are three hoaxes. there's the hoax that lennay kekua ever existed. there's the hoax that she faked her death to hide from drug dealers, both of which were bought at some point by manti te'o. but the third hoax is really about the degree of the relationship and how serious and how much he loved her. >> that's something you think he played up or it seems like he played up in the media? >> when he essentially tells katie couric that he didn't go visit his sick, dying girlfriend in the hospital because he didn't want to miss a flight, that tells me that it's not really as serious as he allowed the media to promulgate that message in the days after she died and in the way he characterized it himself in interviews and in the press throughout the college football season. >> i want to play one of the hoax voicemails that the fictitious girlfriend left for te'o. let's listen. >> hey, i'm just letting you know we just got here and i'm getting ready for my first session. and i wanted to call and keep you posted.

he is the victim of a cruel hoax, or is he in on the hoax?out that, next. >> we're even talking about it in the commercial breaks. the story that defined the college football season. manti te'o losing season, manta te'o, his grandmother died, new report shows the whole story is a fabrication the girlfriend apparently never existed. earlier i spoke with mike greenberg the co-host of "mike&mike in the morning." here's what we talked about. good morning, guys, nice to talk to you. your show is riveting this morning. there are so many questions, for me the biggest question i guess is, is manti te'o part of this hoax or a victim of this hoax? what's your gut on that? >> that is the $64 million question, soledad and here is the only reason that i'm inclined to believe that te'o was not involved and that is that the athletic director from notre dame last night came out and put all his eggs in te'o's basket. he unequivocally backed te'o and put the entire university and the entire football program behind him. this kid finished his football career, wi

some of the big hoaxes of all time that are out there. >> as we head to break. it is never too early to show off the ravens pride. send us your photos of your ravens pride on this friday. we're back in a bit. >>> the inauguration is just days away and the president was sworn in with 2 million people attending. he was the first african- american u.s. president. this year's event is will be smaller but is still unique. and for the 7th time in u.s. history, the mandated inauguration day is on a sunday. that means that the president will officially be sworn in sunday at the white house and a ceremonial inauguration will be monday. 800,000 people are expected to attend. >>> did you score one of those  tickets for the inauguration? if so, can you pick it up today. 325 tickets were awarded to maryland constituents through a lottery system. >>> and if you are on not on the mall, www.abc2news.com and we have a special section on the app. can you down load that. >>> and 26 people were killed last month and residents in newtown are trying to figure out what to do with the

was he somehow involved in the hoax?s say their relationship was exclusively online. so why then did te'o's father reportedly tell one paper that his son had met kekua after a game at stanford years ago? and that they'd spent time together in hawaii? >> two people reached out to me over a month ago asking for my help in uncovering the truth behind this profile. and if what they tell me, i get the impression that this story goes a lot deeper than just the relationship between manti and lennay. >> reporter: and why, even after he informed officials of the hoax, did no one go public to set the record straight? >> now it appears that the stories were wrong, fabricated, that he was duped, or he perpetrated a hoax, people want to know exactly what happened. >> reporter: on the campus of notre dame today, nothing but stunned dismay. >> of course there are some suspicious parts of the story, but it's extremely hard to believe that someone could do something so hurtful and cruel. >> reporter: and across social media and the twitt

they may have said hoax some place.arly the woman whose picture taken and shocked by it, the hoax is somebody lifted her picture. every time a good looking girl on campus, i used to say i had a date with her. >> kimberly: one of his close friends tuisosopo. >> eric: nice. >> bob: you're from hawaii? you're from puerto rico, right? >> bob: is this real, snob what is wrong with you. >> dana: what was your point? what did he say? >> kimberly: my point is he went to high school with the girl whose picture was used. there is a web of characters involved in this. somebody pulled the picture, put it up. buddy, it's skype season. get up and put the girl on skype, talk to her and meet with her. >> eric: a quirky, ange to this is there a girl, i'm not sure that is her, or not her name but a girl from social media someone lifted and made that his girlfriend. >> greg: who habit done that? >> eric: there are talking heads on tv now saying this is terrible, no team will take him. i go out on a limb and say if i was going to draft him

why the hoax? >> what i know so far, it looks like this thing is the kind of new age, social media prank and even tv show on mtv, they do this to people, c catfish and they film it and they went too far and a naive gullible person and a football player, magnetic guy. in his personal life, quiet, religious, and i can tell you that ronaiah tuiasosopo is his name and he's in hiding and news trucks out in front of his house for days and people are waiting for him to comment. so far, manti te'o has not said this is the guy i'm angry at him, i'm pissed off that hasn't happened, but i think we'll probably hear from this guy and his family and if you don't know the tuiasosopos, greta, famous in the united states, and several families in the nfl and several family members coaches of major football teams, so, this is got to be very embarrassing for them and i think in their community, they're probably going to figure out how to deal with this and come forward to the public. >> greta: all right, i do know one

