Several days after a bulletin was inserted into an Old Town Catholic church’s newsletter implying that Hillary Clinton was satanic and warned that voting for Democrats would result in parishioners 'descending into Hell,' the entrance to the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church became a stage for protesters.

‘Voting Catholic,' the title of an article in the weekly bulletin at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, suggested the devil is working through Hillary Clinton. The article comes just two weeks after another handout inside the bulletin told people it's a mortal sin to vote for a Democrat.

“This is a violation of the great principle of separation of church and state. A pillar upon which our democracy is built and this is an egregious, egregious violation of that principle,” Father Dermot Rodgers, a pastor at St. Peter of Rome, a church not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego, tells NBC 7.

Rodgers held up a sign that said ‘separation of church and state’ Saturday afternoon in protest of the article.

“People should vote their conscience. People should weigh in what is for their own good and the common good but not be influenced by religious organizations or by churches,” he says.

Protester Lindsey Krosby, who held up a sign that read: ‘I’m a nasty woman and I vote,’ tells NBC 7 “I don’t think any leader should be telling anyone how to vote. It really comes down to the individual and their conscience how they want to vote.”

“I'm calling on the bishop of Roman Catholic diocese of SD to, at the very least, censure the pastor for his misdeeds and possibly remove him,” Rodgers says.

Pastor Richard Perozich of The Immaculate Conception tells NBC 7 in an email he will continue to lead this parish, which he says is pleased with the article he wrote. Perozich says, "The fact that people from other Catholic parishes, other faith communities, or other non-religious wish to comment would be an exercise of their free speech, the very exercise they are trying to deny me because it does not fit their agenda. I will continue to guide my flock to live out their faith in Jesus."

As for the other article that called voting for a Democrat a mortal sin, Perozich says a group called Ecclesia Militans San Diego wrote the flier and inserted it into his bulletin.

Perozich told NBC 7 on Thursday he stands by his comments made in this week's bulletin, but he says he does not agree with the outside group's insert that called a voting for a Democrat a mortal sin.

In an online statement Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego says the Immaculate Conception parish violated its duty saying it's contrary to Catholic teaching to say voting Democrat or Republican automatically condemns the voter to hell.

Bishop McElroy is urging all Catholics to consult their teachings and pray about who they're going to vote for.

San Diegan Meb Keflezighi, one of the most decorated U.S. marathoners of all time, announced that the 2017 New York City Marathon would be his last.

Keflezighi tweeted that he was "So HAPPY to announce" that he would conclude his career at the New York City Marathon. 

Keflezighi is a local sports legend in San Diego, where he and his family live. A 1994 graduate of San Diego High School, Keflezighi attended Roosevelt Middle School.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, he earned a silver medal, the first Olympic marathon medal for an American man since 1976.

His emotional victory at the 2014 Boston Marathon helped inspire a city recovering from the previous year’s fatal bombing attack.

At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he made history as the oldest U.S. Olympic runner of all time. 

A small fire on the upper levels of a UC San Diego (UCSD) apartment building that left one victim badly burned was intentionally started, officials confirm to NBC 7 San Diego. 

The fire broke out at approximately 1:30 p.m. at the dorm, located between Pangea Drive and Northpoint Drive on Scholars Drive North on the UCSD campus, SDFD Battalion Chief Jeff Mitchell said. 

Mitchell said more than 70 firefighters responded to the report of a fire on a campus building; they arrived on scene to find smoke coming from the 11th floor. 

The small fire was started by flammable liquids and was isolated to the student's room on the ninth floor, Mitchell said. Crews quickly put out the fire. 

The flames left one woman badly burned, though her current condition is unknown. She was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Jesse Edelman lives in the 12th floor, right above the fire and says her floor was evacuated. "Our level was evacuated too. It set off the alarms in 12 as well,” Edelman said.

Joshua Escobar lives on the 13th floor and said he heard the alarms go off but not on his floor. He even thought they were going off in another building.

"It wasn't until all the fire trucks started coming that I thought something might be up and then I started smelling smoke. When I looked out the window, it looked like it was coming from right below us,” Escobar said.

NBC 7 spoke with UCSD, and they said the fire alarms only go off in the immediate area of the fire. They only went off on and around 11th floor and it's a case by case basis on if all students are evacuated. Escobar hoping new rules are put in place.

"We didn't know we needed to evacuate until we saw a post on Facebook from a resident assistant. And that time we obviously left the building,” Escobar said. "You know, it puts our safety at risk."

It is unclear how the fire started, Mitchell said, though investigators believe the victim - the single resident inside the unit - intentionally set the fire. 

The building was evacuated as crews fought the fire, but students, mostly upperclassmen students, were let in shortly after. Authorities could not elaborate on why they think the fire was intentionally set. 

"It was a small fire, not a whole lot of smoke damage to the unit or the floor so we were able to get residents back into the building quickly," Mitchell said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

The investigation is ongoing. 

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. 

There’s a reason why Donald Trump’s stumping in New Hampshire Monday while Hillary Clinton holds a family affair in Philadelphia. Their many visits to Florida, North Carolina and Ohio are no coincidence, either.

Battleground states are going to determine who wins the 2016 election. As the voting returns come in on Tuesday, here are states to watch. 

Arizona  Electoral College votes: 11
How it’s looking:
Arizona is fairly new to the swing-state club. The state hasn’t gone for a Democrat since 1996, and that was an anomaly. But because of its large immigrant and Latino populations, Clinton’s chances are looking better than usual; she’s galvanized more support from the Hispanic population than Obama, and it shows. As college-educated young people move to the south, the voter demography is getting more liberal, and NBC News' battleground map has the state in the tossup category. Still, it will be an upset if Clinton wins Arizona, according to elections forecasts by FiveThirtyEight and The New York Times.

Counties to watch:
Maricopa is the fourth most populous county in the United States. It’s gone Republican since 1948.

Colorado  Electoral College votes: 9
How it’s looking:
The NBC News battleground map has Colorado leaning Democratic, bolstered by the suburban and Latino vote. The New York Times and FiveThirtyEight each predict a win for Clinton by several points. 

Counties to watch:
While Jefferson County went with Obama in 2008 and 2012, it also gave Bush victories in 2000 and 2004. Arapahoe County, a traditionally Republican area, is turning purple following an influx of immigrants.

Florida  Electoral College votes: 29
How it’s looking:
“Florida, of course, is pretty much the premier big state that’s a swing state,” said Susan MacManus, a University of South Florida professor who specializes in Sunshine State politics. 

Tied with New York for the third most electoral college votes in the union, Florida is a prized battleground during the general election. A Republican hasn’t won the state since 1992, and, on paper, MacManus says Hillary should nab the victory. But, she continued, “This is hardly an on-paper election.” 

