it's really hard in this era for someone to snuff out the communication coming out of a country. >> facebook facilitating a revolution. social media evoking social change. it's the new face of facebook. tonight, flexing muscle as a political powerhouse around the world. good evening on this friday. i'm raj mathai. >> i'm jessica aguirre. the bay area company facebook giving egyptians a voice heard

'round the world and in the process propelling itself from social media site to social change catalyst. our reporter is in palo alto. facebook with new gravitas tonight. >> reporter: there are 5 million facebook users in egypt alone. experts say how protesters there are using the website is another example of how the company is growing globally. day 12 of taking on the scene. in the midst of the chaos, a clear sign of the power of digital communication. only one word is in english. >> what i see is that, you know, the gratitude of a people that can reach across their country out of where they feel oppressed. >> reporter: andy smith said the sign which translates into "thank you egyptian youth on

facebook confirms facebook's global power and reach. >> it's really hard in this era for someone to effectively snuff out the communication. >> reporter: it's not just facebook. google and twitter joined forces to bypass internet blackouts. >> it's pretty much whack-a-mole. >> reporter: and since facebook is back up and running, the company says they now have more users than ever in egypt. in fact, with as many as 600 million users worldwide, the 7-year-old company is moving its headquarters. >> when facebook started, there was this idea that to have a successful company, you came to silicon valley and you had an office in palo alto. >> reporter: she says seeing facebook leave will be a sad day. >> i think we'll see a loss when facebook employees aren't walking around downtown palo

alto encouraging all of us that we can change the world. >> reporter: we did contact facebook here. they did not want to comment, but they did respond to the situation in egypt. they issued a statement. although the turmoil in egypt is a matter for the egyptian people and their government, limiting internet access for millions of people is a matter of concern for the global community. a company spokesperson also said no one should be denied internet access. we're live in palo alto, elise kearschner. we are in the midst of one of the biggest transformations in a generation. every hour the story unfolds. the latest now, it's saturday morning in egypt, and they're still waiting, waiting in cairo and at the white house for president mubarak to step down. despite the global pressure, the 82-year-old mubarak remains

defiant. protesters called friday the day of departure meaning mubarak's departure, but that was wishful thinking. protests were more peaceful than in recent days. and mubarak supporters seemed to disappear as they first appeared earlier this week. tonight president obama says discussions have begun in egypt to create a temporary government. dramatic insight from a uc-berkeley student with a ringside seat to the revolution. she's back in the bay area tonight. and her story and her video is coming up in about ten minutes. one of the big stories locally, publicly they smiled for cameras, but behind the scenes it's been weeks of tug-of-war between gene kwan and anthony batz. batz is staying put but demanding change. just a photo community today, or

there will be real changes for this department? >> reporter: i don't know. we don't know what's going to happen here in oakland, but we know that there is a big problem in the city of oakland. that's the radio communications system. and police chief anthony batz making no bones about it. it's a problem that needs to be dealt with, he says lives are at stake. six officers, a paramedic responding to a man shot in oakland. officers are working in pairs because of a persistent problem with the police radio system. >> any system that's not working properly, i want to make sure that officers can back each other up and we, in fact, have gone to two-person units. >> reporter: anthony batz being sure of officer safety. police were unable to talk to each other during an officer-involved shooting in east oakland. and there were more radio problems this week. >> this is a big city.

