Firefighters were responding to a house fire in Chula Vista Wednesday afternoon.

According to the Chula Vista Fire Department (CVFD), the fire started around 4:25 p.m. on the 600 block of Hilltop Drive. 

Firefighters arrived to find flames and smoke coming from the home. The fire was knocked down around 4:36 p.m.

At this time, the house is being searched--Hilltop Drive was also closed down with assistance from Chula Vista Police (CVPD).

There is no word on any injuries.

Investigators are looking in the cause of the fire.

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. 

A man armed with a rifle, holding a young child, prompted a SWAT standoff in Encinitas Wednesday, according to San Diego County Sheriff's Deparment (SDSO) spokesman Ryan Keim.

The standoff began shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday on the 2300 block of Carol View Drive when deputies responded to a call of a disturbance. Keim said. 

The suspect, who has not been identified, made him way into an apartment in the complex, where he barricaded himself, prompting a SWAT standoff, deputies said. 

All the while he was inside, deputies kept contact with him, Keim said. 

When SDSO's Special Enforcement Detail arrived on scene, they eventually fired a beanbag shotgun round and took the suspect into custody. 

The young child was released unharmed. It is unclear if the child is the suspect's child. 

The suspect was treated for minor injuries and has since been taken into custody. Keim said officials are still trying to determine what charges to file. 

No shots were fired, aside from the beanbag shotgun, deputies said. 

SDSO advised drivers and residents to avoid the area. Those who live in the apartment complex near the incident were told to follow instructions by deputies to evacuate.

No other information was immediately available.

Police are searching for a suspect who attached sharp blades to a Donald Trump campaign sign that was posted on a North Texas college campus.

School officials say an election worker was at the Spring Creek Campus of Collin College in Plano early Tuesday morning when he noticed the Trump campaign sign blocking the official polling site sign.

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The worker tried to re-position the sign to its correct location, but when he picked it up his hands were cut by box-cutter blades attached to the sign.

The cuts were minor, so he treated the wounds himself and did not seek medical attention.

"The safety of our campus is of the utmost importance, so the incident was reported to the campus police and the Texas Rangers for investigation," said Lisa Vasquez, public relations spokesperson for Collin College. "All campaign signs on the college’s campuses are being inspected, and any sharps found on signage will be removed. The college will be working with local election officials and both political parties to ensure safety."

A stealthy ex-Googler who moved his small startup to San Diego earlier this year has finally stepped out of the shadows with a new augmented reality app and a $2 million seed round.

The company, called GoMeta Inc., has been stirring up excitement for the past few months with hype-inducing stunts around Southern California. The latest was a Pokemon Go-like augmented reality scavenger hunt, in which users of the iPhone app could unlock virtual clues at real-world locations (eventually leading them to real stashes of hidden money to the tune of $10,000).

The startup was founded by Dmitry Shapiro, who until recently worked on Google’s social media projects. Shapiro has an impressive background as a tech executive, including a gig at Myspace where he served as chief technology officer. He was also founder of Veoh, an early competitor of YouTube.

Shapiro has lived and worked locally since 1999, and said he believes San Diego is the next big technology hub. He convinced a team of seven employees to move from the Bay Area (and other tech cities) down to San Diego. The team includes ex-employees of large technology firms like Google, LivingSocial, and Disney, Shapiro said.

GoMeta’s app is called Metaverse, and it’s built to allow anyone to interact with its augmented reality universe. Essentially, users can create Pokemon-Go style games and other experiences within the app. And you don’t have to know code to interact and build in the Metaverse. Using a builder within the app, users can create geo-specific “experiences” and drop them onto a virtual map of the real world. Just like with Pokemon Go, the user can walk up to experiences in real life, see a virtual tag on their smartphone, and tap on the tags to interact.

Shapiro said he envisions the Metaverse as a home for multitudes of user-generated scavenger hunts, interactive stories, and even augmented reality worlds directing you to things like public bathrooms. He also sees a variety of commercial and educational applications.