NBC News' battleground map has Florida listed as a tossup. FiveThirtyEight shows Trump has a bit of an edge, while The New York Times' forecast gives Clinton a small edge.  

“The last three elections, including the 2012 presidential, the victor has only won Florida by 1 percent or so,” MacManus said. “When you have 1-percent elections, it makes micro-targeting very important and essential, because if you ignore one group and they feel that, you could lose.”

Trump finds support among Floridians who still feel as if they’re suffering from a bad economy and who are concerned for their family’s safety in relation to perceived terror threats. Meanwhile, Clinton is trying to mobilize the Latino and millennial demographics. The Cuban community in Florida has a reputation for conservatism, but as the younger generations reach voting age, they’re showing a more liberal tendency.

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Even if Florida’s retirees are being replaced by millennials, that doesn’t mean they’ll make it to the voting booths.

“The younger voters really aren’t that keen on the two-party system,” MacManus said. “Who knows whether they’re going to vote or not.” 

Counties to watch:
Hillsborough County, with its seat in Tampa, has correctly chosen the president in every election since 1960, except in 1992. Barack Obama won 53 percent to Mitt Romney’s 46 percent in 2012.

Orange County in the Orlando area tended red until recent years, and Polk and Pasco are also contentious. Volusia, which used to be a Democratic stronghold, has shown some Republican tendencies lately. 

Georgia  Electoral college votes: 16
How it’s looking:
NBC News moved Georgia from leaning GOP to tossup in its final battleground map, though FiveThirtyEight and The New York Times both predict a Trump win. It’s significant that the state is in contention, which signals a demographic shift. Forty-three percent of the electorate is now college educated, and like North Carolina, liberal white voters have officially made Georgia a battleground.

Counties to watch:
Gwinnett County typically goes Republican, but the wealthy suburb northeast of Atlanta may not go Trump's way, NBC News reported. Clayton is an African American nucleus, and Clinton needs high turnout there to even have the potential of a victory in Georgia.

Iowa  Electoral college votes: 6
How it’s looking:
Iowa has gone blue in six out of the last seven elections. So why do The New York Times and FiveThirtyEight have it going red and NBC News leaning GOP this year?

According to Dennis Goldford, professor of political science at Drake University in Des Moines, there are three reasons. One is that “the Clintons never really established themselves here in Iowa.” Another is that, while some Republicans have distanced themselves from this presidential election, Iowa’s state leadership has been openly supportive of the Trump-Pence ticket. The last is the appeal of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” mantra for rural Iowa.

“In some ways this election is a growing fight between the expanding, prospering urban segment of America and the declining rural segment,” Goldford said. 

The Hawkeye State also has a large white, working-class population, especially among the 45-and-up demographic.

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“You have an older electorate in Iowa, and they’re less likely to have a college education, which means they would be more likely to incline toward Donald Trump,” Goldford said. 

As a manufacturing state, Iowa was hard hit by the great recession.

“If the country as a whole got a cold, manufacturing caught pneumonia,” Goldford said. That could mean Trump is getting support from his perceived economic prowess and vow to bolster the American manufacturing industry. 

Counties to watch:
Polk, Linn, Cedar, Scott, and Black Hawk are more urban counties. “To win statewide, a Democrat needs to roll up big majorities,” Goldford said. In 2012, Obama won both Scott and Polk counties by 56 percent.

Michigan  Electoral College votes: 16
How it’s looking:
Republicans like to call Michigan a battleground state because it can sometimes go red during off years, but a Republican presidential candidate hasn’t won the state since 1988. NBC News reports that Michigan is leaning Democratic and, according to FiveThirtyEight's forecast, Clinton has a big advantage. 

“There really hasn’t been a point in this campaign where she’s been trailing,” said Susan J. Demas, publisher and editor at Inside Michigan Politics.

While the Flint water crisis factored heavily in the Democratic primary, it “has really gotten buried on the priority list for both candidates” since July, Demas said.

Counties to watch:
Kalamazoo County tends to be a bellwether. Macomb County is fertile ground for Trump, while Clinton seems to be making headway in Oakland and western Michigan. According to Demas, if Clinton wins Oakland — a wealthy Republican county — by double digits, she will “send shockwaves” through the state.

Nevada  Electoral College votes: 6
How it’s looking:
“We’re a bellwether,” said David F. Damore, professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “Every time since ’76, we’ve gone with the winner.”

In Nevada, neither party has a stronghold. The Democratic organization is almost entirely devoted to longtime Sen. Harry Reid, Damore said, while the Republican base is weak. The state is also 20 percent immigrant and has the smallest native-born population in the United States. Most citizens originate from other states. NBC News' battleground map shows Nevada leaning Democratic. FiveThirtyEight and The New York Times have Clinton and Trump in a tight race, with the edge to Clinton.

“We have demography that provides both parties with a likelihood of winning,” Damore said.

Working-class whites make up the conservative support in Nevada. “That’s kind of who the Republican party is here,” Damore said. Trump has played the media well, but he’s done “nothing in terms of ground game at all,” according to Damore.

Meanwhile, Clinton is targeting white suburban women alongside U.S. Rep. Dina Titus.

Counties to watch:
More than 70 perent of the state's population lives in Clark County. “It’s the most concentrated population in a state of this size,” Damore said. Democrats will try to build a firewall around the urban area, which includes Las Vegas. However, Clark historically undervotes, while Nevada’s rural Republican communities tend to comprise more of the vote than their percentage of the population. If things seem tight, Washoe, with its county seat in Reno, is where to look. The county has a slightly higher Republican registration, but it went for Barack Obama in 2012 and could go either way this year.

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New Hampshire  Electoral College votes: 4
How it’s looking:
With only four electoral college votes, New Hampshire is seemingly inconsequential. But there’s a reason why candidates have spent so much time and money there: if Al Gore had won the state, he would have been president in 2000. During tight elections, New Hampshire can determine who takes it all.

NBC News has it in the tossups, where it belongs, according to Neil Levesque, executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. 

“It’s neither red nor blue,” said Levesque. “It’s a tossup. And when we do have a definitive race, it’s usually not that definitive.” 

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Clinton has a higher chance of winning the state than Trump, according to FiveThirtyEight and The New York Times. On Monday, President Obama will play surrogate for Clinton in New Hampshire, while Trump will make a personal appearance.

Counties to watch:
Londonderry and Hillsborough tend to be bellwethers. Hillsborough is typically a close call. In 2012, Obama won the county by a 2-point margin.

Ohio  Electoral College votes: 18
How it’s looking:
Despite the cast of “The West Wing” campaigning for Clinton in Ohio, Trump has a better chance of winning here than Clinton in FiveThirtyEight's forecast. The New York Times sees a closer race and NBC News has Ohio marked as a tossup. 

