You will not see any video or live streaming of testimony from the John Edwards trial because it is in federal court, and federal courts don't allow cameras in for criminal cases. In some districts, video of civil cases can be recorded on video, but for the most part, no TV cameras are allowed in federal courts.

State courts have let cameras in for a number of years, without causing problems for the most part - Judge Ito in the O.J. case notwithstanding.

I think that cameras should be allowed in federal court.  I also think the U.S. Supreme Court should allow oral arguments to be televised, although I think that it is more important to televise federal trials than the Supreme Court because a lot of what goes there is just 30 seconds of lawyers' making arguments interrupted by 3 minutes of justices' questions and posturing, and then 30 more seconds of arguments, and then 3 more minutes of justices shooting the breeze again. Them justices do like to hear the sound of their voices.

I think it is good for citizens to be able to watch real trials on TV, because they are typically unlike the fictional Perry Mason/Matlock/Law & Order versions that we have grown up watching.  Real trials often involve hours of fairly mundane testimony and the introduction of exhibits from police and experts establishing the basic facts of the prosecution's case. It can get dull. Typically no dramatic confessions from the witness stand.

I would say, however, that Rielle Hunter's testimony would be pretty interesting to watch on TV.

In Ohio, one TV station dealt with the ban on cameras in federal courts by using puppets to recreate testimony. I am not making this up.

I have been thinking about what we are going to need to do for the Jan. 4th paper, when we will run the results of the Iowa caucuses. So I went back to look at the paper from Jan. 4, 2008, to look at what we did then. (This is a lot of how we get started in our thinking; looking at what we did last time. The trap, of couse, is that this isn't the best way to innovate. But anyway.)

I was reminded that four years ago, if Barack Obama wasn't in the race, John Edwards would have probably won the Democratic Iowa caucuses, and with that momentum, he might have gone on to win the nomination over Hilary Clinton. Obama got 38 percent in Iowa, Edwards 30 percent and Clinton 29 percent. 

In the Rob Christensen/Jim Morrill story about Edwards' 2nd place finish, we quoted an ECU political science prof as saying "Edwards is in big trouble."

Little did we know.

On the Republican side four years ago, Mike Huckabee won Iowa with 34 percent, followed by Mitt Romney, with 25 percent.  The eventual GOP nominee, John McCain, got 13 percent.

On our Jan. 4, 2008 front page, we ran mugs of the top vote-getters across the top of 1A. McCain's showing was so feeble that he didn't get a picture. He was listed as an also-ran with Fred Thompson, who also got 13 percent. You know, Fred Thompson of  Law and Order fame.

This year, the focus will just be on the Republicans, and it is worth remembering that the Iowa caucuses can be predictive except when they're not. Jimmy Carter put them on the map and Ron Paul may take them off.

And at the end of next month, four years to the day after Edwards quit the presidential race, jury selection is scheduled to start in his trial in federal court in Greensboro.

No matter the negative things that have been said about Elizabeth Edwards, what can't be denied is that she's a beautifully articulate woman who has shown grace and class during a very ugly period of her life.

That continued during her interview this morning on NBC's "Today" show. Matt Lauer talked to Edwards about the afterward she's added to the newly released paperback edition of her book "Resilience." It focuses on the demise of her 32-year marriage.

Lauer, I think did a solid interview, starting first by asking about her health. Edwards said she was on a new chemo regime and was in a peak, healthwise, rather than a valley.

The "Today Show" has snagged the first interview with Elizabeth Edwards since her separation from husband John earlier this year. Who's surprised it didn't go to ABC? Not me!

The interview with Matt Lauer will air Wednesday morning and she'll appear on CNN's "Larry King Live" later that same night.

John and Elizabeth's oldest daughter Cate wrote an essay for People magazine about her mother ....

Before she was one of the most famous mistresses in America, Rielle Hunter was ... well, I'm not sure exactly what all she was. But we can now add "game show contestant" to the growing list.

Former John Edwards aide Andrew Young appeared on "Good Morning America" this morning to respond to Rielle Hunter's interview on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" yesterday.

Young appeared with his wife Cheri,and were interviewed by GMA anchor George Stephanopolous. Young told Stephanopolous that what struck him most about the Oprah interview was Hunter's "lack of regret" and her reluctance to accept any responsibility for her actions. "As long as their cosmic needs were satisfied, everything else was subordinated," he said.

Oh yeah, Oprah asked Rielle Hunter about all of it: the home wrecking, the paternity lies, the sex tape, the pantsless GQ photos, and much more.

In case you missed the interview today, here's how it went down.

Rielle started off her interview with Oprah by acknowledging that no one in her life thought the interview was a good idea. But she wanted to do it because she said it "felt more right after Johnny claimed paternity publicly."

That's right. She calls him "Johnny."

In Rielle Hunter's interview with Oprah Winfrey, Hunter says Elizabeth Edwards did not know the full extent of her relationship with John Edwards until after John Edwards' "20/20" interview with Bob Woodruff. (Read more here.)

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's a clip on Oprah's website, previewing some of the other questions Oprah asks her.

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" interview will air today at 4pm on WTVD.

A reminder that Oprah Winfrey's interview with Rielle Hunter will air tomorrow afternoon (Thursday, April 29). 

Oprah traveled to Charlotte earlier this month for the interview with the former mistress of John Edwards and said Hunter was "really forthcoming, she was very open, she was very candid, and I would have to say, I felt pretty truthful."

Oprah has interviewed Elizabeth Edwards twice and also interviewed John Edwards' former aide Andrew Young, who published a book this year about his time working for the Edwards family and about the Rielle Hunter scandal. 

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" airs at 4pm on WTVD.

According to promos on today's "Oprah Winfrey Show," Oprah's interview with John Edwards' mistress Rielle Hunter (left) will air next Thursday, April 29.

Oprah was in Charlotte recently interviewing Hunter, and said she found her "genuine" and "authentic." 

We'll see...

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" airs Monday - Friday on WTVD at 4pm.