"Augmented reality is a new medium, just like video or internet," Shapiro said. "Video was once just for entertainment, but now video is used as a tool to sell cars or houses; it's used for dating sites and commercials. The same thing will happen with augmented reality."

Anyone else thinking of Ready Player One?

When asked how GoMeta would make money from the app, Shapiro said the commercial opportunities were widespread. He noted the success of Pokemon Go, which in its first month made $250 million from in-app payments. Shapiro said he found Pokemon Go's "sponsored locations" model particularly intriguing, in which businesses pay to have Pokemon characters "spawn" near their business to drive up foot traffic.

GoMeta has landed $2 million in seed money from former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, former Myspace CEO Michael Jones, along with Greylock Partners and Moonshot Capital. Shapiro noted that all the cash is angel money, not venture capital.

The startup is currently housed in the EvoNexus incubator in Downtown San Diego.

If you’re curious what the Metaverse looks like, check out GoMeta’s debut video on YouTube.

A driver was arrested after his vehicle slammed into a Caltrans pickup truck on Thursday the La Jolla Parkway on ramp to southbound Interstate 5.

One Caltrans worker was either inside the truck or standing just outside of it when a vehicle crashed into the back of the truck.

The suspect’s vehicle continued down the onramp toward the freeway where it eventually stopped.

California Highway Patrol Officers said the driver attempted to run from his vehicle after the collision just before 1 a.m.

They were able to take him in to custody. He will face a suspicion of Driving Under the Influence charge.

Russia is accused of organizing political cyberattacks in the United States ahead of Election Day, but Kremlin-linked hackers have been accused before of trying to influence voters in other countries, NBC News reports.

Hackers attempted to hijack an election in Ukraine in 2014, shutting down its Central Election Commission just before the vote. Pro-Russian hacktivist group CyberBerkut claimed responsibility.

A Ukrainian official investigating the incident told NBC News on condition of anonymity that more malware was found in the election commission's system, and it was traced to a group linked to the recent hacks in the U.S, known as APT28 or Fancy Bears.

U.S. officials have said a cache of stolen emails later released by WikiLeaks is an unprecedented attempt by the Russian government to undermine trust in the election.

Des Moines' top cop called the fatal shootings of a pair of Iowa police officers a "cowardly act of calculated murder," NBC News reported.

Urbandale police Officer Justin Martin, 24, and Des Moines police Sgt. Anthony Beminio, 38, were killed in separate "ambush-style attacks" while they sat in patrol cars Wednesday morning.

Suspect Scott Michael Greene was charged Thursday afternoon with two counts of first-degree murder and faces life in prison if convicted, The Associated Press reported. He was put into the handcuffs that had belonged to the officers who were killed and was expected to be transported to the county jail. 

"What happened yesterday was calculated murder of two law enforcement officers. Plain and simple, that's the reality," said Police Chief Dana Wingert in an emotional news conference Thursday.

Noah Homes cut the ribbon in Spring Valley on Thursday for some of the first memory care homes in California to house people with developmental disabilities and Alzheimer's.

Officials from Noah Homes opened these groundbreaking care homes, located on the 1200 block of Campo Road in Spring Valley, at about 10 a.m.

These innovative homes are hugely significant for people with Down syndrome, as the majority of people with this disability will develop Alzheimer's if they live into their 60s, said an official from Noah Homes.

San Diego has opened two of the first memory care homes in the nation, leading the path to begin housing 280,000 people living with developmental disabilities in California, according to Noah Homes.

Noah Homes is a nonprofit organization that aims to advance quality care for individuals with development disabilities along with Alzheimer's or other related forms of dementia.

Officials say these care homes set an example, and should be used as a model of care to be replicated nationwide.

Penn State is facing a record fine for the way it mishandled the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case.

The U.S. Department of Education wants to fine the school $2.4 million for failing to disclose what school officials knew about Sandusky's sex crimes.

Sandusky, a football coach under legendary head coach Joe Paterno, was convicted in 2012 of sexually abusing several young boys. Some of the sex crimes occurred on Penn State's campus.

