as you've never seen it, never heard it before. good evening. we begin tonight with six working women who set out to make history, and today, ten years after they started, stood face to face with walmart in the supreme court. and, watching them from around the country, watching this case, millions of women, asking the questions in the courtroom, the fired up justices, including one who was a trail blazer for gender equality under the law. and terry moran is here with all the drama today. terry? >> reporter: it was a fascinating and dramatic day at the court, diane. this is a case about seeking justice, about how our law should deal with claims of sex discrimination at the biggest company in the world. and some of the different ways men and women look at the world seem to play out on the court itself. on the plaza of the supreme court, a few protesters gathered, while inside, the highest court in the land, some of the women of walmart, the plaintiffs here, watched from the gallery. on the bench for the first time in a gender discrimination case, three women justices sat to hear their plea. and all three tore into the case. justice ruth bader ginsburg, who more than any other lawyer in america advanced the cause of women's rights before she became a judge, grilled walmart lawyers. "the company gets reports month after month showing that women are passed over for promotion and there is a pay gap. isn't there some responsibility on the company?" theodore butt trous said the statistics were misleading and it does not show there was a gender gap. but several of the male justices were skeptical. justice kennedy. "it's not clear to me what is the unlawful policy that walmart has adopted?" and justice scalia told that walmart's own training management materials said that men are more aggressive in seeking advancement said, if you have an aggressive woman, promote her. outside a walmart executive echoed the company's argument that the experiences of just a handful of women, even if true, are just not typical of what happened to more than 1 million other women who worked at walmart and so cannot be the basis for this class action against the company. >> what's wrong with this case is that three plaintiffs are trying to represent more than 1.5 million associates. i've had a very positive experience at walmart like thousands of other women. >> reporter: betty dukes, one of the women who are trying to bring this dais on behalf of so many others, was undaunted. >> they rule against us, the fight has just begun. just begun. >> reporter: well, this court has generally been a pro-business court so the women that brought this case may face a real challenge winning it, even with three women justices up there. >> what a day on the court, though. and fascinating to hear their question. thank you, terry. as you've pointed out to us, whatever happens in the courtroom, it is still one of the stubborn facts in american life, decade after decade, statistics show that women do not make equal pay for equal work. the latest numbers, women make 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. and nationwide, less than men working in the very same job. well, sharyn alfonsi says tonight, this can be changed, and she brings us some companies that say, here's how you do it. >> reporter: carly started working for patagonia in 1997 as a sales associate. did you think you'd be working here more than ten years later? >> i thought i'd do it for a year. >> reporter: but she's been promoted over and over again. >> sales associate. assistant store manager, store manager, regional manager and now district manager. >> reporter: not bad. patagonia is celebrated as one of the best companies for women to work for. their secret? flexibility. pay. and promotion. they offer no cost health insurance. almost every works a flexible schedule. leaving to attend your kid's soccer game is actually encouraged. the result? women stay. and excel. today, 62% of the company's top executives are women. it's not just good for the women. it's good for business. >> there's a huge return on investment for companies that invest in their female employees and that investment pays off by having talented people who stay. >> reporter: marriott extends its hospitality to all employees, including flex time and training to everyone from front desk workers to housekeepers. they promote from within. today, 5 of the company's 12 vice presidents are women. at mcdonald's, even part time employees can ifully for the 401(k) program and purchase insurance. go back to school, the company will reimburse you. 64% of the store managers are women. and most of them started flipping burgers. meaning that girl who asks you if you want to super size today has a real shot of being the company's ceo tomorrow. sharyn alfonsi, abc news new york. and now, right here in new york today, i sat down with president obama to get the very latest on moammar gadhafi and whether the u.s. will have to go even further, even giving arms to the rebels in libya. today, the rebels seemed to be under assault by gadhafi's forces, taking big casualties. and at the same time, in the nearby country of syria, their president was forced to promise big changes there, streets filled with protesters. but in my interview with the president, i started by asking about gadhafi, and those reports that he is trying to make a deal. as of this moment, any sign gadhafi wants out? >> well, i think what we're seeing is that the circle around gadhafi understands that the noose is tightening. that their days are probably numbered. and they're going to have to think through what their next sketch steps are. but as i have been very clear about throughout, there are certain things they can do that will send a signal that he's ready to go. until that time, we're going to keep on applying pressure and hopefully he's going to be getting the message soon. >> reporter: if gadhafi winds up in a villa some place in zip bam way with no war crimes trial, is that okay with you? >> that's not going to be my decision alone. i will tell you that the first step is for gadhafi to send a signal that he understands the libyan people don't want him ruling anymore. that 40 years of tyranny is enough. and, you know, once he makes that decision, i think the international community will come together and make a determination as to what the most appropriate way of