Counties to watch:
Stark County might split down the middle. In 2012, 49 percent of the vote went to each major candidate. Also look to Hamilton County. The Cincinnati area was a GOP stronghold that broke for Obama in the last two cycles, so Clinton will need to do well there, according to NBC News.  

Pennsylvania  Electoral College votes: 20
How it’s looking:
After the Republican National Convention, Trump’s campaign said it would focus on four battleground states: Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

“We’re the most Democratic of the four targeted states,” said G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College.

Clinton had a “nice lead” in Pennsylvania, said Madonna, until the FBI probe went live two weeks ago. NBC's battleground map has the state leaning Democrat and The New York Times has her a strong favorite. But FiveThirtyEight shows the margin tightening. Recently, Trump’s gained popularity in the suburbs, while Clinton’s target demographics are less than mobilized, Madonna said.  

Democrats in Pennsylvania have focused efforts on the African American population, 50 percent of which comes from Philadelphia. When Obama was a candidate, 92 to 94 percent of the black vote went to the Democrats, but without his name on the ticket, party leaders are afraid that black voters won’t turn out.

Millennials also make up 18 to 19 percent of Pennsylvania’s voters, but they’re the least politically engaged age group. Clinton surrogates have been campaigning at universities around the state because “they’re aware of the lack of enthusiasm,” Madonna said. 

“Trump’s voters are more enthusiastic in our state,” he added.

Counties to watch:
Forty percent of votes in Pennsylvania come from six counties: Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, Delaware, Philadelphia and Allegheny. The first four are suburbs of Philadelphia populated by primarily middle class, college educated whites. “Many of them will vote either party depending on the cycle, depending on the candidates, depending on the issues,” Madonna said. In 2009, Obama won Bucks by 1 percent; Romney claimed Chester by the same margin.

Utah  Electoral College votes: 6
How it’s looking:
“Utah and Arizona are clearly new battlegrounds, ones that we don’t usually include in that list,” said Larry Sabato, editor-in-chief of the Crystal Ball website, which is run by the University of Virginia Center for Politics. 

Utah tends to vote Republican. In 2012, all six electoral college votes went to Romney. But because of the state’s Mormon faction, this election cycle is proving a different beast.

“Utah I would call a special case,” said Will Jordan, elections editor at YouGov. “The Mormon population were very reluctant to support Trump in the primary, and that’s followed through to the general election.”

Clinton has a single digit possibility of winning Utah’s electoral college votes, according to FiveThirtyEight's forecast, but Trump is finding unlikely competition from independent candidate Evan McMullin, a conservative Mormon.

NBC News moved Utah from tossup to lean Republican in its final battleground map.

Counties to watch:
Summit County is the only one that went blue in 2008. Romney swept Utah in 2012.

Virginia  Electoral College votes: 13
How it’s looking:
“Virginia’s one of the less competitive battlegrounds this year,” Sabato said of the state that NBC News reports "Leans Democrat."

According to FiveThirtyEight’s state predictions, Clinton has a comfortable advantage. Some of her popularity in Old Dominion can be attributed to her running mate, Tim Kaine, who is one of Virginia’s incumbent senators and served as governor from 2006 to 2010. 

Counties to watch:

While northern Virginia is traditionally more liberal than the rest of the state, Prince William County, the second most populous in Virginia, may sway Republican because of its suburban base. Virginia Beach could also prove dicey for Democrats. 

Wisconsin  Electoral College votes: 10 
How it’s looking:
Despite a working class electorate, FiveThirtyEight and The New York Times forecast a Clinton victory, and NBC News has Wisconsin leaning Democratic.

Counties to watch:
Waukesha County, a suburb west of Milwaukee, is very white, and very Republican. As a liberal base, Dane County should help Clinton along, but careful: third party candidates could eat into her lead, according to NBC News. 

Donald Trump's aides are considering a number of his loyalists for major posts should he win the White House, NBC News reported. 

Three campaign advisers said that among the names being considered are Rudy Giuliani for attorney general, Newt Gingrich for secretary of state, retired Lt. Gen Michael Flynn for defense secretary or national security adviser, Trump finance chairman Steve Mnuchin for Treasury secretary, and Republican National Committee finance chair Lew Eisenberg for commerce secretary.

Reince Priebus, under consideration as Trump's chief of staff, earned the candidate's trust by steadfastly defending him while other top Republicans denounced Trump or shied away from brand.

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions has taken a major role managing the transition effort as the official transition chief, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, has drifted from the campaign. It's not clear if Christie is being considered for a significant role in a potential administration.

In the place where America's democracy took root, with tens of thousands shivering in the cold, Barack and Michelle Obama passed the torch Monday to Hillary Clinton at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in an emotional but anxious plea to elect her president. The thousands who showed up also got to hear performances by Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen.

Though the book won't close on his presidency until Inauguration Day, Obama's frenzied, last-minute push for Clinton was a farewell tour of the nation. As he crisscrossed Michigan, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, he waxed nostalgic, told old stories and teared up as he thanked the nation for betting, improbably, on "a skinny guy with a funny name."

He said he'd been asked recently whether the hope that defined his campaign had somehow survived eight trying years.

"The answer's yes," Obama said outside Independence Mall, not far from the Liberty Bell. He said he was still a believer, "and that's because of you."

"In the letters you've written me, in the tears you've shed for a lost loved one, I've seen again and again your goodness and your strength and your heart," Obama said.

Then the Obamas and the Clintons embraced onstage: The last Democratic president and the current one; the first black president and the woman who, on Tuesday, may break yet another historic barrier.

It was left to Michelle Obama, whose visceral speeches this campaign hit a nerve with many Americans, to cast both families as part of a singular American story: One of inclusive opportunity that she hoped would contrast powerfully with the vision of Republican Donald Trump.

She said she marveled at a country where "a girl like me from the South Side of Chicago, whose great-great-grandfather was a slave, can go to some of the finest universities on earth. Where the biracial son of a single mother from Hawaii and the son of a single mother from Hope, Arkansas, can both make it to the White House."

"Thank you for welcoming us into your communities, for giving us a chance whether you agreed with our politics or not," Mrs. Obama said, in her own send-off to the nation. She said ensuring Clinton wins the election was "perhaps the last and most important thing that I can do for my country as first lady."

It wasn't always this way. In 2008, when Obama defeated Clinton in a grinding primary, there was naked bitterness between the two Democrats that only began to soften when Obama named her secretary of state.

Nearly a decade later, the Obamas need Clinton as much as she needs them, to prevent their legacy from being eviscerated by a victorious Trump. After all, the president told supporters earlier in Ann Arbor, Michigan, all his accomplishments "go out the window if we don't win tomorrow."

Clinton, too, was meditative about the bruising battles that have led her to this moment.

"I regret deeply how angry the tone of the campaign became," Clinton said. In a less-than-subtle display of political symbolism, she spoke from behind the presidential seal affixed to the podium from which Obama introduced her.

