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

martin savidge has exclusive information.like to think our country did away with slavery after the civil war. but way too many come to the united states to become sex slaves. martin savidge went along in a sting to break up one of those trafficking rings. here's his exclusive report. >> reporter: 5:15 a.m., operation dark night is living up to its name. in south savannah and a half dozen other kmurn teas in four states, more than 100 federal officers head out to hit 16 different sites at exactly the same time. that's critical because authorities believe all of the locations are linked. agents hoped to take down an entire alleged sex slave network in a single blow, 25 minutes from now. >> when it comes down to going in, they will be focused. especially a case like this where they are hoping to rescue someone. >> reporter: because the case involves suspected human trafficking of women, mainly from mexico and nick war ga, it was fast tracksed over six months. home lanltd security, i.c.e., fbi, dea, local authorities, even the co

i'm martin savidge.are some of the stories we are watching right now. >>> a source confirms to cnn, in the white house that is, that they are calling senators today, offices, telling them that chuck hagel is the nomination as defense secretary and it is going to be imminent. an effort to help build support, apparently, for that nomination. administration officials say that nomination will be announced tomorrow. the former senator from nebraska is a vietnam war hero and served on capitol hill more than a decade but his confirmation process may not be smooth. hagel has angered some lawmakers because of positions he has taken on issues pertaining to the middle east. >>> an ohio town is fighting back against the perception that it coddles the football team and turns a blind eye to rain acquisitions. stubenville has been -- or has, rather, a new website that says relays facts not rumor two high school football players are accused of raping an unconscious girl at a party back in august. city leaders say that t

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.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.dc says the spread of the flu in some parts of the countries appears to have slowed down particularly in the southeast. still 24 states and new york city are reporting high levels of flu activity. new york's governor declared a public health emergency. there is also a shortage of the liquid version of the antiviral tamiflu which is often prescribed for children under 13. cdc says since the outbreak began, there have been 20 flu related deaths among young people 18 years and younger. >>> after more than 11 years of combat, operations, the end of the war in afghanistan could be in sight. president obama met with afghan president hamid karzai yesterday an the white house to discuss withdrawing all 66,000 u.s. troops from afghanistan by the end of 2014. in an exclusive interview with cnn's christiane amanpour mr. karzai says the end of the war does not mean the ends of u.s. presence in his country. >> do you envision after 2014, there being no troops, no u.s. troops in afghanistan? >> no,

i'm martin savidge in for fredricka witfield. if you're just tuning in, thank you very much for joining us. let's look at the top stories we're following right now the cnn news room. tomorrow marks one month since the sandy hook massacre. a horrifying event that galvanized nationwide calls for greater regulation of firearms. now on tuesday, vice president joe biden is expected to present his recommendations to president obama on how to reduce gun violence. university background checks, restrictions on ammunition magazines and a ban on assault rifles will be among those proposals. new york's senator chuck schumer went further, asking retailers to stop selling military-style assault guns. >> i'm urging our country's major gun retailers like walmart and sports authority, to suspend sales of modern assault-style weapons until congress is able to fully consider and vote on legislation to curb gun violence. >> and then on the flip side. gun shows are thriving. the national rifle association says its membership swelled by 100,000 since

i'm martin savidge. if you're just tuning in, thank you for joining us. top stories we're following here in the "cnn newsroom." the alleged rape of an underage girl by two football players in steubenville, ohio has drawn widespread outrage fueled by social media. protesters are rallying today. poppy harlow looks into the impact on the small struggling town defined by its young athletes. >> this is 55, this is 47. >> for 72 years, jerry barilla as called steubenville, ohio home. football is big here. right? >> football is big here. >> how big? >> well, it's our hopes and our dreams are in football. >> the success of steubenville high's big red football team is a bright spot, he says, in a town whose economy has been hurting forever since the decline of the steel mills. >> big red football is you know, equivalent to nfl. >> really. >> literally. >> but with two big red football players charged with rape in august and increasing is social media attention since then, many in this town feel under fire. >> what has this done to the town of steubenville? >> well

. >> martin savidge has the story. you have been following it from the beginning. this happen? what do we know about the state of the little boy? >> it began yesterday afternoon. it was around 3:40 when the bus dropped the children off in this small community known as midland city in central alabama. the gunman burst aboard at one stop. according to witnesses said, i want two kids. the bus driver, charles poland, jr., jumped up and said, that's not going to happen. he was shot four times. he later died. the gunman took a child. the good news out of the horrible circumstance is because of what the bus driver did, 20 other children got off the bus safely. it's the one with child we are worried about. the unidentified 6-year-old the gunman took to a nearby home made bunker under ground and is keeping the child there, presumably at gun point as the fbi has stepped in to negotiate. this is on going now almost 24 hours. >> the fbi knows where the child is. they have been able to monitor his state. >> this is a strange thing. i mentioned the bunker. they are communicating

here's cnn's martin savidge. >> reporter: this is the story of how a simple scratch may have killed ahicago from india in the late 1980s and became an american success. eventually owning a string of dry cleaners and real estate. settling into this house on the city's far north side with his wife and teenage daughter. by all accounts, he was a hardworking, well-liked man, with just one weakness, he loved those scratch-off lottery tickets. >> he was heavy on that, you know? you know, there was a time when he would buy a whole book, we're talking about 30 tickets in a book, that's $600. >> reporter: he'd win, sometimes hundreds, even thousands. then last june he bought two tickets and scratched off a fortune. >> the second one was the lucky one. >> reporter: and what did he win? >> $1 million. >> reporter: a whole million. he was all smiles in this illinois lottery picture. friends say he was excited about the good he could do with all that money. but a month later, instead of leaving on easy street, khan was dead, in the rose hills cemetery. on the evening of july 20th his wife made din

