house dennis hastert. now we know what he was trying to hide with millions in hush money. sources telling nbc news it's all about sexual misconduct with a male student. >>> mandatory evacuations being ordered as texas gets hit again. unrelenting rain and hundreds of dramatic high-water rescues today. highways paralyzed by flash floods. >>> pilots targeted nearly blinded by lasers being pointed by someone on the ground. a growing problem putting flights in danger. >>> too close for comfort. we're in open water on the trail of great white sharks 40 years since "jaws." just how close they're coming to shore. >>> also, our special salute to the class of 2015. "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york this is "nbc nightly news." reporting tonight, lester holt. >>> good evening. the surprise criminal indictment of the once powerful speaker of the house, dennis hastert, on charges he lied about paying hush money to someone in his past glaringly left out the answer to the question so many were immediately asking -- what was that money supp

dennis hastert. a federal law enforcement official is telling nbc news that hastert paid a man to conceal sexual misconduct that happened while hastert was a teacher at a high school in illinois before he joined congress. the man was a student at the time. hastert was indicted yesterday on charges that he structured bank withdrawals to avoid federal scrutiny. and he later lied about it to the fbi. >> joining us is "meet the press" moderator chuck todd. denny hastert's indictment, did this catch people who knew him here by surprise? >> i talked to a couple of his former colleagues and couple of former stafrs. one said you could have knocked me over with a feather. it was so shocking to them. the whole reason he got plucked out of obscurity to become speaker of the house, remember double sex scandals essentially at the time that was going on, the mishandling the gingrich, newt gingrich hand will elled the lewinsky scandal, the next guy in line to be speaker had his own sex scandal. hastert was supposed to be clean one. his time in congress, not even a whiff of controversy around thi

. >> that's right. >>> this morning we're learning more about why former speaker of the house dennis hastert was indicted. the payments stem from his days as an illinois school teacher. pete williams reports on the claims of possible sexual misconduct with a student. >> reporter: no sign of dennis hastert in plano. in nearby yorkville where he was a teacher and coach, strong support and disbelief. >> i would prefer to have never known anything went on. >> reporter: a federal indictment says he agreed to pay more than $3.5 million to conceal something labeled past misconduct. they don't say what the past misconduct was or who the person is referred to in court documents as individual "a." but the indictment suggests it happened while he was a teacher at yorkville high school. law enforcement officials tell nbc news the payments were to a man and that the misconduct was of a sexual nature while the man was a student. the yorkville school district in a written statement says it has no knowledge of his alleged misconduct nor has any individual contacted the district to report such misconduct. haster

coming in tonight from presidential candidates who worked with former house speaker dennis hastert. a source tells nbc news he paid a man to conceal sexual misconduct. >>> a former substitute teacher in montgomery is heading to prison. >> that's right. a judge sentenced jose pineda for five years for inappropriately touching two girls. >> i'm darcy spencer in roekville. jose pineda was a substitute teacher in the montgomery county school system for a number of years. several students came forward to say that he had touched them inappropriately in class at three different middle schools here in montgomery county. now he previously pleaded guilty to two charges as part of a plea agreement. today the judge gave him the maximum sentence he could get under that agreement which is five years. coming up on news4 at 5, you're going to hear from one of the victims of these sex cases. in rockville darcy spencer news4. >>> turns out the economy isn't growing as much as previously thought. in fact, it shrank 0.7% in the first three months of the year. the government revised the number today after

>>> on this thursday night, breaking news. the former speaker of the house dennis hastert indicted for lying to the fbi. secret cash payments, millions of dollars to cover up past misconduct. who was he paying off and why? >>> new evacuations and new rescues in texas as we see for ourselves the relentless force of the water tearing through homes and hear from father about the heart breaking final phone call from his daughter trapped in rising water. >>> anthrax scare and what we have learned about other lethal parcels being routinely shipped across the country. >>> and the hacking of america. when you're on a plane and you log on to the wi-fi who else is seeing your private information? "nightly news" begins right now. >> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news." reporting tonight, lester holt. >> good evening. we begin with breaking news of the federal indictment announced late this afternoon of a man who was once one of the most powerful politicians in this country. dennis hastert charged tonight in connection with the scheme to pay more than $3 mi

