right now at 5:00, republican candidates converge in iowa to make their claim to run against president obama. we'll show you who won the iowa straw poll and what its meant historically. also, there could be another arrest in the killing of the 3-year-old boy in oakland. and a celebrity helps with the funding of a bay area science project. we'll show you that. the news at 5:00 starts right now. good evening. i'm diane dwyer. the results are in for what is considered to be the first test

in the republican presidential campaign. and michele bachmann won the iowa straw poll today. she is the first woman to ever win that test. but the poll may not be as significant as it claims to be given the fact that frontrunner, mitt romney, stayed away from the event and texas governor rick perry picked today to enter the race. and as steven heldsman explains, bachmann put forth the biggest effort with the biggest turnout, and that clearly paid off. >> reporter: it is like a fair with lots of food, lots of people and bands. but the stars are republican candidates like rick santorum. and tim pawlenty. tea-partier, michele bachmann, libertarian, ron paul, and others. mitt romney was not in the state. iowans came to the straw poll not for the food or music but to vote. so many showing up they waited in long lines to cast a

non-binding ballot for their favorite. >> pawlenty zblrks rick santorum. >> michele bachmann. >> some not on the ballot. >> rick perry. >> reporter: rick perry passed on the straw poll joining the gop race today from south carolina. >> i will work every day to try to make washington, d.c., as inconsequential in your life as i can. >> reporter: perry's christian conservatism appealed to many of the same voters as congresswoman michele bachmann, who seemed to get the best straw poll turnout today. >> i know right now as i look across this arena here in ames, we are the team that can't be beat. >> reporter: with today's poll seemingly do or die for tim pawlenty, his backers were everywhere. this is what you needed, right? >> we are grateful for the momentum and support we have been getting in iowa. >> reporter: republican candidates getting publicity and the weeding out at the straw

poll. but this time there's the new factor, rick perry and national republican front-runner mitt romney who four years ago won this contest figuring this time they are better off not contesting the iowa straw poll. from ames, iowa, steve handelsman, nbc bay area news. diane, back to you. and just for a little bit of perspective since its founding, the winner of the ames straw poll has gone on to win the republican presidential nomination two of the five times. police in pakistan are searching for a 60-year-old american man who was kidnapped out of his home in eastern pakistan early this morning. and nbc's jay gray has the latest on that. >> reporter: the state department now confirms the kidnapped american is warren weinstein. reports indicate he's been working for several years in pakistan as the country director for development contractor j.e. austin associates. according to the company's website, he holds a ph.d. in economics, is fluent in six

languages and worked in the field of international development for 25 years. pakistani police say the attack was carried out by as many as ten gunmen at 3:30 in the morning. they persuaded squurt guards by opening up the debates gates saying they wanted to share some food. once inside they overpowered the guards and forced a driver to knock on weinstein's bedroom door. when he opened the door they loaded him into a car at gunpoint and sped away. no indication of a motive or no group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. abductions are common in pakistan, but rarely as brazen as this one. and it is rare for the americans to be the target. there is a travel advisory issued for those working and traveling to pakistan. i'm jay gray, back to you. police sources are reportedly saying the likely motive now is ransom since the kidnapping was very well planned

and the victim is considered wealthy. and an amber alert is in effect for a 2-year-old girl kidnapped by her father in sacramento. the fbi says the child's life could be in danger. and there's word the two could be in the bay area authorities say the father failed to return the girl to her mother on sunday. madeline samonfay is 2' and her father is 5'6" weighing 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. he's a u.s. citizen born in egypt and fluent in spanish. there's no specific lead as to whether the two could be, but the fbi says the father is known to have connections with people here in the bay area. the father is believed to be driving a 1998 green toyota four runner with the california license plate 3xrm111. and it looks similar to the one you see here. the fbi is asking anyone with

information on the whereabouts of the missing girl or her father to call 911. we have new information tonight about the killing of that 3-year-old carlos nova in oakland. one man was arrested in connection with the drive-by shooting and another arrest could be coming soon. kimberly terry is live with more on this developing story tonight. kimberly? >> reporter: diane, sources tell nbc bay area news they are very close to making another arrest in that drive-by shooting that left two men injured and a 3-year-old dead earlier this week. according to source they may have tracked down the driver involved in the incident to las vegas. lawrence denard from pittsburgh was charged in the murder of the boy's killing. police have said they are looking for other suspects and that the investigation is ongoing. so as soon as we learn more information about this potential other suspect or any new developments, we will, of course, pass that information along to you. meantime, money continues to be raised to help the family of

