that story tonight from our senior investigative correspondent, lisa myers. >> reporter: today they were nagging worry among nuclear safety experts about what could happen if the fire engulfed the lab. the facility remains shrouded in secrecy and contains some of the most dangerous materials on earth. tons of plutonium and uranium as well as radioactive nuclear waste. >> it could be enormously serious. >> reporter: pete stockton, a former energy department official said the public should be concerned but not alarmed. one potential problem, an area known as pf 4, where six metric tons of plutonium are stored in a hardened concrete building. would it withstand a ferocious fire? >> if it burned and sent the radiation off site it could be very damaging to the people in the surrounding areas. >> reporter: an even bigger worry, area g, where 10,000 drums of radioactive waste are stored above ground, under a plastic dome. the worst case scenario, according to some activists -- >> my fear is that these drums of plutonium-contaminated waste could be breached in the event of a fire and release air

and that's why we saw an indictment. >> again, that's was nbc's lisa myers reporting. if edwards is found guilty, he would face 30 years in prison and up to a $1.5 million in fines. >>> still ahead -- buster posey speaks out about the death threats aimed at the player who ended his season. >>> and it was a wet one at at&t park today. we'll show you how a local boy sank the giants, coming up in sports. >>> also an oakland man uses a hidden secret in his macbook pro to turn the tables on a suspected thief. >>> we're tracking a very muggy night right now in san jose. 58 degrees, but we're also watching for some showers creeping into your sunday forecast as well. how long before you can pack away the umbrella in your june forecast? but the savings account of a cave-man! hey sports fans check this out. [ beep ] oops, my bad. earn more with interestplus savings at capitalone.com. that's new school banking, baby! ooh, 3-d! instead of earning bupkus, your savings could be earning three times the national average! three times more. go online to capitalone.com. what's in your wa

we begin with lisa myers. >> good evening, brian. this is a sordid story of deception and betrayal. even if most of the facts prove true, there already is controversy whether it all amounts to a federal crime. >> here he comes. >> reporter: with his daughter kate by his side, john edwards took responsibility for doing wrong, but not for breaking the law. >> i take full responsibility for having done wrong, and i will regret for the rest of my life, the pain and the harm i caused to others. but i did not break the law. and i never, ever thought i was breaking the law. >> reporter: at issue, almost a million dollars provided by two wealthy donors. now 100-year-old heiress rachel bunny mellon, and fred baron. the money was used to hide edwards' mistress, rielle hunter, and later their child, while he ran for president. the six count indictment said it payment contributed to unlawful campaign contributions, and convicted edwfrdz of trying to solicit them and cover them up. as proof the money was intended to help the campaign, prosecutors cite a note by mellon, written after an uproar ov

nbc news senior investigative correspondent lisa myers joins us from washington with more on that. . >> hey, richard. usually when a disgraced politician gets indicted there is widespread applause. but not this time. even some who find edwards' behavior despicable question the strength of this case. john edwards faced a media throng reminiscent of the high point of his political career. but this time he just had been charged with six felonies, booked and fingerprinted. >> i did not break the law. >> reporter: edwards spent the weekend out of sight, at his estate, focused, the spokesman said, on getting daughter emma claire ready for camp. a friend of edwards' late wife elizabeth told nbc that despite john's betrayal, nobody wanted him to face criminal charges. they worry about the couple's young children, jack and emma claire. local reaction is less forgiving. >> i have no trust in someone that continually lies. >> john edwards has become a rather pathetic figure. >> reporter: edwards is charged with soliciting and covering up almost a million dollars, provided by two wealthy donors

. >> nbc's lisa myers. lisa, thank you. appreciate it. >>> we'll be back with much more.h me. ♪ ♪ that's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh ♪ ♪ i like it, uh-huh, uh-huh ♪ that's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh ♪ ♪ i like it [ male announcer ] introducing mio -- a revolutionary liquid water enhancer. add a little. add a lot. ♪ for a drink that's just the way you like it. ♪ i like it, uh-huh, uh-huh ♪ that's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh ♪ [ male announcer ] make it yours. make it mio. ♪ [ male announcer ] make it yours. make it mio. or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business -- it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities, so we're helping them with advice from local business experts and extending $18 billion in credit last year. that's how we're helping set opportunity in motion. >>> now time for the flip side, a look behind the headlines. german health officials haven't found any evidence that a crop of organic bean sprouts caused the e. coli outbreak that killed 22 people and s