. those bombshell charges against the former speaker of the house dennis hastert. >> patriot games. the big fight in washington this sunday over your personal information. i'm chuck todd. joining me for inside analysis on this busy sunday morning are msnbc chris math he's. former white house political director under president george w. bush sara fagen. the cook political reports amy walter and politico ranu roger. it's sunday, it's "meet the press." good morning. we start with sad news from overnight. beau biden has succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 46. he was first diagnosed with the illness in august 2013. he received treatment. that was initially successful. the cancer recurred and this month he was admit to a hospital right here near washington. many viewers will remember this photo from 1973. it shows a bed-ridden beau watching his dad being sworn in from his hospital bed after a tragic car crash that killed his 1-year-old sister amy and his mother mila. here is beau remembering that event introducing his father in the 2008 democratic convention. >> one of my earliest me

republican speaker in american history and now dennis hastert is accused of paying hush money to a man from his past and it appears it may have been to cover up sexual misconduct. nbc's pete williams has our story. >> no sign of dennis hastert today at his home in plano about an hour's drive west of chicago. in nearby yorkville where hastert was a teacher and coach, strong support and disbelief. a federal indictment says hastert agreed to pay someone from yorkville $3.5 million to conceal what's cryptically described only as past misconduct. charges don't say what hastert's past misconduct was, and the indictment strongly suggests it happened while he was a teacher at yorkville high school from 1965 to 1981 and today law enforcement officials tell nbc news the payments were to a man and that the misconduct was of a sexual nature while the man was a student. the yorkville school district in a written statement said it has no knowledge of his alleged misconduct nor it says has any individual contacted the district to report such misconduct. today former coaches he worked with and student

morning we're learning more about why former speaker of the house dennis hastert was indicted. federal law enforcements say he paid hush money to someone from his past. the payments stem from his days as an illinois school teacher. nbc's pete williams reports on the claims of possible sexual misconduct with a student. >> reporter: no sign of dennis hastert at his home in plano about an hour's drive west of chicago. in nearby yorkville where hastert was a teacher and coach, strong support and disbelief. >> i would prefer to have never known that anything like this went on. >> reporter: a federal indictment says hastert agreed to pay someone from yorkville $3.5 million to conceal what's described as past misconduct. the charges don't say what the misconduct was or who the person is referred to in court documents as individual "a," but the indictments strongly suggest it happened while he was a teacher and coach at yorkville high school. the yorkville school district in a written statement says it has no knowledge of his alleged misconduct nor it says has any individual contacted the district

thanks. >>> the surprise indictment of former house speaker dennis hastert. he was willing to pay millions to cover up sexual misconduct with a male student that shocked many in yorkville, illinois. that's where he used to coach and teach. kevin tibbles is there tonight. kevin? >> dennis has not been seen since he was seen here in yorkville. he was well liked. >> a former politician rose to prominence on a stellar record. a spring saturday in yorkville, illinois locals visiting the annual garden show some taking time to talk politics about a favorite political son now accused of wrongdoing. >> i feel sorry for him and his family. mostly his family. >> so what is your reaction? >> shock. we're just shocked. >> shock over allegations that former house speaker dennis hastert has been charged with breaking federal banking laws. to conceal past misconduct. he was a popular teacher and wrestling coach here in yorkville, prior to becoming a political star in washington. the indictment says he had agreed to pay $3.5 million in hush money to someone here in yorkville. and that $1.7 million