The Obamas are keenly aware that whether or not Clinton wins Tuesday, their era is coming to an end, a reality punctuated by both Obamas' insistence that neither will ever run for office again.

So in a parting gift to Clinton, Obama offered her his campaign mantra — "Fired up, ready to go" — and told rally-goers in New Hampshire how it had been coined by a supporter he'd never met who showed up at an obscure event eight years ago in South Carolina.

"It just goes to show you how one voice can change a room," Obama said — and then a city, a state and a nation. "And if it can change a nation, it can change the world."

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be interviewed next week over a six-year-old rape investigation at Assange's residence, Ecuador's Embassy in London, Swedish authorities said Monday.

NBC News reported the step forward in the investigation into accusations of rape and sexual assault. Assange, who denies the allegations, has been holed up in the embassy since 2012 to avoid Sweden extraditing him to the United States, where he fears he'll be prosecuted for releasing a trove of secret diplomatic cables.

Two accusations of sexual assault against Assange have been dropped, but prosecutors continue to investigate the rape allegation.

An Ecuadorian prosecutor is set to interview Assange for the rape investigation, with Swedish authorities present, according to the Swedish Prosecution Authority.

A North Texas woman battling cancer is now facing another challenge: getting used to her local celebrity status.

Ana-Alecia Ayala, who’s battling a rare form of uterine sarcoma, has become an internet sensation after a dance video she posted on social media last month went viral. 

"Being recognized, especially when I'm here at the hospital, as that 'dancing chemo girl,' it's just been a lot of fun," she said.

In a post shared last month, Ayala, in her hospital gown with medical tubes attached to her, dances to "JuJu On That Beat" with her friend Danielle Andrus during a chemotherapy session at Baylor T. Boone Pickens Cancer Hospital in Dallas.

The video, shared with the hashtag "#JuJuOnThatChemo," has been viewed more than 8 million times. Ayala's phone was flooded with calls, texts, and emails from friends and family.

"I couldnt keep up with them and so I just put my phone down," she said.

The video caught the eye of a producer on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." After a quick interview Ayala was told she would be coming on as a guest. She can't help but smile when she recalls meeting Ellen and speaking to a nationwide audience.

"It was just amazing," she said. "My heart was pumping, which is probably a good thing because my blood counts had been low."

Ayala did not disappoint in her TV debut last week, bringing her inspirational message to the masses.

"There is life after diagnosis. Making the most of the good days and taking this diagnosis and running with it is what I've tried to accomplish," she said.

Ayala's nurses said she's achieved her goal, spreading positivity to fellow patients and staff.

"Seeing somebody like her, who passes the positive on from one person to the next and encourages you as much as we encouraged her, really makes a difference," said Deseree Cook, a nurse at the hospital.

During her appearance on Ellen, Ayala received a $20,000 donation from Shutterfly to help cover her medical costs. With her newfound fame, Ayala hopes the encouragement and support she's received will have her dancing all the way to a clean bill of health.

"My faith in god and my trust in my doctors has gotten me this far," she said. "We're going to beat this."

Even as a college senior nearly 50 years ago, Hillary Rodham Clinton was willing to be confrontational when it came to her political passions, challenging a U.S. senator about the urgency to alleviate poverty and earning herself a rebuke from the Chicago Tribune, which called her "discourtesy" unjustified.

As Wellesley College's first ever student commencement speaker, Clinton put aside her prepared remarks to address comments made by U.S. Sen. Edward Brooke, who had preceded her on the stage at the graduation. A moderate Republican representing Massachusetts, Brooke had urged the students not to overlook the progress already made.

Though concerned that she not be seen as attacking Brooke, she responded, "What does it mean to hear that 13.3 percent of the people in this country are below the poverty line? That's a percentage. We're not interested in social reconstruction; it's human reconstruction."

The 21-year-old offered an early preview of how she viewed politics, saying, "We feel that for too long our leaders have viewed politics as the art of the possible. And the challenge now is to practice politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible possible."

Nearly 100 years after American women got the right to vote, Clinton could be about to make another achievement possible for women by becoming the first woman elected president. She has been up against an opponent who tailored his message primarily to disaffected white men in a tight and intensely fought race rife with misogyny.

Clinton was chosen the Democratic presidential nominee after a lifetime of firsts, among them the first first lady to be elected a U.S. senator, but also after years of repeated investigations by her political enemies who even before she might ascend to the White House are threatening to impeach her.

"It's historic and not just for women and women's participation but it's historic for our democracy in the same way that electing Barack Obama was historic," said Debbie Walsh, the director of the Center for American Women and Politics at New Jersey’s Rutgers University. "It is a breakthrough."

Clinton, who lost her first try for the nomination to Barack Obama in 2008, initially made a name for herself for her work on behalf of women and children, joining Marian Wright Edelman's Children’s Defense Fund out of Yale Law School. Among her jobs: going undercover to collect data on school segregation. She went on to become the first female partner at the Rose Law Firm in Arkansas, the first lady of Arkansas and the first lady of the United States.

But she has had considerable defeats too, failing to overhaul the country's health care system while she was first lady for example and earning widespread censure for her clumsy approach. "I now come from the school of small steps," she said later while campaigning for the U.S. Senate.

Many of her opponents have criticized her policies or what they see as unethical or illegal behavior — though none has been proven — but others have attacked her as a woman.

At a rally for Donald Trump in New Hampshire on Friday, former Gov. John Sununu asked if Bill Clinton was referring to Hillary Clinton when he said, "I never had sex with that woman," (Bill Clinton was talking about Monica Lewinsky, the White House intern with whom he had an affair, when he said "I never had sexual relations with that woman.")

A tweet sent last week from the account of the Texas agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller called her a sexually explicit and derogatory term for a woman. His office later said it had been sent inadvertently. 

That hostility has made it even more urgent to elect a woman, say activists and some of Clinton's Wellesley College classmates, who believe she is the best qualified for the job.

Terry O'Neill, the president of the National Organization of Women, said the election was important because Clinton is an "unapologetic feminist."

"She is a practical progressive politician who likes to get things done," O'Neill said. "But she has spent her entire career working to empower women."

During her tenure as secretary of state under Obama, she met not only with elite women around the world but also those working to advance women's position in society, O'Neill said. She expects Clinton would make priorities of closing the gender wage gap and ensuring that lower-income women have access to health care.

"All the ways in which women are currently discriminated against, they all circle back to keeping women economically insecure," O'Neill said. "And when women are not economically secure, their whole families suffer, including the men in their households."

Kris Olson, the U.S. attorney for Oregon during the Bill Clinton administration, knew Clinton both at Wellesley and at Yale University Law School and said that even then she was building bridges among different groups. As president, Clinton would not only be tough on international issues, but would focus on the critical issues affecting women and children, she said.

