on the broadcast here tonight, make get case for u.s. military action in libya. tonight the president addresses the nation as the rebels make their biggest push yet into gadhafi territory. radiation continues to turn up in trace amounts here, and of course it's a full-blown crisis in japan. walmart and women. a case hded to the supreme court this week that could impact all women in the u.s. workforce. and making a difference so kids of active duty americans don't have to put their favorite sport on ice. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. president obama addressed the nation tonight, a speech delivered before a live audience. as the associated press put it, defending the first war launched on his watch. the president said the u.s. acted by launching those air strikes nine days ago to prevent a massacre of the libyan people by moammar gadhafi. he said gadhafi is not a target and that the u.s. is acting as part of this coalition to protect civilians. he talked about the uses and limits of military power while he is president and said there will be times like this when our safety isn't directly threatened but our interests and values are. our coverage begins with white house correspondent savannah guthrie at washington's ft. mcnair where the president spoke tonight. savannah, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. this was the president's chance to explain his actions in libya, put them in context and to highlight what aides consider a success story. the president intervening

militarily on behalf of an international coalition to stop gadhafi from massacring his own citizens. >> we were faced with the prospect of violence on a horrific scale. to brush aside america's responsibility as a leader and more profoundly our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would have been a betrayal of who we are. some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. the united states of america is different. as president, i refuse to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action. >> reporter: mindful of those worried about the u.s. getting involved in yet a third military conflict, the president emphasized that nato is now taking over command and control of the operation, and he also took on critics who have suggested the u.s. should do more to oust gadhafi. >> if we tried to overthrow

gadhafi by force, our coalition would splinter. we would likely have to put u.s. troops on the ground to accomplish that mission, or risk killing many civilians from the air. to be blunt, we went down that road in iraq. thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our troops and the determination of our diplomats, we are hopeful about iraq's future. but regime change there took eight years, thousands of american and iraqi lives and nearly a trillion dollars. that is not something we can afford to repeat in libya. >> reporter: the president said the overthrow of gadhafi would not happen overnight, but he said history is not on gadhafi's side. he did not say how long the u.s. is prepared to stay involved militarily in libya, brian. >> all right, savannah guthrie at the scene of the president's speech in washington tonight. savannah, thanks. a quick program note,

tomorrow night here on the broadcast, my interview with president obama concerning this use of force in libya. the president travels to new york tomorrow. our conversation will take place then. we'll have it for you on "nightly news" tomorrow night. in libya tonight, anti-gadhafi rebels have taken advantage of the protection of this no-fly zone and the pummelling from the allied air strikes to make their biggest push yet to within striking distance of sirte. that's gadhafi's hometown. and if that city falls, it would be a big trophy for the rebels, strategically and symbolically. our chief foreign correspondent, richard engel, is live tonight in the rebel base city of benghazi. richard, first off, how do you think this speech will play there? >> reporter: it was a very emotional speech when heard here in ben gauzy. it's obviously the middle of the night but the people will be extremely welcoming. when the president said he

didn't want to wait for images of mass graves, well, those mass graves would have been filled with the people of benghazi. now the rebels want these air strikes to continue so that they can push forward and continue their advance. after advancing almost unchecked for two days, rebels are now having to fight for territory. in the desert outside sirte, rebels fired rockets today to attack gadhafi's troops, dug in miles away. gadhafi is making a stand here. sirte is his hometown and the gateway to tripoli. until now the rebels have mostly relied on western air strikes. the rebels' lightning advance this weekend was more like a drive-through than a conquest. after nato air power obliterated gadhafi's tanks and armored vehicles, government troops retreated. some took off their uniforms. others left behind half-eaten

meals. almost without resistance, the rebels advanced from benghazi through ajdabiya, to brega, ross la noof, bin jawad. now that they are having to fight, their supplies are thin. there is little fuel. >> we will come to you, gadhafi. >> reporter: the rebels plan is to capture sirte with western air power clearing the way. link up with the opposition in misrata and then make a final push to tripoli. but as western reporters saw firsthand today, misrata remains a battleground, at least for now, with gadhafi forces fighting rebels to a draw. back in benghazi, the unofficial rebel capital, there were victory parades today with a new sense of optimism. a rebel spokesman told us the opposition needs air strikes to continue for at least a few more weeks. >> we'd like them to be

