on this saturday night, point of attack. ugly war of words over mitt romney's business career as team obama comes out swipging ♪ oh beautiful for spacious skies ♪ >> the president refusing to back down. >> and why you could end up spending more when you pay with credit cards rather than cash. >> body of evidence. bombshell report triggers the largest review of fbi cases in history. now cases are getting a second look >> living a lie. the downfall of a man once hailed as a hero and a town left

stunned. >> and a labor of love, one man's tribute to his wife 17 years in the makeing. >> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening, mitt romney's full court press to try and shame the president over his attacks over romney's work with a private eqwitty firm failed to get him the response he wanted today. the president isn't backing down. mike vicari is at the white house tonight with more. >> reporter: good evening. the president ignored complaints from mitt romney that the president back off his attacks on bain.

despite a driving rain, supporters turned out to hear a dr drenched president obama renew his attack on bain capitol. >> he in involved in companies that have been called pioneers of outsourcing. i don't want a pioneer in outsourcing i want to insourcing. i want to bring companies back. >> this less than 24 hours after romney condemned the attacks and called for an apology from the president. >> the president's campaign has been outrageous in making the charges they have. i believe the kinds of attacks are beneath the dignity of the presidency ♪ oh beautiful for spacious kis for amber waves of grain ♪ >> romney did not campaign in

public today. he said he refused to release tax returns beyond the two he has already made public. >> i put out as much as i'm going to put out. for this year. >> it was a second straight day campaigning in virginia. >> that is good stuff. >> a key swing state that many believe could determine the winner in november this as the republican governor returned fire against the president. >> all of that hope for change in 2008 has turned into a campaign this year of division and misrepresentation. >> and at least one republican broke ranks over the tax returns. it was alabama governor robert dan banks, he said if you have thing to hide maybe you are doing

something wrong. >> and ed gillespie will be on "meet the press" tomorrow mo morning. historic visit for secretary of state, hillary clinton, meeting with the first freely elected president in egyptian history. potentially sticky situation for the united states. we get our report tonight from nbc's correspondent in cairo. >> reporter: a scene unimaginable 18 months ago. the u.s. secretary of state seated next to the newly elected president of egypt. egypt is facing a power struggle of the muslim brotherhood and reluctant to give up power. >> democracy is hard and it requires dialogue and compromise

and real politic. >> for 30 years the u.s. showered the military with mi millions of dollars of aid and in return egypt became an ally and up held the peace treaty with israel. now the u.s. is promising to support democracy. >> we believe america's shared strategic interests with egypt far out number our differences and we know that the future of egypt is up to the people of egypt. >> i think the presidency would want to know that america is sending messages that any kind of military power play will not be acceptable.

>> clinton pledged $1 million of aid and wiped away $1 billion of egyptian debt. >> after years of shutting the muslim brotherhood, the change of course by the united states has angered many here who see the shonew relations as troublesome. many are skeptical by u.s. intensions here. nbc news, cairo. >> in syria today, dozens more were killed in what has been one of the deadliest stretches since the uprising began. scene of massacre this week, un has confirmed 150 people died in that attack. many more are still missing. back in this country now we are about to enter what could be

a make or break week for many families and farms in the hardland. farmers have seen their farms decimated this year. soon we could all be paying the price. >> reporter: it is an astounding number some 60% of the nation is in some form of drought. more than 1,000 conts across 26 states declared a disaster area. this illinois farm it may not be worth harvesting. >> it may cost more in fuel. >> ranchers are struggling too. having to buy food for the herds there is no grass to graze on. >> it is just devastating. it looks like what i count the desert. >> reporter: there will be growth in the price of food. >> there is no question that

higher corn prices. >> corn prices impact 75% of what is sold in the market. >> that doesn't mean that the price at the supermarket is going to go up tomorrow but it is going to go up next week and it is going to continue to rise for a number of months. >> milk and cheese to rise as much as 6%. next summer when there is a short age expect to pay more >> this beef today may be $4 a pound, it could easily be $5 or $6 a pound a year from now. >> back on the farm there is little hope for relief. >> the hardest hit area will see showers and thunderstorms this summer but they will be spotty and clustered so it won't bring the wide-spread relief where we need. >> southeast texas has gone from a record drought to a deluge as much as 15 inches this week alone. as one local put it swinging

from hell to high water. nbc news, houston. >> the question we have been asked, are you paying with cash or credit. the answer to that question could have a whole new price tag. nbc's michelle fransen has the detail snooze we are used to it at the pump one price for cash and a higher one for plastic. that surcharge could be coming to other places. up to 3.75% to cover expenses. this week, visa mastercard and other banks agreed to a $7 billion settlement in a price fixing case brought by retailers. now that merchants have the

green light to pass on surcharges to the customer. the big question is will they? experts say it is risky. the second they start charging the customers more. that is what is going to anger the customer. that is the last thing they are going to want to do especially coming off of the recession. customers still have the choice to pay by cash or debit card. >> you think it isn't going to add up but it does. >> if people start charging to use credit cards atm will become my best friend. >> ten states have laws prohibiting merchants from passing them along. and many big chain stores have the ability to negotiate fees and may not pass along the surcharge. but for many small stores swipe fees add up.