"We need somebody to set the tone," Olson said.

A CNN/ORC poll done early this year, before Clinton was picked as the Democratic nominee, found that three quarters of registered women voters thought that United States was ready for a female president. But only a third said it was very important to elect one in their lifetime — a finding that Walsh believed could be a result of younger women already used to women in powerful positions.

A poll conducted of Wellesley College’s seniors found that 65 percent supported Clinton, 14 percent backed Sanders and 2 percent favored Trump. At the same time, 51 percent said that gender mattered only a little and 31 percent said not at all.

Olson, like many of her contemporaries, said some younger women failed to appreciate the battles her generation fought, over reproductive rights for example, and how easily they could be turned back. And the misogyny that Clinton has encountered, the opposition to her that runs so deep in the country, likely will continue, she said.

"The slurs over the years have been remarkable and they've intensified in the election and I don't see them abating," she said.

Sharvari Johari, a co-editor of the college's newspaper, The Wellesley News, and a current senior, agreed it was important to elect a woman as president, as a role model for younger women in politics and as someone who might influence the focus of legislation.

"With a woman president we might not have the same battles over women's reproductive rights, and we might have more support for single mothers and families," she said. "These are all issues that tend to be more important for women."

But women at Wellesley are choosing Clinton because she is the best candidate on the ballot, she said.

"Even though gender is incredibly important and it's important to support your fellow women, that comes with the asterisk — that you're going to support a fellow woman who deserves it, hard working women who are qualified and intelligent," she said. "Clinton is a woman but she is also incredibly qualified and incredibly intelligent and has political savvy. So my vote for her is both as a woman and as an educated voter."

After leaving Wellesley College with Clinton in 1969, Dr. Lonny Higgins, a obstetrician and gynecologist, founded women's health centers in Hawaii and cofounded the MariMed Foundation for Hawaii's young people and families. Electing a woman would show how much women's and men's roles have evolved and broadened, and allow the country to tap into everyone's skills, she said. The entire culture would benefit, she said.

"Why not a woman?" Higgins asked.

Nancy Wanderer, another former classmate who was the director of the legal research and writing program at the University of Maine Law School, said the world had already seen the effects of having men in power.

"We need to try the other half of the talent, really not just in the country but in the world," she said.

A woman would bring a different perspective to such decisions as whether to send people to war or how to take care of children and help women work without worrying about whether their children were safe, she said.

"I just think men haven't been able to do that so far," she said.

And although many female leaders have not focused on issues important to women, Clinton would, her supporters say.

A gender gap has been evident throughout the race. An NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll of Florida last month, for example, found Clinton ahead of Trump by 9 percentage points among women who are likely to vote — 51 percent for Clinton to 42 percent for Trump. An even larger gap was found in North Carolina, 14 points among women, where Clinton led Trump, 52 percent to 38 percent.

The reverse is also true in Florida. Trump led Clinton by 11 points among men likely to cast a ballot in Florida, 48 percent to 37 percent. But in North Carolina they were competitive among men, with Trump at 44 percent and Clinton at 42 percent.

Plenty of successful women have supported Trump, notably his campaign manager Kelleyanne Conway, the first woman to run a Republican presidential campaign. But other prominent Republican women, among them U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, fled the Republican candidate after he was heard on a videotape bragging about groping women.

As historic as Clinton's win would be, Walsh pointed to the dearth of women in many other positions and she worries that the push to elect more women could falter if voters think the job is done. Women make up only 19.4 percent of Congress as a whole — 20 percent of the U.S. Senate and 19.3 percent of the U.S. House of Representatives — and 25 percent of state legislatures.

"We're behind many other countries when it comes to electing women as head of state," she said. "We're behind many countries frankly when it comes to electing women to our national legislature."

Sarah B. Larrabee, another member of Clinton's class, now with a real estate company in Boulder, Colorado, recalled watching women push their daughters forward to see Clinton at a Democratic forum for women leaders. The girls were energized, she said, and some of their mothers were in tears.

"I've been wishing I could contact my grandmother who didn't have the right to vote until she had already raised half of her family," she said.

And classmate Susan Doull, whose company, Commendable Tours, organizes privates tours in Africa, Italy and France, has lived abroad for more of her life than in the United States. Clinton would be both capable and caring, able to work across the political aisle and resilient after many years of attacks, she said.

"It's definitely time that the U.S. catches up with the rest of the world, which is much more comfortable with the role of women in politics," she said. "Not that it's perfect anywhere but we're behind."

A popular teacher at Torrey Pines High School (TPHS) who suddenly resigned last month will be back in the classroom Monday.

William Harvie, a physics teacher at TPHS for 33 years, retired without explanation.

Following the move, there were demonstrations on campus. Hundreds of students started a petition called "Bring Harvie Back" and set up a Facebook page with thousands of supporters. 

Last week, the School Board of the San Dieguito Union High School District voted to decline to accept his registration. At the meeting, many students and parents attended and several spoke in support of Harvie. 

Interim Superintendant Eric Dill called Harvie to see if he would be willing to return to his position - and Harvie accepted the offer. 

In an email to his staff, Dill admitted that this was an unusual circumstance, and urged people to refrain from speculation.

"I ask you to continue to respect the privacy and reputations of the people involved and avoid any unfair speculation," Dill wrote in the email.

The reason for his resignation is still a mystery. 

Two teenagers were arrested after a search near La Vista Cemetery in connection to an armed home invasion robbery. 

Police initially began searching for the two teens, described to be 15 and 17 years old, after responding to a call for an armed burglary on the 3300 block of Cypress Avenue at approximately 11:12 a.m. Monday. 

The suspects went into the home and held two residents at gunpoint, while looking for money, according to the National City Police Department (NCPD). When they did not find any money, the suspects ran out of the home and fled northbound on Cypress Avenue to the cemetery.

A search ensued in the Canyon Ridge neighborhood of National City, just northeast of the Interstate 805 and State Route 54 junction. 

Officers arrested the 15-year old teen at the cemetery and took the 17-year old into custody on the 3200 block of Alta Drive.

No one was injured, including the victims.

Both suspects were booked into a juvenile corrections facility.

Police had urged residents to remain indoors during the search but say there is no threat to the public, at this point. 

NCPD says the incident was non gang-related and believes the victims were picked at random.

No other information was immediately available.

A motorcycle rider died early Monday when he crashed at a corner in Otay Mesa. San Diego Police responded and found the victim wedged inside a utility box.

A Sig Alert was issued at 4:45 a.m. for the corner of Palm and Beyer following the fatal crash of a motorcycle.

A man in his 40s was riding along Picador Boulevard at a high rate of speed just before 4 a.m. when he crashed into a large electrical box, according to police.

