No suspicious device was found at the La Presa Community Church in Spring Valley, San Diego County Sheriff's officials (SDSO) said. 

Authorities received word of a possible suspicious device shortly before 1:35 p.m. Thursday at the church, located at 9095 Jamacha Road. 

The caller said they discovered what resembled a pipe bomb in the building, but Sheriff's officials said they did not find a device at the scene. The scene has been cleared. 

No injuries have been reported. 

Four correctional officers are recovering after they were attacked by an inmate at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials said.

The incident happened Wednesday at approximately 2 p.m. when inmate Charles Morgan, 33, spit on a correctional officer and hit him in the face.

When another officer responded, the inmate struck her in the face and knocked her to the ground, where she hit the back of her head.

The inmate struck two more responding officers, hitting them with his fist and elbows, CDCR officials said.

Officers used pepper spray and physical force to subdue and restrain Morgan, officials said.

Three officers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. A fourth officer was taken to the hospital with a concussion and was treated for a head injury; she was released and is now recovering with her family at home.

All four officers are expected to make a full recovery, officials said.

Morgan was treated by the medical staff at the prison. He was later rehoused in Administrative Segregation.

Morgan is serving a six-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon. He was admitted to state prison on Jan. 7, 2013.

He previously served a two-year sentence in San Luis Obispo County for battery on a peace officer in 2001. Three years later, in 2003, Morgan was sentenced to two years in San Diego County for battery on a non-prisoner. In 2005, he was sentenced to three years for battery on a non-prisoner inflicting great bodily injury after he attacked a correctional officer in San Diego County.

Jeff Henderson returned to his native Arkansas on Wednesday a gold medalist, and he had a special celebration at home with his mother.

Henderson promised his mother, who is in the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease, that he would win gold in the men’s long jump in Rio, and he delivered.

On Wednesday he delivered the medal to his mom. With friends and family around, Henderson placed the medal on an American flag draped across his mother’s legs as she rested in bed.

Earlier in the week, the 27-year-old who now lives in San Diego explained how special winning gold for his mother was.

"The medal is for her, because she’s the one who raised me when I was young,” Henderson told NBC. “She got sick when I was 17, 18 years old, and that was hard for me to do that, and leave her there. Everything I did was for her — for God and for her and my family.”

Street homelessness in San Diego County is up 19 percent this year. The place where it might be the most visible is downtown’s East Village.

East Village is gentrifying.

New development is turning the former warehouse district into a neighborhood filled with luxury condos, bars and restaurants. But, street homelessness hasn’t disappeared; in fact, it's up 80 percent since last summer, nearly triple what it was in 2013.

So what’s behind that spike?

On this week's San Diego Explained, NBC 7 San Diego's Monica Dean and Voice of San Diego's Lisa Halverstadt explain how homelessness continues to explode in the East Village and the history behind it.

This story is part of #HomelessinSD coverage, an initiative by media organizations in San Diego County to raise awareness of homelessness in the region. For more information on the project and to see other stories, click here.

San Diego Police Department investigators are still working to identify the suspects in an assault case involving an Encanto man that was found severely beaten in his garage in early August.

According to police, a neighbor found a man badly beaten in his garage on the 200 block of 65h Street near Broadway. The incident happened just after 3 p.m. on Thursday, August 4.

Witnesses say they saw two people running and getting into a 1980s gray Honda with a driver already in place. The car drove off southbound on 68th Street.

The victim, in his late 60s, has since been released from the hospital after being treated for a broken jaw and head trauma.

The victim's son told NBC 7 that his father is quiet and keeps to himself. He says he doesn't know who would do this to him.

SDPD is encouraging anyone with further information about the ongoing investigation to come forward, or to contact San Diego Crime Stoppers anonymously.

Donald Trump's campaign chairman was a key player in multi-million-dollar business propositions with Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs — one of them a close Putin ally with alleged ties to organized crime — which foreign policy experts say raises questions about the pro-Russian bent of the Trump candidacy.