manti was the victim of that hoax.anti is the victim of that hoax. >> reporter: when manti's grandmother passed away last fall and word that his girlfriend lennay kekua died, the world got behind the football star. the sports blog "deadspin" now says that girlfriend never existed. >> 22-year-old stanford grad gets in a near fatal car accident, contracts leukemia and then dies. that's a big tragedy. that's going to be written up somewhere. it wasn't. no death notice, no obituary, no announcement of her funeral. >> reporter: "deadspin" says a friend of te'o's is behind the hoax and does not rule out that te'o may have been behind the deception but te'o says he was duped with an online and phone relationship with a woman and that he is humiliated but some question why he never corrected media reports that he spent time with kekua in hawaii. officials say they discussed the hoax with te'o in december before the national football championship game against alabama. the school said it decided not to contact the police saying

new information on the notre dame girlfriend hoax. >> was it inspired by a hollywood movie?> i lost my girlfriend that was the hardest thing in my life. >> the star player, the online love he lost to leukemia and the lie. >> this is a story everyone's talking about. >> what e.t. just learned about the deception. and the story's connection to the movie and tv show catfish. >> the internet can be a dangerous place. >>> inside leann rimes sex life with eddie cibrian. >> have you seen him? it's whatever time whatever time of the day. >> will their relationship last? >> nancy o'dell's news making interview and the real reason leann went to rehab. >> everyone thinks they've revealed so much about me. >>>

hoax it never occurred to them that they had anything to check. so when you ask any students, they really don't know who this girl is because in reality she didn't exist. >> lots of levels to this story. i'm sure we'll keep following it. thank you. >>> we also learned today the attempted kidnapping of a san jose toddler was a hoax, made up. the mother lied to police about it and tonight the question on everyone's mind is why would you do that? cbs5 reporter kiet do is live in san jose, another lie, kiet. >> reporter: yeah. the only person who can answer that question is the mother herself. it was a whopper of a story. she said a man came to her front yard, grabbed her daughter by the ankles. they got into a tug of war struggle over the toddler like she was some kind of a rag doll. the whole thing was a lie. now a lot of people are angry. can you explain what happened? after plunging the neighborhood into fear it was the burning question. everybody just wants to know why. she may not be talking, but san jose police did not mince their words about t

why the hoax? >> reporter: well, what i know so far, greta, it looks like this thing is kind of the new-age social media prank. there is even a tv show called catfish where they do this and they film it. it sounds like a sick, sick joke that went way too far and targeted a naive, gullible person, a football player. in his personal life, he's quiet, he's religious, sheltered-type person in high school and college. and fell for the trick. i can tell you that ronaiah has been in hiding. there have been news trucks out in front of his house. people are waiting for him to comment. but so far manti has not said this is the guy,im angry. i am really pissed off. that hasn't happened. but i think we will probably hear from this guy. if you don't know them, very famous football family in the united states. several family members in the nfl and coaches of major football teams. this has to be very embarrassing for them. i think in their community, they are going to figure out how to come forward to the public.

are three hoaxes.'s the hoax that lennay kekua ever existed. there's the hoax that she faked her death to hide from drug dealers, both of which were bought at some point by manti te'o. >> reporter: that has caused an appreciation all across the united states. the he'll trade supports hundreds of fishing families and 30 employees in this company alone. for most of the year, eels caught wild pour into this site, to be graded, packed and sent live overseas. scientists are concerned about declining numbers of eels along the coast. and so are the people in the business of catching them. >> there's hash tat pressure. they've built dams over the years. as we harvest the he'lls, everyone wants to make sure it's sustainable. >> reporter: after all, crockman says, he's been up to his elbows in he'lls his whole life. >> when i sort a lot of he'lls and you go to sleep, you see eels in your sleep. it penetrates your brain. >> that's creepy. >> it is creepy. >> reporter: it's already the business, even in these toug