indictment of dennis hastert. he has now resigned from the board of wheaton college. he is charged with breaking federal banking laws by covering up the sexual abuse of a minor. some people in the town say they are shocked, while others say they're not surprised. >> not surprised one bit. just seems the norm now with politicians running wild with sex scandals money scandals you know just basic thievery. >> the identity of the man hastert allegedly paid off has not been released. authorities have told nbc news it is a former student. >>> we continue to follow breaking news tonight. beau biden, the vice president's son, has died after a battle with brain cancer. beau biden was 45. >>> developing right now, you're looking live tonight at the capitol. senators are preparing for a rare sunday session. what they plan to do and why the session may already be doomed to fail. that's coming up next. >> just all devastated at what happened. >> the death toll rises in the texas floods and tonight a brand-new threat plus emergency crews rush to a >>> new at 11:00, the death toll is rising from

surrounding the indictment of former house speaker and former illinois congressman dennis hastert. he's accused of agreeing to pay 3.5 million$3.5 million in hush money. he was trying to keep a person quiet about some sort of prior misconduct. there's no word on what hastert was trying to hide and we don't know who was accepting the money. >>> in new court documents, prosecutors say virginia first lady maureen mcdonnel's corruption conviction should be upheld. they go on to say mcdonnel has a fundamental misunderstanding of bribery law. mcdonnel and former governor bob mcdonnel were convicted of trading political influence from a wealthy friend. lawyers for maureen mcdonnel say the guilty verdicts should be released because of the judge. prosecutors say the judge handled the case properly. mcdonnel's reply is due july 11. >>> activists are planning to protest outside former governor martin o'malley's event in baltimore. he's widely thought to be using his speech to announce he's running for president yet baltimore accountability activists say they want to draw attention to the zero-tole

against the former speaker of the house dennis hastert. >> patriot games. the big fight in washington this sunday ov

face mandatory 122 years in prison. >>> former house speaker under indictment this morning. dennis hastert is indicted of paying $3 million in hush money. the indictment says hastert is trying to keep someone quiet on quote, prior misconduct. there is no word on what that behavior was. >>> 4:58 now. firefighters will be remembered here in the distinct. the 100th annual memorial service will take place today at the fire union memorial at 9:30 a.m. several family members will be in attendance including the fame of michael ray. >>> police will install high resolution cameras to record people along the train station at college park according to statements obtained by the i-4 team. there will be several people involved. state records say the cameras are needed to monitor activity along the plat norms to help protect, quote, homeland security. >>> stay with us. news 4 today continues now at 5:00 a.m. >>> good morning, everybody. >> for this friday it's may 29th 2015. we made it. >> end of the month, right? end of the week too. >> that's right. >>> we want to get you up to speed on the fo

was when he was elected. >>> still no answers tonight about who former house speaker dennis hastert is accused of paying to keep quiet or why. the former speaker was indicted today. he's accused of lying to the fbi and agreeing to pay $3.5 million to an unidentified person as hush money for some quote, prior misconduct that is not explained, but it could have occurred when hastert was a teacher outside of chicago. hastert was the speaker of the house from 1999 till 2007. >>> next at 11:00, those fitness trackers that count your steps and calories news 4 consumer reporter erica gonzalez comparing some of the top name brands and what researchers say about how accurate they really are. >> and we're going to tell what you happened tonight at the national spelling bee for the second year in a row. >>> and today we saw a high temperature of 92 degrees. the average high 79. look at next couple of days but then a huge drop. i'll show you what venkatachalam. >> nunatak. >> n-u-n-a-t-a-k. >> that's correct. >> and just like that gokul venkatachalam became co-champions. he and vanyashivashankar s

misconduct against former house speaker denny hastert. a law enforcement source telz nbc news the case involves payment hastert made to a man to conceal a sexual relationship that they had. this allegedly happened while the man whose identity has not been revealed was a teenager and student at the high school where hastert taught and coached wrestling. this was before he got into politics. a federal indictment against hastert accuses him of lying to the federal agents about cash withdrawals. hastert is accused of taking $1.7 million to give to the man. hastert apparently told investigators he was keeping the cash. he retired from congress in 207 and has been working as a lobbyist. his company said yesterday hastert has resigned. back to you. >> chris lawrence. chris thank you. >>> big traffic changes are going into effect that will make it tougher to get in and out of the district, even if you commute by bus. news4's mark segraves live now at the memorial bridge with the impact for us. mark? >> reporter: hey, jim. yeah you can see the signs are up, the cones are out, and the lanes are

