John Edwards Ready to Admit Paternity—But Not Elizabeth

John Edwards once insisted on national TV that he did not father his mistress’ daughter. But secluded at his 100-acre estate in tony Chapel Hill, Edwards is now close to a public reversal—if he can convince his wife to let him, the New York Times reports. Elizabeth Edwards “has yet to be brought around,” says one family friend, perhaps peeved that her husband reportedly promised Rielle Hunter he’d marry her in a rooftop ceremony after his wife’s death.

Meanwhile, the federal investigation into the affair continues, and prosecutors are puzzled trying to determine whether the hush money paid to Hunter amounts to campaign donations. All this as a former Edwards aide is readying a tell-all in which he says Edwards pressured him into claiming paternity—and as Hunter and her daughter plan a move from New Jersey to the Edwards' home state of North Carolina. (More John Edwards stories.)