"The relationships that Trump's advisors have had with pro-Russian forces are deeply disturbing," said David Kramer, a former senior State Department official in the George W. Bush administration and a former adviser to Marco Rubio's presidential campaign. "Trump's attitude on Russia is not in line with most Republican foreign-policy thinking. Trump has staked out views that are really on the fringe."

In 2008, according to court records, senior Trump aide Paul Manafort's firm was involved with a Ukrainian oligarch named Dmytro Firtash in a plan to redevelop a famous New York hotel, the Drake. The total value of the project was $850 million. Firtash's company planned to invest over $100 million, the records say.

A courtroom battle is brewing over one of San Diego's ballot measures that would pave the way for a new downtown stadium.

The city attorney's office came up with the heading: "Tax and Facilities Initiative" for Proposition D.

Its author argues, that's not accurate.

Attorney Cory Briggs refuses to spell it out this way, but the word 'tax" in the title of a proposition can be ballot-box poison to a lot of voters.

So he'll be filing a Superior Court motion seeking a legal ruling on its validity.

"The public is entitled to know what the entire 101,000 people who signed it believed it to be,” Briggs said in an interview Tuesday. “The public's entitled to have a fair description of what it is."

Briggs questions branding Prop. D with the word “tax" when Prop. C, the Chargers' measure just above it on the Nov.8 ballot, is titled "Downtown Stadium Initiative" -- when it calls for a higher room tax increase on hotel guests.

Briggs prefers "Citizens Plan for Tourism Reform ", because Prop. D would preclude an expansion of the Convention Center on the Bayfront, authorize a Chargers stadium and convention annex elsewhere downtown, and allow use of the Qualcomm Stadium site for educational and park purposes -- while ending the hotel industry's Tourism Marketing District.

"The politicians for a long time have let the tourism industry run City Hall,” Briggs said. “And the tourism industry, corporate interests and hotelier interests dictate how the public's money is spent. And we give tremendous subsidies to the hoteliers with no accountability – to the detriment of the public.”

Should the political playing field be leveled?

Longtime political consultant John Dadian says he’s troubled by the disparity in how Props. C and D were titled.

“This just doesn’t pass the smell test,” Dadian told NBC 7. “The fact that one has the word 'tax' in it and the other one doesn't … I think what a judge is going to do when he review it is -- hopefully -- use common sense."

Briggs also takes issue with City Attorney Goldsmith's legal opinion that his measure requires a two-thirds voter majority for passage.

But court protocols rule out bringing a lawsuit on the issue until after the election, assuming the measure fails.

A spokesman for Goldsmith emailed NBC 7 with the following observations: “The title and ballot question were approved by the City Council on July 18 during a publicly noticed council meeting. Initiative proponent Donna Frye spoke in favor of the council action that included adoption of the title.

“No speaker raised any objection to the title or ballot question. The title and ballot question for the Chargers’ initiative were heard at the same meeting.”

Now, upon further review, that oversight by Frye – and Briggs, apparently – has set the issue up for a judicial resolution.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson visited a devastated Louisiana on Thursday as the state's governor said that at least 13 people had died and that more than 86,000 people have registered for federal disaster assistance in flooding that has ravaged the state for days, NBC News reported.

"The federal government is here. We will be here as long as it takes to let this community recover," Johnson said at a news conference Thursday afternoon in Baton Rouge, the state capital. Johnson, who arrived Thursday in Louisiana, said he met with state and local officials to discuss the extent of the flooding.

Johnson and Gov. John Bel Edwards both defended President Barack Obama against criticism for continuing vacation in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., instead of visiting Louisiana.

Edwards said he had been in close contact with the administration since the disaster and that the extra security and police presence needed during such high-profile visits could take away from recovery efforts.

The mother of a baby found dead in a duffle bag at the U.S. Mexico border may have been a victim of human trafficking, according to multiple, independent law enforcement sources familiar with the case.

43-year old Mercy Maria Becerra and 39-year old Johnny Lewis Hartley were detained last Wednesday by Mexican Customs agents trying to enter Mexico from the San Ysidro pedestrian foot bridge.