notre dame football star manti te'o in the center of a big hoax, at the the victim or in on the hoax. and a teammate calling him a liar. >> and joining us with the latest facts on this story and jack, before we get to your conversations with teammates of him, i'm curious, set the stage. what are the facts as we know it tonight? >> well, the facts are so convoluted. it's such a long, deep rabbit hole where the story comes from. the quick version is that here you have manti te'o, star linebacker, notre dame, goes on to come in second place in heisman trophy ballots. he had this girlfriend he allegedly met a few years ago, she allegedly was diagnosed with leukemia and he kind of rode this wave of this tragic love story that happened to coincide on the same day as his grandmother's died, this fictitious girlfriend passed away and he was crying on the side line of the michigan win michigan state in september, michigan state was ranked 10th and notre dame went on to play for the bcs championship and the story had a life of its own and a pretty fantastic expose', this woman never existed. ne

he is a kid. >> what about the man behind the hoax? our legal analyst says it is a misdemeanor to impersonate someone online but in this case the "someone" was not a real person and you would have to prove there was intent to harm or intimidation. back to the news desk. >> the full interview is tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 on katie right here on abc7. >> our meteorologist, mike nicco, keeping an eye out there. >> we will look outside at what is going on. 11:21 right now. we will look at what is going on. you can see it right there, look at the frayed edges to the clouds and look at the smoother edges where you cannot see the cloud is where the rain is falling and evaporated. in san jose, the sam thing to a lesser extent it looks dry in downtown san jose. now, live doppler 7 hd shows mount helena, with water over the ocean and to the west. you can see the storms coming up from the south and most of the moisture is above 6,000' and even above 9,000' so we have to moist were the lower atmosphere. we are. that is why the best chance of light

he could answer questions today about a very elaborate hoax. >> that hoax all centers on te'o's girlfriendo it turns out, never existed. details from abc's michael barr. >> reporter: manti te'o, notre dame star linebacker and now the victim of an incredible hoax. last september, he mourned the death of both his grandmother and the person he called the love of his life, girlfriend lennay ke cuewa, six hours later. he went on to lead the fighting irish to a series of victories that catapulted him to be a finalist for the heisman trophy. te'o talked openly about his double loss. >> my brother called me. and he was just crying and crying. and that's when i kind of knew. but i was still in denial. >> reporter: now, it turns out lennay kekua did not exist. the story was reported on the sports news website deadspin. notre dame then admitted it had launched an investigation in december and determined in early january, te'o was a victim of a hoax. >> this was an elaborate, sophisticated hoax, perpetrated for reasons we can't fully understand. but had a certain cruelty at its core. >> reporter: swar

he is a kid. >> what about the man behind the hoax?r legal analyst says it is a misdemeanor to impersonate someone online but in this case the "someone" was not a real person and you would have to prove there was intent to harm or intimidation. back to the news desk. >> the full interview is tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 on katie right here on abc7. >> our meteorologist, mike nicco, keeping an eye out there. >> we will look outside at what is going on. 11:21 right now. we will look at what is going on. you can see it right there, look at the frayed edges to the clouds and look at the smoother edges where you cannot see the cloud is where the rain is falling and evaporated. in san jose, the sam thing to a lesser extent it looks dry in downtown san jose. now, live doppler 7 hd shows mount helena, with water over the ocean and to the west. you can see the storms coming up from the south and most of the moisture is above 6,000' and even above 9,000' so we have to moist were the lower atmosphere. we are. that is why the best chance of light ra

>> the reporting is his name is ronaiah tuiasosopo, the one behind hoax, and the alleged girlfriend's name is lennay. >> the attempt to rescue dozens of hostages, including american citizens from a gas field in africa, led to a number of deaths. the white house white house is calling it a terrorist attempt. what may be the strangest story of the day. notre dame's captain and star linebacker claims somebody tricked him into believing his online girlfriend died of luke keep a. but some critics say his story does not add up year the nightmare continues for boeing's knew fleet of dreamliners, all ahead. >> first, the hostage situation. at a bp natural gas facility in the african nation of algeria, today reportedly turn deadly. fox news learn two americans have escaped. the white house would only say those americans are involved in what defense secretary leon panetta called a terrorist attack and the situation is still fluid. the algerian military launched a rescue operation without american help, despite the pentagon's offer to assist, and it reportedly did no go well. the militants claim

the alleged hoax swirling around a college football star.ped manti te'o. and the global feet of dreamliners is grounded. >>> and from abraham lincoln to president obama, a small bible is about to make outsized history once again. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> we're following breaking news right now, in a very fast-changing story. a rescue raid in algeria, ending the hostage crisis that began yesterday when islamic militants seized dozens of international gas field workers, including americans. u.s. officials tell cnn some americans have been freed, but others are unaccounted for. a plane carrying some of them expected to arrive in britain very soon, but that country's foreign office is warning of what it calls distressing news to come in the wake of the raid. cnn pentagon correspondent chris lawrence is working the story for us. chris, what's the latest you're hearing? >> well, as you mentioned, wolf, some mixed news tonight. the fact that some americans have been freed, but others still remain unaccounted for. we're

