nbc's lisa myers is with us from the courthouse in greensboro, north carolina. lisa, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. this was the government's day through their star witness. prosecutors detailed edwards' affair, the hunt for money to keep his mistress quiet, and claimed the former presidential candidate was deeply involved every step of the way. andrew young, edwards' once loyal aide arrived ready to tell the jury that while john edwards was on the road campaigning for president, there was a frantic search behind the scenes for money to support rielle hunter, after she threatened to go public with their affair. hunter had been fired from her job as a campaign videographer after elizabeth edwards spotted her at the official launch of edwards' presidential campaign in december 2006 and confronted her husband. young said edwards told him to approach two wealthy friends for funds to help hunter. they turned him down. then he said, they decided to try heiress rachel "bunny" mellon, who provided $725,000 in checks for what she was told was a non-campai

lisa myers, nbc news, washington. >>> now to the prostitution scandal involving agents and officers of the united states secret service and members of the u.s. military. tonight there are growing calls for answers in washington, as the white house is defending the secret service director. we're also hearing from a former director of the secret service about the dark cloud that now hangs over the agency. for more, we go to our white house correspondent kristen welker tonight. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. tonight we're learning that at least ten military personnel are under investigation from all four branches, the army, navy, air force and marines. and we're also learning this alleged incident happened 12 hours after the president's advance team arrived in colombia. it's a scandal that flies in the face of the conventional wisdom, that discipline and order define the agency charged with protecting the president. >> how did your meeting go? >> reporter: and today, the white house and key lawmakers defended the initial response by secret service director, mark

our report from the courtroom in greensboro, north carolina, tonight from lisa myers. >> john edwards arrived for the fifth day of his trial looking calm and composed. >> good morning. >> but inside, the most dramatic testimony yet. as edwards' lawyer, abbey lowell maneuvered to shred the credibility of the prosecution's star witness, andrew young. they battled over young's last meeting with edwards on a country road in august 2008 when edwards denied knowing about hundreds of thousands of dollars young had collected from heiress rachel bunny mallon, he says to cover up edwards' affair. "i was scared for my life," young said. "you thought mr. edwards was going to physically harm you?" lowell asked. "not mr. edwards personally." "you thought he was going to have somebody there to shoot you?" "that did cross my mind, yes, sir." young also testified he was extremely angry because edwards had broken his promise to tell the truth, that he was the father of the daughter of his mistress, rielle hunter. >> andrew young in his testimony today showed some passion and fire about how badly he was

our report from nbc's lisa myers. >> augusta national is among the most iconic venues in sports. and the masters is the super bowl of golf. today, the world's best got in some last minute practice. that is augusta's chairman, billy payne, who was pummeled with questions about when the club finally will admit a woman member. >> once again, that deals with the membership issue, and i'm not going to answer it. >> what would he tell his granddaughters about why women are excluded? >> my conversations with my granddaughters are also personal. >> what would you suggest i tell my daughters? >> i don't know your daughters. >> the controversy over women was rekindled because the tournament's longtime sponsor ibm has a new female ceo, ginni rometty, and ibm's last four ceos were all invited to become members. >> it's getting unseemly. the longer this goes, the more ridiculous the club looks. it's sending a strong message to women and girls, which is you're not welcome here. >> allen who wrote a book about augusta argues the club plays a leadership role in an international sport and has a r

and as nbc's lisa myers reports tonight, the witness came under tough questioning from the edwards defense team. >> edwards' longtime aide and now chief accuser andrew young, arrived today knowing his credibility would come under attack, and it did. he admitted discrepancies between his tell-all book and his testimony under oath. saying he rushed the book and has had more time for research. but edwards' lawyer showed the jury young's book proposal with its claim that every word in the book is provably true. and pilloried young with a long list of misstatements and inconsistencies, including he claim that edwards didn't call his mistress the day their child was born. do you know in fact john edwards called her in the delivery room? young said he wasn't aware of the call. at one point, lowell said, you really hate mr. edwards, don't you? young replied, i have mixed feelings. >> the overall effect of the aggressive, and at many times, effective cross-examination really a grilling, was likely to undermine andrew young's credibility in the eyes of the jury. >> young's wife sherry showed up at t