The penalty is punishment for breaking the law known as the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.

"For colleges and universities to be safe spaces for learning and self-development, institutions must ensure student safety -- a part of which is being transparent about incidents on their campuses. Disclosing this information is the law," U.S. Education Under Secretary Ted Mitchell said in a statement Thursday.

The Clery Act requires colleges and universities to report publicly each year the number of criminal offenses on campus. Schools have to give the information to the Department of Education [DOE], which then provides it to the public.

The $2.4 million fine is the largest ever levied by the DOE, nearly seven times the highest fine to date, which was $350,000 against Eastern Michigan in 2007.

Penn State officials did not want to comment before thoroughly reviewing the DOE's 239-page report. Their statement expressed regret for the past and vigilance in the future.

"Today, Penn State has robust Clery training and collection processes in place. We have many initiatives, including 18 focused on fighting sexual assault and misconduct, with the creation of new positions, mandatory employee training, a universal hotline and many others. Part of our process includes regular evaluation of our efforts, the analysis of best practice and incorporation of learnings into our operations," the statement read, in part with a link to the school's "major efforts."

Just last week, a jury awarded assistant Penn State football coach Mike McQueary $7.3 million in lost wages and damages. McQueary, a key witness in the trial against Sandusky, testified he told Paterno in 2001 that he'd seen Sandusky sexually abusing a boy in a shower inside the school's locker room.

To date, the scandal has cost the school upwards of $100 million in lawsuit settlements to victims and their families, legal fees and penalties assessed by the NCAA, according to a report in the New York Times.

A series of memorials in San Diego this weekend will celebrate the life and legacy of beloved Chicano leader and musician Ramon "Chunky" Sanchez, his family announced.

Via Facebook, Chunky's family said the first tribute will be held Friday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at San Diego's Centro Cultural De La Raza.

On Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., a prayer service for Chunky will be held at Chicano Park in Barrio Logan, followed by a private burial, the family said. On Sunday, the tributes for Chunky continue with a 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Celebration of Life, also at Chicano Park.

Locals mourned Chunky Wednesday night, too, during a Dia de los Muertos event at Chicano Park.

Chunky died on Oct. 28 at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego. He was a longtime resident, musician and cultural leader of the Chicano community. His eldest daughter, Ixcatli Sanchez, posted the news of her father’s passing on social media Oct. 29, writing, in part: “it is with indescribable emotion that on 10/28/16 my Pops began his next journey in his phase we call life.”

The family has not gone into detail regarding Chunky's cause of death.

He is survived by his wife, Isabel Enrique Sanchez, and their children, Ixcatli, Ramon, Esmeralda, Mauricio and Tonantzin, as well as 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Chunky's youngest son, Fernando Julio Sanchez, 25, was killed in a crash on Highway 138 in Gorman, California in late November 2010.

"He joins his son, Fernando Julio Sanchez (1984-2010), in the spirit world," the Sanchez Family's announcement stated.

Chunky's birthday was on Oct. 30 -- just two days after his death. He would have turned 65.

After his passing, many San Diegans, including the Chicano Studies Department at San Diego Mesa College and Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, took to social media to express their admiration for Chunky and their sadness over his passing.

NBC 7 spoke with some of Sanchez’s family friends at Chicano Park that day, also grieving over the loss of the Chicano icon who was so well-known in San Diego.

“I really cried for Chunky [because] he had a big influence in my life,” Michael Arenas told NBC 7. “He was a hero to me because he taught me something, a life lesson that I will always carry: to fight for what’s right and to never give up.”

A longtime resident of San Diego, Sanchez attended San Diego State University in the early 1970s and considered himself a “barrio-ologist.” He was known by many in the Chicano community as a “hero of the barrio.”

He wrote the song “Chicano Park Samba” – about the culture, spirit and struggle of Chicanos – for Chicano Park, a colorful, mural-filled cultural landmark under the Coronado Bay Bridge that was designated a park in 1970. The song narrates the struggle for the creation of Chicano Park and has become an anthem for the Barrio Logan community.