te'o told espn he was the victim, not part of the hoax. nbc's mike taibbi has the latest. >> manti te'o! >> reporter: in his first interview since the scandal broke manti te'o said no, never ever was he part of the fake girlfriend hoax that exploded to his embarrassment this week. >> he was completely composed, self-assured. >> te'o told scapp and other interviewers that he'd met the girl that he knew online so they wouldn't think he was a crazy guy. after saying his beloved grandmother and long time girlfriend died on the same day the imaginary girlfriend and tragic death have achieved the status of lore. >> when my lost my grandmother and girlfriend it changed my life. >> reporter: he suspected he was pranked december 6th when he got a call from one of the hoaksters in new york. >> i'll never forget the time my girlfrie girlfriend passed away. >> reporter: he said he was responsible for the hoax. and what about the girl in the picture? the picture apparently stolen and used without her knowledge but te'o says he believed was the online i

when you thought the manti te'o story couldn't take another turn now the alleged mastermind of the hoax apparently disguised his voice so te'o thought he was talking to a girl on the phone. linnea, te'o and his family breaking their silence. te'o admits to lying after he found out about the truth because he didn't have the guts to admit he had been duped. we will talk to brian kilmeade more about this at the bottom of the hour. >> women will soon be able to serve on the on the front lines of the nation's wars. they will lift the military ban on women serving in cam bat. it will open more than 230,000 jobs in the army and marines. news of the move drawing mixed reaction. >> i broke down and had muscle atrophy and weight also at a much faster weight and noticeable weight than my male marines. >> i was ready for it and that was in the early 80s. >> the ban had been in place since 1994. >> a false alarm at university of virginia's campus. police lifted a lock down after a student confess to do lying about a gunman who was lose on campus. cops from the town the county and the state immediate

how his internet romance was a hoax. >> freezing in parts of the bay area. warmer days ahead we'll talk about that coming up. >> and a stall on the upper deck has traffic slow heading into san francisco already. this is a live look at the bay bridge. we'll have the latest coming up. >> all right, thanks. it's thursday, january 17. i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm michelle griego. >>> new developments at 6:01 on that hostage crisis at a natural gas facility in algeria. militants say algerian helicopters opened fire killed 35 hostages and 15 kidnappers. that's not independently confirmed. a short time earlier an algerian security official said about 20 hostages including some americans and europeans had escaped. the militants attacked the gas complex and took dozens of hostages yesterday about 800 miles south of algiers. >> by all indications, this is a terrorist act. the united states strongly condemns these kinds of terrorist acts. it is a very serious matter when americans are taken hostage. >> the militants say they are part of an al qaeda affiliate operating i

thanks so much. >>> the manti te'o hoax. dame linebacker says he was duped by a person who has since apologized to him. jimmy fallon talked about it last night on "late night." >> ard-of-we have a recording of manti and a supposed girlfriend. i got to be honest. i'm surprised he didn't pick up on the hoax sooner. >> hey, baby what are you up to tonight? >> your call is very important. please, listen carefully as the options have changed. >> i'm thinking about staying in tonight. >> me, too, chilling like a lion. laughing out 4r0ud. seriously, i miss you. and completely reimagined it with best-in-class combined mpg and more interior room than corolla and civic and a technology suite with bluetooth, navigation, and other handy stuff? yeah, that would be cool. introducing the all-new nissan sentra. it's our most innovative sentra ever. nissan. innovation that excites. now get a $169 per month lease on a new nissan sentra, plus $500 holiday bonus cash. ♪ and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your m

manti is the victim of that hoax. and he will carry that with him for a while. >> but many are now wondering why the university and te'o stayed silent for so long. was it to preserve the integrity of an investigation or to preserve an inspirational myth in the lead-up to the national championship game? >> gary tuchman joins me now. where is te'o right now? do you know what he's doing? >> te'o is right across the street from me right now, anderson, in braytonten, florida. this is the sports training facility. he's with 35 college players right now. they're training for the very important nfl combine, which is held next month in indianapolis. that's the event where nfl coaches and scouts go and decide who they're going to draft in april. te'o is inside there. he's had every chance to talk today. he knows there's media across the street. he's made the conscious decision not to talk, at least yet. a truly bizarre story. >> gary tuchman, appreciate all the latest. plenty to talk about now with tim burke who broke the story

