Te'o Tells Couric He Briefly Lied About Girlfriend













Manti Te'o briefly lied to the media and the public after discovering his online girlfriend did not exist and was a part of an elaborate hoax, he admitted in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Katie Couric.


The star Notre Dame linebacker, who has been hounded by the reporters since the story broke Jan. 16, told Couric in a taped interview Tuesday that he was not lying up until December. Te'o said he was duped into believing his online girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, died of cancer.


"You stuck to the script. And you knew that something was amiss, Manti," Couric said.


"Katie, put yourself in my situation. I, my whole world told me that she died on Sept. 12. Everybody knew that. This girl, who I committed myself to, died on Sept. 12," Te'o said.


Te'o said he received a phone call Dec. 6 from a woman claiming she was Kekua, even though Kekua had allegedly passed away three months earlier.


"Now I get a phone call on Dec. 6, saying that she's alive and then I'm going be put on national TV two days later. And to ask me about the same question. You know, what would you do?" Te'o said.


See more exclusive previews tonight on "World News With Diane Sawyer" and "Nightline." Watch Katie Couric's interview with Manti Te'o and his parents Thursday. Check your local listings or click here for online station finder.


Te'o, 21, was joined by his parents, Brian and Ottilia, in the interview.


"Now many people writing about this are calling your son a liar. They are saying he manipulated the truth, really for personal gain," Couric said to Te'o's father.










Man Allegedly Behind the Manti Te?o Dead Girlfriend Hoax Watch Video









Manti Te'o Girlfriend Hoax: The Man Accused of Elaborate Prank Watch Video





"People can speculate about what they think he is. I've known him 21 years of his life. And he's not a liar. He's a kid," Brian Te'o said with tears in his eyes.


Click here for a who's who in the Manti Te'o case.


Diane O'Meara told NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that she was used as the "face" of the Twitter account of Manti Te'o's online girlfriend without her knowledge or consent.


O'Meara said that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo used pictures of her without her knowledge in creating Kekua.


"I've never met Manti Te'o in my entire life. I've never spoke with him. I've never exchanged words with him," O'Meara said Tuesday.


The 23-year-old marketing executive went to high school in California with Tuiasosopo, but she says they're not close. Tuiasosopo called to apologize the day Deadspin.com broke the hoax story, she said.


Timeline of Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax story


In an interview with ESPN last week, Te'o said he had received a Twitter message from Tuiasosopo apologizing for the hoax.


The Hawaiian also spoke to Tuiasosopo on the phone the day the Deadspin report came out, according to ESPN.com. He found out that "two guys and a girl are responsible for the whole thing," he said.


But he did not know the identities of the other individuals involved, other than the man he says was Tuiasosopo.


Tuiasosopo, a 22-year-old resident of California, has not admitted involvement publicly. Tuiasosopo graduated from Paraclete High School in Lancaster, Calif., in 2007 and has posted dozens of videos online signing Christian songs.


Those who knew him say he was a devout Christian and a good athlete. His former football coach Jon Flemming described him as gregarious, and from a "good loving family." Flemming said Tuiasosopo is the kind of guy who gives you a hug when he sees people he knows.


"He's doing good. Wishing everyone would go away," Flemming told ABC News Wednesday after a recent correspondence with Tuiasosopo.


Flemming said Tuiasosopo is "somebody I'd want my kid to grow up like. He's responsible, respectful, disciplined, dedicated."


Tessi Toluta'u, a Polynesian beauty queen, told ABC News this weekend that "Lennay Kekua" reached out to her in 2008 about entering pageants.


When visiting Los Angeles in 2009, Toluta'u was supposed to meet Kekua, but she failed to appear. Tuiasosopo met Toluta'u instead.


"[It's a] sick joke that went way too far," Toluta'u said.



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Sacrificing Einstein: Relativity's keystone has to go




COINCIDENCE is not generally something scientists have much truck with. If two things are genuinely unrelated, there is little further of interest to be said. If the coincidence keeps turning up, however, there must be some deeper underlying link. Then it is the job of science to tease out what it is and so explain why there was no coincidence in the first place.

That makes it rather odd that a large chunk of modern physics is precariously balanced on a whopping coincidence.

This coincidence is essential to the way we view and define mass. It is so fundamental to the world's workings that most of us encounter its consequences every day without giving them another thought. Yet it has vexed some of the best minds in physics for centuries. Galileo and Newton grappled with it, and ended up just accepting it, rather than understanding it. Einstein went one better: ...



