on the broadcast tonight, women, men and money. women have passed men by in so many ways, but a big new report on american women tonight shows a critical problem. the battle in libya. gadhafi's desperate efforts to hold on. and what the pentagon is saying tonight about u.s. intervention. a new health warning tonight. it's about hpv and men. some new numbers, both surprising and disturbing. america at the crossroads, what skills are folks going to need in this economy, and how to get them. tom brokaw with tonight's report. "making a difference" for young superheroes. using the power of fun to help build strong minds. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. the white house reported some new numbers today about women in this country. and while in many ways women continue to pass men by, an old problem is just as bad, just as serious, and it continues to hold women back economically. while female students were something of a novelty at some colleges and universities just two, three generations ago, they're now the majority on campus. but then comes the problem, the pay gap in the workplace, and that hasn't changed. it's where we begin tonight with nbc news white house correspondent savannah guthrie. savannah, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. aides say this white house report compiles a mountain of federal data to provide a snapshot of where women are in 2011. the kind of project a white house hasn't undertaken in nearly 50 years. the first comprehensive white

house report on women, since president kennedy asked eleanor roosevelt to lead a study in 1962, paints a portrait of a modern woman -- less june cleaver -- >> did you have a good day, dear? >> miserable. >> that's nice. >> reporter: -- more liz lemon. >> there are other things in life, like having a career. >> reporter: the obama administration report finds women have eliminated the gender gap in education. now, just as likely as men to have a college degree. young women actually are more likely to have a degree, reversing the norm of 40 years ago. after booming for decades, the rate of women entering the labor force has now tapered off. about 61% of women work. but the report says women are still paid about 75% of what their male counterparts are paid. >> it's one thing to know something intuitively, it's very different to have the evidence that actually backs it up. this report gives us that evidence. >> reporter: it's a conclusion

that does not sit well with women around the country. >> it's disgusting, aggravating, annoying. i find it all the time when i'm job hunting. >> i don't understand why that still exists in 2011. >> reporter: beyond the workplace, the changes at home are even more striking. women are delaying marriage an average of five years later than they did in 1950. they're having fewer children and having them later in life. the percentage of women giving birth for the first time in their 30s has jumped. >> women are obviously delaying the family and the kids and that whole part of the american dream, and they're creating a different kind of american dream for themselves. >> reporter: one other note out of the report that surprised some of the women we talked to today, violence against women is actually down, according to this report, although women do still face violence from their intimate partners at a higher rate than men do. brian? >> savannah guthrie, starting us

off from the white house tonight. savannah, thanks. now we turn to the story we've been covering for days, the battle for control that continues raging in libya. last night here we reported the u.s. was considering a range of options, including military enforcement of a no-fly zone. today defense secretary robert gates appeared to be saying not so fast. the quote was, "all options are on the table," but he made it clear u.s. military intervention in libya is unlikely. there are two u.s. navy ships approaching the coast of libya. secretary gates says they're there to help with a possible humanitarian mission. nbc's jim maceda is inside libya again tonight, in tripoli. jim, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. well, moammar gadhafi may be losing his grip on power, but not his defiance. while his people are bracing for the worst. preparing for war. a short drive outside tripoli, and one sees the gauntlet close

up, facing any invading rebel force. hundreds of tanks and heavy artillery pieces have turned the city of 2 million into a fortress. it's fast becoming libyan leader moammar gadhafi's last strong hold. less than 30 miles away in the rebel held town of zawiyah, protesters celebrated their latest victory. last night they faced down a major counterattack by gadhafi troops and tanks and won. but gadhafi's son, saif, the regime's de facto spokesperson, took the setback in stride. >> if you have one or two or three thousand demonstrators, it doesn't mean everything is done, and it's over. >> reporter: as the stand-off continues, both sides are fighting to win a war of words and images. in benghazi, international news cameras were brought to see rebel fighters training civilian volunteers. and keeping their heavy weapons ready for battle. >> all people here are one

heart. and they believe in one libya. >> reporter: and a government press tour visits wounded pro-gadhafi fighters in a tripoli hospital. and takes in a pro-government demonstration. meanwhile, the fighting has triggered a humanitarian crisis. more than 100,000, mostly migrant workers have fled libya, into tunisian, overwhelming aide workers there. some simply pass out from hunger and thirst. disease is spreading. the unlucky ones never even leave this makeshift camp outside tripoli airport. the thousands of weak, wounded and frightened are losing hope. these are just some of the thousands of people who say they're stuck between a rock and a hard place. the libyan government can't get them out. and they say their own governments haven't sent in evacuation flights either. >> we want freedom to pass so we can go back to our country. >> reporter: abandoned and facing the prospect of war.