and the communication systems have huge number of components. >> reporter: radio communications problems are nothing new for oakland. it's been a problem for two decades. chief batz talked about his struggles to police the city including broken down cars, equipment and not enough officers. it became an issue when there was talk he may leave. now that he's staying, he says he's committed to making the system a priority. >> when your life line is at risk and radio is your life line, we have to take care of those things. >> reporter: mayor kwan says that the city of oakland will be giving a brand-new state-of-the-art communications system. timetable on that unknown. but he says it will cost $20 million. but it needs an fcc approval. cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. suspicious, a string of fires in the castro district has neighbors on alert. a firebug has set four fires in

two days. no one's been hurt but at least 13 people have been burned out of their homes. now neighbors in the castro are understandably nervous and wondering where the next blaze will break out. >> we've lived in this neighborhood for 30 years. and i've seen this before about 20 years ago. and it brings a lot of it back. it's scary. to go to sleep at night and wonder whether your own place will be going up. >> police are stepping up patrols. and arson investigators are searching for any clues and asking residents to report anything suspicious. the well could go dry for a popular bar in emeryville. this after a massive brawl overnight. nearly 200 people spilling into the streets outside of this bar. the kitty bar. the cabaret is located on hollis street off 580. emeryville pd showed up to see the giant crowd fighting.

it took more than 30 officers to stop the melee. three were assaulted and two were arrested before the scene was under control. tonight the oakland tribune is reporting the police chief is considering suspending or possibly revoking the bar's license. no word on what started the melee. the crops that feed the bay area. now the water and the delta going under the microscope. see what experts are saying about contamination and if the fruits and vegetables you eat are safe. coming up, the california boy behind the mask. he's a survivor and has an incredible story to share. it's nbc-only access, and you'll get it next. and thing lr starting to heat up here across the bay area. right now temperatures mild for this time of the night. upper 40s and low 50s. a little chilly back there into fairfield and also concord.

meanwhile, clear and low 40s in the south bay. and we'll be talking about some winds that could bring us tianrd-setting levels. sey n-da carefo.stai my seven-day forecast.

we personally guarantee there will be more than 40,000 smiles tomorrow in san francisco. guess who's back in town? the giants. >> they're hosting their annual fan fest where fans get to mingle with the players. here's the best part. free. not surprisingly, they're expecting their largest crowd ever. nbc bay area's jean elie is live with what you can expect. hey, jean. >> reporter: hey there. expect lots of company. they have no way of knowing exactly how many people plan to show up for fan fest. they know they can accommodate about 41,000 people, but they don't know how many people will show up. and they are preparing for overflow. >> it's no longer a dream. ♪ we're that world series team ♪ in this new millennium >> reporter: the magic of the

jib giants' world series victory singing. you can bet he'll be part of fan fest at at&t park saturday. >> it's going to be great. there will be 40,000 people. >> reporter: it seemed like an entire bay area showed up for the vickery parade. the giants are preparing for the largest fan fest ever. >> we're expecting it could be double. 40,000 people, 50,000 people. we just don't know. obviously, we can handle, you know, 41,000 plus because we did that throughout the playoffs and many of our games. >> reporter: for the first time at fan fest, the field will be open and that should give people to move. it's a free event where players sign autographs. this year the world series trophy will be on display. >> so excited. >> reporter: carol and brennan stop by for fan fest outfits. a chance to meet brian wilson.

>> he's my favorite. come on. >> reporter: she'll have lots of company. ♪ you'll never leave san francisco ♪ ♪ because you're nobody's fool ♪ you're mr. san francisco giants snoet >> reporter: here's something else to sing about. the parking lots are open and free. they open at 11:00. jean elie, bay area news. >> by the way, we'll hear from the players in just a moment. the unofficial american holiday is almost here, super bowl sunday. one commercial is already becoming a fan favorite tonight. this volkswagen commercial, maybe you've seen it already, features a tiny darth vader attempting to move items by using the force. that pint-sized sensation is a 6-year-old patient at children's hospital. he was diagnosed with a heart defect when he was just four months old. four months old at the age of