The rider was declared dead however the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office can not remove the victim’s body from the electrical box without the help of utility workers.

Police said power may be interrupted temporarily in order to remove the victim from the scene.

No other information was immediately available.

Hillary Clinton is maintaining a 6-point lead over Donald Trump as Election Day nears, according to the final NBC NewsSurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking Poll.

Among likely voters, Clinton continues to lead Trump in a four-way contest with 47 percent to Trump's 41 percent, shows the poll, conducted between Oct. 31 and Nov. 6. 

Clinton has maintained her lead over the Republican nominee since the end of July, but the margin of her lead has been between 4 to 6 percentage points since the second week of September.

The results continue to show that campaign news over the past several weeks — including the surfacing of an "Access Hollywood" tape showing Trump making lewd comments about women and FBI Director James Comey's letter to Congress about its review of additional emails related to Clinton — have had almost no lasting impact on the opinions of likely voters.

After a year and a half of campaigning, it's almost time to settle a slugfest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump that's been anything but normal presidential politics. Accusations are flying, election officials are prepping for cyberattacks and the electorate is disgusted. How did we get here?

Previous elections have turned on inspiring moments as well as major gaffes — think Barack Obama's defining speech on race in 2008 or Ronald Reagan's "Morning in America" ad in 1984. But this year the election has been driven almost exclusively by the drip, drip, drip of scandal, controversy and intrigue.

"Clinton's email scandal, Trump's controversial comments on a number of things. It's been about the candidates to a degree, perhaps, that it's never been," said Geoffrey Skelley, a political analyst at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

It's been dark, it's been dirty but it's finally almost over. Let's go to the videotape.

July 5: Clinton's Emails Catch Fire
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Clinton was running fairly strong by the summer. She had locked up her party’s nomination and the support of Bernie Sanders, who gave her a tough challenge in the primary but said by the end of June that he would vote for Clinton. Then came the surprise announcement from FBI Director James Comey.

He recommended no charges for Clinton putting State Department emails onto a private email server while she was secretary of state. The decision would have been good news for Clinton if Comey didn't go on to rip how her team handled the emails as recklessly sloppy, vulnerable to hacking.

Clinton should have known better, according to Comey, even if no reasonable prosecutor would charge her for it.

The announcement gave Trump a powerful attack line. Two weeks later, when his poll numbers began to shoot up, the crowd at the Republican National Convention roared with a chant of "lock her up." It became a staple of Trump's rallies across the country.

"It clearly played right into the narrative of Clinton not being honest or trustworthy," Skelley said. "It obviously set the table for it to be a major campaign discussion."

Swing in the polls: +0.1 to Trump after one week, as measured by the change in the Real Clear Politics head-to-head polling average, bringing him to 40.9 percent vs. Clinton's 45.4
Key quote: "There is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information." –Comey
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July 22: Clinton's First Hacking Problem — the DNC Emails
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Weeks later, the secret-publishing website Wikileaks made it even harder for Clinton to unite her party at the Democratic National Convention. It published a trove of emails from top Democratic officials, appearing to show them backing Clinton over Sanders.

The leak came not only ahead of the Democrats' convention, but as the Republicans were riding high from the close of their own convention. Democratic party Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz was forced to abruptly step down, and Sanders supporters who felt betrayed caused noticeable discord on the floor of the convention.

It may have been more damaging in the long term. The revelation compounded Clinton's State Department email problem, reinforcing the perception that Clinton — and the Democrats — weren't transparent.

Swing in the polls: +2.6 to Trump after one week, bringing him to 43.3 percent vs. Clinton's 43.3 percent
Key quote: "This really does not come as a shock to me or my supporters. There is no question but the DNC was on Secretary Clinton's side from day one." –Sanders
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July 28: Trump's Gold Star Showdown
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But Trump's troubles weren't far behind Clinton's. Two unlikely stars came out of the final day of the Democratic convention: Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Muslim parents of an American Army captain killed in Iraq.

They stood in front of an increasingly thunderous crowd in Philadelphia, as Khizr Khan attacked Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country (it has since been modified) as un-American, and mocked his lack of sacrifice for the country compared to that of Gold Star families. He capped the speech off by pulling out a copy of the Constitution and offering to lend it to Trump.

The speech was a hit for Democrats and derailed Trump's momentum. He spent the next week defending his Muslim policy as being about "radical Islamic terror" while attacking the Khans. His unwillingness to apologize to the family earned a rebuke from some top Republicans, who wanted him to simply thank them for their sacrifice.

Swing in the polls: +7.7 to Clinton after one week, bringing her to 47.4 vs. Trump's 40.6
Key quote: "Go look at the graves of brave Americans who died defending United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing." –Khizr Khan
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Sept. 9, 11: 'Deplorables,' Pneumonia Trip Up Clinton
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A new problem arose for Clinton when a recording surfaced of her telling a group at an LGBT fundraiser that half of Trump's supporters belonged in a "basket of deplorables," for being racist, sexist, homophobic and more. The remark galvanized Trump, who railed against the insult despite Clinton saying she regretted using the word "half."

Two days later, Clinton was videotaped stumbling as she got into a car at the Sept. 11 memorial in lower Manhattan, yet her campaign hadn't disclosed she was ill. Staffers revealed hours later that she had pneumonia, and it kept Clinton off the campaign trail. "I just didn't think it was going to be that big a deal," she explained the next day.

The pair of gaffes created the impression that Clinton acted one way in public and another in private — feeding into the narrative that she's secretive. "The story became about, 'Well, Clinton's hiding something again,'" Skelley said.

Swing in the polls: +2.2 for Trump after one week, bringing him to 44 vs. Clinton's 44.9
Key quote: "Wow, Hillary Clinton was SO INSULTING to my supporters, millions of amazing, hard-working people. I think it will cost her at the polls!" –@realDonaldTrump
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Sept. 26: Trump's Debate Damage
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The most-hyped moment of any presidential campaign is the first debate, and this year's provided the requisite fireworks — a lot of them. The candidates battled over Trump's unreleased tax returns, Clinton's unreleased emails, the "birther" movement and much more.

But two storylines dominated the coverage afterward: Trump continually interrupting the first woman to lead a major party ticket and Trump having once belittled the 1996 Miss Universe, Alicia Machado, whom Clinton said Trump called "Miss Piggy" when she gained weight.

As with the Khans, Trump spent several days defending himself over the Machado claim rather than apologize or move on. For days, he insisted that Machado's weight gain was a "real problem" for him.

Scientific polls showed Clinton won the debate, and much more damage came from Trump's refusal to back down, keeping a negative story in the news cycle.

