i'm martin savidge in for fredricka whitfield. here are the top stories at this hour. new details about that disturbing rape case in a small town of subenville, ohio. last hour city leaders talked about their investigation. >> early in the case during the first week after we were made ware of this incident, we obtained this video. i, too, as all my officers who investigated this, were appalled by these morally inept statements made. the new prosecutors, special prosecutors for the high attorney a.g.'s office, everything was submitted to them. they decide what charges, if any, would be filed. >> the charges to be filed mentiond are against two 16-year-old boys, malik rich monday and trent mays. they're accused of raping an underage girl while she was allegedly drunk or unconscious. that trial is slated to start on february 13th. national correspondent susan candiotti joins me from steubenville, ohio. what's the latest this hour? >> reporter: hi, marty. there's a big protest going on on the steps of the jefferson county courthouse. police estimate around 300 people or so

i'm martin savidge in for fredricka whitfield. if you are just tuning in, thank you very much for joining us. these are the top stories we're following right now in the "cnn newsroom." it could be one of the most shocking admissions in sports history. "usa today" is reporting that lance armstrong will admit to doping in an upcoming interview with oprah. we're following that story. >> i said it for seven years. i've said it for longer than seven years. i have never doped. i can say it again. but i've said it for seven years. it doesn't help. >> reporter: help may be something lance armstrong will need a lot of to redeem his reputation after "usa today" reports armstrong will admit to doping throughout his career. the newspaper does not name their source but says it's a person with knowledge of the situation. "usa today" says the former seven-time tour de france champion's admission, which had been widely rumored for weeks, is expected to come in a monday interview with oprah winfrey that will be taped for air thursday. as for why h

i'm miguel marquez in for fredricka whitfield. if you're just tuning in, thank you for joining us. these are the top stories we're following right now in the "cnn newsroom." >>> a secret group has fired a public and embarrassing shot across the bow of the justice department. the group hacked into one of dog's sites belonging to the u.s. sentencing commission. there it posted a threat to release sensitive materials about the justice department if prosecutors don't stop going after hackers. cnn's nick valencia is covering this for us in the "newsroom." a poke in the eye to the justice department. what does the fbi have to say? >> good afternoon. this is a poke in the eye of the justice department and a slap in the face to the u.s. government. the hacker group anonymous chose this u.s. federal sentencing website. they said it was a symbolic move by them. they believe that the u.s. department of justice is in clear violation of the eighth amendment, cruel and unusual punishment they're calling it. our washington bureau reached out to

i'm miguel marquez in for fredricka whitfield. if you are just joining us, these are the top stories in the cnn newsroom. >>> we begin with a heartbreaking tragedy in braz really. 330 people died in an early morning fire in a crowded nightclub in santa maria. college students were celebrating the end of their college break before heading back to classes on monday. fire officials say the blaze was over cap pays the when the blaze broke out at 2:00 in the morning go to cnn's rafael romo who has the latest. how did this fire start? >> reporter: there was a concert about 2:00 this morning and part of the concert involved pyrotechnics. and what firefighters are saying is part of the flames reached the foam insulation on the ceiling and that's how the fire might have started. not being conclusive about this at this point. the problem was that the foam created a lot of smoke. it was very dense. it was very thick. as you can see into these images, off lot of people frantically trying to escape an emergency situation. what happened firefig

i'm martin savidge in for fredricka whitfield.just tuning in, thank you very much for joining us. these are the top stories we are following right now in the cnn newsroom. >>> head of the national rifle association said today that he doubts that congress will pass a ban on assault weapons but that didn't stop new york's senator, charles schumer, from trying another tactic. today, he appealed directly to walmart and other large retailers to quit selling military-style guns while congress decides what to do. >>> japan airlines has confirmed that one of their boeing dreamliner jets was leaking fuel. the plane was involved in a fuel spill last week. after an inspection, the airline says it was coming from a nozzle on the plane's wing. the airliner has been plagued by a series of mechanical problem notice last few months. the federal aviation administration said friday it is launching a full examination of not just the plane but also its design and assembly. >>> thousands of russians matched in moscow today to protest the ban against a

i'm martin savidge in for fredricka whitfield. just tuning in thanks for joining us. >>> here are the top stories we are following now in the cnn newsroom. crews in australia searching for dozens of people who are missing after wildfires engulfed southeast tasmania. rescue workers are going door to door trying to find people who have been missing since those fires broke out friday. no casualties have been reported so far, but more than 100 homes have been destroyed by the flames. >>> the u.s. coast guard and shell, they are trying to tow a grounded alaska oil rig. bad weather has prevented them from towing it to a safe air yaw. the vessel ran aground 200 miles south of anchorage last week. shell says the fuel tanks seem to be intact and no evidence of any sheen in the vicinity. >>> boats, helicopters and dive teams, they are all searching for a missing plane with six people aboard. among them, famed fashion designer vittorio missoni and his wife. their small plane disappeared friday after taking off from a resort off the venezuela

for those of you just joining us, i'm martin savidge in for fredricka whitfield.e're following right now. the cdc is releasing new information about the flu epidemic. there are indications the spread of the flu has slowed down in some areas. still 24 states and new york city are reporting high levels of flu activity. new york's governor has even declared a public health emergency. the cdc says since this outbreak began, there have been 20 flu related deaths among young people 18 years and younger. lance armstrong reportedly will come clean tomorrow according to "usa today" at least. he will tell oprah winfrey the truth about doping during his years as the world's top cyclist. the paper says the interview will be taped at armstrong's home in texas for broadcast on thursday. then there's this. in seattle, a quick thinking bus driver saved his passengers from harm when a fire broke under the vehicle. everyone got off safely before a fireball engulfed the bus. traffic was tied up for hours. the fire may have started due to a frozen brake line. first time i've heard th