four. he currently has a pacemaker. max page beat out hundreds of kids and said the director made it fun. >> he said, cuff your hands like this and use a force on it. so i did that. they gave me a little break. >> he was diagnosed when he was 4. he's 6 now. his mom says he does get regular checks on his pacemaker. and this commercial keeps gaining traction. as of tonight, 7 million page views on youtube. well, it is a grim confirmation. the coroner confirming today what the sheriff was sure of on tuesday. that the tiny body they pulled out of the canal is without a doubt 4-year-old jewel nonny cardenas. the end to a weeks-long mystery. it raised other questions as well. one in particular. what else is in that water? our garvin thomas joins us now with some of the answers. garvin? >> yes, sir, we're talking in a

word about cars. just what was the story with all those cars that pulled up before finding the one they were looking for? if you searched any part of that canal, would you come up with that many? and what about the pollution? the water ends up on the crops that end up on your table. the delta canal is 117 miles long. millions of gallons of water flow flew it every day. the people rely on the canal for drinking water, and thousands of central valley farmers need it to keep their crops alive. all facts you may not have known about the canal, though one fact we do know -- >> the search for a missing 4-year-old boy. >> reporter: -- we learned from watching tv these past few weeks. >> they have pulled out nine cars. >> reporter: the canal is a dumping ground for cars. as divers search for the vehicle they thought would contain giuliani cardenas, they pulled up car after truck after car that didn't.

17 in all. it's a number that surprised many people but not local cops. >> no, not really. ar eric parsons is with the chp. he says access is wide open. no fences, no barriers and few gates stopping anyone from driving to it or apparently in it. >> reporter: most of the cars he says are stolen and have been stripped before dumping. >> our task force are aware of it and they try to keep an eye on it, but there's so much access. >> reporter: another reason this canal might be such a dumping ground, it runs through an area with some of the highest car theft rates in the country. three of the nation's top ten cities in car theft are within 100 miles of this very spot. fresno, 90 miles away. 40 miles away. and modesto, the one-time car theft capital of america, just 20 miles away. so just how many cars are there under the surface?

>> on a yearly basis, they pull between 50 and 75 cars out. >> reporter: pete is with the u.s. bureau of reclamation, the canal's owner. he says a tow company regularly drags the canal looking for obstructions such as dumped cars. but at the spot of the cardenas search, it goes underground and t can they get in there reaching cars some of which have been down there for years. which does rank the question of pollution. the water delivered to farmers is not filtered. and the oil and gas does end up we should be worried about. >> it's kind of the same in a field where dilution is the solution to pollution. while we're using crops, there's

such a small number of pollutants based on testing we've done. >> reporter: while that may be a solution to the pollution, no one seems to have any idea how they'll keep cars out of this canal in the future. well, the water that's used in agriculture is not filtered, the 5% that ends up as drinking water is. when they did maintenance on the canal over ten years ago, they drained almost all the water from it, at that time they discovered 200 cars. we know jeff was out at the ballpark. >> burnt orange tie. >> yes. what a blast out there. >> it's going to be super fun tomorrow. >> it's going to be incredible. the weather is clearing out. i said there wasn't anybody out there, but it's this quiet hum. you can really feel the energy that's going to be there as we head throughout saturday with fan fest. clear skies, no frog.

it's a preview of what's coming our way for saturday and also sunday. we are under a wind advisory for some of our inland spots. it's this kind coming out of the north gusting possibly 20 to 40 miles per hour from vallejo to fairfield. that will head temperatures warm up through saturday. and also for sunday's forecast. let's get a look at current temperatures. still warmth in the south bay. right now 54 in san jose. 53 in san francisco. 45 in novato but not clearly as cold as we have been the past couple nights. a little patchy fog in the north bay, but throughout, possible record-setting temperatures. this is that middle of springtime pattern, the dry air combining with high pressure producing offshore winds will keep it mild for saturday and

sunday. even right into monday. we really do think by sunday, that's when we could have record-setting temperatures with mid-70s in the north bay. east bay. by 10:00 a.m. mostly sunny and low 50s for those of you throughout pleasanton, livermore. we'll start off with 50 in los gatos and 51 in san francisco. we'll be above average. 72 in san ljose. low 70s right at the peninsula. and for fan fest tomorrow at at&t park, we're looking at an expected 70 degrees there as well. a little bit of warmth across the park as we're expecting thousands to come out. 73 in napa. low to mid-70s from novato. the seven-day forecast, we have a lot going on here. also, maybe your own halftime

