Lance Armstrong reportedly admitted to doping in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, though details are not yet public. Will this big score for Oprah give her struggling cable network, OWN, a boost? Severe air pollution in Beijing, China is causing a frenzy in the state-run media, plus much more.
Lance Armstrong's former assistant reacts to doping confession
On Monday, former champion cyclist Lance Armstrong apologized to staff of Live Strong, the cancer foundation he founded, the same day Oprah Winfrey is scheduled to interview him.
Although he made no mention of doping, many insiders claim that the Winfrey interview, scheduled to air on Thursday, will be his first admission of doping. Winfrey gave a sneak preview to Charlie Rose on CBS This Morning.
The United States Anti Doping Agency has accused Armstrong of being the enforcer of a organized, professional doping conspiracy, but the extent of Armstrong's confession is not yet known.
Travis Tygart, head of the anti-doping agency, recently told CBS's Scott Pelley that during the course of his investigation, many of the riders they spoke with had been threatened. But Tygart is just one of many people whose lives have been affected by Lance Armstrong's steroid use.
Mike Anderson is another. For years, he worked as Armstrong's personal assistant, taking care of everything from bike repair to assembling christmas presents for Armstrong's kids. The two eventually had a falling out over a number of issues, including Anderson's suspicions about performance enhancing drugs.
Anderson claims that Lance Armstrong had such a devastating effect on his career that he had to leave the U.S. in order to make a living in the cycling industry. He moved to Wellington, New Zealand, which is where we reached him earlier.
Will Lance Armstrong's Oprah confession give OWN a boost?
Whether or not Armstrong's confession is good for the sport is debatable. What's not in dispute is that the two-and-a-half hour interview is a boon for Oprah Winfrey, a fact she acknowledged on CBS This Morning:
"In terms of my career, I think it's certainly the biggest interview I've ever done in terms of its exposure. I think back in 1993 I of course did Michael Jackson live around the world. This is going to be live streamed around the world as well as on OWN. If you can't find OWN on your station you should go to Oprah.com and we have a channel finder there for people who are still trying to find it."
Oprah Winfrey's cable network OWN celebrates its two-year anniversary this month, but it has struggled to find its footing. Brian Stelter covers television and the media for the New York Times. He joins the show to talk about Oprah's ability to score big interviews and whether this will be a boon for her cable network.
China's state-run media recognizes severe air pollution, calls for change
The "airpocalypse" is the term being used to describe the record high levels of pollution in China's northern region, including the capital city of Beijing. In recent days, the poor air quality has sent hundreds to local hospitals for respiratory problems, and the thick smog closed freeways and airports because of poor visibility.
The country has even issues an "orange fog warning," due to diminishing visibility, and even the usually mum state-run media has been covering the issue and calling for emergency measures to curb pollution.
The smog is finally starting to dissipatem, but will all that pollution blowing out to sea hit the West Coast?
Kim Prather, professor of atmospheric chemistry at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, joins the show to tell us more.
'Farewell Fred Voodoo' captures the functioning chaos of post-quake Haiti
This past weekend marked the third anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti that killed as many as 300,000 people and left nearly a million people homeless. Yet three years on the crisis continues with 350,000 Haitians still in relief camps.
In addition, poverty, joblessness and poor sanitation still plague the nation despite billions in aid donations. In fact, in 2011 a United Nations refugee camp was the source of a cholera epidemic that so far has claimed 8,000 lives.
Some believe international aid is hindering the Haitian recovery more than its helping.
Amy Wilentz is among them. She's covered Haiti as a reporter since 1986, and she's currently a contributing editor to the Nation magazine and the author of the award-winning 1989 book "The Rainy Season: Haiti Since Duvalier."
Her latest book is about the aftermath of the earthquake, titled "Farewell Fred Voodoo: A Letter from Haiti."
Farewell Fred Voodoo: A Letter from Haiti by
RELATED: Three years since Haiti earthquake, there's still work to be done
PHOTOS: National Park Service restores Native American graffiti on Alcatraz
The old federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island is at once, both one of the most iconic landmarks in California, and one of the most famous lockups in the world.
Hosting more than one million visitors a year, tourists flock to the tiny island to explore the old cell blocks and learn about the dark history of this forbidding island prison. But there's a lesser known history of the island.
Back in 1969, a group of Native Americans occupied the island for two years. It's a history written in graffiti that the National Park Service has been working to restore and preserve.
RELATED: See images of the graffiti being restored on Alcatraz
"Alcatraz has so many different facets of its history, and this is one that gets lost," said Alexandra Picavet, public affairs officer for the park. "It's overshadowed by the famous criminals that spent time on Alcatraz."