lisa myers has our report. >> reporter: today, what happened in vegas ended up on capitol hill.nd the gsa official in charge of the lavish conference jeff neeley asserted his right to remain silent six times. >> mr. chairman, i respectfully decline to answer any questions here today based upon my fifth amendment constitutional privilege. >> reporter: but neeley seemed less reticent about his vegas experience in these photos posted on his wife's google plus page. they appear to be enjoying a luxurious suite at the m resort, which hosted the conference during a scouting trip a year before. the conference cost taxpayers almost a million dollars. it drew bipartisan scorn. >> when you see this widespread abuse of money, that's where there's frustration just steaming out our ears. >> it's not your money. it's the taxpayer's money. >> reporter: taxpayers paid for black jack vests for conference leaders, and a commemorative coin and vegas book for all 300 attendees. today, former gsa administrator martha johnson, who resigned over the scandal, took responsibility. >> i personally apolog

>> lisa myers in our washington newsroom. lisa, thanks. >>> to presidential politics on the eve of tomorrow's three gop primaries. there's news tonight about women voters and the fallout for the presidential candidates from the bitter fights we have been seeing lately over women's rights. tonight, a former candidate who now happens to be secretary of state is speaking out on the issue. our report from nbc's andrea mitchell. >> one, two, three, four. >> we won't take it anymore. >> it started in the republican campaign and quickly flared into a national debate over contraception and women's rights. now it's produced a huge gender advantage for president obama. leading likely opponent mitt romney by 18 points among women. in a new usa today/gallup poll of battleground states. across party lines, american women are fired up, including hillary clinton who is used to being the sole women in a man's world. >> i think we need to call people out when they go over the line. they're entitled to their opinion, but no one is entitled to

lisa myers was in the courtroom. >> a somber john edwards arrived add federal court to fight for his freedom and whatever is left of his reputation. >> good morning. how are you? how are you feeling? >> okay. how are you. >> do you think given the negative public opinion, you can get a fair trial. >> i'm not going to say anything. >> finding a fair trial won't be easy. public opinion here is brutal. >> slick. just really slick guy who will say and do anything. >> inside court, judge katherine eagles emphasized to potential jurors this is not a trial about whether mr. edwards was a good husband or a good politician. it's about whether he violated campaign fine anls laws. prosecutors allege almost $1 million provided to hide his then pregnant mistress while he was running for president amounted to illegal campaign contributions. hunter may be called as a witness in the trial. she and edwards have a 4-year-old daughter, quinn. ever-present in the case, the memory of elizabeth edwards, who succumbed to breast cancer in december, 2010. >> i know that the edwards trial team will be concern

his older daughters were in the courtroom but they didn't seem to react. >> lisa myers, thanks. >>> it's been two years since the whole world watched as millions of gallons of crude oil spilled into the gulf of mexico. the justice department has filed the first criminal charges against a former bp engineer who they say destroyed hundreds of text messages about the amount of oil we watched on live television gushing from the ocean floor, including one text message saying too much flow rate, over 15,000 barrels a day. at the time bp was saying the amount was much lower, three times lower than that. bp says it's couldn'ting with this federal investigation. >>> the news came late today, it sure sounded alarming,ed first confirmed case of mad cow disease in the u.s. in six years. this case in a dairy cow in california. the government says the food supply is safe, but this discovery is raising a lot of questions. our report tonight from our chief science correspondent robert bazell. >> reporter: the cow was found at a recycling plant for dead live stop in hanford, california. it presents no th

