NBC News' Chuck Todd interviewed White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough Sunday morning on "Meet the Press," asking him about President Obama's thoughts on Mayor Rahm Emanuel's leadership in Chicago. 

McDonough, whose in-laws live in Chicago, revealed that he saw "up close and personal" that Obama is confident in Emanuel, saying "the city looks great, the opportunities there are boundless."

"I think what the President sees is a city and a people of Chicago and a Mayor of Chicago that continue to do very good work," McDonough added. 

Calls for the mayor's resignation came this month, following the release of a report that lawyers met with Emanuel before demanding "the Laquan McDonald family bury the video showing the killing of their son by a police officer," according to NBC News.

Dashcam video of the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by a police officer led to city-wide protests.

Emanuel served as President Obama's first Chief of Staff from Jan. 2009 to his resignation in Oct. 2010. During the 2015 mayoral campaign, Obama endorsed Emanuel, visited his campaign headquarters, and recorded a radio ad in support of the Mayor in the city's re-election. 

"He loves our city, and he believes every child in every neighborhood should have a fair shot at success," Obama said in the ad. "If you want a mayor who does what is right, not just what's popular, who fights night and day for the city we love, then I hope you'll join me."

‘No vacancy’ signs at Julian’s hotels told the story Saturday night.

“It’s just the weather and how this is really cozy, that it just makes you want to be here,” Julian sightseer Alicia Ortega told NBC 7.

Rain and floods across San Diego County this winter means good business for places like Julian.

“We know that once it starts raining it's going to start snowing...so might as well take the opportunity while it's here,” visitor Jonathan Vallin said.

Jonathon Vallin is one of countless others who went to see the snow at Mount Laguna before waiting in line for hours to warm up with some good food in Julian

“It's nice to get up in the mountains...see the white snow and easy some delicious pie,” another visitor Mike Jensen told NBC 7.

Katie Huggins has worked at Moms pies for six months

“Business has been really busy, there's been lines down the street, curving around the corner, it's been really crazy,” Huggins explained.

With more wet El Nino weather in the forecast Huggins and others are bracing for the onslaught of even more customers.

Other shops in Julian had to close early Saturday because they sold out of pies while hotels were left without a spare room.

Those planning on driving to the mountains Sundays should expect delays on the roads and crowds in town.

Three weeks until the first presidential nominating contest is held in Iowa, and Ted Cruz is leading Donald Trump 28 percent to 24 percent among likely caucus-goers, while Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are locked in a tight race in the Hawkeye State, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll.

Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton holds just a three-point lead among likely voters over Bernie Sanders, 48 percent to 45 percent, while Martin O'Malley gets 5 percent. In a party contest, Clinton leads Trump by eight points, while Cruz tops the former secretary of state by four points but loses to Sanders by five.

In New Hampshire, which holds its presidential primaries on Feb. 9, Trump gets support from 30 percent of likely Republican primary voters, followed by Rubio at 14, Chris Christie at 12 percent, and Cruz at 10 percent.

As for the Democratic race, Sanders leads with 50 percent support to Clinton's 46 percent. O'Malley is at 1 percent. Clinton is ahead of Trump in New Hampshire by just one point and behind Cruz by four points. But Sanders leads both GOP candidates by 19 points.

A man and a woman were arrested after a cat was found with its paws bound together with electrical tape in the back seat of their car in Santa Clarita, California, Saturday night, according to sheriff's deputies.

Shortly after 11:30 p.m., deputies approached a suspicious car behind a closed business near the intersection of Soledad Canyon and San Canyon roads and found a man and a woman in possession of narcotics, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department-Santa Clarita Valley Station.

As deputies searched the vehicle, they found a cat buried upside-down in a cat carrier. The cat's paws and hind legs were bound together by electrical tape according to LASD.

Deputies said the cat could not move and was "meowing loudly in discomfort" as the deputies worked to free him.

The two suspects, believed to be in their 20s, were arrested on suspicion of possession of narcotics.

The owner, believed to be one of the suspects, is also facing animal cruelty charges, sheriff's deputies said.

Animal control is caring for the cat, who is scheduled to be treated by a veterinarian Sunday.

Tensions ran high in the Philadelphia Police Department Sunday in the wake of an attempted assassination of an officer by a man allegedly claiming he did it "in the name of Islam" after an anonymous tip to officers on Saturday said the threat against police in the city is ongoing.