tonight, rumors are flying around the capital, brian, that rebel forces will attack here friday after prayers, but for many here, it's made uncertain times even more terrifying. brian, back to you. >> nbc's jim maceda in tripoli tonight. jim, thanks. oil prices launched higher again today, as concerns about libya and surrounding oil producers heated up. crude posted up $2.66, putting it very close to the $100 mark per barrel. stocks finished the day sharply lower. the dow was down more than 168 points. in washington tonight, the house passed a two-week budget bill aimed at avoiding a federal government shutdown. the republican bill contains $4 billion in cuts to things like water projects, homeland security earmarks, highway programs. the senate democrats say they will pass the two-week so-called stopgap, while two parties hash out big differences on much larger spending cuts on a proposed gop spending bill for

the full year. thousands of union members rallied today at the state house in columbus, ohio. as republicans in the state legislature there work on a bill that would strip public employee unions of collective bargaining rights. the same fight continued in wisconsin today, as governor scott walker unveiled his new budget which contains huge cuts in state aide to cities, towns and public schools. it wasn't long ago you heard education in the united states referred to in terms of the apollo program. the way to regain u.s. superiority around the world, but then came the tightening of budgets around the country. deficits, grim forecasts, and now in state after state, so many parents and teachers and students are asking, why does it seem education has to take the brunt of the cutbacks? it was in the news again today, and our report tonight from our

chief education correspondent, rehema ellis. >> reporter: today in the nation's largest school district, officials are considering a startling plan that could push more than 4,600 teachers out of the classrooms. >> there is a limit to how much we have. >> reporter: in providence, rhode island, the school board announced that all of the district's 2,000 teachers were given pink slips. not all of those teachers will lose their jobs, but it's an example of tough budget decisions facing school districts nationwide. and the results for many, classes will be combined because of teacher layoffs. in fact, one survey found 65% of school administrators expect class size to increase in the next school year. this high school psychology class in los angeles already has nearly 60 students enrolled. nationwide, the average class size is 23. >> it's depressing when you realize that some are going to fall through the cracks and you can't do anything about it. >> reporter: but some argue, class size is only one part of

the equation. >> class size by comparison is virtually meaningless. put a great teacher in front of a large class, and you can expect good results. >> reporter: teachers insist, smaller classes are especially important for kindergarten through third grade. >> we're really going to pay a high price in future years by increasing class size in these tough economic times. >> reporter: but some education analysts argue, there's not a lot of research to support the idea that class size matters. >> if you look across the bulk of the evidence, it suggests no reason to believe that student achievement will improve if you lower class sizes. >> reporter: even with the move to smaller classes over the last 20 years, national test scores for 17-year-olds in reading and math have not improved. and increasingly, the hardest lesson in the classroom may be how everyone adapts to fewer resources. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. we mentioned at the top of the broadcast, there's health

news tonight about a virus known as hpv. it's commonly associated with women. and, in fact, because of that, women's pap tests have been very successful in detecting and reducing the incidence of cervical cancer. this news, however, involves hpv and men. our report from our chief science correspondent, robert bazell. >> reporter: the human papillomavirus is the well known cause of cervical cancer in women. but today's study confirms hpv is prevalent in men as well. about half of males aged 18 to 80 are infected. >> a cancer caused by a virus. >> reporter: this information is critical. >> tell someone. >> reporter: because a few strains of hpv cannot only cause cervical cancer in women, but throat and anal cancers in women and men. it's no surprise that hpv rates are high. in fact, most americans get infected at some time in their lives. usually the immune system eliminates it. about 50% of women are typically infected at any one time in

their 20s. the rate drops as they age. the scientists say this latest study shows men may have different immunities than women. >> genital hpv infections in men do not stimulate a strong immune response. and because of that, they may remain susceptible to acquiring a new infection at a later time point. >> reporter: hpv is very easy to catch. experts say it can be transmitted by kissing, by sex, even with a condom, and through oral sex. the fda approved two vaccines, gardasil and sarafem, for both young men and women to protect against hpv. but mostly women have used it. some scientists say this latest data shows that males should also be immunized. no matter what happens with vaccinations, experts say it's critical women still get pap test to protect against cervical cancer, which is still the most common serious disease caused by hpv.

robert bazell, nbc, new york. and still ahead here, as we continue along the way on a tuesday night, our series about the seismic shifts in america's economy. tonight, tom brokaw on the rush to retool america's workforce. and later, "making a difference." places so cool a kid can't resist them. then we'll show you what's hidden inside.

we're back with our special series this week, the american economy at the crossroads. tonight a closer look at the shift away from old line manufacturing in this country, and toward information technology, and how american workers have to retool just like their workplaces. but where do you get those tools? brings us back to the discussion on education in america. tom brokaw is here tonight with that part of the story. tom, welcome.

>> brian, the harsh truth is, the american education system is simply not preparing workers for the modern factory, which is much more complex. requiring workers with computer literacy, math, reading and reasoning skills. so some companies in the industrial midwest are stepping up with money and programs. even in the dead of winter, joe snyder doesn't mind heading to work at 5:15 a.m. he's happy to have a job. he lives in the cincinnati area, which lost a quarter of all its manufacturing jobs in just the last ten years. as a 33-year-old apprentice at mag industries, he works under the watchful eyes of mag's most senior employees. many of whom will retire soon and need to be replaced. >> i do feel a sense of pride here. at the end of the day, it's because of the team effort. >> reporter: mag, which grew out of the old tool and dye business, now ships fuselages wind turbine blades and other high-tech products from here around the world. just as manufacturing has