3-year-old carlitos nova killed after 1:00 p.m. when he was struck by a stray bullet and killed. a car wash and barbecue fund-raiser is held where the shooting happened on international and 64th avenue. nova's family along with neighbors say the senseless death is an outrage and they want police to do something to shop stop the violence. >> we have a really high number of murders in oakland. we want to change that and make sure my cousin didn't die for no reason. we want it to stop here. we are trying to do as much as we can so people feel like they are in use of supporting this. this town needs to be safer than other towns in the bay area. >> reporter: a memorial for nova is growing with candles, flowers and stuffed animals along with notes of condolences to the family. a private funeral will be held

on tuesday. now a fund has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses. that fund has been set up at wells fargo bank. for more information on how to donate, log on to nbcbayarea.com. again, this investigation is ongoing. if we hear anything about another arrest or any new developments, we will pass that information along to you. live in oakland, kimberly tere, nbc bay area news. thank you for the update, kimberly. and coming up next at 5:00 -- >> one of humans oldest questions since mankind first looked up at the sky and wondering, well -- >> once bankrupt and out of this world, so to speak. the bay area project is up and running again thanks in part to a celebrity. we'll explain. also, a change in the clarity for lake tahoe. we'll explain what might be going on there. and tens of thousands of people are gathered at golden state park. we'll take you there to show you what's going on. weather is looking good around the bay area. finally feeling like summer in

some spots. we got to near 90 degrees ur inland. 63 in san francisco. but will the low clouds hold off for tonight's meteor shower? we'll talk about that and the rest of the weekend forecast coming up.

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as many as 180,000 people are expected to pack golden gate park this weekend for the fourth edition of the outside lands concert. alise kirshner is here with the latest. >> reporter: this giant concert is bringing in the clouds crowds here in san francisco. it is jam-packed with musical lovers.

bands are taking to dozens of stages big and small here in golden gate park in san francisco. this is day two of the three-day event. and the fourth year of outside lands. the festival is one of the most important musical events in the country drawing in big names like fish, muse and the black eyed peas. planners expect around 60,000 people a day with more than half of them coming from out of town. music lovers say it is worth the trip. >> we came about nine hours and saved all summer for this trip. we really wanted to see some of the bands we saw back at home. so we decided to drive up with about five of our friends. >> reporter: and it is not just the music that brings in so many people to the festival here. you can spend all day just eating and drinking. the event has a unique emphasis on gourmet food and wine. there's a wine tent set up with 30 wineries offering a taste or glass to concert goers.

>> what outside lands does better than anyone else is bring together music, of course, food and wine. and that combination -- we do that every night at home. a great plate of food with wine, with music playing in the background, and the broad spectrum, new experiences, brands and foods coming together, it is genius. >> reporter: and with so many people coming to the city, there's, of course, a nice economic boost here. restaurants, cabs and hotels will see a $4 million impact. but, good luck finding parking anywhere near golden cape park right now. >> i even understand it was tough for you to get in there today, huh? >> reporter: it was. we had to fight the crowds. we made our way in. once you are in here, it is worth it. >> fair enough. thank you. still to come at 5:00, we'll show you who stepped up to fun. a bay area project looking for life in space.

the beautiful bluewater of lake tahoe is not clear as it used to be despite the efforts to, quote, keep tahoe blue. the annual state report released this weekend shows the clarity level of the lake is at its second lowest level since scientists started keeping records in the 1960s. the most recent reading shows the lake's water was clear to an average depth of about 64 feet. that's about 4 feetless than the year before. and get this, back in the 1960s the water clarity averaged about 100 feet. you might remember back in 1997 president clinton visited lake tahoe when the water clarity was at the lowest level and helped kick off an effort to clear up the lake. scientists are speculating despite their efforts the effects of global warming could be having a larger impact on the clarity. budget shortfalls are hitting all kinds of organizations beyond government programs. and they are also affecting the search for life beyond our

planet. joe risotto jr. shows how a group of researchers are keeping alive the hunt for extra terrestrial life. >> it is disappointing to walk by this room every day and see it empty. >> reporter: every day as he walks the halls of mountain view sett institute, tom pearson is reminded something is missing. zblof the five computer screens that you see, normally they would be on the the telescopes were working. >> reporter: now the dark screens would normally be honoring the information transmitted from an array of 42 telescopes 290 miles northeast of san francisco. the allen telescope ray combed the galaxies for any signs of life. but in april the plug was pulled. >> u.c. berkeley had to pull out of the funding and their operations of the observatory, but we are eager to keep it going. >> reporter: so eager, in fact, that the science experts quickly became experts on the force of social media. through sites like facebook and

twitter they raised more than $200,000. enough money that in september the allen ray will resume its intergalactic search. >> since band kind first looked up at the sky and wondered, what is out there, are we alone? >> reporter: and that question is at the core of seti that stands for the search for extra terrestrial intelligence. to astronomers, the allen ray represents the biggest hope of answering the question. >> this is the hubble space telescope in the search for the extra terrestrial intelligence. this is the instrument to surpass all the past efforts, which have really just been the tip of the iceberg. >> reporter: at the same time the search for funds to keep the telescopes running will also continue. the institute's relying on donations as well as funding from the air force which uses the telescopes to monitor space debris. still, some will wonder, what