When the prison finally closed up shop in 1963, only a single guard was left to maintain the island's security. The following year, a group of Sioux indians, about 40 in total, attempted to occupy the island, citing the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie that said any abandoned federal lands can be given back to Native American tribes that it had once belonged to. That occupation only lasted four hours before the group was ejected from the island.
A group made up mainly of Native American students of various tribes successfully occupied the island in 1969, despite efforts of the Coast Guard to thwart them. They wanted to turn the island into a Native American cultural center, after the San Francisco Indian center had been destroyed by a fire.
"They came out and initially their first landing on the island they did not succeed, they were sent away by that security guard," said Picavet. "A few days later, they got more people they were more organized and this time the security guard was sent away."
While occupying the prison, the group created various graffiti pieces with messages of peace, and welcoming other Indians to the island.
"I think initially it was a way to communicate with the many boats that kept riding around the island. The tourist boats and the people who were just interested in what was going on," said Picavet.
One of the most prominent examples of graffiti is visible from the dock when visitors come off the ferry. Emblazoned on an old water town are the words "PEACE AND FREEDOM WELCOME HOME OF THE FREE INDIAN LAND." The disintegrating water tower became a hazard, however, so the National Park Service decided to restore it and preserve the graffiti. The NPS called on some of the Native Americans involved with the occupation to help with the restoration.
"We did have Richard Oakes' family members, his grandson and his daughter," said Picavet. "Then we had two men who were on the island during the occupation take part in repainting the graffiti using pictures and some diagrams that we had drawn onto the water tower, so that it would be similar to what had been there."
New Music Tuesday: Quiero Club, Zuzuka Poderosa, Hola A Todo El Mundo
Isabela Raygoza and Joel Moya from the Latin Alternative music magazine, Remezcla, join Barbara Bogaev to talk about some upcoming releases.
Quiero Club
Zuzuka Poderosa:
Hola A Todo El Mundo:
Complete List:
Artist: Quiero Club
Album: El Tech Es El Suelo
Song: Cuentos
Artist: Zuzuka Poderosa
Album: Carioca Bass
Release: January 19
Song: Psicodelia (nego Mocambique remix)
Artist: HATEM (hola a Todo El Mundo)
Album: Ultraviolet Catstrophe
Release: Feb. 4
Song: They Won't Let Me Grow
Artist: Frikstailers
Album: En Son De Paz
Release: Feb 25
Song: Murga Del Guachin
Artist: Raul & Mexia
Album: Arriba y Lejos
Release: Feb 19
Song: Las Escondidas
Artist: Master Blaster Sound System
Album: Self Titled
Release: January 19th
Song: Borrale
Can Jim Brulte reinvigorate the Republican party in California?
When it comes to rebuilding the Republican party in California, the challenges are many.
Among those are the state’s registered Republicans. Only 29 percent of the state's voters are registered as Republicans, compared to 43 percent for Democrats. The job of building the party back up will likely fall to former State Senator Jim Brulte.
Mayor Villaraigosa stumps for immigration reform in Washington
Now to Washington where LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is spending the week. He'll be attending the inauguration next Monday, and in the meantime he's making the rounds at the US Conference of Mayors.
KPCC's Washington correspondant Kitty Felde has been on his tail and she joins us now
Coroner says Natalie Wood possibly injured before drowning death
There are new details in the mysterious death of Hollywood legend Natalie Wood.
In 1981, the actress drowned off the coast of Catalina Island, while a weekend boating trip with her husband Robert Wagner and actor Christopher Walken.
Yesterday the L.A. coroner released a new report, changing the cause of her death from "accidental drowning" to "drowning and other undetermined factors."
For more on this, we're joined now by Alex Ben Block of the Hollywood Reporter.
Los Angeles Kings skate back on the ice
NHL players are back on the ice, this Saturday after resolving a labor dispute with owners that led to 510 cancelled games.
LA Kings center Jarret Stoll tells Take Two if he's happy with the deal, and how his teammates plan to keep hold of the Stanley Cup with a shortened season.
Crawford Panel: SoCal veterans face considerable challenges
More than 2 million veterans reside in the state of California, half of those live right here in Southern California. Yesterday, veterans affairs was the topic of a three-person panel discussion hosted at SCPR’s Crawford Family Forum.
The panel members were; Dr. Anthony Hassan, director of the USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families , Elizabeth Heger, executive director of the Soldiers Project, and Joseph Costello, a retired service member who now serves as the team leader at the San Marcos Vet Center.