Swing in the polls: +0.9 to Clinton after one week, bringing her to 47.8 vs. Trump's 44.6
Key quote: "This is a man who has called women pigs, slobs and dogs." –Clinton
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Oct. 8: Trump's "Access Hollywood" Crisis
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Possibly the biggest bombshell of the campaign was the release of a decade-old "Access Hollywood" tape that kept Trump's relationship with women in the spotlight. In it, the then-"Apprentice" host is heard bragging with Billy Bush about being able to do anything he wants to women, including grabbing them by the private parts, because he's famous. 

Trump apologized twice for what many Democrats called an admission of sexual assault, but the remarks nevertheless brought denunciations from top Republicans, including Trump's vice presidential nominee. A few even said they could no longer support him.

His cavalier attitude about sexual conquests was damning in its own right, but Skelley said it fed into the pre-existing narrative about Trump that the Machado news had already set up: "There's plenty of evidence that he has been a misogynist at times and has made plenty of sexist comments."

Within a few weeks, 11 women came forward to accuse Trump of past sexual misconduct, including sexual assault and unwanted kissing and groping. He has denied all the allegations, which have not been verified by NBC News.

Bush, for his part, was suspended at his new job on NBC's "Today" then left the show. ("Access Hollywood" is owned and distributed by NBCUniversal, the parent company of this station.)

Swing in the polls: +2.1 to Clinton after one week, bringing her to 48.1 vs. Trump's 41.4
Key quote: "Anyone that knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong and I apologize." –Trump
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Oct. 13: First Lady Joins the Fray
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As women were still coming forward with accusations against Trump, Michelle Obama summed up the scandal in a speech at a New Hampshire university.

"Enough is enough, this has got to stop right now," she said.

Arguing that even little boys know that men shouldn't take advantage of women, Obama said the country needs a leader who can unite the country, and that Clinton was the person to do it.

She spoke directly to one of Clinton's key constituencys: "Women's votes were the difference between Barack winning and losing in key swing states, including right here in New Hampshire," she said, urging them to make the difference in 2016 once again. Even if it didn't swing the polls more than they already had, Obama made the campaign's strongest and most passionate argument against electing a man who has admitted sexual misconduct.

And the speech was a political coming out party for the first lady as well. Her only other campaign appearance to that point was a similarly acclaimed speech at the Democrats' convention, but she became a powerful surrogate in the final stretch.

Swing in the polls: +0.3 to Trump, bringing him to 42.1 vs. Clinton's 48.5 (just down from her 2016 high) 
Key quote: "I can't believe that I'm saying that a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women. And I have to tell you that I can't stop thinking about this. It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn't have predicted." -Michelle Obama
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Oct. 28: Clinton's 2nd Email Surprise
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Clinton's lead started to look insurmountable to many in the media, as Trump began insisting that he was trailing because the race was being rigged by the media and political class. Then Comey sent a short letter to a congressional oversight committee saying the FBI had discovered new emails related to the investigation into Clinton's email server.

Worse, the emails were discovered on the computer of disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner, estranged husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin. The FBI is investigating him for allegedly sexting with a minor — linking Clinton's scandal to his, despite any evidence from the FBI that classified information was stored on Weiner's server.

The announcement came despite a Department of Justice rule against such actions coming soon before elections, so it doesn't look like the government is meddling in them. Democrats and even some Republicans certainly saw the move that way, while Trump started telling crowds the system might not be so rigged against him after all.

"The race was already tightening a bit, probably because Republicans were coming home, but now [it looks like] Trump's pulling within 2 points," Skelley said late last week. He added that such a close race mirrored "what a lot of the fundamental models" analyzing the race initially showed.

When the Comey letter dropped, Clinton's campaign had just indicated it was making a play for the reliably Republican state of Arizona, a way to run up the score on Election Day. Afterward, her victory no longer assured, she and her surrogates added last-minute stops to states she once thought were reliably blue, like Michigan and Wisconsin.

The FBI review of the emails ended nine days later, just as suddenly as it began. In a second letter sent the Sunday before the election, Comey informed lawmakers the review was over and had not changed his original determination. Clinton didn't mention the saga at a rally in Cleveland later that day, as she made a play for Trump-leaning Ohio by appearing on stage with hometown hero LeBron James.

Swing in the polls: +4 to Trump within one week, bringing him to 44.8 vs. Clinton's 46.4 
Key quote: "In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation. I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday, and I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation." –Comey's letter
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While the race for the White House has dominated national headlines, control of the U.S. Senate also is at stake on Tuesday.  

There are 54 Republicans and 44 Democrats now in the Senate, with two independents, including former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucus with Democrats.

On Election Day, 24 seats held by Republicans, and 10 held by Democrats, are on the ballot.

To take control of the Senate, Democrats need to gain four seats if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency (and VP Tim Kaine could cast a tie-breaking vote), or five if she loses.  

Here are key Senate races to keep track of Tuesday night:

Illinois: Polls show Republican incumbent Mark Kirk trailing Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth. Kirk has held the seat since 2010. He's become the most vulnerable incumbent in the race, dealing with the effects of a 2012 stroke, and facing a strong opponent in Duckworth.

Duckworth, a veteran who lost both legs in Iraq, raised more money than Kirk.

Kirk has made waves more than once during this year's election.

In June, he renounced his support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Last month, he sparked controversy when questioning the Duckworth family's military service during a debate after she said her family has served going back to the American Revolution. 

"I had forgotten that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington," Kirk said.

Duckworth's mother is a Thai immigrant. Her father served in World War II and has lineage traced back to a family member who fought in the American Revolution. 

Kirk later apologized.

Wisconsin: Russ Feingold, a former Democratic senator who lost his seat in 2010, has a small lead in the polls against Republican incumbent Ron Johnson. 

If Feingold beats Johnson, it will be the first time since 1934 that a senator who was voted out came back six year later to defeat a former rival, NBC News reported. 

Pennsylvania: A close race is unfolding as Republican incumbent Pat Toomey is up against Democrat Katie McGinty, a former chief of staff to Gov. Tom Wolf. While Democrats portray Toomey as being too conservative, McGinty hasn't always connected well with voters.

Toomey hasn't endorsed or disavowed Trump. When pressed on the issue during a debate, Toomey said, "I don't think my constituents care that much how one person is going to vote." 

Indiana: The race is shaping up to be tight as the state's Republican incumbent, Dan Coats, is retiring. Running for his seat are former Democratic senator Evan Bayh and Rep. Todd Young, a Republican.

Bayh, the son of longtime senator Birch Bayh, energized Democrats when he announced a run to reclaim the seat he gave up in 2010. However, his opponent and Young's allies have painted Bayh as an opportunist who cashed in on his Senate experience by working at a Washington, D.C. lobbying firm. A story from early October detailed the former senator's efforts to find a private sector job during his final year in the Senate. 

Missouri: Republican incumbent Roy Blunt is facing Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, a Democrat. According to Real Clear Politics' polling average, Blunt, who has held the seat since 2010, holds a narrow lead over Kander, a former military intelligence officer.