resolute, decisive. to continue what they have started, because results are beginning to bear fruit and it seems that the time for gadhafi is getting shorter and shorter. >> reporter: rebels warned if international military support stops or slows down, their gains could be erased. and in benghazi, posters of those missing in this war are reminders to the rebels of what's at stake if they lose. no sign in the president's speech tonight that he is walking away from the basic mission of protecting the opposition, protecting the libyan people, and that will be very welcome here in benghazi, brian. >> richard engel in benghazi, libya, for us tonight. richard, thanks. there's more to report tonight on a part of this libya story that surfaced over this past weekend when a libyan woman purposely sought out western news media at their hotel in tripoli to tell a harrowing story of being assaulted by gadhafi loyalists. while there are still a lot of

questions tonight about exactly what happened, what we are learning is disturbing, like the incident itself. nbc's jim maceda has the latest from tripoli. >> reporter: it was a rare act of bravery fueled by despair. this libyan woman, reaching out on her own, to a group of foreign reporters as they ate breakfast saturday morning. pointing to bruises on her face, she yelled "gadhafi did this." and even as hotel security restrained her, she screamed out her story. how she was stopped at a checkpoint outside tripoli, held for two days by those she called gadhafi's men, who she says gang raped her and beat her. by then, even the waitresses were turning on her, calling her a traitor, trying to hide her head as if that would silence her. in the chaos, cameramen were manhandled, this camera smashed beyond repair. at one point this security guard seemed to reach for his weapon. she would not yet be able to tell her story.

only hours later did we learn her name, iman al obeidi, 26 years old, living in tripoli and from a prominent family. at first the libyan government suggested she had been drunk, a prostitute and perhaps mentally deranged but backed off from all three claims. >> we know that she's a sane person. she is in good health. she has serious claims about four or five individuals. >> reporter: one of the alleged rapists, the son of a high-ranking police officer, according to some reports. in an interview with al jazeera tv, her parents held up a photo of her graduating from law school. her mother said she's still being held in gadhafi's compound in tripoli, countering government claims that she had been released. there are still many unknowns about iman al obeidi and gaps in her story, but she's a disturbing example of what can happen here when someone has the courage to speak out. jim maceda, nbc news, tripoli.

elsewhere in the region, the city of dara in southern syria was again a flash point today, president assad's security forces trying to crush the latest democracy up risings. in yemen, the opposition took to the streets as well. yemen's president has now pulled back on his offer to step down by the end of the year. meantime, more than 100 people who were looting an ammo factory in yemen reportedly are dead after something, perhaps a cigarette, touched off an explosion. now we turn to japan. it's some measure of how big it is when you consider the following. trace amounts of radiation have now been detected in the air and in the rainwater as far east in this country as pittsburgh and the state of massachusetts. the amount is minute, neglible and health officials have assured the public there's zero danger. but as to the source of it in japan, radiation is now in the

soil, the air and the water, as the struggle continues to contain it, to stop it and to get several crippled reactors under control. nbc's lee cowan standing by in tokyo tonight. lee, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. this is all about the radioactive water at this point. there is a lot of it and officials are trying to figure out exactly what to do with it. at one pool near reactor number 2, the radiation levels were 10,000 times normal. before the workers can get back into that plant to figure out the source of that leak, all that radioactive water has to be pumped out, somewhere. the stricken nuclear power plant is bleeding radioactive water, but so far engineers aren't sure exactly where it's wounded. not only is the water collecting in pools and buildings just adjacent to the reactors, but it's also been flooding into underground tunnels that house the plant's pipes and electrical cables. officials say for now, the flooded areas remain a no-go

