instructibles.com (ph). The dad, Steve Mosely (ph), explains how it's built. He writes, "I love building fun things like this for my kids and seeing their excitement as everything comes together." So happy holidays for that family. Wow!
All right, well, speaking of amazing feats, every week, I show you an unusual talent, as you know, that we've never heard of. Well, this week -- you ready for this? -- finger boarding. Take a look here. It's skate boarding with your fingers, two fingers, little, tiny skateboard. This went up this month and it already has hundreds of thousands of views. The rider (ph) is Alexis Moent (ph).
All right, time now for your weekly adorable. This week, it's a video of a baby otter playing with a stuffed walrus. Super-cute. There you go. I said it before, I'll say it again. Animals don't have to do anything, they can just play, and they go incredibly viral in no time. This one's up at Icanhazcheeseburger.com.
All right, all that was just a build-up, though, for the big one. As you know, I stay in touch with the good folks at JibJab, and they're out with some whoppers. But right now, since everyone is doing their holiday shopping this weekend and thinking about the holidays, and Christmas music is all over the radio, it's time for this rocking JibJab. Watch us get our groove on en Espanol.
Check it out. It's you, me and our Jacqui Jeras. Let's let this one play out.
Feliz navidad! That's Jose Feliciano. I love it! Yes, we got some moves, right?
Well, as always, today's "Viral Videos" are posted at my FaceBook page, Joshlevscnn. You can see it right there. You can also get them and follow me on Twitter at Joshlevscnn. Fred, I will see you live, right here, physically actually right here, tomorrow, Sunday in our 4:00 PM Eastern hour for new videos in "Viral Video Rewind."
WHITFIELD: Wow! Gracias, Josh! Feliz Navidad.
All right, an extremely sophisticated drug tunnel nearly a half mile long. It's uncovered in California. We'll tell you what else investigators found next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, two big news stories that are getting a lot of people's attention. Both are among the most read stories on CNN.com, and both happen to be taking place in southern California. South of San Diego, federal agents have discovered another drug tunnel around the U.S.-Mexican border. Authorities on both sides of the border have arrested at least nine suspects and seized between 20 and 30 tons of marijuana.
And then in San Diego County, California, authorities say they found a huge cache of homemade explosives. Police have stopped searching the private residence. They say it's too dangerous. The explosives just might blow up. So CNN's Nick Valencia has been keeping close tabs on both of these stories. He's with us now, working on the CNN assignment desk and covering California very extensively.
So let's talk about this tunnel first. We know there was one discovered a while back, and now a second?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN ASSIGNMENT DESK: Right. Three weeks ago, they discovered one tunnel...
WHITFIELD: And sophisticated. VALENCIA: A sophisticated tunnel. This is one of the most sophisticated tunnels they've ever seen...
WHITFIELD: Oh, wow.
VALENCIA: ... maybe ever in U.S. history.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
VALENCIA: And they've discovered enough marijuana -- they seized enough marijuana, they said, to give one marijuana cigarette to each of 37 million California residents.
WHITFIELD: Whoa!
VALENCIA: That's how much and significant of a seizure this was. As we mentioned, this is a sophisticated tunnel, we think because now, "El Chapo," Joaquin Chapo Guzman, who's sort of like the Osama bin Laden of the drug war -- he's sought after. He's the king, a drug kingpin -- he's taken an active interest in this area. And my local sources in intelligence suggesting that we're going to see more and more of these types of seizures, more of these types of these tunnels...
WHITFIELD: Wow.
VALENCIA: ... and more deaths in this area as one of the big drug traffickers takes interest in this area.
WHITFIELD: More seizures because there might be more informants, more people who are willing...
VALENCIA: More activity.
WHITFIELD: ... to give information?
VALENCIA: More activity. As you have El Chapo take a stronger interest in this area, you have more drugs coming through here, more weapons, more people, just more things to be seized from this area.
WHITFIELD: Meantime, the closing down of that tunnel?
VALENCIA: Yes, it's been closed down about -- as you reported, nine people have been arrested...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
VALENCIA: ... in this so far. It started in a Mexican kitchen and made its way to two warehouses across the border in San Diego. So authorities, when this thing -- a railroad system seven football fields long, Fred -- just an amazing discovery in here. When you get inside, it's lined with cinderblocks. You go down to the floor, and I mentioned, a railroad system...
WHITFIELD: This is not an overnight operation...
VALENCIA: This was not...
WHITFIELD: ... getting it together.
VALENCIA: Not at all.
WHITFIELD: This took a long time.
VALENCIA: This wasn't a mom and pop operation...
WHITFIELD: To cement it.
VALENCIA: ... authorities are saying. It's an incredible discovery.
WHITFIELD: OK, now let's talk about something else in southern California, this house, bomb-making materials -- even the law enforcement say, We're not even going in there because it's dangerous.
VALENCIA: Right. It's like...
WHITFIELD: What's at the root of this?
VALENCIA: Can you believe that? So authorities have decided to suspend their investigation. They decided just a few days ago they're not going to do anything over the Thanksgiving holiday. They said they won't actually go back until about December 3rd. Our local affiliate, KGTV, reported...
WHITFIELD: OK.
VALENCIA: ... that earlier today. This is thought to be the largest seizure and the largest bomb-making -- bomb-making material -- PETN, which as you know, is a very popular bomb-making explosive with...