Hartley was attempting to carry the baby’s body in a duffle bag across the customs checkpoint into Tijuana.

The couple are not related to the baby, but they do know the baby’s mother from their hometown of Whittier.

Both are now charged with murder in the baby’s death caused by drowning, according to a San Diego District Attorney.

An autopsy also revealed the baby, between 2 to 4 years old, suffered from malnutrition, dehydration, and there were signs of trauma on her body.

There had been no missing person report filed for the baby.

Last Friday, Hartley and Becerra pleaded not guilty. A public defender was appointed for both defendants.

A judge set bail at $2 million for each.

Hartley has an extensive criminal history, including a conviction for involuntary manslaughter and multiple gang enhancements on his record.

Sources told NBC 7 the child’s mother, a human trafficking victim, may have become pregnant with the baby as a result of those prior crimes.

Former neighbors said Becerra and Hartley had dozens of kids at their former residence.

Law enforcement officials do not believe the baby was trafficked, but nonetheless was a tragic victim of a criminal enterprise.

Susan Johnson, an advocate for human trafficking victims, and president of Alabaster Jar Project, a faith-based non-profit, said it’s not uncommon for traffickers to use children to manipulate, coerce or event threaten their victims.

“They’ll purposely impregnate the women that they’re trafficking, so that they can keep that control, and they’ll use the child as a manipulation device to be able to get the mom to do what they want them to do,” Johnson said.

“I haven’t had an instance that I have come across yet where they have threatened abuse on the child, but they have threatened to take the child away or threatened to have control of the child, and not give mom access to them, and it’s a very real threat,” she said.

Deputy DA Kurt Mechals said last Friday the murder occurred in Whittier.

The prosecution of the case may be moved to Whittier.

Both defendants were in San Diego Superior Court Thursday morning for a routine hearing, and are scheduled to return Sept. 7.

More than 200 teachers and nonprofit staff members received free school supplies at an event in Vista on Thursday.

Sustainable Surplus Exchange (SSE) hosted its fifth annual Back-to-School BYOB (Bring Your Own Box) event where teachers and nonprofit staffers were allowed to fill an empty box with school and office supplies at no cost.

SSE says that guests came to the event from as far away as Tecate, Mexico. The local nonprofit also said that this year’s BYOB event was the largest it’s ever had with 203 registered guests.

Sue Prelozni, CEO and founder of SSE, compared the event to another shopping frenzy that most are familiar with.

“It’s like Black Friday. You will see the aisles fill up and see people reaching over other people to fill their boxes.”

Aside from office and school supplies, the SSE warehouse offers other goods like desks, chairs and electronics for 8 to 10 percent of the retail cost of the item.

County Supervisor Dave Roberts was in attendance supporting the event.

Sustainable Surplus Exchange is a 501(c)(3) public benefit organization created to solve a major sustainability opportunity to reuse and repurpose unneeded surplus business property and consumables.

Donald Trump just made one of his biggest changes yet: he expressed regret and admitted wrong doing - though it's unclear for what, NBC News.

In prepared remarks given Thursday night in battleground North Carolina, Trump explained his past year of controversy-filled remarks remarks as misspeaks in the "heat of debate."

"Sometimes, in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or you say the wrong thing," Trump said. "I have done that. And believe it or not, I regret it. And I do regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues."

In a moment apparent self-reflection Trump said "sometimes I can be too honest" — which, he is not — but then called Clinton "the exact opposite: she never tells the truth."

A five-year-old southern white rhino, possibly the target of failed poaching, is undergoing further care for a non-healing wound, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park announced Thursday.

The female rhino, named Wallis, was recently transferred from a private reserve in South Africa to the Safari Park.

At first, veterinarians performed a minor surgical procedure to explore and clean the wound. Officials then performed a second procedure when the first did not resolve the issue. They found the wound was more extensive than it appeared.

A metal detector test performed earlier this week signaled a brass or lead object may be under the current wound site, and officials believe Wallis may have been the target of a failed poaching attempt.