the instruments heard during the brief hiatus? >> did we missomething in the last five months? we'll never know. >> reporter: joe risotoo jr., nbc bay area news. among the contribute tomorrows to the campaign was jodi foster. she played the role of seti researcher in the film "contact." now we'll go to check in on the weather to see what's happening here on earth. it was a beautiful day, rob. nice the see you. >> it is good to be back. speaking of astronomy, meteor showers tonight. we'll talk about that in a moment, but we are out with save the bay in the east bay earlier today. this was on the martin luther king jr. regional shoreline there. if you had a chance to enjoy the wetlands park, a great site there. nbc bay area teaming with save the bay out there picking up the pollution there and warding off the invasive species impacting some of the local plants and the ecosystem there. so if you want to find out more,

go to visit our website, nbcbayarea.com. a beautiful day out there, but you could get a sunburn like i got. 79 degrees in san jose. gorgeous day. finally a beautiful day. 63 in san francisco. but look at the sunshine. even though the sea breeze is starting to pick up, we still hit 90 out to concord and livermore now with the sea breeze continuing to throttle up. we'll see temperatures cooling off this evening. good air quality for tomorrow. notice the air clouds out there this morning. then with the winds actually shifting during the day, we head north to south with wind helping to clear out the skies. that's the reason why. we have clearing up and down the coast, but tonight the wind are going to go back onshore again, which means low clouds will be approaching the coast. and hopefully they hold off because tonight as you look at the low temperatures tonight, in the 50s, we also have the immediate your showers. this is what you will want to do after midnight. we have a full moon tonight, but look off to the northeastern sky.

perhaps you will see a meteor or two. this comes from the dust trail left behind from the comet swift-tuttle and the speed of the meteors. 44 miles per second. that's a trip from l.a. to new york in just under a minute. so pretty fast space travel there. maybe we'll see me a or thes if the low clouds hold off. 80s near san jose. 60 around san francisco again. heading to the east bay, you'll see numbers in line with what we had today, 80s, maybe near 90 near pleasanton and finally some north bay highs in the 70s and 80s. a pleasant weekend. not too hot. the story of the summer continues. a little warmer to tuesday, but no heat waves in sight in the seven-day forecast. >> it was awfully nice. this is terrific. thank you, rob. let's check in right now with henry wolford of comcast sports net. hello, henry. what's going on? >> a tough day to work. the newsroom is great in here, but it is a beautiful saturday afternoon in the bay area. a lot of people enjoying the great outdoors.

and when we come back, we'll have a story on the waters. the san francisco bay is home to some of the best sailing in the world. we'll take a closer look next from the xfinity sports desk.

welcome back. if the a's are going to make noise this season, now is the time. the green and gold are playing for pride and respect. and yesterday they fell to rangers pitcher c.j. wilson who was trash talking all week. the a's were looking for revenge against texas this afternoon. scoreless in the sixth, ian kinsler doubles down the line

bringing in andy chavez for the first run of the game. deja vu all over again. kinsler, another double down the line. three rbis on the day. the rangers win by a final of 7-1. with america's cup now less than two years away, a lot of locals are getting the itch to become a skipper on the san francisco bay. and brody brazil is taking us on a sailing lesson. >> reporter: it does not take an expert to observe geography and scenery that make the san francisco bay a popular place for maritime activities. >> any bridge you cross in the bay, you are going to see boats in the water. most of the boats are sailboats because we have the most natural wind than any other natural bay in the country. >> i mean, look at this beautiful day. wave lot of beautiful weather on the bay. and then people bring their families and they get together and it brings kids out and wives and couples. and it is fun.

and you have a captive audience on the boat. >> typically the winds always come from the bay bridge, which means they will be on the starburst side. >> reporter: while instructors like thomas perry make the challenge look easy, being the sole skipper comes with a lot of responsibility. so how does a sailor balance workload with fun? >> i think it comes with confidence. the more classes you take, the more education you have, the more confident you feel about the boaters you are taking out. >> after a few days it will all feel natural. that's the beauty. we guarantee everything, so if people aren't ready, we don't set anybody free until they are really ready to go sailing. >> reporter: learning how to sail can be rewarding in so many ways. not only the ability to master a 33-foot craft, such as this one, but the views here you get on san francisco bay, well, they are not that bad either. >> every time i go out, it is different. any direction you look, particularly in the central bay, you can assume you are somewhere else in the world. oftentimes when you sail up in

this area, it appears like you are in the caribbean some place. in the bay, it is so beautiful, alcatraz and other places people sail to, there's always something new. and there are many sailors that have never left the golden gate because there's so much here within the bay. it is an absolutely beautiful area, naturally beautiful. >> reporter: brody brazil, nbc, bay area sports. >> very nice story, brody. by the way, the giants are leading 2-0. highlights in an hour. more news right after the break.

looking for a used car? you may get the best deal here in california as part of jerry brown's efforts to cut governor spending. he ordered each department to return all vehicles deemed non-essential. so some of the 3800 vehicles returned will be auctioned off next month in davis. >> you come and pay a registration fee and get a paddle to participate in the auction. if you don't buy anything, get your money back.