According to a police report obtained by NBC10, an anonymous tipster told officers that, "the threat to police is not over" and that the man who shot Officer Jesse Hartnett is "part of a group that consists of three others," adding that the alleged shooter "is not the most radical of the four." The report obtained Sunday goes on to say the tipster told police to "be careful.”

Law enforcement officials confirmed Sunday afternoon that police did indeed receive a tip that Edward Archer, the man accused of approaching Hartnett's patrol car at 60th and Spruce streets Thursday night and opening fire on him at point-blank range, was working among a small group of radical men. Authorities said the tip came from a woman who approached an officer on the street.

Police said they are taking the tip seriously and investigating, and that on Sunday, they were issuing memos to all law-enforcement agencies to warn them to stay vigilant as the investigation continues. They also posted on Facebook that the FBI is investigating the tip as well.

Hartnett, 33, a five-year veteran, remained hospitalized on Sunday with three gunshot wounds to his arm. Doctors were working to repair nerve damage caused by the bullets.

Investigators over the weekend said that so far, they had not found anything linking Archer, 30, to the Islamic State militant group, though Archer, according to police, pledged allegiance to the group, commonly known as ISIS.

Police also said that recent trips Archer took to Egypt and Saudi Arabia have not been determined to be linked to any terrorist activity.

Archer was charged over the weekend with attempted murder, aggravated assault, assault on police, illegal gun possession and related offenses. After he was shot, Hartnett managed to get out of his patrol car and return fire at Archer, wounding him in the buttocks.

Officials said the gun Archer used was a stolen police weapon.

Officers across the city on Sunday said they were uneasy in light of the unprovoked attack on Hartnett and the new information given to officers in the same West Philadelphia neighborhood where the shooting happened.

Police continued to investigate the anonymous tip on Sunday and said they planned to re-interview the tipster.  

A Marine pulled a person from a burning car after an accident at the 9500 block of Miramar Road Saturday night according to San Diego fire.

Two cars crashed between Miramar Naval Air Station and the 24 Hour Fitness on Miramar Road around 10:30 p.m. sending three people to the hospital, one with life threatening injuries.

A Marine who witnessed the accident was able to pull one of the victims from their car after it caught on fire.
 

Here’s a look ahead at what is going on in San Diego sports for the week of January 11th-17th.

CHARGERS: The NFL owners meeting takes place in Houston on Tuesday and Wednesday so we should find out if the Bolts will remain the San Diego Chargers or relocate to one of the two Los Angeles locations. NBC 7’s Derek Togerson and Dave Smith will be there to report back. Also tune into Football Night in San Diego on Saturday after the NFL playoff game on NBC 7 for a review of what went on in the football world this week.

GULLS: Its hockey night in San Diego Wednesday when the Gulls host San Jose at 7:05 p.m. at the Valley View Casino Center. Friday they head up the road to face Ontario at 7:00 p.m. before heading back to the VVCC Saturday to host Texas. Puck drops at 7:05 p.m.

SOCKERS: After a difficult week the Sockers host Soles de Sonora Sunday at 5:05 p.m. at the Valley View Casino Center.

CLUB TIJUANA XOLOS: The Xolos hit the road Saturday to face the Dorados at 8:00 p.m.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO TRITONS:
-WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Friday at Cal State East Bay 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at Cal State Monterey Bay 5:30 p.m.
-MEN’S BASKETBALL: Friday at Cal State East Bay 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at Cal State Monterey Bay 7:30 p.m.
-MEN’S VOLLEYBALL: Friday vs. UC Santa Barbara 7:00 p.m. at UCSD and Saturday vs. UCLA 7:00 p.m. at UCSD.
-SWIMMING & DIVING: Saturday at California Baptist in Riverside 12:00 p.m.
-MEN’S TENNIS: Saturday at USD 1:30 p.m. and Sunday at UC Irvine 12:00 p.m.
-FENCING: Sunday in the West Invitational at UCSD 9:30 p.m.

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO TOREROS:
-MEN’S BASKETBALL: Thursday at Portland 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at Gonzaga 5:00 p.m.
-WOMEN’S TENNIS: Friday-Sunday at the National Collegiate Tennis Classic all day in Palm Springs.
-WOMEN’S SWIMMING: Friday & Saturday they compete in the Beach Cup against Pepperdine, LMU and Fresno State in San Diego.
-MEN’S TENNIS: Saturday vs. UC Irvine 11:00 a.m. and UCSD 1:30 p.m.

SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY AZTECS:
-WOMEN’S SWIMMING: Tuesday vs. North Texas at the Aztec Aquaplex 2:00 p.m. and Friday-Sunday at Bruin Diving Invitational in L.A. all day.
-MEN’S BASKETBALL: Wednesday at Colorado State 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at Boise State 7:00 p.m.
-WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Wednesday vs. Colorado State 6:30 p.m. and Saturday vs. Boise State 2:00 p.m. both at Viejas Arena.
-WOMEN’S TRACK: Friday & Saturday at UCS Sprint National Pole Vault Summit 6:45 p.m. in Reno, NV and Saturday NAU Lumberjack Challenge in Flagstaff, AZ 9:00 a.m.
-MEN’S TENNIS: Friday-Sunday at National Collegiate Tennis Championships all day in Palm Desert.
-WOMEN’S LACROSSE: Sunday vs. Northwestern in Westlake Village 5:30 p.m.

POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY SEA LIONS:
-WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Wednesday vs. Concordia 5:30 p.m. and Saturday vs. Holy Names 2:00 p.m.
-MEN’S BASKETBALL: Wednesday vs. Concordia 7:30 p.m. and Saturday vs. Holy Names 4:00 p.m.
 

The leading New Hampshire newspaper has been removed from the state's Republican debate scheduled days before the first-in-the-nation primary, and GOP front-runner Donald Trump is claiming responsibility.

"I am pleased to announce that I had the Union Leader removed from the upcoming debate," Trump tweeted Sunday.

The Republican had publicly bashed the paper after a front-page editorial said he was an insult to New Hampshire voters' intelligence. Trump responded by holding up the paper at a Nashua rally and calling it "a pile of garbage."

The Union Leader published a story Sunday evening confirming ABC News, which was hosting the debate, had severed ties with the paper.

In the story, publisher Joseph McQuaid issued a statement expressing his disagreement with the decision.

"We are amused by ABC News apparently just discovering that we endorse candidates and write editorials. We have been doing both for many years and it has never been a problem with ABC or other debate sponsors.

"We consider ABC's actions to be spineless. Between bowing to the DNC and Trump, ABC is more concerned about appeasing the parties and candidates than informing voters. The Union Leader will continue to serve Granite Staters by being a reliable source of information about where candidates stand."

Trump reacted by saying the paper "refuses to comment as to why they were kicked out of the ABC News debate like a dog."

For its part, the New Hampshire Democratic Party issued a statement condemning the move and calling on the state's Republican U.S. senator to do the same.

"This ridiculous attack on New Hampshire's statewide newspaper threatens the traditions of our First-in-the-Nation primary and makes it clear that the New Hampshire Republican Party has now fully embraced Donald Trump as their frontrunner," Chairman Ray Buckley said in the statement. "Senator Kelly Ayotte should denounce her party's actions to undermine our state's primary status."

While putting the blame on ABC instead of Trump, the New Hampshire Republican Party similarly decried the decision.

"The Union Leader has established itself as a trusted news source that, for decades, has sponsored some of New Hampshire’s biggest political debates," Chairman Jennifer Horn said. "It is disappointing that a national media outlet would exclude New Hampshire's only statewide newspaper given the important role the Union Leader plays in covering our First in the Nation primary."

Since there was no winner in Saturday’s $900 million jackpot, the Powerball prize for Wednesday’s drawing is now $1.3 billion – and at least three locations in San Diego have paid out as Powerball winners before.

One of San Diego’s luckiest Powerball retailers is a 7-11 on Cass Street in Pacific Beach – they’ve paid out two winners so far. It’s one of three Powerball vendors that have paid out multiple winners according to Powerball.com.

After a customer won a $400 Powerball prize last week, another spent $1000 in tickets to hopefully win next week’s jackpot.

Mychelle Pritchard chose to pick her numbers there.

“I got the winning lotto ticket. I hope!" Pritchard said.

The Ralph’s on Alta View Drive has also awarded two winners in the past along with the 7-11 on East 8th Street in Chula Vista that has also paid out two winners.