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Chinese film fans decry censors' cuts in 'Skyfall'






BEIJING: Chinese cinema fans were up in arms Tuesday over cuts made to "Skyfall", complaining that the censors had ruined the latest film in the James Bond franchise, which hit screens this week.

Some scenes from the movie, parts of which were filmed in Shanghai starring Daniel Craig in his third appearance as the British secret agent, were clearly too sensitive for the censors, especially scenes referring to China.

"It's annoying! Every time it's the same!" wrote one user named Niccilee in a post on one popular microblog. "We've been waiting for this for so long and then they cut it and re-cut it!"

The 23rd official film in the highly lucrative series came out late last year in most markets but Chinese authorities put off the release date until this week under its usual practice of favouring domestic productions.

When it did hit the screen on Monday, it was with several cuts.

Among the scenes to have ended up on the cutting room floor was one where a hitman played by Ola Rapace takes out a Chinese security guard in a Shanghai sky-scraper.

"Are they afraid of copy-cat killings by other criminals?" asked Leslie Zhuang, one disappointed viewer in an online posting. "If scenes like this are cut, you may as well not import the film!"

A scene depicting prostitution in Macau -- a special administrative region of China -- had also been taken out, as was a line from Bond's nemesis, played by Javier Bardem, in which he mentions having suffered torture at the hands of Chinese security agents.

"I'd rather watch the pirated DVD," said Li Xiaotian, another Internet user, referring to the illegal copies of films that are easy to come by in China.

The official Xinhua news agency said the cuts had prompted calls for reform in the way films are censored, although there was no criticism of the "Skyfall" cuts in the state media.

Rules governing censorship in China are opaque and reasons are never given for why cuts are made. Few films escape the censors unscathed, unless they offer a particularly flattering depiction of the Chinese people.

Regardless of the censors, the cuts did not seem to have dented box office sales at one Beijing cinema, Megabox, which reported that most tickets had been sold for screenings on Tuesday.

China imposes strict rules over what films are allowed to be seen by the public, banning what it considers any negative portrayal of contemporary politics or issues it says might lead to social unrest.

After years of pressure, China last year agreed to increase the number of imported films allowed in annually from 20 to 34, in a year when 893 films were produced domestically.

- AFP/ir



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Prince Harry: I killed Taliban






















Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan


Prince Harry serves in Afghanistan





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STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Britain's Prince Harry says he killed Taliban militants during tour in Afghanistan

  • Harry, known to comrades as Captain Wales, had served for four months in Helmand province

  • Harry: "We fire when we have to but we're more of a deterrent than anything else"




(CNN) -- Britain's Prince Harry has acknowledged that he killed Taliban insurgents on his latest tour of duty in Afghanistan as a crew member of an Apache attack helicopter.


Harry has been serving for four months as a co-pilot gunner (CPG) in southern Helmand province -- considered a Taliban heartland -- and flew on scores of missions with the trigger to rockets, missiles and a 30mm cannon at his fingertips.


No one is saying how many insurgents Harry might have killed but toward the end of his deployment, the 28-year-old, known to his comrades as Captain Wales, shared some of his feelings about combat with reporters while on duty in the massive military base known as Camp Bastion. He said it was sometimes justified to "take a life to save a life. That's what we revolve around, I suppose."


More: How 'soldier prince' tore up royal rule book









Harry through the years


















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Harry explained how the roles of Apaches and CPGs have changed since his previous deployments in 2007 and 2008. "It used to be very much: front seat, you're firing the whole time.


"Now, yes we fire when we have to but essentially we're more of a deterrent than anything else.


"Our job out here is to make sure the guys are safe on the ground and if that means shooting someone who is shooting at them, then we will do it," said the prince, third in line to the British throne.


"It's not the reason I decided to do this job. The reason to do this job was to get back out here, and carry on with a job."


Away from his helicopter, the prince mixed freely on base, eating in the canteen with everyone else and relaxing by playing video games with others in the 130-strong 662 Squadron, 3 Regiment Army Air Corps (AAC). With those comrades, he was just "one of the guys."


More: Harry named world's most eligible bachelor



Now, yes we fire when we have to but essentially we're more of a deterrent than anything else
Prince Harry



In contrast to his privileged upbringing in palaces and an education at Eton College, the prince lived in a shared room within shipping containers converted into an accommodation block. He said he was free to stroll around the base, to visit the gym or the laundry. "It's completely normal," Harry added.