zone for workers, until the toxic brew is pumped out. >> it's important to realize that we're in a regime now that these reactors were never designed to operate in. so there's no playbook that tells you what to do in these circumstances. >> reporter: to add to the contamination woes came this troubling announcement. >> tepco electric power company says plutonium has been found in soil. >> reporter: plutonium is deadly to humans, even in small doses, and can stay in the environment for thousands of years. experts say the levels found so far have been almost undetectab undetectable. still, it prompted more worries that the extent of the damage is far worse than originally thought. and some aren't taking any chances. tokyo is famous for its electronics shops, and the hottest item these days are geiger counters, believe it or not. that's if you can even find one. we checked stores all over tokyo. everyone was sold out. this is my last one, this

salesman told us. i've got 200 on back order. it doesn't matter, it seems, if customers actually know how to use a geiger counter. with many not trusting the government, they may simply offer peace of mind. and with so many unsettling images coming from areas hit so hard by the quake, any comfort goes a long way. now, brian, those rolling blackouts continue across much of the country, including here in tokyo. and some of the basics like bread and water, they are still scarce in grocery stores here. it seems that anything that is perishable is being sent up north, where an estimated quarter of a million people remain in shelters tonight. brian. >> lee cowan in tokyo. lee, thanks. a quick note in this country. today marks the 32nd anniversary of the partial meltdown at three mile island in pennsylvania. the nuclear emergency came about due to technical malfunction and human error combined. the radiation release, the damage to the core resulted in

evacuations and a fresh look at nuclear safety in the u.s. this morning a small crowd gathered at the plant to mark the event 32 years ago today, the nation's worst-ever nuclear emergency. up next as our broadcast continues on a monday night, did walmart discriminate against more than a million of its women workers? and will it be a game-changer for all women in the u.s. workforce? and later, making a difference for children of the military by keeping them in the game. [ woman ] nine iron, it's almost tee time.

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back now wit back now with a legal fight that could pit the world's largest retailer, walmart, against more than a million women and has the potential to become the biggest sex discrimination case in history. the big question before the supreme court tomorrow, could this case be too big. the story from our justice correspondent, pete williams. >> reporter: christine kwapnowski says walmart has passed over women like her for decades giving men bigger raises and better promotions.

>> once i had my fill of it, i finally just said enough's enough. >> reporter: typical was a comment made by her store manager when she was working on the loading dock. >> i had gone in and asked what is it i need to do to get promoted, and i was told that i need to blow the cob webs off my makeup and to doll up. >> reporter: she and other current and former walmart employees filed a class action, one that could end up joining more than one and a half million women in a single lawsuit against walmart. the company says that's so big that women don't have enough in common for a fair trial and walmart says it has a strict non-discrimination policy. >> they don't represent my own experience. i've had a lot of positive experiences with walmart, like many other countless women in the organization. >> reporter: the supreme court will not be deciding if walmart discriminated. the question is whether or not a lawsuit this big should be allowed to go to trial, representing so many women working in different kinds of walmart jobs.

women's groups say without the ability to band together in class actions and seek back pay, discrimination cases would be much harder to bring. >> depending on how the court rules, it could come down to the basic question of whether you have class actions in the future at all. >> reporter: but several of the nation's biggest employers, including ge, part owner of nbc universal, say allowing such a huge case against walmart to proceed would invite abusive lawsuits. >> it would be open season for employment discrimination cases against large employers with nationwide offices. >> reporter: both sides agree the stakes are high, not just for walmart, but for a legal tool women claim is essential, one that big employers say makes it hard to fairly defend themselves. pete williams, nbc news, at the supreme court. riveting testimony today in san francisco federal court at the trial of barry bonds. the seven-time mvp and home run king accused by federal prosecutors of lying to a grand jury about steroid use. his physical transformation was

nothing short of dramatic. his rookie year baseball card at 185 pounds and then 21 years later at 240. they look like two different players entirely. and today prosecutors put his former girlfriend on the stand. she testified in terms too graphic to mention here that his transformation was almost freakish. that his body changed, so did his behavior. he became threatening, she said, and aggressive. bonds' defense attorneys tried to paint her as motivated by money and jealous that bonds had married another woman. when we come back, a well-known brand name goes into bankruptcy, and remembering the inventor of a product americans have grown attached to over the years. ached to over the years. [ robin ] my name is robin. and i was a pack-a-day smoker for 25 years. i do remember sitting down with my boys, and i'm like, "oh, promise mommy you'll never ever pick up a cigarette." i had to quit. ♪

my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these symptoms or behaviors, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. if you develop serious allergic or skin reactions, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some of these can be life-threatening. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. until you know how chantix affects you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. ♪ my benjamin, he helped me with the countdown.