WHITFIELD: Right. That was used in that cargo -- the explosives that were found in the cargo overseas.
VALENCIA: Yes. Absolutely. It was used in Richard Reid's shoe bomb that -- you know, that thwarted attempt, as well as the underwear bomb -- attempted underwear bombing on Christmas day. So this is highly sophisticated material. About nine pounds, between nine and twelve pounds of explosives material, authorities are saying enough material, bomb-making material, for the size of a large car bomb.
WHITFIELD: And what do we know about the suspect?
VALENCIA: Well, that's a good question. He's 54 years old. He's a Serbian national. He's naturalized now, an unemployed software computer engineer. And during his arraignment on Monday, his wife actually spoke to reporters and said, recently, he's sort of kind of gone off the deep end. His neighbors very suspicious of...
WHITFIELD: She's saying she didn't know anything about all this?
VALENCIA: She's trying to say that she didn't know anything about this.
WHITFIELD: Live in the same house?
VALENCIA: Live in the same house.
WHITFIELD: OK.
VALENCIA: And the way they found out about this, conveniently enough, was their gardener was going in the back yard, stepped on the equivalent of what is a mine and was injured. That's when police stepped in.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Extraordinary. No wonder these are two of the top stories.
VALENCIA: A lot of people interested...
WHITFIELD: That people are watching.
VALENCIA: ... in these stories. Yes, keep clicking. They're getting great -- great hits on .com.
WHITFIELD: All right, Nick Valencia, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
VALENCIA: Thank you, Fred. Appreciate it.
WHITFIELD: Excellent.
All right, life imitated art when an Indiana high school football team made a video. We'll show it to you later on at the "Water Cooler." Going to love it!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, time for the "Water Cooler" now. A losing high school football team tears a page from the "Glee" playbook for fun, for profit and even for some wins.
That's funny stuff. All right, the football team from Decatur Central High School in Indiana -- there they are, shaking it. They're spoofing a Beyonce tune. Guess you figured that one out by now. Put a ring on it. Mimicking a scene from the hit television show "Glee." The video won 300 bucks for the team in a contest. The gridiron dancers also halted a two-game losing streak. They're pumped up now!
And you'd think that swans would be right at home in the cold water. Well, this swan need a little bit of help in Minnesota. A man woke up to see the swan struggling in a freezing pond. He and a friend rode out, rescued the swan, which had been injured and was unable to actually leave the water. Who would definitely -- who would want to see a swan struggling? You know you'd do it, too. They took it to a vet, who treated the swan for injuries. They're so heroic.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's great!
WHITFIELD: I know. That's a nice rescue story, Jacqui.
JERAS: Yes! I love that! They're nice out there. WHITFIELD: Too cold for a swan.
JERAS: It does, yes.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: I went to university, and we had swans, like, in the lake there, and they had to take them away for the winter because it was too cold for them.
WHITFIELD: Keep them inside or relocate or something.
JERAS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: What you got going on? A lot of freezing stuff out there, huh?
JERAS: Well, do, yes. Look at all the snow on the map again, right?
WHITFIELD: Oh! Yes.
JERAS: I'm telling you, the West has been hit hard over the last couple of weeks.
WHITFIELD: (INAUDIBLE) winter.
JERAS: It's just been, yes, storm after storm after storm. Today, no different. You can see really heavy, particularly into the Sierras, the I-80 corridor, you know, from San Francisco all the way over to Salt Lake City, it's going to be rough going with the rain into the valleys here, and then snow into the passes and the higher elevations. And Salt Lake, you're doing OK now, but watch for that heavy snow to be pulling in late tonight and into tomorrow.
Now, we've also have had some snow across parts of the Great Lakes. Yes, lake effect snow machine kicking into effect. All the warnings and advisories have been canceled a little bit early, so that's some good news. But hey, you've already had 10 inches of snow there in Beaver Falls, as well as Barnes Corners. East Aurora had seven inches, as well as Colden and Wales.
We have had a few delays at the airports primarily due to the winds that we've been seeing into the Northeast. And that's what we've been seeing into Newark San Francisco, about 40-minute delays.
So the big story really the snow for all those travelers that continue to be out there, Fredricka, with the holiday.
WHITFIELD: Wow. All right, thanks so much.
JERAS: OK.
WHITFIELD: See you later, Jacqui. OK, otters -- here we are -- otters, cute, playful. Did you know they can be dangerous, too? We'll show you an amazing video after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: On this day after Thanksgiving, the White House -- are we all together now? Do we have the right video together? The White House tree arrived just a short time ago -- do we have any of that video? No.
OK, well, let's go on across the country and see what else we have here, see what else we have in our system. How about, first up, West Palm Beach, Florida, where animal control agents are on the hunt for an aggressive otter. It is suspected in as many as three incidents, we understand, including an attack on a teenager caught on that video right there this week. You hear the squealing in the background? Will Gibbons says that he grabbed his cell phone to capture what he thought was a playful creature, and then it actually lunged and attacked his leg.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM GIBBONS, VIDEOTAPED OTTER ATTACKING HIM: I was scared, to say it simple. It was a cute little otter. I didn't expect it to do anything. And right when it bit (ph) me, I was just, like, Wow, I wasn't expecting this. And so then I just took off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