, breaking news. the former speaker of the house dennis hastert indicted for lying to the fbi. secret cash payments, millions of dollars to cover up past misconduct. who was he paying off and why? >>> new evacuations and new rescues in texas as we see for ourselves the relentless force of the water tearing through homes and hear from father about the heart breaking final phone call from his daughter trapped in rising water. >>> anthrax scare and what we have learned about other lethal parcels being routinely shipped across the country. >>> and the hacking of america. when you're on a plane and you log on to the wi-fi who else is seeing your private information? "nightly news" begins right now.

in the running. david? >> all right. thanks. >>> former house speaker dennis hastert out of sight this morning as he faces charges for allegedly violating banking laws. federal law enforcement officials say he paid hush money to high misconduct with a male student years ago. now a report on how the colleagues of hastert are responding. >> reporter: hastert, the former speaker of the house only agreed he paid $3.5 million to conceal past misconduct. it strongly suggests it happened between 1965 and 1981 while he was a teacher in yorkville. it does not mention the nature of the misconduct. friday law enforcement said it was to a man and the conduct was a sexual nature while the man was a student. and the yorkville school said they had no knowledge of the alleged misconduct. he received support today from his first state wrestling champion. >> the gentleman was a super professional as a teacher, as a coach, as a human being. i would refer to him as my second father. >> reporter: in washington former colleagues on both sides of the aisle are stunned. >> it's surprising. i think that w

indictment of former house speaker dennis hastert. he resigned at the board of his alma mater wheaton college. the 73-year-old allegedly paid millions of dollars in hush money to cover up sexual with one of his students when he was a high school student in the '70s. some people entown shocked while others not surprised. >> not surprised one bit. >> just seems the norm with politicians running wild with money scandals, just basic thievery. >> hastert's lawyers have not commented on the charges. >>> some neighbors are on edge after a series of burglaries. northern bureau chief julie carrie shows the place thieves are targeted. >> reporter: often home during the morning, but one day when he stepped out briefly in october burglars stepped in. >> i got back at 10:35, the door was open. they had 15 minutes tops they were enand out. >> still a lot of home owners had become victims he didn't realize there was a break-in until his wife came home from work that night. >> her whole dressing table gone. >> their losses more than $35,000 in jewelry and silver silver that's been passed down

former speaker of the house is under indictment this morning. dennis hastert is accused of agreeing to pay $3.5 million in hush money. the indictment says hastert was trying to keep someone quiet about some sort of prior misconduct. there's no word yet on what that misconduct was or what is accepting that hush money. >>> a story you will only see here on news 4, we're learning officials in the district knew about the high levels of lead paint at d.c.'s largest homeless shelter. the mayor ordered a complete inspection of the building. high levels of lead were found throughout the building along with a report from 2014 showing dangerous lead levels in several rooms. >> the city was alerted a year ago about dangerous levels where was the oversight when it comes to making sure we got that information and took action upon it? dleerl, we didn't. we're told that the bowser administration has implemented new policies to avoid having this happen again. >>> the search continues for people in oklahoma and texas after days of flooding and the bad news just keeps on coming. when people there can ex

former house speaker dennis hastert has been charged with breaking federal banking laws to conceal past misconduct. hastert was a popular teacher and wrestling coach here in yorkville prior to becoming a political star in washington. the indictment says he had agreed to pay $3.5 million in hush pony to someone in yorkville. money withdrawn from banks. the identity of the man he was allegedly paying has not been released but authorities have told nbc news it is a former student the at his alma mater, nearby wheaton college, he resigned from economic government and political policy that bears his name. former democratic political strategist david axelrod once ran a campaign against hastert. >> every major political figure has questions that follow them controversies, but there was never anything that intimated this sort of problem in hastert's past. >> the shock expressed as well today at a yorkville diner. >> i'm surprised if this is true why didn't come out a lot sooner. >> others take a more cynical view. >> just seems the norm with politicians running wild with money scandals just bas