The "New York Times" says that JOHN EDWARDS may be close to admitting that the child of his mistress, RIELLE HUNTER, is indeed his.

 And that's not all.  They're also saying that Edwards once promised Hunter that when his wife ELIZABETH died of cancer, he would marry her.

 And he even had the wedding ceremony planned out.  Supposedly, John told Rielle they'd make The Big Mistake on a rooftop in New York City, and that the DAVE MATTHEWS BAND would make an appearance.

(--I assume he means to PERFORM . . . but that word was never used.)

--All of this comes from a book proposal being shopped around by Andrew Young.

 He's a former Edwards aide who originally claimed to be the father of Rielle's baby.  Young even signed an affidavit admitting to paternity a while back, and was allegedly paid by Edwards' supporters to take the fall.

 Obviously, he doesn't want to be the scapegoat anymore.