facilitating him stepping down will be. >> reporter: would you make any calls to say take him? >> we have not gotten to that stage yet. >> reporter: we are hearing tonight it's fierce fighting. the u.s. must send munitions. how long would it take to get there? >> i wouldn't speculate on that. i think it's fair to say that if we wanted to get weapons into libya, we probably could. we're looking at all ouroptions at this point. we've instituted a no-fly zone that can be sustained because it's an international effort. >> reporter: can we say we can have it in there in a day, two days? >> i'm not going to talk about operations like that, at that level. >> reporter: i want to try to clarify what you are saying today to the people of syria. we specifically asked the president, is he saying to the protesters in syria, if they meet the five criteria he laid out last night -- are you saying to them, we will be there for you as we were there in libya? >> i'm not saying that. what i'm saying is that those are the criteria that i consider in making a very difficult decision about whether to apply military force. i don't know if those circumstances could be duplicated any place else. those are the kinds of criteria that i examine, but i'm not going to start right as we're in a very complex operation in libya start projecting out about all the other countries in which this would apply. >> reporter: even if these paper criteria are met? >> as i said, diane, in each situation, i've got to examine, how does this measure up in terms of our interests, the international community's interests, how exactly would that accomplish, understands the risks and costs involved in that, and understand our military is already very overstretched. >> reporter: what about the famous quote from another beleaguered president, who said he had been driven to his knees, because his own wisdom was insufficient for the day. >> i do a lot of praying, every night, before i go to bed. i am praying that i make the best possible decisions and that i've got the strength to serve the american people well. i think on libya, we've gotten it right. that doesn't make it easy. it just means that we made the right decision for that moment. >> reporter: just a final question. how much do you think kentucky will win by? >> diane, i will make this point, you know, a lot of folks focused on the fact that i filled out by bracket. obvious lly i didn't spend that much time studying it because i don't have anybody in the final four. kentucky. make that my kentucky. and by the way, on that avalanche of crisis that the president faces every day, the president goes home every day to talk to his daughters about his day. i ask him, what does he say to them about days like this? and you can see that at abcnews.com/worldnews. and now, in japan, the prime minister assured the world that their country is on a maximum state of alert today, dealing with the lethal plutonium leaking into the soil near the fukushima plant. as we all know, despite the warning, there are always some members of a family who cannot leave the home that's all they know. we saw today, this rice farmer, less than 12 miles from the plant, showing us his crops, the ones he's still tending, with his neighbor's cows, saying he cannot give up. and still ahead on "world news," "world news" investigates, what is going on with so much cancer in one american town? and, the secret language of teeny twins. we penetrate the most mysterious and delightful world. j?j?j?j?j?j?j?j?j?j?j?j?j?j?j?j? with an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or afib? if so, now's the time to talk to your doctor again, even if you're already taking medication to reduce your stroke risk. atrial fibrillation can cause a blood clot to form here, in your heart, that can break free and go straight to your brain, where it can cause a serious stroke. strokes that are twice as likely to be deadly or severely disabling as other types of strokes. but if you're one of the 2 million people who have atrial fibrillation, there's never been a better time to talk to your doctor. because you and your doctor can choose from different kinds of medicines to help prevent a stroke. for a free interactive book, call 1-877-afib-stroke, or log-on to afibstroke.com. and with this valuable information in your hand, talk to your doctor. [ smack! ] [ smack! smack! smack! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum ta tum tum tums today on capitol hill, americans came to ask for help, saying big companies are dumping dangerous chemicals, destroying their towns. even erin brock vich was there. but tonight on "world news," we investigate one small town and their cry for help. our jim sciutto reports on the fears of the people of bokoshe, oklahoma. >> this lady that lives right here in this house has cancer. >> reporter: what if driving down your street felt like visiting patients in a cancer ward? >> lady that lived in that house right there passed away with cancer. >> reporter: so many families have been touched. residents say, of 20 home in this neighborhood, 14 have one or more cancer victims. >> it's very disheartening to have something like this in your backyard and not be sure, you know? not be sure if you are safe. you don't know if you're safe. you don't know if them kids are safe. >> reporter: this is what residents here are afraid of. coal ash. the waste dumped by coal-fired power plants. the mound, six stories high and rising. they count 80 truck loads a day. >> it would just be a cloud of dust that would engulf you and choke you. >> reporter: we met susan, evelyn and shirley who all lost close family to cancer or are suffering themselves. shirley has incurable lymphoma. >> for me, it's too late. but my children, grandchildren, i want them to be healthy. and not have to breathe what i've been breathing. >> reporter: and here's another startling statistic. in this public school, teachers tell us more than half the students suffer from asthma. >> it's scary, because you think that you might, like, get, start coughing or something, you could possibly die. >> reporter: this is several years worth of coal ash dumping. and in every handful is a toxic mix. and it's this that the rez denials of bokoshe are convinced is in the air they breathe and the water they drink every day. linking exposure to specific diseases is difficult to prove. but