show outside with a football or barbecue. mid-70s inland. the warmest spot with possible records in the north bay. monday, tuesday and wednesday will back, but we need the rain. same old story. it's not going to be here. >> so enjoy in the meantime. >> exactly. >> positive outlook. >> thanks, jeff. up next, back from cairo with quite a story to tell. see why this bay area woman in the center of it all says she wasn't scared of on arount d her in on around her in the streets below. t

a berkeley student is back home tonight after spending a harrowing week in cairo. >> her and her three roommates found themselves stuck in their apartment while down below the streets of cairo raged with protests. >> i'm watching the videos over and over again. i can't believe i was there. and i can't believe this is still happening. for me personally, i didn't get scared at all. i don't know why i didn't get scared. i guess i was just so amazed by the strength of the people and all of that, i wasn't really thinking so much about my safety and my health. >> yeah, the video is amazing. she was among two dozen uc students studying in cairo when the unrest unfolded. the university evacuated all of the students from that region. >> quite an adventure. up next, plenty of baseball to talk about tonight.

and the giants, the italretvy reality tv stars. up next with sports.

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giants spring training just ten days out which means more time to celebrate before getting back to work which thousands will do with the team at tomorrow's fan fest. before the festivities, we caught up with a handful of the guys at at&t park. one topic of discussion was baseball's version of hard knocks. the giants will be the focus of a tv show on showtime. they're calling it a docudrama following the team in its quest to defend its title. >> we're looking forward to it. we think it's going to be great for the giants organization. great for all of us. you know, i think that it's going to be great and the same as anything else. you know, we're not worried about having a couple extra cameras around or whatnot. you know, we're just going to go out and do our business like any

other time. meanwhile, gm brian sabian and skipper bruce bochy were rewarded for that title today. the club picked up both options for 2012. that means sabian will be with the club for 16 seasons. he's, of course, the longest tenured general manager in baseball. well, a couple former a's who have struggled with injuries signed with new clubs today. justin duchscherer inked a deal with the orioles and longtime third baseman eric chavez will now be sporting pinstripes. as he signed a minor league deal with the new york yankees. he made his rounds and tried out for a few teams including the dodgers and blue jays. it's been a while since he's had a full and healthy season. played in only 64 games since 2008. the steelers and packers are more than ready to get the super bowl under way after a brutal week where cold temperatures stole the headlines. both clubs indoors for practices.

steelers' center maurkice has been ruled out, trying to overcome an ankle injury but can't. donald driver was dinged up in weps's practice. despite the cool temps, this is the scene, plenty of a-listers on hand, adam sandler. you know you're not going to get your typical response. >> we're going to eat a lot. maybe a couple of snow angels. larry the cable guy's going to watch. >> that's my game day prediction. >> what do you got? >> i've got to go vikings. >> i go knicks. >> you expect a straight answer from that guy? >> he would be fun to go to his house for a super bowl party. >> why don't we all get on a plane and go to dallas.

>> jennifer aniston will be there, probably. >> now we're talking. >> halftime show, who is it? >> black eyed peas. >> black eyes peas. >> stacy ferguson. >> we'll be right back.

so no coincidence, we're all splashed with a little red. it's a national campaign with many local angles. >> hundreds came together in the south bay to inspire action against heart disease. for a little fun, too. the all-red fashion show was in honor of national wear red day. it included makeover stations. heart disease is the number one cause of death among women. nbc was a proud sponsor of tonight's event. >> very nice. >> fan fest tomorrow. super bowl sunday. it's an all-sports weekend. >> 40,000 people expected at fan fest. have a great weekend. >> bye-bye.