our own fredricka whitfield, by the way, her dad, a tuskegee airman.o went in, fought for all of us against the nazis in europe. did brilliantly, even though they got inferior equipment. they really managed to become heroes. they're being well recognized, as they should be. >> a very special moment, president obama spending time with them. i do notice, it does appear as if the first lady, as well as malia and sasha have gone back into the residence. they seem to have left the reviewing stand. so the president is there. you also see the vice president biden and his family all still there as well. >> looks like they've definitely gone back into the white house. maybe they'll come back out. maybe they're getting ready for all the balls. >> you do need -- i mean, ladies need a little bit more time to get ready. >> as you heard alina, carson kressley, everybody's wondering, i know you are, what dress she'll be wearing tonight, who the designer is. >> i'm very curious. wolf, i also think it is something to just pause and look at this moment that we're watchi

i'm martin savidge in for fredricka whitfield and here with the stories we are following now from thewsroom. >>> vice president biden's gun task force makes its recommendations to the white house on tuesday, commissioned in the aftermath of the newtown shootings. expected among the proposals, universal background checks, restrictions on ammunition magazines and a ban on assault weapons. >>> newtown, connecticut, tomorrow, by the way, marks one month since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at the sandy hook elementary school a town hall meeting has been scheduled. today, residents met to discuss what too do with the now-vacant school. proposals range from tearing it down to turning it into a planetarium. >>> and some scary homes for people in a movie theater in northern san diego. police officers stormed that theater yesterday and shot a man who apparently pulled a hand gun on them. the 20-year-old may have ran into the theater after he got into a fight with his girlfriend and people on the street saw him with a gun. no one else was hurt in the shooting. the suspect is in crit

i'm miguel marquez in for fredricka whitfield. >>> a tragic end to the summer in brazil. at least 233 people died, many of them college students in an early morning fire at a crowded nightclub in the southern city of santa maria. the students were celebrating the end of summer before heading back to classes on monday. >>> how about this break out? >> there was a spectacular show at 2:00. part of the show included pyrotechnics. the flames shooting up. they touched the foam, insulation foam on the ceiling and firefighters are saying this preliminarily, that might have been the cause of the fire. it spread throughout the building very, very fast, creating dense smoke. the place didn't have enough emergency exits. >> a lot of bodies were found in the restrooms. why was that? >> one points, the emergency exits got blocked by people trying to get out of there, they got trampled. authorities say security guards were at first trying to prevent people from leaving the place which they were afraid they wouldn't pay their tabs, at that point, sounds ridiculous, that sounds like what

i miguel marquez in for fredricka whitfield. here are the top stories. extreme arctic weather is making it unbearable for people in the dakotas all the way to new england. the cold is so bitter water can't flow out of this hydrant in new york. it turned rock solid as firefighters chipped away at it.in the south, icy roads blamed for this ten-car pile-up last night. the national weather service warns bitterly cold possibly deadly conditions will continue for much of the country through the weekend. >>> want to bring in meteorologist alexandre steel in the cnn weather service and in winter white. what's coming up with the weather? >> it's almost a joke miguel. earlier today we talked about they canceled the polar bear plunge because it was too cold. how cold is it? the good news, the arctic air that's been the culprit for this cold is this trough with this arctic air. but that will push eastward and in its place a warm ridge of pressure. so this ridge of high pressure moves in, allow for the south lit flow of air and warmer temperatures. on the whole this

i'm miguel marquez in for fredricka whitfield. these are the top stories we are following right now in the "cnn newsroom." >>> a march in washington to support tougher gun-control measures. d.c. mayor vincent gray was among those motivated by the newtown massacre to speak out. many protesters say they want progress to reinstate a ban on assault weapons and require background checks on gun buyers. a counterdemonstration by gun rights advocates is also taking place nearby. in egypt, 30 people are dead after protesters broke out -- protests broke out in the city of port saeed. the demonstrations began after people were sentenced to death for their role in a deadly football riot last year. the death sentences will be reviewed by egypt's highest religious authority by march 9th. >>> now looking at some stories trending on the internet today. it's official. j.j. abrams will direct the next "star wars" film. it will be the first "star wars" movie since disney agreed to acquire lucas film. abrams is no stranger to blockbuster franchises.

i'm martin savage in for fredricka whitfield.following right now here in the cnn "newsroom." >>> new details about the rape case in ohio. just last hour, city leaders talked about the investigation. >> early in the case during the first week after we were made aware of this incident, we obtained this video. i too, as were all the officers, was appalled by these morally inept statements made. the special prosecutors for the high attorney ag's office, everything was submitted to them. they decided what charges if any would be filed. >> the charges to be filed are against 16-year-old boys. they are accused of raping an underage girl while she was allegedly drunk or unconscious. the trial for them starts on february 13th. national correspondent susan candiotti joins me now from steubenvil steubenville, ohio. what's happening this hour? we know there has been that protest today. >> reporter: right, matter marty. it just wrapped up. these people were here after this incident really rocked this town. and they gather here together, all o