But he said he still received unwanted attention in more public places. "For me it's not that normal because I go into the cookhouse and everyone has a good old gawp, and that's one thing that I dislike about being here," he said.


Opinion: Cheeky Harry vs. dull brother William


"Because there's plenty of guys in there that have never met me, therefore look at me as Prince Harry and not as Captain Wales, which is frustrating.


"Which is probably another reason why I'd love to be out in the PBs (patrol bases), away from it all.


"But yeah, it's completely normal. It's as normal as it's going to get. I'm one of the guys. I don't get treated any differently."


His deployment meant he could step back from the public eye, although he said his father, the heir to the British throne Prince Charles, often reminded him of his position. Harry admitted he had "let himself and his family down" when he was photographed naked at a party in a Las Vegas hotel last year.


Harry on Vegas romp: 'I let my family down'


He also expressed frustration about the media. Referring to the TV producer whom he was addressing, he said: "I never wanted you guys to be out here, but there was an agreement made to invite you out on the deal that the media didn't speculate before my deployment. That's the only reason you guys are out here."


Harry appeared happier talking about his military role: building up the Afghan National Army, the ANA, so it can eventually take over.


"It's great to see the ANA taking more of a lead in things as well. And the professionalism is definitely shining through."


That's something his superiors in the army might say of the prince himself.


What do you think about Prince Harry's comments. Leave your comments below.






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U.K. grandma gets death sentence in Bali

BALI An Indonesian court sentenced a British grandmother to death on Tuesday for smuggling cocaine worth $2.5 million in her suitcase onto the resort island of Bali — even though prosecutors had sought only a 15-year sentence.

Lindsay June Sandiford, 56, wept when judges handed down the sentence and declined to speak to reporters on her way back to prison, covering her face with a floral scarf. She had claimed in court that she was forced into taking the drugs into the country by a gang that was threatening to hurt her children.

Indonesia, like many Asian countries, is very strict on drug crimes, and most of the more than 40 foreigners on its death row were convicted of drug charges.

Sandiford's lawyer said she would appeal. Appeals take several years, and the country has not carried out an execution since 2008, when 10 people were put to death.

A verdict is expected in the trial of Sandiford's alleged accomplice, British man Julian Anthony Pounder, on Wednesday. He is accused of receiving the drugs in Bali, which has a busy bar and nightclub scene where party drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy are bought and sold between foreigners. Two other British citizens and an Indian have already been convicted and sentenced to prison in connection with the bust.

In its verdict, a judge panel at the Denpasar District Court concluded that Sandiford had damaged the image of Bali as a tourism destination and weakened the government's drug prevention program.

"We found no reason to lighten her sentence," said Amser Simanjuntak, who headed the judicial panel.

Prosecutors had been seeking a 15-year prison sentence for Sandiford, who was arrested in May when customs officers at Bali's airport discovered 8.4 pounds of cocaine in the lining of her luggage.

State prosecutor Lie Putra Setiawan told reporters that the verdict was "appropriate," explaining that prosecutors had been demanding 15 years because of Sandiford's age.

Indonesia has 114 prisoners on death row, according to a March 2012 study by Australia's Lowy Institute for International Policy. Five foreigners have been executed since 1998, all for drug crimes, according to the institute.

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Obama's Inauguration: A Night to Remember

President Barack Obama dances with first lady Michelle Obama at the Commander-in-Chief Ball, Jan. 21, 2013, in Washington, DC. Pres. Obama was sworn-in for his second term as president during a public ceremonial inauguration earlier in the day. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Call off the pregnancy police – women want the truth


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Another Delhi gang-rape suspect is under 18, says lawyer






NEW DELHI: A lawyer for one of five suspects who have gone on trial for the fatal gang-rape of a student on a New Delhi bus said on Monday his client was under 18 and should appear before a juvenile court.

Police had said Vinay Sharma, a gym assistant and fitness trainer, was aged 20 and he was put on trial along with four other adult suspects in a special "fast-track" court on Monday.

"My client is a minor and I have requested the court that his case should be moved to the juvenile justice court," Sharma's lawyer A P Singh told AFP outside the courtroom, adding that a ruling was expected on January 24.

A sixth suspect in the horrifying crime, which has provoked street protests and a month of soul-searching in India, is being tried in a juvenile court where he is expected to receive a far more lenient sentence.