the epa has already concludeed in a national study that if arsenic and other contaminants present in coal ash get into drinking water, it is increase the cancer risk 20 to 2,000 times the epa's targets. and what about the water around bokosh bokoshe? twice, the epa tested water and found it toxic, ordering the company to stop polluting the water. the epa says they can't complied. is it a hazardous material? >> absolutely. coal ash is poisonous. it's deadly. and right now it's regulated by garbage. >> reporter: we went looking for the owner of the dumpi ining si. >> if the government comes on this operation and says, this is a toxic waste, okay 0, what do we need to do, okay? >> reporter: won't it be too late by then? >> well, yeah, but are you going to stop driving your cars and stuff? >> reporter: well, there are risks that are tolerable and not tolerable. >> absolutely. so, who is going to judge the tolerable ones and not tolerable ones? >> reporter: the coal industry disputes the health risk. back in bokoshbokoshe, the chil wrote president obama, asking for his help. they're still waiting for an answer. >> i want our students healthy so they can wake up and go to school and learn. >> reporter: if they decide no, what happens to bokoshe? >> there will be more people dying, more younger people. more younger people dying. >> if they decide no, what happens. what about the epa, which judged the water to be toxic at one point, what are they going to do. >> reporter: last year, the epa proposed calling this a hazardous waste. it would have required safety measures. but that stalled. i repeatedly asked the epa to go on camera for this, they refused. they gave us a statement, saying they are trying to protect human health in a cost-effective way. >> going to stay on the phone with them? >> reporter: and i. >> and what about the letter back? >> reporter: we've been checking every week, and just last week, they got their response, right here from the epa, saying they are trying to find a safe solution for it, but that not tough not for the community. >> we can count on jim sciutto to follow up. thank you, jim. and still ahead, talk about pressure. prince harry on what he told the world about the best man speech he has to give at the royal wedding. -the best in nutrition... -just got better. even better nutrition -- high in vitamins d, e and b12. a good source of vitamin b2. plus omega threes. and 25% less saturated fat than ordinary eggs. but there's one important ingredient that hasn't changed. -better taste. -better taste. -better taste. -mmmm... 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[ man ] thermacare, more effective for back pain than the maximum dose of acetaminophen, the medicine in tylenol. go to thermacare.com today for a $3 off coupon. thermacare. no pills. no pain. just relief. as we said, a lot of pressure on one best man for his speech coming up, the royal wedding exactly one month from today and best man prince harry is on top of the world right now in norway, heading to the north pole on a mission with wounded war vets. for a moment, he said, putting aside worries about his wedding toast. >> writing the speech while i'm stuck in a tent at minus 40. if there's time, i might give it some thought, but i think pen's and papers are probably going to be safe somewhere back home. i'm here for these guys and these guys alone. >> not exactly a speech you just wing, i think. our bob woodruff, by the way, is along for the adventure at the pole and he'll have reports for us on what happens later this week. coming up next, babies you have to hear to believe. the secret language of twins. le. you've been stuck in the garage, while my sneezing and my itchy eyes took refuge from the dust in here and the pollen outside. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. it's the brand allergists recommend most. ♪ lily and i are back on the road again. where we belong. with zyrtec®, i can love the air®. [ female announcer ] wake up to sweetness with honey nut cheerios cereal. kissed with real honey. and the 100% natural whole grain oats can help lower your cholesterol. you are so sweet to me. bee happy. bee healthy. you are so sweet to me. the plan we worked on for your retirement makes sense. just stay on track. what is... that's the guidance you get from fidelity. thanks. stay on the line! whatever your destination, fidelity will help you get there. because when it comes to investing, you should never settle. fidelity investments. and finally, a sweet mystery of the universe, the secret language of twins. new evidence that's colorful, sophisticated, bound to make you smile. here's linsey davis. >> reporter: watch as these 17 month old twin brothers, explorers in hume communication. that's sam holding the fridge and ren with the mismatched socks. they just seem to be making small talk at first but then the head shake the other threatens to turn away but stays to try to talk things out. >> they're communicating with each other about each other. >> reporter: in early childhood, 40% of multiples have a secret way of communicating. listen to the dilly sextuplets who broke into a tune all of their own, a spontaneous jazz riff. ♪ we once watched these quadruplets, who seemed to be speaking in code. there's even a name for it. idio-glosial. babies trying to communicate by mimicking each other, clearly coherent just to themselves. they're not talking about something but communicating nonetheless. >> exactly. they're communicating about perhaps the fun of having the conversation. they're perhaps imitate what they see conversations look like. >> reporter: within the walls of abc news, no subtitles were necessary. >> right now, final four basketball. >> i'm taller. no, i'm taller, i told you. >> see, it's about the sock. >> it's definitely about the sock. >> reporr: some twins never outgrow it. like marcus and marquis morris who play for kansas. they've always had what they describe as a weird communication that may even give them an edge on the court. perhaps it started out something like this. with a good old eye poke and hearty laugh. followed, of course, by a synchronized couch climb. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> maybe about the sock. be sure to check in at abcnews.com all day. remember, "nightline" tonight. we'll see you tomorrow. 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