notre dame says te'o was the target of a hoax.e was duped into a relationship with an online persona created by a group of perpetrators. he was led to believe she died in september. they report there are no death or school records for the woman. notre dame's athletic director says te'o was the perfect mark. >> he is a guy who is so willing to believe in others and so ready to help that as this hoax played out in a way that called upon those tendencies of manti and roped him more and more into the trap. >> notre dame says te'o learned of the hoax when he received a call from the woman's phone number during an awards ceremony in december. te'o released a statement in part reading, quote, to realize that i was the victim of apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was and is painful and humiliating. >> to the nba now, lebron james wrote his name in the record books twice. second quarter we go. lebron dribbled to the foul line and hit is the 15-footer. that's his 20,000th career point. he's the youngest player in the league to

it was a hoax. and no one was in any danger apparently. >> all right.nk you for bringing us up-to-date. we're going to take a quick >>> now here is kristen berset at the cadillac sports desk. >> it appears that getting a team captain back does the team good. since john wall returned to the court, the washington wizards have won four of their last game. the wizards tonight in utah looking pretty good. there is actually some wizards fans there. things looked bad for a while. their five hour energy drink kicked in. the lead was down to just three. the wizards couldn't get any closer. john wall had 14. webster 15. utah wins 92-88. to the college game, george mason up the road visiting maryland. wright was the star of this game. 24 points. his 10th 20 plus point game of the season. their 20th straight win over the tigers. now while the ravens and 49ers plan to battle it out, the rest of the nfl those players are mending their bodies. d'angelo hall is resting after having surgery on his pinkie. there will be a lot of negotiating. d hall has two years left but

i thought that was a hoax. turns out to be true. incredible.ious also. >> so the president is out with his gun control proposals, but what do the people think? what do their representatives in congress think? we'll go live to washington coming up. >>> plus just over a decade and a look at the sexiest women of the millennium. [ male announcer ] when we built the cadillac ats from the ground up to be the world's best sport sedan... ♪ ...people noticed. ♪ the all-new cadillac ats -- 2013 north american car of the year. ♪ for a limited time, take advantage of this exceptional offer on the all-new cadillac ats. for their annual football trip. that's double miles you can actually use. tragically, their buddy got sacked by blackouts. but it's our tradition! that's roughing the card holder. but with the capital one venture card you get double miles you can actually use. [ cheering ] any flight, anytime. the scoreboard doesn't lie. what's in your wallet? hut! i have me on my fantasy team. what's in your wallet? hut! music: "make someone happy" music: "m

half the funthat story coming up inn 3 ((break 2)) 3 3the wooan in the photos ussdd innthe manti te'o hoaxs sseaking out. but the accused mastermind behind the scam remains silent. brian todd reports. reports. &p3 manti te'oosays he stuck to the story bout a ggrlfriend he'' never met-- brieely ppblic about her-- even when &phe knnw sometting was wrong.in an iinerview with abc's katie couric, te'o was asked wwy. myself to died on september 12th. nowwi gee a phone call -3 on december 6th sayinggthat going to be put on national tv two-days later, and to ask me about the same quession. what would you do??a source with knowledgeeof the maater tells cnn, a woman pretendiig to be - te'os apparent girlfriend, lennay keeua- called him on & december 6th, ccaiming she'd & faked her death because she &pwas afraid oo drug dealers. te'o went to notre dame officials with he story.the school investigated and, according to our source, & coofirmed that two men and a woman were behind the hoax. pe'o said he didn't belieee that his on-line girlfriend never existed, until & deadspin.com first repprted it on ja

notre dame called that story a hoax. >> this was a very elaborate, very sophisticated hoax, perpetrated for reasons we can't fully understand that had a certain cruelty at its core. >> reporter: the story of the hoax broke on deadspin, a popular sports website that is reporting the girlfriend doesn't even exist. as the story spread, te'o released a statement saying that he's the, quote, victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies. notre dame's athletic director jack swarbrick said te'o's reported relationship with kakua took place online and that the linebacker learned of her fake death in a late december phone call. in his statement, te'o said he and kekua maintained what he thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone. and that he grew to care deeply about her. swarbrick said an investigation by a firm hired by notre dame convinced him that te'o was duped into the relationship and the fake death. >> nothing about what i have learned has shaken my faith in manti te'o one iota. >> reporter: plenty of questions remain