The woman, a promising student whose father worked extra shifts as an airport baggage handler to educate her, suffered massive intestinal injuries during the assault on the bus in which she was raped and violated with an iron bar.

She died 13 days later after the government airlifted her to a Singapore hospital in a last-ditch bid to save her life.

- AFP/xq



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49ers to face Ravens






STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • NEW: Baltimore's John Harbaugh says he admires his brother Jim, the 49ers' coach

  • The two will be the first brothers to face off, as coaches, for a major U.S. sports championship

  • San Francisco rallies from a big deficit to beat Atlanta 28-24 in the NFC Championship game

  • Baltimore shuts out New England in the second half , winning 28-13 to reach the Super Bowl




(CNN) -- One Harbaugh will win Super Bowl XLVII. Another will lose it.


That much is guaranteed after the San Francisco 49ers, coached by Jim Harbaugh, and the Baltimore Ravens, led by his brother John Harbaugh, beat their respective foes in conference championship games Sunday. Those wins mean the Harbaughs will be the first siblings to face off as head coaches in the NFL's title contest and, in fact, for any major U.S. professional sports championship.


Both teams rallied from halftime deficits on the road to earn berths in the Super Bowl, which will be played February 3 in New Orleans.


Baltimore did it by reeling off 21 straight points to overcome Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. It was sweet revenge for the Ravens, who lost last year's nail-biter AFC Championship to the same Patriots foe on the same Gillette Stadium field in Foxborough, Massachusetts.









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A few hours earlier, the 49ers rallied from a 17-0 hole to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, who had posted the best regular season record in the NFC.


John Harbaugh joked to reporters, after the Ravens' win, that he and his brothers had a "few dreams" -- one of which may have been meeting up in the Super Bowl -- as well "as a few fights ... just like all brothers."


"We'll let the two teams duke it out, as much as possible," John Harbaugh said, smiling.


The Baltimore coach then made a point to talk about how proud he was of his brother Jim, as well as how much he admired the San Francisco team.


"I'd like to think that when you look at (the) two teams, you're looking at mirror images," John Harbaugh said, referring to the Super Bowl foes. "It's going to be a great football game."


Baltimore's dominant second half leads to win


Beyond their recent playoff history, Baltimore and New England matched up earlier this season -- one in which the Ravens came back from a late 9-point deficit, winning on a last-second field goal by Justin Tucker.


Still, victory Sunday evening was hardly guaranteed.


New England had the superior regular record, not to mention a storied playoff pedigree having played in five Super Bowls in the past 11 years. They also had Brady, who last Sunday passed Joe Montana as the quarterback with the most playoff wins ever.


And the Patriots started out strong, jumping to a 3-0 lead and -- after a Baltimore score -- entering halftime up 13-7.


But the second half was all Baltimore. The Ravens scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, two of them on Joe Flacco touchdown passes to receiver Anquan Boldin.


Meanwhile, the vaunted Patriots offense sputtered, hurt especially by a Stevan Ridley fumble and two Brady interceptions. Baltimore ended up winning 28-13.


"We came here last year and left with a bitter taste in our mouths," Baltimore's Boldin told reporters after the game. "We felt like this team took something away from us. And we wanted to come back and make that right."


49ers rally, hold on for 28-24 victory


Led by quarterbacks Montana and Steve Young, San Francisco was one of the NFL's top franchises through much of the 1980s and 1990s.


But the 49ers haven't been in the Super Bowl in 1995, and their 2000s were marred by mostly losing regular seasons.


The team's fortunes, however, have turned since the 2011 hiring of Jim Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback himself who'd been coaching at nearby Stanford. The next season, they made it to the NFC Championship, only to fall to the eventual Super Bowl winners, the New York Giants.


On Sunday, trailing by three scores midway through the second quarter, San Francisco rallied for two quick touchdowns -- one on a LaMichael James 11-yard run, the other on a four-yard reception by tight end Vernon Davis.


Still, Atlanta maintained its slim advantage -- in part thanks to a missed field goal and a fumble by the 49ers Michael Crabtree just inches from the end zone -- into the fourth quarter. But then, running back Frank Gore scored from nine yards out to put San Francisco ahead 28-24.


At this point, there were still just over eight minutes left in the game.


Atlanta -- paced by quarterback Matt Ryan, known as "Matty Ice" for his strong play in the waning minutes of games -- made a run. With just over a minute to go, the Falcons got within striking distance of the goal line. But San Francisco defenders broke up two straight passes, effectively sealing the win.


