[Chief Justice John Roberts, U.s. Supreme Court:] So help you God?
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] So help me God.
[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, everyone. And welcome to this very special edition of CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is Saturday, January 19th. Look at that gorgeous shot at the Capitol there. I'm Randi Kaye, coming to you live from the National Mall, as we gear up for the 57th presidential inauguration. And all morning, our CNN political team will be bringing you the very latest on all the preparations for the big day on Monday and the biggest challenges facing President Obama in his second term. But first, let's bring in my colleague, Victor Blackwell, who's back in Atlanta. Victor, I know you have some of the latest news on some of the other stories that we're watching this morning.
[Victor Blackwell, Cnn Anchor:] Indeed, Randi. Thanks. So, we're starting with this really bizarre story about the Notre Dame linebacker, Manti Te'o. In it, he denied an interview, he denied having any part in the fake girlfriend story, except being the victim of a cruel hoax. Te'o spoke with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap off-camera about the ordeal.
[Jeremy Schaap, Espn:] I would say during the entire two hours that we spoke, he was completely composed, self-assured. He betrayed no nervousness. He had maybe full command of the story suggests that it's a story rather than the truth. But he had a full command of everything that I posed.
[Blackwell:] ESPN Te'o told ESPN that a man named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo admitted to being behind this hoax. Now, he showed them a tweet, supposedly an apology from Tuiasosopo. CNN has not confirmed the tweet or Tuiasosopo's involvement. We went to Tuiasosopo's home in California, but the person there would not comment. Let's stick with sports, though. In part two of Lance Armstrong's confession did you see this? with Oprah Winfrey, he teared up when he recalled telling his son not to defend his record anymore. He also told Oprah how surviving cancer in 1996 helped him cope in the wake of that damning 1,000-page USADA report.
[Lance Armstrong, Former Professional Cyclist:] I've been to a dark place that was not by doing, I've been to a place where I didn't know if I was going to live, a month, six month, a year, five years, 10 years. It's helped me now. I mean, this is not a good time. But it isn't the worst part of my life.
[Blackwell:] Ed Lavandera joins us now from Armstrong's hometown of Austin, Texas. Ed, Armstrong, as you saw, talked about these dark places and going to these dark places. He told Oprah that he's in therapy now. We've seen in social media, in traditional media, the backlash. What else is he seeing in terms of fallout?
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, I think many people are still trying to figure out exactly what to make of the two-night interview and whether or not Lance Armstrong is truly apologetic for what he has done over the last 15 years. And then trying to figure out whether or not he was truly contrite in what he said. But it was interesting to see, in the wide range of questions that Lance Armstrong faced, he said, you know, he understands people's anger at him and that he will spend the rest of his life, trying to make amends. But at the same time, not all of that cut very well with many people. And especially when he talked about losing the sponsorship over the course of a couple of days, when companies like Nike and Giro all started calling and essentially bailing out on Lance Armstrong. He said that was a $75 million loss.
[Armstrong:] It's terrible.
[Oprah Winfrey, Tv:] Do you feel disgraced?
[Armstrong:] Of course. But I also feel humbled. I feel ashamed. Yes, this is this is ugly stuff. Nike called. And this isn't the most humbling moment, I'm going to get to that. And they said, basically, cliff notes here, that they're out. OK. And then the calls started coming, Trek, Giro, Anheuser-Busch. They just
[Winfrey:] In the same day? Same couple of days?
[Armstrong:] Yes, a couple days. Everybody out.
[Lavandera:] And, Victor, Lance Armstrong says that he lost all of that endorsement. He doesn't think that he's he also thinks that he's lost all future income, which is probably one of the reasons he wants to get back into athletic competition. But he's got a lifetime ban. He's looking and hoping that that can be reduced some way, but it's not exactly clear to what length he will be able to, or is willing to help investigators with the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the world anti-doping agency Victor.