"ben, how many days has it been?" "5 days, mom. 10 days, mom." i think after 30 days he got tired of counting. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about chantix. and now through march 31st, get a limited-time money saving offer and see terms and conditions at chantix.com. to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. motrin pm. you have frequent heartburn, right ? yeah, it flares up a few days a week. well, we're the two active ingredients in zegerid otc. i'm omeprazole,

the leading prescription heartburn medicine. and i'm sodium bicarbonate. i protect him from stomach acid so he can get to work. look, guys, i've already tried a lot of stuff. wow. with zegerid otc, you get 24-hour relief. so, this is goodbye heartburn ? gone. finito. zegerid otc. two ingredients... ...one mission. heartburn solved. harry & david has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. though the company says its catalog business and 70 retail stores will keep on going, people just haven't been buying that many luxury goods, and of course they are famous for their elaborate gift baskets full of gourmet fruit. coming off a rough holiday season, they are trying to get out from under about $200 million in debt. harry coover has died. after a long career in science and chemistry, he left behind an invention that improved our lives. he came up with super glue. like so many great inventions, it came about by mistake.

coover, an ivy league ph.d. set out to make a temperature resistant coating for jet cockpits and instead made a compound that stuck to everything. dr. coover held 460 patents. he was inducted to the inventors hall of fame and was awarded the national medal of technology by president obama. while he showed off the strength of a single drop on the tv show "i've got a secret" super glue never did make him rich because others turned it into a business. but he was gratified that a spray form of it was used to seal up battlefield wounds in vietnam. harry wesley coover jr. was 94 years old. up next here tonight, making a difference for young athletes when military life turns their parents into soldiers far from home.

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deployed far from home. nbc's kevin tibbles reports tonight from the great state of minnesota on one group that makes a difference by keeping the kids on the ice. >> reporter: in the game of hockey, the blue line is the last line of defense. protecting it helps ensure victory. just as protecting a way of life at home helps the families of those serving overseas. sandra hyman's husband is in afghanistan. >> my son really gets it. the other day he was talking about how he was worried that daddy was going to get hurt by a bad guy. >> reporter: in hockey-mad minnesota, defending the blue line is a program that helps ensure children don't have to quit just because mom or dad is away. >> oh, he scores! >> we're doing everything we can to make sure that their kids stay on the ice. >> reporter: kids are provided transportation, training, even equipment. >> these are brand new. >> yep. >> reporter: often too expensive for military families. >> we've been able to help a little over a thousand kids.

>> reporter: 10-year-old dario orr is an aspiring goalie. >> give me a goalie stick, a goalie helmet and goalie leg pads. >> reporter: for dario's dad, who has served in iraq and afghanistan, it brings peace of mind. >> knowing that dario wasn't sitting at home constantly worried about his dad. >> reporter: and defending the blue line has found a champion in someone who actually does it professionally for a living, with the minnesota wild of the nhl. 6'5" gentle giant brett burnes pays for military families to attend nhl games and even coaches the kids. >> for that hour they don't have to think about what their parents are going through. >> reporter: guardsman tony rank and wife heather had to cut back after she lost her job, but 10-year-old t.j. attended hockey camp and got brand new gear. >> i almost broke down into tears because i knew it was something that we couldn't have possibly have provided. >> reporter: keeping kids in the game while mom or dad serve their country.

a home front victory. kevin tibbles, nbc news, hastings, minnesota. and that's our broadcast for this monday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening g night. and actually put a bouncer right where that is. but it rained on sunday so we didn't do that. >> it rained on their party, but that might have saved their lives. right now, at 6:00, mudslides threaten an east bay neighborhood. where some backyards already buckled. seemingly bottomless pit of mud and unanswered question, show you what the damage estimate looks like and who may have to pay.