After the game, San Francisco linebacker Patrick Willis said the 49ers prevailed because they refused to give up and stuck together as a team, just as they have all season long.


"One thing about our team all year long is that we continue to fight," Willis told Fox, which broadcast the game. "We have an unbelievable team."







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Inside the heightened Inauguration Day security

(CBS News) More than 2,000 police officers from around the country were sworn in as deputy U.S. marshals Sunday in Washington. They'll be patrolling Monday alongside the D.C. police force, Secret Service, FBI, and other agencies, reports national security correspondent Bob Orr.

At Union Station, Transportation Security Administration VIPER security teams are checking trains and passengers, in a show of force designed to be a deterrent.

"If someone were to walk in and see a group of officers and turn around immediately and leave Union Station, that's a good indication to us that perhaps they have something to that they're trying to hide," Assistant Supervisory Air Marshal Jeffrey Buzzi said.

Not all security is so obvious. Two men with backpacks are undercover behavioral detection officers, working in tandem with uniformed patrols at rail stations and airports.

Along D.C.'s waterfront, Coast Guard fast boats are increasing surveillance runs. The cutter Cochito is a floating command center.

For 48 hours surrounding the inaugural time frame, the waters around Washington will be closed as more than 20 Coast Guard and police boats conduct patrols along 22 miles of shoreline.

At the edges of the restricted zone, the Coast Guard is watching for any "suspect" boaters -- "If they're in key specific areas or near critical infrastructure, if they're lingering there longer than normal, maybe if they're taking photographs from a certain angle," Coast Guard D.C. Commanding Officer Lt. Celina Ladyga told Orr.


A guide to today's inaugural events
2,000 cops from around country join D.C. force to handle expected masses
Behind-the-scenes security for the presidential inauguration
Complete CBSNews.com coverage: President Obama's second inauguration


A group of National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from more than 25 U.S. States, hold their right hands up as they take a legal oath to officially make them deputized "special police officers" for the 57th Presidential Inauguration, at the D.C. National Guard Armory January 18, 2013, in Washington, D.C.


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PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

A large swath of downtown Washington, from the Capitol to the White House, is cordoned off -- accessible only through metal detectors at checkpoints.

In all, more than 10,000 police officers, federal agents and National Guardsmen are on duty.

The Secret Service is coordinating the effort from its operations center, where analysts are monitoring surveillance cameras and real-time threat streams.

"Based on what we're hearing and seeing from our partners and what we're seeing internally, we feel that we are prepared," said Deborah Evans Smith, who runs the FBI's Washington field office. "No credible threat at this moment."

But nothing is being left to chance.

Senior correspondent John Miller, a former assistant director of national intelligence, told "CBS This Morning" that in addition to behavioral detection teams, security will also be deploying equipment monitoring the air to detect chemical, biological and radiological threats. "You also have teams of people moving through the crowd -- and they'll be moving all day -- who have that detection equipment, and more sophisticated stuff."

Miller also said a "render safe" team, comprised of agents from various agencies, will be on stand-by -- "sitting around playing cards, reading their BlackBerries" -- who have the capability to dismantle a nuclear device if one were found.

Miller said there are no credible threats on the radar, unlike Inauguration Day 2009, when there were two: "One was a major credible threat from al Qaeda that a group from Somalia was going to attack the inauguration," said Miller. "The other had to do with a guy coming down from Boston with a suicide vest, and both of those ended up washing out. But they certainly brought up the tension level. This time it's a little calmer."

Miller said the major concern is for the "lone wolf" threat, who may not have surfaced in the screens of intelligence analysts. "When you're looking at the international threat picture, what you're focusing on is networks, and there's sources and there's collection and there's intercepts. With the lone wolf, that's the guy who's going to end up in the crowd -- it's the John Hinckley, it's the Lee Harvey Oswald, it's the one who's probably spoken to no one, 'cause the conversation is going on in his mind. That's where you have a zero intelligence base and that's where the Secret Service really, really earns its money."

The president's security team -- the counter-sniper teams and counter-assault teams -- will also be put through their paces during the motorcade. "The dicey moment for the protectors, and the best moment for the president, is on the parade route when he pops out of the car," Miller said. "That thrills the crowd. I know the president enjoys it. But if you're one of the Secret Service agents, that's the time when the hairs all jump to attention on the back of your neck."

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