Pritchard already knows what she would do with her winnings.

“I would help out my family and I would buy a house and I would do a lot of traveling, “she told NBC 7.

“So many things you can buy! Hopefully a nice house to help out my family for sure, “player Reymar Mendoza agreed.

While Powerball hopefuls are looking for all the luck they can find, in reality the odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292 million – so really good luck.

The Crossroads of the West gun show is taking place at the Cow Palace in Daly City this weekend, where founder and owner Bob Templeton has plans to speak to the crowd about gun ownership and the executive orders President Barack Obama announced Tuesday.

Saturday's event drew thousands of people, according to San Jose Mercury News, and thousands more are expected to pour in for Sunday's show. Last year, more than half a million people attended Crossroads events, the newspaper reported.  

In addition to founding Crossroads with his wife in 1975, Templeton is also the current president of the National Association of Arms Shows. He's been an adovcate for second amendment rights for decades, working with the State Department of Justice and the California Legislature in drafting Assembly Bill 295, the gun show regulatory bill which went into effect in 2000, according to a news release.

Gun shows are often criticized for allowing private owners to sell their own guns without having a license to do so, among other concerns. The legality of purchasing guns at shows has been a hot-button issue during the 2016 presidential campaign, especially in light of mass shootings across the nation. 

Those who support gun shows claim that the events enable responsible gun owners to educate themselves and make responsible purchases, while detractors have said that the exhibitions offer loopholes that bypass regulations and make purchasing a firearm an easy task for someone unstable or dangerous.

Crossroads of the West promotes more than 60 gun shows a year throughout California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada, that are purported to be family-friendly by the company website. 

A police dog in Ohio died Sunday after a shootout at a grocery store, according to authorities.

K9 officer, Jethro, was struck three times after a gunman opened fire in Canton Saturday morning, NBC affiliate WKYC of Cleveland reported.

Police fired back, striking the suspect in the leg. But Jethro was struck three times, according to a Facebook post by the Canton Police K9 Association.

The bullet missed his vital organs, but one hit the bridge of his muzzle. Police said Sunday that the K9 officer “took a sudden turn for the worse” and died.  

Mayor Kevin Faulconer will be joining with SDG&E for a press conference Monday to remind San Diegans to prepare their homes and businesses for more El Nino storms and to offer emergency preparedness resources.

Heavy rains last week flooded many areas of San Diego leaving much damage in its wake, and future storms are predicted to bring even more severe weather.

The press conference will be Monday at noon at the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services.
 

Tim Whitcomb has always loved the bluffs near Torrey Pines State Beach in Del Mar.

He's building a home in the area, but now he will never forget what he saw this week after El Nino slammed down.

“It's just absolutely phenomenal. I mean it looked like the Grand Canyon in San Diego,” Whitcomb said of the bluffs.

Whitcomb said last week he saw a 20 foot by 25 foot deep hole on the side of the bluff under the road.

“Immediately I was worried the road was going to cave in,” he explained.

He called police, then hustled to the road to let drivers know just how unstable the ground under the road was and to tell them to drive close to the median.

At one point later in the day, Whitcomb was standing right in front of the bluff as another huge chunk came tumbling into the canyon.

“When you see that section of bluff gone away you are sad because you think that's it, it's gone, you are never going to get that part back again and it was really very spectacular to see it come down, but at the same time just very sad it was taking place,” Whitcomb told NBC 7.

 Four people were killed in an early morning Palm City crasheast of Interstate 5 after a car ran a red light, San Diego Police (SDPD) said. 

The crash happened at 2 a.m. Sunday at Industrial Boulevard and Main Street near Imperial Beach when an Acura was driving down Industrial Boulevard at a high rate of speed, SDPD said. 

The Acura ran a red light at Main Street, striking a Honda Odyssey with five people inside. The Honda was driving westbound on Main Street. 

After crashing into the first car, the Acura kept going and hit a traffic signal pole, breaking it. 

Four people inside the Acura died, and a fifth suffered severe injuries. 

All six people inside the Odyssey are alive; however, two suffered severe injuries. 

The identities of the victims have not been released. 

No further information was immediately available. 

Refresh this page for updates on this breaking news story. 

Planned Parenthood endorsed Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire on Sunday, marking the group’s first backing of a primary candidate in its 100-year history, NBC News reported.