Officials will use radiography to further evaluate the affected area, but they are concerned the size of the animal will limit the effectiveness of the study. Zoo officials said they may ask the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department for help in the future; the department has offered the use of specialized imaging equipment used by their bomb squad. However, vets at the zoo have said they want to pursue all noninvasive diagnostic techniques before so as to give them a better understanding of the chronic wound. This will help them find a better treatment approach.

Wallis is one of six female rhinos relocated to the park from private reserves as part of a collaborative conservation effort to save the critically endangered northern white rhino and all rhinos from extinction.

Poaching has dramatically affected rhino populations in the wild and in private reserves in Africa. Rhinos are poached for their keratin horns, which some erroneously believe have medicinal value. Some view rhino horns as a status symbol and display them as a sign of success and wealth.

Usain Bolt already owns the world record in the 200m, setting it at the 2009 World Championships with a time of 19.19 seconds.

On Thursday night in Rio, with a gold medal on the line, it appeared that Bolt was really, honestly trying to break his own record.

Unlike the 100m final earlier in the week, where he seemed to coast at the end after realizing he had no competition, he ran Thursday’s race hard from start to finish, even though he was once again out in front by a comfortable margin. 

• WATCH: Bolt Wins Gold Again in 200m Final

There was no doubt about the gold medal. Bolt easily defeated the field with a time of 19.78 seconds. The silver went to Canadian water bug Andre De Grasse, who finished with a time of 20.02 seconds.

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But after the race, Bolt seemed to have some regret that he couldn’t find that next level of speed.

“I felt good,” he told NBC. “But when I came into the straight my body wouldn’t respond to me. I really wanted to run faster.”

Bolt thought that if he had some competition he could have gone faster, even if his body was saying, “no.”

“I think it would have helped if I had someone in front of me,” he said.

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No matter, Bolt still enjoyed the victory in grand style, sporting his signature pose on the track and taking selfies with the fans in the stands.

Bolt still has one more race to go in Rio. He is scheduled to take part in the 4x100m relay on Friday, where he could win his ninth — and final — Olympic gold medal.

A U.S. Wrestling Coach and El Cajon mother of three stood proudly on the sidelines Thursday as American wrestler Helen Maroulis won gold, a historic win for the country. 

"It was an incredible day for us, as you said, we made history in women's wrestling," said Afsoon Johnston, the U.S. women's wrestling freestyle coach. "For me personally it was so surreal to see this day happen and to be a part of it."

Maroulis, 24, defeated Japan's Saori Yoshida in the women's 53kg division final 4-1. The win marked the first time an American woman has taken home a gold in the sport. 

"It was unreal," she told NBC 7 San Diego. 

But the win holds special significance for Johnston, who, in part, helped pave the way for women wrestlers in her own career when her family moved to California decades ago. 

In 1984, Afsoon's parents came to San Jose seeking political asylum. In Northern California, she learned English and pursued the all-American dream as a cheerleader.

But at Independence High School, a school known for its state championships in wrestling, cheerleaders doubled as stat girls. 

"When I started keeping stats for the wrestling team, I thought I know this team, I know this technique and I can beat the current 98-pounder out there," she said.

The coach said he legally couldn't stop her, but wanted to talk to her father. 

"'I don't think your father is going to want you wrestling boys,'" she recalled. "So he called my dad and my dad said, 'This is great, of course she can wrestle.'"

Not only did Afsoon beat the 98-pounder, she then went on to wrestle all four years. She finished with a winning record after competing against only men.

At UC Davis, she became one of the first official female NCAA wrestlers and went on to win the first-ever world medal for the U.S. team.

Afsoon was born in Tehran, Iran. Wrestling is the national sport in Iran, as long as you're a man. 

But her father, a progressive thinker and champion wrestler himself, only had one child and so she would follow in his path.

"I think my father had always wanted to pass on the wrestling to his son, and of course he ended up never having a son, and looking at me, I was his only hope to continue the sport in the family," she said.

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Afsoon's daughters haven't followed in their mother's footsteps yet - all three of her children play club soccer.