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

. >>> hello, i'm martin savidge with a check of our top stories, president obama is back in washington and the first family returned

martin savidge is following the story. where do things stand now? >> it's heartbreaking. in the hands of the fbi. they took the lead in the investigation overnight. they are experts at dealing with hostage negotiations. you pointed out that this man identified as 67-year-old jimmy lee dikes, neighbors say he has a history of causing altercations in the neighborhood. in fact, even using and firing a gun at people. he's supposedly in this homemade bunker and is communicating with authorities. normally we hear of communication over a telephone or bull horn. this is happening over a pvc pipe that leads into the bunker where the man is with the 6-year-old boy. they have been able to ascertain that the boy is all right. presumably they are doing it by looking down the pipe or hearing the boy. there are affiliates of cnn reporting the boy needs medication. that's been delivered. positive signs that we are hearing. of course the horror of the young boy being taken on a school bus with a bus driver is shot dead. other children fleeing for their lives. many people in that part of t

. >> reporter: martin savidge, cnn, chicago. >> extraordinary story.lot more stories we're following now. isha is here with a 360 bulletin. >>> colorado judge has found sufficient evidence to send james holmes to trial. holmes is accused of opening fire in a movie theater in aurora. the rampage killed 12 people and wounded dozens. >>> former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky was back in court to hear his lawyers argue a motion for a new trial. his lawyers contend there was insufficient evidence to convict him of multiple charges of sex abuse and also say the court didn't allow them enough time to prepare for the trial. >>> tests showed that star nfl linebacker junior seau suffered from neurodegenerative brain disease that can result from multiple hits to the head. the national institutes of health released the results today. seau's family donated his brain for examination after he fatally shot himself last year. >>> and down under, flames and fear. >> we saw tornadoes of fire coming across, towards us. and the next thing we knew, every

martin savidge has been investigating the case. >> the test came in to exhume the body and the judgeediately. >> mainly because there were no objections. nobody objected. as a result of that, it seemed like a clear path for law enforcement to take and the judge approved. i also know for having conversations with the widow, she goes along with that. >> they have already run tests on the blood and tissue samples that they had and that's how they determined it was a homicide. what more do they hope to find out, how the poison got into his body? >> yes. when he died, originally, this was ruled as natural causes. now that they know it was a homicide, you do a much more different autopsy and thorough investigation of the body. they never did that. they are going to go back. they have the or from the judge. they will dig up his body and look at the contents of the stomach and other organs and try to determine what kind of cyanide was used and how is it delivered. that's the big question. >>> i guess it is partially determined by the state they find the body in. it was a relatively recent bu

martin savidge joins us. >> former new orleans mayor ray nagin who made headlines with new orleans'sit from katrina was indicted today of 21 federal corruption charges. he was accused of fraud, money laundering, and other charges. and an "ac 360" follow, the body of the murdered lotto winner was exhumed today at a chicago sem terry. he died from cyanide poisoning after picking up his lotto winnings at nearly half a million after taxes. >> and the cdc says 48 states now reporting widespread flu cases. more elderly now hospitalized. 29 children have died in the outbreak. >> then there's this, lady gaga about to lose her title as the most popular celebrity in twitter. justin bieber expected to pass her and have the most twitter followers. they each have over 33 million with just 46,000 separating them right now. first the mayan calendar, now this. hard to believe. >> passing of the torch. tonight, the bizarre story of manti te'o's fake girlfriend is only getting stranger. we have more details. the notre dame linebacker isn't talking. others are reportedly pointing fingers at this guy. w

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

martin savidge is in. i'm tired of saying fiscal cliff, rbt you? will be the next phrase we'll work on frequently. >> you'll be saying it plenty this afternoon. >> happy new year. >> to you. thank you. >> we've got coming up over the afternoon some interesting things. i know you've been talking about lance armstrong and the reports he may be coming out to sort of fess up if you will on these doping charges that have been play laid against him. our question is, if he does that, what are the legal ramifications? what could he be opening himself up to? could he be charged criminally? could there be a criminal case? could it open himself up to all kinds of lawsuits or just what is the upside to coming clean if, in fact, that is something he does? >> yeah, because some corporations who have sponsored are already saying they want some of their money back thauz they felt duped. it should be interesting to see what happens. >> could be a lot of money on the line, a lot of people trying to get their money back. >>> the next story is gun control. we'll talk

martin savidge is in for fredricka. >> that whole giant squid, that video is amazing. let's talk act what we've got coming up. we're tracking the flu, of course. dr. sanjay gupta and others will help with that. there is some positive news. >>> we'll talk act golden globes. tomorrow night, we'll preview that. who got snubbed by the oscars. a lot of people angry ben affleck is not there. >> for "argo." >> such a highly talked about film. we'll talk about that as well. >>> the backdoor maneuvering by the gop and others when it comes to the president's new cabinet. many say that cabinet is not looking like america at this particular time. we'll go into that. >>> then the list of other stuff is long but good. snake, beauty queen, duchess of cambridge, casey anthony and in the 4:00 hour an exclusive interview with naomi judd. >> quite a mix. snakes and casey anthony. >> like snakes on the plane. >> all right, martin. thank you. >>> well, the flu can turn from mild to deadly very quickly. and we have the story of one mom who s