For those who haven't gotten enough of the John Edwards/Rielle Hunter/Andrew Young saga -- and that's likely a microscopic demographic -- Politico has a nicely written, four-jump post on Young.

The best deets:

* The supposed sex tape of Edwards and mistress Hunter is Young's "hole card" as he struggles for income, Politico writes, attributing information to two sources who have seen the tape.

* It was Young who tried to secure the high-demand-short-supply Playstation 3 from Wal Mart before Christmas 2006 on behalf of Edwards, a Wal Mart critic. The incident that drew howls of hypocrisy.

* A recap of some of the nastier comments Elizabeth Edwards has made about Young, including that he was "pathetic" and that she and John were Young's "victims" -- "guilty only of 'being vulnerable to obsequiousness.'"

The story recounts how Young took care of all things Edwards: dry cleaning, milk in the fridge and the then-required Diet Coke supply.

* Doug Van Essen might win back his job in state government.

But he wouldn't be surprised if he is fired again the moment he returns to work.

That's because the state legislature, in the final hours of its session this year, voted in favor of a bill that was in name about the regulation of hair braiding.

In fact, the bill included a little-noticed section that dealt with Van Essen's job at the N.C. State Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners. It gave the board the authority to fire him again if an administrative law judge determines that the board was out of bounds when it fired him the first time.

The bill also offered a glimpse into the political nature of working for state government, even in an obscure agency whose mission is to make sure that 13,000 salons and spas in North Carolina adhere to sanitation standards and that barbers, stylists, manicurists and cosmetologists have the training they need to keep their clients safe as well as pretty. (N&O)

* In a book proposal, former John Edwards aide Andrew Young says that he assisted Edwards' affair with Rielle Hunter by setting up private meetings. He wrote that Edwards once calmed an anxious Hunter by promising her that after his wife died, he would marry her in a rooftop ceremony in New York with an appearance by the Dave Matthews Band. (NYT)

Elizabeth Edwards quietly held a "grand" opening for her Chapel Hill furniture store Saturday with her husband by her side.

Edwards opened Red Window, named for a store her mother ran. Her children and John Edwards were there to help.

WRAL asked Elizabeth Edwards about the stories swirling about her husband's affair, a grand jury investigation over possible payments to the mistress and the child that John Edwards may or may not have fathered out of wedlock.

"We have not been detracted, even distracted too much by reports we cannot control," Edwards told WRAL. "All we can do is go about our own lives."

In a report on the opening carried by WNCT in Greenville, John Edwards said he has been helping with the store.

"I do more moving furniture than anything else," he said. "This is Elizabeth's deal, but everybody in the family is trying to help support her."

NET-SIDE CHATS: Gov. Beverly Perdue, who has been hammered by Republicans for a state budget that cut spending and raised taxes, released two videos on YouTube that were addressed to state workers and teachers. The videos were nominally meant to encourage state employees submit money saving ideas for cash prizes. Perdue also used the opportunity to defend the budget and her role in it. Guess it's okay for state employees to be on YouTube at work, huh?

WHENEVER, WHEREVER: Sen. Richard Burr says he'll debate anyone who wants to challenge him next year. Burr, a Republican, may find himself with a full calendar. Democrats, who continue to search for a marquee candidate, are courting former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker and U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, who join at least four others who are trying to build buzz. All the fuss comes as a poll finds North Carolina residents know very little about the two people who represent them in the Senate.

ONE DOOR CLOSES: Auditor Beth Wood settled a dispute between the auditor's office and the State Ethics Commission that arose from an incident in which a staffer from then Lt. Gov.-Beverly Perdue's office viewed ethics disclosure without supervision. It was probably helpful to have that issue off her plate, since federal investigators looking into former Gov. Mike Easley wanted to talk to Wood about any involvement she had with Easley. A spokesman said there was little to talk about.

IN OTHER NEWS: Former Democratic state Rep. Bob Hensley of Wake County died. The state lottery wants to put ticket dispensing vending machines in chain stores across the state. Elizabeth Edwards said she expects her husband, former Presidential candidate John Edwards, to take a test to settle whether he father a child with his former mistress.

Elizabeth Edwards says she expects that her husband, former presidential candidate John Edwards, will take a test to determine the paternity of the child born to his former mistress, Rielle Hunter.

“My expectation is that at some point, something happens," Elizabeth Edwards said during an appearance Wednesday night on CNN’s Larry King Live. "I hope that for the sake of this child, that it happens in a quiet way."

Edwards, who appeared on the show to discuss health care, also talked about her family life, reports Rob Christensen.

"Things are going fine,” she said. “We're getting the children ready for the new school year. Everything is going smoothly at my house."

As for her ongoing battle with cancer, she told King: "The numbers don't look that optimistic, but I feel good."

Wade Smith, one of John Edwards' attorneys, said Friday that he and his client will be making no statement today and have no plans to make a statement regarding Rielle Hunter's child.

Media reports quoting anonymous sources circulated Friday saying that Edwards was planning to acknowledge that he is the father of Hunter's baby, Francis Quinn. Edwards has previously said he and Hunter had an affair.

"No statement is planned," Smith said. "We have no sort of schedule or timetable."

Hunter appeared before a federal grand jury last week. Edwards, a former presidential hopeful, is under investigation by a grand jury regarding whether he inappropriately spent campaign money to hush rumors of his affair.

The National Enquirer, which has been all over the John Edwards' story since breaking it over a year ago, today claims DNA tests have proven that the former Democratic presidential candidate is the father of his mistress's baby.

In what the tabloid calls a BOMBSHELL WORLD EXCLUSIVE!, it says Edwards has secretly undergone a paternity test, and that it proves he's the father of Frances Quinn Hunter, Rielle Hunter's daughter who was born in February 2008, reports Jim Morrill.

The paper says lawyers for Edwards are "privately hammering out" child support payments. It cites "multiple sources" that they don't name.

Rielle Hunter, with daughter in tow, appeared before a grand jury in Raleigh on Aug. 6. Prosecutors are looking at whether Edwards misused campaign funds in any payments that may have been used as hush money.

A lawyer for Edwards could not be reached this morning.

Edwards has denied he's the father. In a statement last year, he said he had "not been engaged in any activity of any description that requested, agreed to or supported payments of any kind to the woman or to the apparent father of the baby."