it follows a tense hearing yesterday where as nbc's lisa myers reports, questions about possible kickbacks and allegations of bribery came up. >> what happened in vegas ended up on capitol hill. and the gsa official in charge of the lavish conference, jeff neily, asserted his right to remain silent six times. >> mr. chairman, i respectfully decline to answer any questions here today based upon my fifth amendment constitutional privilege. >> reporter: but neily seemed less reticent about his vegas experience on this google post. they appeared to be enjoying an luxury suite which hosted the conference. the conference, which cost taxpayers almost $1 million, drew bipartisan scorn. >> when you see this widespread abuse of money, that's where there's frustration, steaming out of our ears. >> it's not your money. it's the taxpayers' money. >> reporter: taxpayers played for blackjack vests for conference leaders and a commemorative coin and vegas book for all 300 attendees. former gsa administrator martha johnson, who resigned over the scandal took responsibility. >> i personally apologize to the

and that decisive action had been taken. >> that was nbc's lisa myers reporting for us. "the new york times" is reporting that four employees who planned the conference have been placed on administrative leave. a top treasury department official has now been tapped to take over at gsa. clown, mind reader, bicycle exercise? sounds like a tame vegas weekend to me, actually. >>> police in california searching for a motive after a former student allegedly opened fire at a small christian college killing at least seven people and wounding another three. the suspect is a 43-year-old naturalized citizen originally from korea. witnesses say he went door to door through the school shooting at random. the area was locked down for at least an hour as s.w.a.t. teams descended on the scene. the alleged gunman was already gone, only to turn up at a nearby grocery store where he announced he had just shot people. it was the worst mass killing in california in nearly 20 years. we'll certainly have more information on that shooter today. >>> still ahead on "way too early," the celebratio

our report from lisa myers. >> it's never a good time, but you have to find the time that you think ishe right time and that is now. >> with humor and grace, the winningest coach in college basketball, womens or mens, stepped aside after 38 spectacular years. >> it was really a great ride for me. it has been a privilege to make an impact on the lives of 161 women who have worn the orange. >> she grew up on a dairy farm and turned hard work, a ferocious competitiveness, and that trademark stare into eight national championships and 1,098 career victories. >> the way she coached the team, the way she conducts herself, the way she did things, i think it transcends that gender. >> someone larger than just women's basketball or sport. she's known for integrity, compassion, doing the right thing. every player with her for four years graduated with a college degree. ashley robinson is now playing professional basketball. >> the motherly side, the lady that gives you advice on men, on the pros, on just life in general, that's pat summitt to me. >> last august, at age 59, summitt revealed her l

we had that report by lisa myers that that is in question right now.esident thinks women should be allowed there. that's going to wrap things up for me. i'll see you tomorrow every week day morning. until then follow me on twitter at thomas a. roberts. now alex wagner is coming up. >> hi, thomas. a lot of ladies that would like to play augusta if they do open it up. up next, we will examine the grass root and the board room stylings of one willard mitt romney and ask if there is a home field advantage for rick santorum. are republicans and democrats wired differently? the author of a book who has gone where few tread. following the trial at guantanamo bay we're going to discuss the white house position on civil liberties versus national security all that when "now" starts in 180 seconds. [ male announcer ] lately, there's been a seismic shift in what passes for common sense. used to be we socked money away and expected it to grow. then the world changed... and the common sense of retirement planning became anything but common. fortunately, td ameritrad

joining me this morning is nbc news senior investigative correspondent lisa myers. his has people seething in washington at that price tag. >> you got it, thomas. keep in mind that this conference occurred in october 2010, when the economy was in even worse shape than it is today, and when many taxpayers were really struggling. yet gsa spent, as you said, almost $1 million of their money for what investigators now call excessive and wasteful spending. such as $3,200 for a mind reader. $6,200 for commemorative coins. and $75,000 for a team building xw exercise, which involved constructing a bicycle. so far this has cost the top three officials at the general services administration their jobs. the administrator, martha johnson, said in resigning that this was a significant misstep and that taxpayer dollars were squandered. thomas? >> quite a boondoggle. nbc's lisa myers. thank you. >>> here's some of the other stories topping the news. starting with the kentucky wildcats have clawed their way to the top of the ncaa championship, edging out kansas 67-59 to clinch uk's