>> i feel apprehensive about approaching them for picking that up. the bottom line is to keep people coming in and keep them happ happy and keep doing what i'm doing because i love it. >> the real life fbi crime lab is facing charges of mishandling evidence. in washington, d.c. a judge declared a man who spent 22 years behind bars innocent. here is nbc news, pete williams. >> reporter: police why looking in 1981 for a man who raped a woman at gunpoint when they say someo someone, kirk odom spent 22 years in prison. >> they sent me to hell really.

to be honest with you. they sent me straight to hell. >> at this trial an fbi lab technician testified that a hair found on the victim's clothes was so similar to o ddom's. but on friday a judge declared him innocent. a recent dna test showed that it could not have been odom and the hair was not his. >> the jury was left with misinterpretation how strong the link was. the evidence linking the defendant to the actual crime scene. >> the fbi says it is now going through the thousands of other cases from the days of dna testing to see whether prosecutors exaggerated the

significant of the fbi's hair analysis. >> the fbi insists that the science is sound. that it is possible to say that hairs bear a resemblance to the crime scene. but there are no uniform standards. li lawyer for kirk odom says it is sub objective. >> it is entirely subjective. >> now congress is considering national standards to help prevent what happened to kirk od odom. >> still ahead, as "nbc nightly news" continues epic downfall for a home town hero. speak krets and lies and hundreds of millions of dollars are missing and later. >> beautiful, beautiful, making a difference one flash at a time. with this?

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in jail and millions of dollars is missing and a town is left in shock. >> reporter: it seemed like the ultimate local boy makes good story. russell wassendorf moves his local headquarters back home to see dar falls, iowa and opens an upscale restaurant in 2009 in the middle of the recession. >> small town boy coming back and showing the rest of the world this is the place to live. >> turns out it was a fraud. employees found wassendorf 64 years old unconscious in this car. authorities said he had tried to commit suicidsuicide. >> they said you know that guy

that tried to kill himself, that was russ wassendorf. >> they said he left a note detailing the fraud. through a scheme of using false bank statements i have been able to embezzle millions of dollas s show i cheated. >> millions of dollars of customer money is missing. the company is bankrupt the restaurant is closed. the impact extends on-iowa and beyonds customers across the country. this is the second firm of its kind to grow go broke and take customers with it. more than $1 billion is unaccounted for and regulators are considers cracking down on commodity firms which comes too late in cedar firm.

>> it reaches into the xhunlts when so much effort going into character here it is sort of shocking. >> show a pillar of the community sits behind bars. prosecutors say more charges are likely. allegations of white collar fraud come home to roost right here in iowa. >> we are back in a moment with a strange sight in the air today and a man's unbelievable labor of love for his wife. [ engine revving ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ [ tires screech ] [ male announcer ] with fuel economy that's best in class and better acceleration than camry and accord, you'll wish you had the road to yourself. [ tires screech ] it's our most innovative altima ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪

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what a show in the skies over paris tonight a spectacular fireworks display over the eiffel tower. in london while we are dealing with the drought here at home, they are dealing with the opposite problem while they get ready for the olympics in just two weeks. day after day of rain. editorial today make the rain stop. couple of adventurers lifted off into the sky in a kcouple of lan chairs. no security line at the airport and a first class view all the way to montana. the trip is still going on right

now they hope to touch down tomorrow morning. we wanted to show you some pictures going on today. 17 years in the making when his wife of 33 years suddenly passed away in 1995, a british farmer plants thousands of oak trees in a field. he left open a heart-shaped field in the center. it was discovered this week. when we come back. lights and camera a kids going through tough times. in alabama we had more beautiful blooms... in mississippi we had more good times... in louisiana we had more fun on the water. last season we broke all kinds of records on the gulf. this year we are out to do even better... and now is a great time to start. our beatches are even more relaxing... the fishing's great.

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for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com tonight's making a difference report is about the power a single photograph can have especially in tough times. one woman and her family know feeling too well and they are paying it forward one photograph at a time. >> beautiful, beautiful. >> reporter: it has all the look of a hollywood photo shoot. >> now everybody look at me. >> hair, makeup, plenty of lights, camera and action. >> okay now turn the other way. but the stars of these sessions

like 10-year-old abbey are flashing smiles despite the tough roles that life has handed them. >> it is fun to take pictures with my mom and family to show everyone how much i've improved. >> reporter: abbey is battling cancer. ♪ the itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout ♪ >> the pictures are free shot by volunteers always black andp white and powerful beyond words for many families. >> i love and cherish those photos. i think when you are going through treatment -- >> okay little more. swing back and forth. >> it is such a treasure. >> alison clark knows it first

hand. she founded flashes of hope after her son was diagnosed with cancer. >> but for that moment we are taking them out of everything that is going on. >> from those first photos in 2001 flashes of hope has grown to 50 chapters and by the end of the summer expects to capture family member 25,000. 10-year-old gabriel has had ten surgeries on his skull. >> some of them have a lot worse than i do. >> i think it is priceless. you can look at that picture and remember where you have been an what you are going to continue to conquer and it is a symbol. >> my hair was sticking up. >> flashes of hope with lasting

effects. ron mott, nbc news, chicago. >> that is "nbc nightly news" this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting for you this saturday. i'll he you tomorrow morning and then back here tomorrow evening. good night.