Cecile Richards, president of the organization, said each Democratic candidate was interviewed, but Clinton had “overwhelming support.”

Clinton mentions women’s health and Planned Parenthood in almost every speech and one of her biggest applause lines comes after defending the non-profit.

Undercover videos showing a Planned Parenthood official discussing the sale of fetal parts put reproductive rights into the spotlight in the 2016 race.  

The Mexican government formally began the process of extraditing drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán to the United States, the attorney general's office said in a statement Sunday.

Mexico resisted extraditing Guzmán — who is the head of the Sinaloa Cartel and is wanted on federal drug trafficking charges in San Diego; Brooklyn, New York; El Paso, Texas; Miami; and Chicago — after he was captured in 2014.

But then came a stunning and embarrassing development last July: Using a mile-long tunnel and a motorbike, Guzmán escaped from Altiplano, the maximum-security prison where he was being held. He was recaptured on Friday. 

The news comes a day after the startling revelation that actor Sean Penn conducted a secret interview with Guzmán in October for Rolling Stone magazine.

All schools in the Dehesa School District will be closed Monday as cleanup from a series of El Nino-fueled storms continues. 

The school district, east of El Cajon, will be closed to students. 

All other school districts will be open and on their regular schedules. 

No further information was immediately available. 

A Florida man was arrested in San Diego Sunday for allegedly stealing $3.2 million from an armored car courier company in Miami, the FBI announced. 

Former Brinks Inc. manager, Jose Agurto, 37, was taken into custody on Saturday for allegedly stealing millions from a Brinks facility across the country, said the FBI's Darrell Foxworth. 

Agurto allegedly stole $3.2 million on Jan. 1 from the Miami Brinks facility located at 5575 Northwest 87th Avenue. 

On the day of the incident, authorities said Agurto left a letter of resignation before leaving his shift. 

FBI agents located and arrested Agurto in San Diego, where they found money subsequent to the arrest, though authorities did not disclose how much money they found. It is unclear if the man has family here or if he was trying to leave the country. 

Agurto has been booked into the Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego and is awaiting trial.

He will be facing federal charges through a federal complaint. It is unknown if he has hired an attorney.

The FBI's South Florida Task Force, Doral Police and Miami-Dade Police are investigating this ongoing matter. The U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida, is prosecuting the case.

Officials at Kern Valley State Prison are investigating the death of inmate Lawrence Phillips, a former NFL running back, as a suspected suicide.

Staff conducting security checks found Phillips, 40, unresponsive in his cell around 12:05 a.m. Wednesday, prison officials said. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:27 a.m.

Phillips had been in an administrative segregation unit on single-cell status since April 11, 2013, after he was accused of killing his cellmate. The homicide trial was currently in its early stages in Kern County.

Phillips was taken from San Diego County into the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Oct. 16, 2008, when he began serving a 31-year, four-month sentence on convictions of inflicting great bodily injury involving domestic violence, corporal injury to a spouse, false imprisonment and vehicle theft.

Phillips played in the NFL prior to his incarceration in state prison. He was a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy during a standout college career at Nebraska, where he led a high-powered rushing attack that led the Cornhuskers to two national titles. The highly touted running back was drafted by the St. Louis Rams with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NFL draft.

He struggled to match his collegiate success in the NFL, playing for the Rams, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers. He also spent time in NFL Europe and Canadian Football League before retiring from football in the early 2000s.

SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Jonathan Lloyd contributed to this report.

"Winning the lottery is the worst thing that ever happened to me." These are the words Billy Bob Harrell, Jr. uttered to his financial adviser shortly before taking his own life. Harrell won the Texas Lottery Lotto jackpot of $31 million in 1997 but just 20 months after winning, he was broke and took his life, putting a shotgun to his chest and pulling the trigger.

While dreams of winning the record $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot typically involve mansions and yachts, the financial flameouts of Harrell and other previous big lottery winners show that becoming very rich very fast can be a dangerous combination.

"Seventy percent of people who land a big windfall, lose it within several years," Brian Benham, president at Benham Advisory Group, a retirement planning firm in Indianapolis, told NBC News. "Many are not prepared for such a massive change in lifestyle and they don't set a budget, (but) even millionaires need a budget."

Take a look at eight past lottery winners who squandered their windfalls and wound up in dire financial quagmires — or worse.