nbc's lisa myers has more. >> reporter: this trial has all the makings of a primetime drama. the presidential candidate. his cancer-stricken wife. the mistress. the once-loyal aide. and almost $1 million provided by two wealthy donors to hide the then-pregnant mistress and cover up the affair. prosecutors charge that the money amounted to illegal campaign contributions. because hiding edwards' relationship with rielle hunter was key to him remaining a viable presidential candidate. >> problem for the government is, there's no precedent for this type of indictment. >> reporter: the conservative national review just weighed in saying edwards is one of the most loathsome characters in american politics. a preening, moralizing fraud. but that this case is a stretch. the star witness for the prosecution, andrew young, a former aide who wrote a tell-all book and says edwards solicited and orchestrated the money for the cover-up. edwards is vigorously challenging young's credibility and argues young actually pocketed much of the money himself. young was not available for comment. >>

nbc news senior investigative correspondent lisa myers is live at the courthouse in greensboro, northisa, today's events really come on the heels of several days, both family and health-related. so what is the senator's mood today? >> reporter: thomas, the senator was as somber today as i've ever seen him over all these years. there were moments when he was sitting at the table in the courtroom where he looked downright sad. his elderly parents are here to support him, as is his eldest daughter, kate. and what he faces really is the task of trying to convince a jury, most of whom will have a negative opinion of him, that while he was a terrible husband he did not violate the law. his attorneys will argue that look, this is a gross overreach by the government, no one has ever been charged criminally or even civilly for this kind of conduct considered a violation of campaign finance laws. >> and lisa, do we know how long they're supposed to last, these patriotin proceedings? >> reporter: the proceedings themselves once the trial begins it will last about six weeks. it will take about th

joining me from greens brother, north carolina is correspondent lisa myers who has been following this throughout, was in the courtroom today. what's happened so far today and talk to me about the witness list. >> well, in the last few minutes, we've just finished up opening arguments. prosecutor david murdoch painted a very cynical view of john edwards. he said ambition is a good thing in a politician, but too much ambition is dangerous. and that's what john edwards had. he was willing to say and do anything to be president. he said again and again, he denied, he deceived, he manipulated. and that he knew about and orchestrated the money that was used to hush up his affair, which the government is charging was amounted to an illegal campaign contribution. the defense lawyer, allison van landingham says edwards committed many since but no crimes. she said what the jurors need to do is follow the money and that the almost a million dollars here is -- was actually most of it ended up with andrew young who be the prosecution's first witness this afternoon. >> the key witness. and the real

nbc news senior investigative correspondent lisa myers just stepped out of the federal courtroom in greensboroat's going on there? >> reporter: good morning, chris. well, mostly what we've had so far is housekeeping in the process of selecting a jury. a couple of things strike me so far. one is that john edwards looks more somber than i've ever seen him in all these many years. his elderly parents are here to support him, as is his eldest daughter, kate. second point is that judge catherine eagles, who is a bit folksier than your typical federal judge, has emphasized to the jury that a federal trial is nothing like what they've seen on "csi" or "law & order" and they should put that out of their minds. the other thing she said is that they need to republicmember is this trial is not about whether john edwards was a good husband or a good politician but whether he broke campaign finance laws. >> to announce that i'm a candidate for the presidency of the united states. >> reporter: the former presidential candidate's defense basically is this. john edwards may have been a bad husband, but he did

>> lisa myers, thanks so much. >>> our political joins me next., we're excited about nbc politics' new partnership with foursquare. not just for bars anymore. just check in at nbcpolitics and earn these brand-new badges. start with political want and work all the way up to chief of staff. be sure to follow nbc politics on foursquare and check in early and often. visit nbcpolitics.com for more information. we are so 21st century, we love it. >>> but first, the white house soup of the day. chicken tortilla. you're watching "the daily rundown," only on msnbc. ♪ surf's up everybody get your boards and your wetsuits ♪ free-credit-score-dot-com's gonna direct you ♪ ♪ to check your credit score before it gets too late ♪ ♪ and you end up strapped for cash ♪ ♪ patching your board with duct tape ♪ ♪ so hit free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ find out what credit's about ♪ ♪ or else you could be headed for a credit wipeout ♪ offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. music. and the confidence to win. [ male announcer ] head & shoulders active sport wit