In a live interview with NBC 7 Thursday, Afsoon thanked her daughters for waiting patiently as she helped in Rio. 

"Aiden, Sammy and Layla, thank you so much for putting up and not having mommy at home, but I had a job to do and I accomplished it today," she said.

San Diego County officials will be spraying a two-block area of South Park after discovering the larvae from a mosquito known to be a carrier of the Zika virus, NBC 7 has learned.

County vector officials went door to door Thursday notifying residents that the spraying will take place Friday morning. The area in question is between 31st and 32nd streets and Grape and Elm streets.

The action comes as county officials are investigating a possible case of mosquito-borne illness, possibly Zika, in South Park.

NBC 7 has learned that a person who lives in South Park recently traveled abroad and did not contract the mosquito borne illness in San Diego. A county spokesperson says the case in South Park could turn out to be any number of mosquito borne illnesses, but suspect Zika or Dengue virus, because of the discovery of the Aedes larvae.

County officials want to make it clear, the Aedes larvae did not test positive for any disease, nor were any adult mosquitoes trapped nearby.

A county spokesperson says vector officials look for Aedes larvae and adult mosquitoes each time a suspected case is identified. This is the first time the county has found Aedes larvae close to a suspected case.

On Thursday morning, county vector officials began placing door hangers on about 100 homes, advising residents of plans to begin spraying some time during the day on Friday.

The spraying will be done by hand, by several teams, rather than any night time air-spraying as we’ve seen in the past.

Zika Virus in California

As of Wednesday, there have been 137 cases of the Zika virus reported in the state of California. The only U.S. states reporting more cases are Florida and New York.

The California cases are not local mosquito-borne transmissions, according to the California Department of Health. They have only involved people who contracted the virus while traveling outside the U.S. or through sexual contact with someone who had.

Aedes aegypti (or yellow fever mosquitoes) and Aedes albopictus (or Asian tiger mosquitoes) are known to transmit the virus. These are not native to California.

As of the beginning of August, mosquitoes that can carry the virus have been found in 12 California counties.

"Still, there is no evidence these mosquitoes are transmitting Zika in the state at this time," according to the California Department of Public Health website.

The CDC has developed a map of countries with active virus transmissions of Zika virus.

What You Need to Know

The state of California reported on August 4 that two babies with Zika-related microcephaly have been born in California. In both cases, the women spent time during their pregnancies in countries where the virus is endemic, officials said.

Fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis are the most common symptoms of Zika. Other symptoms may include muscle pain and headache, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is common for a patient to not realize they are infected since the virus is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week. The CDC also said the virus rarely results in death.

The Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for about a week. The Food and Drug Administration approved the first commercial U.S. test to diagnose the Zika virus in April.

Steps You Can Take

Anyone living or traveling an area known to have the Zika virus should take steps to prevent mosquito bites. Suggestions include wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants and using insect repellents that are registered with the EPA. Stay and sleep in screened-in or air-conditioned rooms. And of course, take steps to control mosquitoes in and around your home.

One man was dead after a shooting and pursuit through Poway early Thursday, San Diego County Sheriff's Department said.

Poway resident David Delikat heard several shots fired near Poway Road and Adah Lane at 5 a.m.  When he heard a law enforcement officer order someone to get on the ground, Delikat began recording video with his phone.

“It sounded like the police officer was shooting a pistol,” Delikat said. “The other guys sounded like they were armed with assault rifles. It was incredible.”

Deputies responded to a report of suspicious activity in the parking lot of an auto repair store, San Diego County Sheriff’s Lt. Kenn Nelson said.

Within several minutes, deputies reported shots fired. Deputies fired their weapons at the scene, Nelson said.

The suspect jumped into a deputy's patrol car traveling eastbound on Poway Road to Espola Road, Nelson said.

At that intersection, deputies say the suspect got out and carjacked a private citizen driving a black SUV.

"Based on the initial victim statement the suspect did get out of the patrol car, did have a handgun and carjacked him and took his black SUV," Nelson said.

When the deputies caught up to the SUV, shots were fired again, Nelson said.