“With Chunky’s influence, we have a park – we have this beautiful park. And not just the Raza, we invite the whole community, the whole county of San Diego to enjoy this park,” said Arenas.

After his passing, the website of the Chicano Park Steering Committee, the group that oversees Chicano Park, dedicated its homepage to Sanchez, posting a tribute along with his photograph and the phrase: "Chunky Sanchez, Presente!"

Sanchez was popular throughout San Diego for his visits to many local schools, where he spoke to classes and sang to children.

“He’s always been full of wisdom for us. If you go to any school around here they all know who Chunky is. You ask them who Chunky is and you’ll get a big reaction,” Arenas told NBC 7.

Family friend Noni Samano said Sanchez was known for his passion to give back to the community and to speak the truth.

“When he sang, he sang about the people. He sang about the community. He did a lot for the kids; he went to the schools and would sing for the kids.”

Sanchez was born in Blythe, California, to Mexican immigrant parents, both of whom were farm laborers. Growing up, he also worked as a farm laborer while he perfected his musical talents and learned to compose his own songs, which became known for their political messages in the Chicano community. Sanchez often performed at rallies and marches for the United Farm Workers Union, many times at the request of César Chávez.

"He was involved with César Chávez so much that when César Chávez marched, he always called for Chunky because he loved Chunky’s music," Arenas explained. "No matter where he was at, he would call Chunky to come play with him at his marches and Chunky would drop what he was doing to go and play with him."

Over the years, he performed in musical groups, including La Rondalla Amerindia de Aztlan and Los Alacranes. He received many awards over his lifetime, including several from the California Arts Council and the City of San Diego Commission on Arts and Culture, as well as the César Chávez Humanitarian Award. In 2013, Sanchez was named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

He also served as a Little League coach and youth center director, his family said.

Chunky is the subject of a documentary film by Paul Espinosa, currently in post-production, titled, "Singing My Way to Freedom."

“If you want to learn more about the Chicano community, you need to listen to Chunky’s music,” said Samano. “His heart and soul was in the community.”

Arenas told NBC 7 he will forever carry the legacy and lessons of Sanchez in his heart.

“Another thing that he always told us: the most dangerous Chicano was not a gangster. It was to be an educated Chicano,” Arenas recounted. “Chunky has taught us to never give up and always move forward. Forever love, Chunky. Arriba.”

“We’re going to miss him. This is a great loss,” Samano told NBC 7. “He’s an activist and he got out and he did things. He didn’t just talk about it. He was action.”

Chunky's family and friends have established an online funding page here to raise money to help his family cover funeral and burial costs. As of 12 p.m. Thursday, more than $6,500 had been raised. To help, visit this GoFundMe page.

The community is invited to leave their memories of Chunky on the family's official Facebook page here.

The San Diego Humane Society would like San Diegans to put aside pesky 'pawlitics' for a moment, and go adopt a pet amid special sales this elections week.

A promotion called, 'Adopt Your Favorite Candidate,' asks San Diego residents to consider supporting a cause that everyone can agree on, despite their political differences as they cast their votes -- pet adoption.

Adoption fees for animal of all ages and breeds will be 50 percent off from Nov. 5 - 8, according to the San Diego Humane Society. All the pets up for adoption have been spayed or neutered, kept up-to-date on vaccinations and microchipped.

The participating pet stores include their Escondido campus on 3450 E. Valley Parkway, their San Diego Campus on 5500 Gaines Street and their Oceanside campus on 2905 San Luis Rey Road (for dogs) and 572 Airport Road (for cats and small animals.)

Pets who find a loving home receive a certificate for a free veterinary exam, 30 days of pet insurance from Trupanion and a bag of Purina pet food, said Humane Society officials.

Adopters also get a 10-percent discount at Muttique, a pet store that sends all of its proceeds to support the San Diego Humane Society.

Animals up for adoption can be viewed on San Diego Humane Society's website here.