nbc's senior investigative correspondent lisa myers explained why the saga of edwards' downfall is not a promising candidate for president, once regarded as a brilliant trial lawyer, now finds himself facing a judge and a jury. prosecutors have charged john edwards with receiving almost $1 million in illegal campaign contributions, money used to hide his mistress, rielle hunter, from the press while he was running for president. kieron shanahan is a former federal prosecutor. did that smell like something was going on? >> it does, and i think the one problem for the defense is, the average person, when you talk about $1 million, is real money and a lot of it. >> reporter: edwards says the evidence will prove he did not know about the money. >> i finally get my day in court and people get to hear my side of this and what actually happened. >> reporter: edwards says the money was not a contribution but a gift from two wealthy friends who provided funds to protect his wife, elizabeth, from the humiliation of his affair. law school professor katherine dunham says there has never been a cas

our report tonight from nbc's lisa myers. >> reporter: the has been at the center of the scandal, jeff neeley did not show up on capitol hill today. >> i have no comment. >> i guess the only way we'll get to see him is on a video in the hot tub. >> this is neeley relaxing in the tub, and enjoying some wine on a scoutingi intrip to the la vegas resort that cost taxpayers almost a million dollars. he's facing a criminal investigation and has invoked his right to remain silent. there are more questions about his travels. two months ago he took a 17-day junket to the pacific. and in an e-mail to his wife said, guess this will be your birthday present. last month, he was part of an executive team meeting in napa, california. cost the taxpayers $40,000. >> you have to go to the wine region. >> reporter: the inspector general whose report triggered this scandal, suggests abuses at gsa are pervasive. >> we turned over every stone and every time we turned over a stone, we found 50 more, with all kinds of things crawling out from under it. >> i can't understand why taxpayers are still paying the

lisa myers has our report. >> today what happened in vegas ended up on capitol hill.sa official in charge of the lavish conference jeff neeley asserted his right to remain silent six times. >> mr. chairman, i respectfully decline to answer any questions here today based on my fifth amendment constitutional privilege. >> reporter: they appear to be enjoying a luxurious suite at the m resort which hosted the conference a year before. the conference cost taxpayers almost a million dollars. >> when you see this widespread abuse of money, that's where there's frustration just steaming out our ears. >> it's not your money. it's the taxpayer's money. >> reporter: taxpayers paid for black jack vests. today, former gsa administrator who resigninged over the scandal took responsibility. >> i apologize to the american people. >> republicans question the $9,000 bonus neeley was given last year while he was under investigation. >> how can you justify a bonus for somebody that you knew at the time of his bonus was at the center of this misconduct. johnson said neeley had performed

. >>> coming up, lisa myers with more on the spending scandal at the gsa.about ♪ ♪ where the sun never goes out ♪ ♪ and the sky is deep and blue ♪ ♪ won't you take me american flight 280 to miami is now ready for boarding. ♪ there with you fly without putting your life on pause. be yourself. nonstop. american airlines. [ female announcer ] new aveeno skin strengthening body cream helps transform dry, thinning skin, by strengthening its moisture barrier, for improved texture and elasticity in 2 weeks. reveal healthy, supple skin. aveeno skin strengthening. mhandle more than 165 billionl letters and packages a year. that's about 34 million pounds of mail every day. ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer? millions? tens of millions? hundreds of millions? not a single cent. the united states postal service doesn't run on your tax dollars. it's funded solely by stamps and postage. brought to you by the men and women of the american postal worker's union. >>> 43 past the hour. a gorgeous look at capitol hill in washington, d.c. a congressional hearing is s

