kplanltsz from mitt romney and his insistence the president back off his attacks on bain. despite a driving rain outside richmond, supporters turned out to hear a drenched president obama renew his attack on bain capitol. >> he invested in companies that have been called pioneers of outsourcing. i don't want a pioneer in outsourcing, i want 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 kind of charges they have. i think the kinds of attacks are beneath the dignity of the presidency. >> reporter: but today, no let up. the obama campaign upped the stakes attacking romney in a new ad. ♪ oh beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain ♪ >> romney did not campaign in public today. spending time at his lakeside home in new hampshire. rahm emanuel -- romney says he has no control of those and 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. >> for mr. obama, it was a second straight day campaigning in virginia. >> that is good stuff. >> reporter: 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 uplifting language that we heard in 2008 has turned into a campaign this year of division and misrepresentation. >> reporter: and lester, at least one republican broke ranks with military mitt over the tax returns. he told the associated press, if you have things to hide, then maybe you're doing things wrong. lester? >> thanks. this is sure to continue on the talk circuit. ed gillespie will be on "meet the press" tomorrow morning. overseas now to a historic visit for secretary of state, hillary clinton, meeting with the first freely elected president in egyptian history. an important visit for the long time u.s. alley run by the muslim brotherhood candidate. a 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 islamist president of egypt. the u.s. is watching what happens here very closely. egypt is facing a power struggle between the new president and the muslim brotherhood and the country's military reluctant to give up power. >> democracy is hard and it requires dialogue and compromise and real politics. >> reporter: for 30 years, the u.s. supported hosni mubarak and showered its military with billions of dollars of aid. in return, egypt became a stauch american ally in a region that upheld an up popular peace treaty with israel. now the u.s. is promising to support democracy. even if it means bringing into power islam's political parties who have been for years washington's strongest critics. >> we believe america's shared strategic interests with egypt far outnumber our differences and we know that egypt's future us up to the egyptian people. >> egypt's president wants the u.s. to support the transition to civilian rule. >> i think the morsi presidency would want to know that america is sending messages that any kind of military powerplay will not be acceptable. >> reporter: clinton pledged $800 million in economic aid and wiped away $1 billion of egyptian debt. still, hundreds rallied outside clinton's hotel, rejecting u.s. interference in egypt. after years of following the muslim brotherhood, the change of course by the united states has angered many here who see the new relations as troublesome. many are skeptical by u.s. intensions here. they fear an islamist leader here could create problems for democracy. 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, u.n. 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 american heartland. they are suffering in the worst drought in a quarter century. farmers have seen their farms decimated this year. hoping for any sign of relief. and it is not just farmers dealing with the slow burn. 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 counties across 26 states have been declared a disaster area. one-third of the corn crop is in trouble. on this illinois farm, it may not be worth harvesting. >> probably going to cost more in fuel than what you'll end up getting out of it. >> reporter: ranchers are struggling, too, many having to buy food for the herds because there's no pasture to glaze on. >> it is just devastating. it looks like what i count the desert. >> reporter: there will be growth from these conditions, in the price of food. >> there is no question that higher corn prices. will increase the grocery bills for most households. >> reporter: economist bernard weinstein says concern prices are going to impact 75% of the 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%. beef may be cheaper short term because many ranchers are selling cattle early. next summer when there's a shortage, 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. >> reporter: there is rain, but not where they need it most. southeast texas went from last year's record drought to a deluge. up to 15" this week alone. as one local put it, swinging from hell to high water. janet shand ling, nbs news. the question we have been asked, are you paying with cash or credit. as a result of a blockbuster settlement involving some of the nation's biggest credit card company s the answer to that question could have a whole new price tag. nbc's michelle franzen has the details. >> we are used to it at the pump, one price for cash and a higher one for plastic. later this year, that credit card surcharge could be coming to stores, restaurants, doctor's offices. the swipe fees require merchants to pay credit card companies up to 3.75% to cover expenses. they are not allowed to pass that onto consumers. this week, visa mastercard and other banks agreed to a $7 billion settlement in a price fixing case brought by retailers. the agreement now gives businesses the right to charge more for using plastic to offset the swipe fees. 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 put fees on the product and charging the customers more, that's what's going to anger their customers, and that's the last thing they want to do, especially after coming off this recession. >> reporter: even if they do, shoppers will still have the choice to pay by cash or debit card. which doesn't have a surcharge. >> 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. >> the surcharges won't affect everyone. ten states including california, new york and texas have laws prohibiting merchants from passing them along. and many big chain stores have the ability to negotiate lower fees and may not pass along the surcharge. but for many small stores swipe fees add up. >> i have such appreciation for my customers' business, i feel apprehensive approaching them for picking that up. the bottom line is to keep people coming in and keep them happy and keep doing what i'm doing because i love it. >> reporter: business owners looking at a different bottom line. michelle franzen, hoboken, new jersey. 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. now the justice department is reviewing hundreds maybe thousands of cases. here is nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: police were looking in 1981 for a man who raped a woman at gunpoint when they say someone they thought fit the description. kirk odom spent 22 years in prison. was arrested and convicted. >> they sent me to hell really. to be honest with you. they sent me straight to hell. >> at his trial an fbi lab technician testified that a hair found on the victim's clothes was so similar to odom's. that it was virtually indistinguishable, a very rare phenomenon. 