changed, so has mag's factory floor. they need fewer workers, but workers with more specialized skills. but it's not foreign competition that is the biggest threat to mag's future. they need to find the next generation of employees. they've turned to an old idea, apprenticeship. >> it's been a very big struggle to get the mechanical and electrical discipline that we require here to build the product that we do. >> reporter: mag is not alone, 3 million jobs have been lost in this recession, many of them old line manufacturing jobs gone forever, to succeed in the new high-tech manufacturing jobs, you need a hot skills set, science, technology, engineering and math. there was a time in american manufacturing, that you could get a good job if you had a pair of hands, strong back and good work boots. not any more. now manufacturers say they need workers with a real skill set. if they can't find them, they

have to grow them. this is one of the places that they're beginning to grow them. after his shift at mag, joe heads to gateway community and technical college. its center for advanced manufacturing opened late last year, a unique partnership between gateway and local manufacturers, who help finance a new job training center. attending classes here is part of joe's job. mag covers his tuition. >> is this the future of community college education? >> absolutely. this is not only the future, it's the present. >> reporter: gateway's president dr. ed hughes is firm in his belief in american manufacturing and in gateway. more than 80% of its graduates find work in their chosen field. >> we like to say, we'll back your bottom line. we can train the worker for your bottom line, we all win. joe snyder's uncle jim, a 38-year mag veteran, also sees the future in joe and the other young apprentices. >> it's amazing what they need to know now, it's all computer generated, high-tech equipment. we have a good group of kids coming through. it's the future of the company. >> reporter: it's also the

future of this country and the working class families who were left behind by the great recession. brian, for the younger workers, this is a much easier transition than it is for the older workers, who may not have been in school for a long time. and they're still uncomfortable with a computer. they have a much tougher road ahead. statistics show an unemployed male 50 to 60 years old has only a 39% chance of finding a job again in the economy right now. >> that's a tough road, tough demographic group. tom, thanks. we're going to continue this same thing tomorrow night. tom will be back with the story of an american city on the brink. and some of the tough calls the folks there had to make. that's home night here on the broadcast. up next as we continue on this tuesday night, a milestone for a great american idea that is still changing the world.

massive wildfires sweeping across central florida tonight. as you may know, stiff winds are spreading flames and smoke in a mostly rural area of brevard county, about 50 miles east of orlando. 16,000 acres have already burned with the fire only 25% contained. some homes have been evacuated. schools closed due to smoke,

even i-95 was closed for awhile. the worry tonight for the 120 firefighters working this fire, a wind shift that could send the fire in an entirely different direction. it was 50 years ago today, just a few weeks after his inauguration as president, john f. kennedy signed an executive order establishing the peace corps, with a simple but powerful mission. promoting peace and friendship around the world in the name of the united states. the first group of peace corps volunteers arrived in ghana and tanzania in august of 1961. since that time, some 200,000 volunteers have proudly served in almost 140 nations. when we come back, using the power of pure fun to make a serious difference.

finally tonight, a story about a unique group of places where kids learn, it can be cool to do homework, work hard and write well. it may be what's out front that draws them in, but it's what's happening in the back that's making a difference. our report tonight from nbc's willie geist. >> reporter: in gotham city, there's a place where the crime

fighting elite go to stock up on the essentials, brooklyn's superhero supply store. >> x-ray glasses. >> reporter: 12-year-old alex showed me the tools of the superhero trade. from a gallon of cloning fluid to the all important cape. >> perfect. >> reporter: despite my questionable superhero credentials, alex let me in on the store's secret. behind the hidden door, i discovered the key to alex's powers. >> the most important thing before being awesome, looking good in tights, you need to be well educated. >> reporter: this is 826-nyc, part of a network of eight nonprofit centers across the country that offer kids free tutoring and creative writing workshops. in ann arbor michigan, there's a robot repair shop. in boston, a big foot research institute. and at 826 headquarters in san francisco, a pirate store. the unusual store fronts lure in curious passersby and once you're inside, 826 taps into

your imagination. and every time someone makes a purchase, say a canister of alien drone, the proceeds go to the free education program. >> the one-on-one attention really changes the kid's life. >> reporter: make that 25,000 lives, that's how many kids the 4,000 volunteers serve every year. >> i always leave here feeling better than i did when i come in. >> we're going to write a book today. >> reporter: on this day in san francisco, a class of fourth graders will become authors. >> we're writing a story about a half giraffe and a half iguana. >> reporter: and back at the superhero shop in brooklyn, young minds are dreaming up new worlds. do you have a superhero name? >> yeah. >> reporter: what is it? >> junior. >> reporter: junior? young superheroes, teaming up with their dedicated sidekicks, the volunteers that work without the fancy capes. willie geist, nbc news, brooklyn. >> look out for junior.

that's our broadcast this tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com san jose firefighters make major lar concessions, but does the mayor like the plan? i'm damian trujillo. that's coming up next in a live report. and also coming up, d oayne of the san bruno explosion hearings comes to a close. what we know now about that fateful night. barry bonds made an appearance at federal court. i'm traci grant live in san francisco. i'll have more, coming up.