A drunk driver convicted of hitting and killing a motorcyclist on his way home from three bars in Temecula was sentenced to ten years in prison. 

Christopher Henry was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI for the crash. 

Prosecutors said Henry was driving back from Temecula after visiting three bars on Aug. 1, 2015 when the crash happened.

At about midnight, he was driving on West Lilac Road near Bonsall when he swerved off the road, plowed into a tree and hit a motorcyclist, 60-year-old Richard Rodriguez. Rodriguez died at the scene.

Henry has a prior 2008 DUI conviction from Riverside County.

Some East Mesa Detention inmates participated in a job-training program by planting trees and performing landscaping tasks in Lakeside Thursday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO).

Inmates planted trees and saplings, or 'seeds of hope' at El Monte County Park, as part of a program that seeks to offer them a second chance, said an SDSO official. Job skills obtained through landscaping and gardening can create a pathway to honest employment, along with a reduced chance of recidivism upon their release.

Plants cultivated and grown at the jail's greenhouse, will be planted at five different county parks throughout November, according to SDSO.

Gardening offers a therapeutic sense of purpose to inmates while they serve time behind bars, said an official. In order to be eligible for the job training program, inmates must have six months or less left of their sentence, and they must be non-violent offenders.

A deputy stayed on site at the park and constantly watched over the inmates, as an instructor from Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College taught them basic horticultural and landscaping skills.

According to SDSO, each inmate graduates with a certificate of participation.

The annual Chula Vista Veterans Day Parade will prompt road closures along the parade's area on Friday, according to the Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD).

CVPD issued a traffic advisory for all residents and anyone planning to travel through the area.

Drivers should prepare for road closures beginning at about 7:30 a.m., and expect them to last for two and a half hours, said CVPD officials.

East Palomar Street will be closed to all traffic between Olympic Parkway and Magdalena Avenue, while Magdalena Ave. will be closed to drivers traveling south from East Palomar St. to Santa Venetia.

No private vehicles will be able to enter or leave from Wellbrook Avenue, Cobblecreek Street, Glenwood Springs Avenue, Hunters Glen Avenue, Bedford Avenue, Caminito Alcala or Caminito de la Cruz during the closures, according to CVPD.

A Virginia man who allegedly joined fighters with ISIS only to escape from the group in March was indicted on terrorism charges Wednesday. He will be arraigned in federal court Friday, nearly eight months after he was captured by Kurds in Iraq.

Mohamad Jamal Khweis, of Fairfax County, told his family that he was going to Europe for vacation last winter, NBC News reported. 

The 27-year-old American-born son of Palestinian immigrants said he met a woman with connections to ISIS in Turkey and she took him across the border into Syria to find ISIS fighters.

"I wasn't thinking straight, and on the way there I regretted," he said in a heavily edited interview on Kurdish TV after his capture. He also said in the interview that he freely joined ISIS but became disenchanted with the people running the training camps.

He sought out Kurds to help him get back to the Turkish border, he said on TV. He was captured by Kurdish Peshmerga military forces on March 14 as he tried to enter the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, NBC News reported.

But U.S. authorities said Khweis told Kurdish authorities and the FBI while he was still overseas that he started researching ISIS months before he went to Europe and tried to contact a extremist cleric once he was there, according to court papers.

"During the interview, the defendant stated he 'gave himself' to ISIL and that they controlled him. The defendant stated he was aware that ISIL wants to attack and destroy the United States," an affidavit from an FBI agent says.

Khweis told FBI agents he stayed in a safe house in Syria where he went through an intake process, acording to the Department of Justice. He said he answered yes when asked if he would be a suicide bomber but that he thought it was a test from recruiters.

Khweis also admitted participating in a month of religious training in preparation for serving ISIS, the Department of Justice said.

A Justice Department official told NBC News that if Khweis' statements were made under coercion or after rough treatment by the Kurds, the defense could move to have them thrown out of court.

His attorney John Zwerling said Khweis will plead not guilty.