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 u.s. attorney in washington says he suffered a terrible injustice. >> the jury was left with misinterpretation how strong the link was. the evidence linking the defendant to the actual crime scene. >> reporter: the fbi says it is now going through the thousands of other cases from the days of dna testing to see whether witnesses or prosecutors exaggerated the significance of the fbi's hair analysis. >> the fbi insists that the science itself is sound. that it is possible to say that hairs bear a microscopic resemblance to the crime scene. but a government science panel cautions that will are no uniform standards on how many things must agree to declare a virtual match. lawyer for kirk odom says it is subjective. >> it is entirely subjective. the examiner objectively examines the samples, decides whether or not to call it a match. >> reporter: now congress is considering national standards to help prevent what happened to kirk odom. found guilty by a hair. pete williams, nbc news, washington. still ahead, as "nbc nightly news" continues epic downfall for a home town hero. secrets and lies and hundreds of millions of dollars are missing. and later. beautiful, beautiful, making a difference one flash at a time. . we're back now with a story about financial fraud involving the kind of big money you hear about on wall street. but this one happened on main street in a town in iowa. tonight a one time town hero is in jail and millions of dollars are missing and a lot of folks are left in shock. >> reporter: it seemed like the ultimate local boy makes good story. moves his local headquarters who made money selling commodities moves back home cedar falls, iowa, population 9,000 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. >> reporter: turps out it all was a fraud. on monday, employees arriving for work employees found wassendorf 64 years old unconscious in his car. authorities said he had tried to commit suicide. >> they said you know that guy that tried to kill himself at pmg, that was russ wassendorf. >> he survived but prosecutors say he left a note detailing the nearly 20 years of fraud. "through a scheme of using false bank statements i have been able to embezzle millions of dollars from customers accounts. my ego was too big to admit i failed, so i cheated." >> millions of dollars of customer money is missing. the company is bankrupt the restaurant is closed. the impact extends on-iowa and and beyond the employees and customers across the country. this is the second firm of its kind to grow go broke and take customers with it. the first was mf global run by former new jersey senator jon corzine. more than $1 billion is unaccounted for and regulators are considering cracking down on commodity firms which comes too late in cedar falls. >> i don't know it reaches into the community when so much effort going into character here it is sort of shocking. >> now a pillar of the community sits behind bars. charged with making false statements to regulators. prosecutors say additional charges are likely. allegations of white collar fraud come home to roost right here in iowa. scott cohen, cedar falls, iowa. we are back in a moment with a strange sight in the air today, and one man's unbelievable labor of love for his wife. what a show in the skies over paris tonight. a spectacular fireworks display over the eiffel tower to celebrate bastille day marking the start of the french revolution. in london while we are dealing with the severe 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. from drizzles to heavy downpours and floods, editorial today in the times of london, mother nature make the rain stop. clear skies over oregon today when a couple of adventurers lifted off into the sky in a couple of lawn chairs. no security line at the airport no fight to get an over-head bin 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 getting a lot of attention today. 17 years in the making when his wife of 33 years suddenly passed away in 1995, a british farmer planted thousands of oak trees in the middle of a six acre field. he left open a heart-shaped field in the center. in her memory. a family secret. over in a hot air balloon. it was discovered this week. when we come back. lights and camera and kids going through tough times. 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 that feeling all too well and they are paying it forward one flash at a time. wree -- we get the story from nbc's ron mott. >> beautiful, beautiful. >> reporter: it has all the look of a hollywood photo shoot. hair, makeup, plenty of lights, camera, action. >> reporter: but the stars of these sessions like this ten-year-old abby 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. as are many kids photographed by flashes of hope. a national nonprofit helping change our children with life-threatening issues see themselves. ♪ the itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout ♪ >> the pictures are free shot by volunteers, always black and white and powerful beyond words for many families. >> i love and cherish those photos. so much. it is a huge deal. i think when you are going through treatment -- sorry. >> okay. a little more. swing back and forth. >> it is such a treasure for these families. >> alison clark knows it first hand. she founded flashes of hope a decade ago after her son was diagnosed with cancer. >> it is such a simple thing that we are doing, we are just coming in and photographing a family together. >> but for that moment we are taking them out of everything that is going on. >> reporter: from the 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 six surgeries on his skull. which doesn't grow as his brain does. >> a lot of people like me feel like they have it worse than i do. >> reporter: he and his family struck a pose at this chicago hospital. >> i think it is priceless. you can look at that picture and remember where you have been an what you have gone through and what you are going to continue to conquer and it is a symbol. >> my hair was sticking up. >> reporter: flashes of hope, with lasting effects. ron mott, nbc news, chicago. >> that is "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting for you this saturday. i'll see you tomorrow morning on today and then back here tomorrow evening. good night. nbc bay area news starts now. good evening. i'm diane dwyer. there's a showdown of sorts going on at a restaurant in san francisco that's openly breaking the law. the restaurant says it has every right to sell foe gra despite the fact that it's banned. arturo santiago is there with the loophole the restaurant found. >> reporter: some of that anger has showed up just a few minutes ago in the form of protesters. take a look behind me. these are live pictures. they got here about 10, 15 minutes ago. the owner of the social club is saying that since his restaurant is on federal land, it's not subject to the ban. starting at 4:00 this afternoon, the presidio started serving sliders, which one of the main ingredients is the duck liver. with the restaurant seemingly able to get around the ban, it's