Nevada: With Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid retiring, polls show a close race shaping up between Rep. Joe Heck (R) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D), the state's former attorney general. 

While the race is a chance for Republicans to pick up a seat held by Democrats, Trump's controversial comments combined with the state's high Hispanic population have given Democrats hope.

New Hampshire: The Senate race between Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) and Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) has been getting national attention as both presidential candidates and their surrogates have campaigned in New Hampshire. Ayotte found herself in a difficult position in early October, after saying that she would call Trump a role model for children. While she later said she "misspoke," Hassan's campaign seized the comment as an opportunity, calling it "a revealing moment that she [Ayotte] cannot take back." Polls show Ayotte with a slim lead against Hassan.

North Carolina: Democrats are hopeful that former state representative and American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Deborah Ross will defeat Republican senator Richard Burr. Republicans have been using Ross' record as a lawyer at the ACLU in an attempt to discredit her. Polls predict a close race.

Florida: Senator and former presidential candidate Marco Rubio (R) is fighting for his seat against Rep. Patrick Murphy (D). Rubio first said he would not seek re-election, but reversed that decision after dropping out of the presidential race, much to Republicans' delight. According to polls, Rubio has the edge.  

While Rubio is known for his rocky relationship with Trump and frustration with the Senate, his opponent has had missteps. Murphy's been accused of touting pieces of his resume too much, and relying on his wealthy family for donations, NBC News reported. 

Other Races to Watch and the Comey Effect:
Two other races that are important to watch, but are likely to remain in Republican hands, are in Arizona and Ohio.

Sen. John McCain (R) is working to hold off a challenge from Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D) in Arizona. McCain has held the seat since 1986 and is doing well, according to polls. Kirkpatrick has come down on McCain for his support of Trump. Though he originally endorsed Trump, McCain later renounced him.  

In Ohio, polls show Sen. Rob Portman (R) leading his opponent, Ted Strickland, a former Democratic governor. Strickland has made some gaffes during the election, including saying that Justice Antonin Scalia’s death "happened at a good time."

If Democrats win the Senate and, in a longshot, the House, it will be the first time since 1952 that both chambers of Congress flipped during a presidential election year.

Another interesting possibility in this election: The number of women in the Senate will likely increase from 20, with females on the ballot in several states. 

And while races are tight in multiple states, some Democrats are concerned about fallout from FBI Director James Comey's letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee announcing the FBI was reviewing a new set of emails in the probe into Hillary Clinton's private email server. The emails were found in the federal investigation into former New York congressman Anthony Weiner's sexting scandal.

The FBI review ended nine days later with Comey telling lawmakers the review was over and had not changed his original determination. But Democrats are concerned about the damage to down-ballot candidates, from an emboldened GOP and possible dampened enthusiasm among Democrats. 

The driver of a stolen car is leading San Diego police officers on a chase through North Park.

The chase started at 2:15 p.m. A police officer attempted to pull over the car in North Park, but the car wouldn't stop, triggering the pursuit.

The driver continued on through North Park and got on Interstate 805 to State Route 94, exiting on 30th Street.

The driver and a passenger were taken into custody in the Golden Hill area. No one was injured.

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. 

With a total 180 decisions on the ballot overall, many of which voters say are complicated and confusing, the lines at polling places are expected to take hours to get through on Election Day.

Election officials told NBC 7 that they expect polling places to be packed all day on Tuesday and don’t expect there to be an easy or slow time to show up.

Officials do recommend getting to your polling place or the San Diego County Registrar’s Office early in the day.

NBC 7 stopped by the Registrar’s Office on Monday to chat with early voters on their challenges with voting. Here’s what we found out.

How long did it take you to get through the sample ballot?

We heard anywhere from 15 minutes to a month. Here were some of the responses:

“A few days.”

“A day.”

“It’s the biggest ballot I’ve ever had.”

What was the most complicated issue on the ballot?

Many people expressed confusion over Prop 62 and Prop 66, the two dueling death penalty propositions. Both could mean a historic change for the death penalty in California. While voting yes on Prop. 62 could put an end the death penalty, a yes on Prop. 66 will speed up executions.

Others voters expressed confusion over the Chargers stadium measures.

“There were like two on the death penalty and two on the stadium. Do you vote for both of them or does one cancel out the other?” one voter asked.

You can still turn in a mail-in ballot at your polling place or at the Registrar’s Office between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Election Day.

You can find your polling place here.

A man linked to five killings in South Carolina, some as far back as 2003, appears to have left a series of alarming Amazon reviews for products including a shovel and a chainsaw.

As NBC News reports, the 45-year-old murder suspect wrote a review for a folding shovel in 2014 that reads as follows: “keep in car for when you have to hide the bodies...” Another review, for a high security padlock, reads, “have 5 on a shipping container…wont stop them…but sure will slow them down tip they are too old to care.”

The man, Todd Kohlhepp, was taken into custody Thursday after a missing woman was found chained up in a metal storage container on his property southeast of Greenville, S.C. On Sunday, human remains that have not yet been identified were found elsewhere on Kohlhepp’s property, according to authorities.

Todd Kolhhepp is linked to reviews for dozens of Amazon products written between 2014 and 2016.

After Tuesday's election, the country will have to embark on a new journey to heal political wounds. 

For many, the effects of this election run deep, says San Diego State University (SDSU) Political Science Professor Jean Twenge. 

The big question now is whether things can go back to normal after the election or if this deep divide will become part of the country's new reality.

"Talking about politics is something people are avoiding all together," he said. "I've never seen anything like it."

This election seems to be about a lot more than politics, professors say. It's put a strain on relationships at home, the workplace, and everything in between. 

SDSU Political Science Professor James Igram said the Republicans have shifted away from the moderate opinions on social issues, and Democrats have drifted from those more moderate Democrats on fiscal issues. 

The result, he said, has prompted more of a strained political discourse. 

"You can say, 'Please pass the potatoes', and then be contaminated by, 'how could you vote for that person?'" Ingram said of possible Thanksgiving Dinner discussions.

It's a topic Ingram said he has at times avoided in his personal life because of possible repercussions. 

"Sometimes, even though I'm a political science professor, I have to avoid the topic of politics because you don't know what kind of a minefield you're stepping into," he said. 

It's something that's not just affecting political experts. The election is also stressing average voters.

Recent polls show it is not just about Democrats versus Republicans, or insiders versus outsiders.

The divide has merged into young versus old, religious versus non religious, white versus non white, college educated versus non college educated.

With emotions running high, there's even reports about Americans discussing the election with their psychologists.

Most Americans are ready for the election to be over, but at least one Australian visitor hopes it could go on just a little longer.

"When it's over, we lose comedy hour every day, so if you can keep it going for as long as possible, that would be great," the tourist said.