. >> nbc's lisa myers has the latest on those charges.tells the story for the midatlantic and new england, too. you see temperatures in new york starting near 80 today. by the middle of the week we're going to peak. temperatures will be very hot, around 97 by thursday. everyone enjoy today from boston to d.c., a gorgeous day. but the middle of the country, that's where the summer heat wave continues. the middle of the nation, the heat builds to the east. today, 96 in kansas city. 98 in dallas. same areas that were hot this weekend will be hot again today. you're watching "morning knjoe" brewed by starbucks. a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. ♪ >>> the recession isn't over until one of these people gets a job. whe

nbc's senior investigative correspondent, lisa myers, has the latest. good morning, lisa. >> reporter: good morning. usually when a disgraced politician gets indicted, there is widespread applause. but not this time. even some who find edwards' behavior despicable question the strength of this case. john edwards' former mistress, p rielle hunter has made no public comment about the indictment. this weekend she was all smiles, posing with the little girl she shares with edwards, 3-year-old frances quinn. these photos obtained by nbc news, a striking contrast to this one, as edwards prepared to face the media throng after being charged with six felonies. >> i did not break the law. >> reporter: edwards spent the weekend out of sight at his estate, focused, a spokesman said, on getting daughter emma claire ready for camp. a friend of late wife elizabeth told nbc that despite john's betrayal, no one wanted him to face criminal charges. they worry about the couple's young children, jack and emma claire. local reaction is less forgiving. >> i have no trust in

nbc senior investigative correspondent lisa myers has more. >> reporter: in the state which launched john edwards' once promising political career, banner headlines and condemnation. >> in public opinion, he's lost, and i think rightfully so because what he did did was wrong. >> he doesn't seem to comprehend right from wrong. >> reporter: edwards spent the day out of sight with his children at the family estate. a friend of his wife, elizabeth, who died six months ago of breast cancer, told nbc that despite john's betrayal, nobody wanted him to face criminal charges. she said elizabeth's friends worry about the impact on the children. emma claire and jack. and hope the case never comes to trial t. centers on almost a million dollars secretly provided by two wealthy donors and use odd to keep edwards' mistress, rielle hunter, and later their child, hidden away in lavish homes and on private jets while he ran for president. the government argues that even thoep the payments did not go to edwards' campaign, they amounted to unlawful campaign contributions meant to keep his candidacy via

we'll go right to lisa myers. lisa? >> reporter: meredith, this is shaking up as a very bad day for john edwards. we just have word that he has, in fact, been indicted on criminal charges having to do with the cover-up of his affair with rielle hunter. >> i'm not making any comment. >> reporter: a key member of john edwards' legal team arrived in raleigh thursday night, a lawyer experienced in political scandal. greg craig previously represented president clinton in his fight against impeachment. >> i do. >> reporter: like the impeachment, the criminal investigation of john edwards is steeped in deception, scandal, and betrayal. >> this is ridiculous. i have been in love with the same woman for 30 plus years. >> reporter: at issue, more than a million dollars provided by donors to keep edwards' pregnant mistress, rielle hunter, in hiding while he was running for president. rachel "bunny" melon, the heiress and edwards supporter, provided $700,000 in checks sent through her decorator. one was in a box of chocolates. she

lisa myers has the latest on the story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning.s for john edwards are asking a north carolina judge to delay further questioning of him in the legal tug of war over who owns the infamous sex tape of edwards with rielle hunter. as the mug shot underscores, edwards now has to worry about far more serious criminal proceedings. it looks more like a pub lis the ti photo than a mug shot. the disgraced former presidential candidate smiling broadly after he was booked, fingerprinted and charged with six felonies. >> it's one of the best-looking mug shots i have seen. >> reporter: some might see the mug shot as arrogant. others see it as evidence of his likability and potential to connect with jurors. >> if i were the prosecutors i would look at the mug shot and think carefully about what kind of case they have. >> reporter: because of the criminal case, edwards is trying to delay more embarrassing questions in the civil case in which rielle hunter and edwards former aid andrew young are fighting over who owns a sex tape of hunter and edwar