[Blackwell:] All right. Ed Lavandera in Austin, Texas, for us. Thank you for that. And, of course, Twitter has been on fire all week with the reaction to Armstrong's confession. David Walsh, the journalist who first raised questions about Lance Armstrong in 1999, has been tweeting up a storm here. He tweets this, "Oprah pressured him. The apology was, I thought, hesitantly promised. I didn't ask for it or expect it, but, yes, if it's offered, I accept." T.J. Quinn of ESPN asks, "This is the emotion many were wanting to see. But here's my question: Do you feel like you've finally seen the real guy?" And, of course, comedians had a field day. Steve Martin is even aspiring to fess up to cheating himself, quote, "I'm ready to go on Oprah and admit doping in 1968." OK. Well, for an in-depth look at the disgraced cyclist, watch "The World According to Lance Armstrong" right here on CNN, tonight at 10:00 Eastern. Overseas now, this hostage ordeal is getting into its fourth day in the Sahara Desert. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta vows the U.S. will do everything necessary to protect its citizens. And this morning, Algerian special forces are trying to secure the release of a number of people. The number, unknown right now, including Americans who are unaccounted for. Militants stormed a gas facility in Algeria, it happened Wednesday. They took hundreds of people captive. Then on Thursday, one American, 11 other hostages were killed when Algerian forces fired on those militants in a really controversial rescue operation. But 650 others, including six Americans, were freed or escaped. Now, Algeria is defending that rescue operation. It says the militants were planning to kill all the hostages and blow up that gas facility. Well, first, they were grounded. And now, deliveries are on hold. Boeing is suspending deliveries of its new 787 Dreamliner jet until a battery problem is resolved. And the FAA says it's in compliance. The aerospace company's entire global fleet of Dreamliners has been taken out of service. And regulators want to make sure the plane's lithium ion batteries are safe. So, let's go back now on another topic, to Washington, where our Randi Kaye is at the National Mall Randi.
[Kaye:] Good morning, again, Victor. We are staying warm here. Don't you worry about us. We saw record crowds here on the mall four years ago, of course, for President Obama's first inauguration. And now officials aren't expecting a repeat, though. But still, they know that hundreds of thousands of people will be here, and that is a big challenge, of course, for security. CNN Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence, is on Seventh Street, keeping an eye on security there for us. Chris, good morning to you. So, how many people do they have guarding the city right now as we prepare for the upcoming inaugural?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Randi, it's hard to put an exact number on it. We know most of D.C.'s 4,000 cops will be on duty. They've also pulled in about 2,000 to 3,000 other police officers from all around the country and about 6,000 National Guard troops as well, who will be helping a lot of the federal agencies. So right there, doing the math, that's 12,000, 13,000. That's not even counting the ATF, FBI, and Secret Service agents who will really be running this security plan. So, a lot of people in place, you know, for this crowd, expected to be coming in the next couple of days or so.
[Kaye:] Yes, and certainly here on the Mall, it's going to be standing room only. Hard areas to get through and get around. But are there any credible threats that security officials are watching or just taking some extra precautions here?
[Lawrence:] No credible threats. There have been no real security incidents last time, and from the sources we spoke, in some of the federal agencies here, just in the last couple of days, so far they don't have any credible threats for this one. A big difference this time will be the crowd. I mean, last time, there was about 1.8 million visitors here, by some estimates. That's been revised down. The numbers I'm hearing from folks here in D.C. now, it could be as small as 500,000, 600,000, which admittedly doesn't sound that small, but compared to 1.8 million, it makes a big change in the security program. A lot of the bridges into the city last time, I remember, were closed down, because they had to be used for the police, for the emergency responders, for all those tour buses that were pouring in. They expect a lot of those bridges will stay open this time, so it may actually be a bit easier to get around in the city and have a little breathing room this time around.
[Kaye:] Yes, I'm with you on that. I was here in 2009 as well, and it already feels different. It's not nearly as crowded, the streets are still open. Chris Lawrence, thank you very much. Nice to see you this morning.
[Lawrence:] Sure.
[Kaye:] Well, we have got much more ahead this hour. With inauguration just days away, many are wondering what President Obama's legacy will be. Will it be his push for tighter gun laws or his effort to repair our financial problems? And she dazzled us four years ago in this gown. What will she wear to this year's inaugural ball? A look at Michelle Obama's fashion as our special coverage continues this morning.