About 100 yards away from the intersection of the carjacking, the SUV veered off the road and down into a ravine.

The suspect was found dead behind the wheel of the vehicle, Nelson said. An autopsy would determine the cause of death, he said.

Nelson described the suspect as 25 to 35 years old.

Deputies found a hatchet, several knives, and loose ammunition for what may be a handgun.

Nelson said deputies found a gun in the carjacked SUV after they went down the ravine to try to render aid to the suspect.

Four deputies were involved in the shooting but it’s unclear who fired weapons, Nelson said.

“There are two different distinct scenes where shots were fired by deputies,” Nelson said. He added that there are no reports of the suspect firing at the deputies but added it’s early in the investigation and deputies have not been interviewed.

An NBC 7 news crew found an Toyota Sequioa with several bullet holes and shattered glass near the initial scene.

The deputies have not determined how the Sequoia was connected to the incident.

As of 2:20 p.m., Poway Road just west of Espola was still closed in both directions.

City employees have been enrolling their children and grandchildren in Park and Recreation activities without paying required fees for months, an investigation from the City Auditor of San Diego has revealed.  

The unpaid fees amounted to a total of $1,312 for nine children within the first six months of 2016, according to the City Auditor. There were six Park and Recreation Department employees who enrolled their children in activities, while failing to pay for the classes.

City officials say evidence suggests this was a long-standing, secret practice that stems back to several decades ago. The issue was brought to their attention from an anonymous caller to the Fraud Hotline.

The investigation was carried out through a review of activity registration records and City policies, as well as interviews with City Staff, said an official. Some of the staff members that were not paying activity fees considered the practice a job perk.

There is no City policy that would exempt the children and grandchildren of City Staff from paying the recreation activity fees. According to the City Auditor, the only exception applies to families that are eligible for low income fee waivers as residents of San Diego.

All owed fees have reportedly been paid or formally waived through the City’s approved fee waiver process, as a result of the investigation, said an official. The Park and Recreation Department has agreed to implement the City’s recommended changes.

Donald Trump has insulted ethnic groups, entire nations, as well as public and private citizens since he launched his presidential bid in June of 2015. 

But on Thursday, the GOP nominee appeared to apologize for something. There was no indication as to whom he was apologizing — and for what. 

"Sometimes, in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or you say the wrong thing," Trump said at North Carolina rally. "I have done that. And believe it or not, I regret it." 

Click to read a full list of who Trump may regret offending, as compiled by NBC News. 

A 4-year-old cat was humanely euthanized by the San Diego County Department of Animal Services because of injuries it suffered from an illegal trap found in Linda Vista earlier this week.

The cat's right front leg had been caught in the trap.

“This is about as strong as the ones I’ve seen,” said Lt. Mitchell Levy, holding the trap. “And it's got extra springs on it and it's just barbaric."

Levy is part of the Department of Animal Services team searching for the person who set the illegal trap and exactly where it was placed in Linda Vista.

“I think that’s crazy. We’re not in the wilderness. We're in the city," said Alina Makinson.

Her neighbor, who asked not to be identified, called for help after finding the wounded cat Sunday morning in his backyard on the 3900 block of Canning Avenue.

“To see the cat suffering as much as it was, we just tried to help it. I put on some thick gloves and tried to get the trap off its leg. The cat was terrified and lunged at me."

The traps are considered cruel and illegal in California.

Two cats and a coyote were killed last year in National City when they were caught in leg traps.

In January, a raccoon was found stuck in an illegal trap in Tecolote Canyon and was also euthanized.

“We get a few of these a year in different parts of the county,” Levy said.

The contraptions put neighborhood dogs as well as people, especially children in the Linda Vista neighborhood in danger.

“A person could have stepped in this and caused the same damage to the person as it did the cat," Levy said.

“If that happened to my pet, I'd be on every single door hunting down whoever did it,” said Alina.

Residents in the area told NBC 7 that there haven’t been issues with cats.

But gophers have been a problem.

The person responsible for setting the trap could face felony animal cruelty charges and jail time of a year or more, if convicted.