lisa myers, nbc news, washington. >>> now to presidential politics where mitt romney ran the table last night, winning primaries in wisconsin, maryland, washington, d.c., and effectively, effectively wrapping up the gop nomination in the process. ann romney wasted no time going into general election mode and going after the president today, accusing him of hiding his real agenda. >> the president came here yesterday and railed against arguments no one is making. and criticized policies no one is proposing. it's one of his favorite strategies, setting up strawman to distract us from his record. >> mitt romney, which brings us to our political director, chuck todd, with us from our d.c. newsroom. what to make of all this? >> there's going to be no pause in the campaign. we know the obama campaign again today came out with a web video attacking romney. they had an ad up urearlier. that's their strategy. they're trying to tie it to the negative as a whole. what we heard from romney, he wants to make it a referendum on president obama the person. both of them are trying to do that. by the wa

nbc's lisa myers is at the federal courthouse in greensboro, north carolina. lisa, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. andrew young is likely to face even tougher questions today including allegations that he pocketed much of the money supposed to be used to hide edwards' mistress. so far this trial has been less about campaign finance law than about the sordid details of john edwards' deception. edwards' former aide and chief accuser, andrew young, arrived at the courthouse ready for a grilling. abbe lowell, edwards' defense lawyer, pummeled young with a long list of apparent inconsistencies and misstatements, some from young's tell-all book. for example, in the book, young claimed edwards didn't call his mistress, rielle hunter, the day their daughter was born. a precious living, breathing human being, his daughter, had come into the world, and he wasn't inclined to even call the woman who had listen birth to her. lowell said he called ms. hunter in the delivery room, didn't he? young replied, "i would have no way of knowing about that." lowell cit

>> all right, lisa myers this morning. sa, thank you. >>> now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> thank you, so much, ann. got a little wet weather out here. not too bad. didn't dampen your spirits. you're 17 years old today. what's your name? >> samantha. >> where you from? >> vermont. >> well, happy birthday. >> thank you. >> got a lot of rain coming your way. let's show you what we've got as far as the week ahead. below normal temperatures in the northeast, the mid-atlantic states, down to the gulf coast. we're looking for some snow in the mountainous areas. out west, mostly above normal temperatures. midweek period, we're looking at normal conditions in the east, although colder up through the great lakes. a lot of wet weather and snowy weather out west. above normal temperatures in the midsection of the country and the latter part of the week, up in the northeast through the plains, above normal through the southeast. normal out west, and some showers and wet weather in the coastal pacific northwest region. >>

nbc's senior investigative correspondent lisa myers is in washington with the latest. lisa, good morning. >> good morning, matt. a government official taking the fifth is not the kind of imagery any white house would hope for. what's more, top tsa officials appointed by president obama will have to explain why, after they learned of a lavish conference in las vegas, they nevertheless gave the official in charge a bonus. ♪ >> reporter: the fun-filled las vegas conference that investigators say cost taxpayers almost $1 million, included rap videos. a mind reader. and $1200 for shuttles to take gsa staffers to party on the vegas strip. the gsa official in charge was jeff nealy. >> i think i pretty much promised to deliver an over-the-top, unforgettable, team-building experience. how'd we do on that one? >> reporter: but nealy has told congressional investigators he'll take the fifth today, rather than answer questions. >> taxpayers need to know that what they see in those videos is, in fact, to a great extent, the tip of the iceberg. there's a culture of waste that when pe

>> nbc's lisa myers. for more insight we turn to criminal defense attorney marek gary goes.good morning. >> this is his star witness. is he performing like one? >> no. this prosecution since the againing is fatally flawed. that's bad enough. and then to put this clown up there, i've about seen reports that john edward has a 3% favorability rating. this guy has zero percent. >> he admits that edwards said i don't know about the money. isn't that the heart of the case? >> that in itself is reasonable doubt and this case was over in jury selection as most high-profile cases are, depending on the jury that they have. i can't imagine that anybody is going to have any empathy, sympathy orks want to kind of step into the shoes of andrew young. i just don't see this case and this expenditure of money as being anything other than kind of a show trial. >> and it's revealed that much of them, much of it ended up going to the building of his house. but if any of it did end up in funneling toward edwards' mistre mistress, doesn't that hold up a guilty verdict? >> no because basically the