Closures for two local beaches were lifted Wednesday following heavy rainfall from storms.

Imperial Beach and Silver Strand shorelines were opened back up to the public, the Department of Environmental Health (DEH) announced.

The beaches were shut down due to sewage runoff from the Tijuana River. 

On Wednesday, DEH said testing confirmed the water quality met the health standards for beaches in California. 

The ocean shoreline from the International Border to Seacoast Drive will still be closed.

You can visit this website for more information about beach closures.

President-elect Donald Trump, asked Wednesday about possible sanctions against Russia in the wake of alleged cyber-attacks during the presidential campaign, replied, "I think we ought to get on with our lives." 

"I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly, the whole you know age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what's going on," Trump told reporters outside his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, NBC News reported. 

"We have speed we have a lot of other things, but I'm not sure you have the security that you need," Trump said. He added that he has not spoken with senators who have called for sanctions. 

The comments come as the U.S. is said to be preparing to take retaliatory steps against Russia after political institutions were hacked during the presidential campaign. Those steps could include sanctions.

Once known as the "crack king" of Oakland, Darryl Reed officially became a free man Wednesday night after he and 110 others were granted clemency by President Barack Obama in August.

Reed had been living under home confinment until Wednesday. In his first Bay Area interview since being in prison for 26 years, he spoke with NBC Bay Area on a wide range of subjects.

First, he wanted it known that his street name, Lil' D, is behind him. Then, after briefly acknowledging his past, he talked about the future.

"I don’t care what the district attorneys try to tell the public. Don’t nobody deserve to do 30 to 40 years for selling no drugs," said Reed, who served 26 years of a 35-year sentence for manufacturing, possessing and selling crack cocaine. "I’m going to take the negative about my journey and turn it into a positive."

With his limited freedom so far, Reed seems to be doing just that, donating toys to kids in Oakland this Christmas.

Twenty-eight years ago, he was a very different man. In the late 1980s, Reed became one of the most powerful drug dealers in the Bay Area, at 20 years old.

Today, he wants to make a difference.

"The things that I went through that got me where I'm at now are giving me the tools to take my life story and share it with the world," he said.

The Obama White House said Reed and the 110 others whose sentences were commuted with him were sentenced under outdated laws to unduly long prison terms. Inmates applying for a reduced sentence must be nonviolent. 

"We must remember that these are individuals -- sons, daughters, parents, and in many cases, grandparents -- who have taken steps toward rehabilitation and who have earned their second chance," White House Counsel Neil Eggleston wrote at the time. 

Former prosecutor Rus Giuntini contends that Reed’s early release was inappropriate, saying the president’s decision to cut Reed's sentence short was like commuting a sentence for Al Capone.

Reed said he doesn’t care what Giuntini thinks, and that he spent nearly 30 years behind bars "for a drug charge."

"First offender," Reed said. "So for him to question the decision the chief of us makes, it sounds like it’s something personal with him."

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened government officials with the prospect of being thrown out of a helicopter mid-air if they are found to be corrupt, claiming he had done it before and had no qualms about doing it again, NBC News reported.

The former prosecutor said he once hurled a Chinese man suspected of rape and murder out of a helicopter.

"If you are corrupt, I will fetch you using a helicopter to Manila and I will throw you out. I have done this before, why would I not do it again"? Duterte said during a speech to victims of a typhoon on Tuesday.

Duterte's latest threat comes just a few weeks after he admitted killing people during his 22 years as a mayor of Davao City, sometimes riding a motorcycle looking for "encounters to kill."

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A live video feed is poised over the nest of two Florida bald eagles who are waiting for two eggs to hatch. 

American bald eagles Harriet and her mate M15 have been taking turns incubating the eggs since they were laid in late November in their Fort Myers-area nest, NBC affiliate WFLA reported.  

An area real estate company provides a live look at the nest with the "southwest Florida eagle cam." 

Dick Pritchett Real Estate has provided the live video stream of the nest for four years, according to WFLA's report. 

A 5-year-old girl was killed and seven others were injured after an electrical fire sparked near a Christmas tree in a mobile home in San Diego’s North County early Thursday, officials confirmed.

Crews with the Escondido Fire Department (EFD) were dispatched to the home on West 15th Street just after midnight to find flames ripping through the residence and two children trapped inside.

A neighbor told NBC 7 he could hear the mother of the children screaming hysterically as the blaze consumed the home.

Two firefighters rushed into the mobile home through a window; they were able to find a 10-year-old boy trapped inside. They pulled the boy out and began performing CPR on him. The child was airlifted to the hospital in serious condition, officials said.

The other child trapped in the home – the 5-year-old girl – could not be saved and perished in the fire.

EFD Chief Russ Knowles said four other children were staying at the home, along with three adults. Some of those who survived the fire were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation but firefighters believe it was an electrical fire, possibly stemming from an extension cord leading to lights on a Christmas tree.

Knowles said the home is a complete loss. Investigators will remain at the scene Thursday cleaning up and collecting evidence. A chaplain will be helping the family cope with the tragedy, Knowles said.

Neighbor Miles Garbey told NBC 7 he went to school with the mother of the child who was killed in the fire. He said he feels for the family.

“It’s really sad; it hits home,” Garbey said.

No further details were released, including the name of the little girl killed in the fire. Check back for updates on this developing story.

A dispute between neighbors at an apartment complex in Clairemont led to some evacuations and heavy police activity in the area Thursday morning.

Just after 5 a.m., officers with the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) were called to a complex in the 6300 block of Beadnell Way to investigate reports of a heated argument among neighbors. One resident claimed the dispute ended with a neighbor firing shots, however when police scoured the area for evidence of a shooting, no victims or shell casings were immediately located.

Officers honed in on an apartment unit where one of the neighbors was believed to be holed up. They called for the person to come out, to no avail. Officers cordoned the complex and continued to try to make contact with the resident.

Two hours later, police remained at the scene and began evacuating some residents.

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. 

This year was particularly deadly for police officers in the United States, with 21 deadly ambush shootings marking the highest number in more than two decades, according to a law enforcement advocacy group that tracks fatal shootings of officers. 

Those shootings, including the five officers gunned down in Dallas in July, are a 163 percent increase from 2015, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund's annual fatalities report, released Thursday. Overall, 64 officers were fatally shot in the year, a more than 50 percent increase year over year.

Police shootings were a major issue in the U.S. in 2016, both when officers were targeted and when they shot suspects who appeared not to be a danger.

In fact, the ambush in downtown Dallas took place in the midst of a peaceful protest against officer-involved shootings across the nation, with gunman Micah Xavier Johnson leaving seven other officers wounded along with two civilians before police tracked him down and killed him.

Less than two weeks later, three officers were killed in an ambush in Baton Rouge.

"You'd have to go back almost to the 1970s to see a similar experience in American policing," where officers were regularly being targeted, NBC News analyst and former New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton told NBC.

President Barack Obama held a closed-door meeting with police, activist and civic leaders in the wake of the Dallas shooting to try and hash out a way to improve police-community relations, but emerged saying America is "not even close" to where it needs to be to resolve those issues.

Police shootings were a major issue in the presidential campaign as well, with eventual-President-elect Donald Trump touting himself as the "law and order candidate" and winning the endorsement of the national police union, the Fraternal Order of Police.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund report said there were 135 total officer fatalities in 2016, including automobile crashes and other causes, the most since 2011 but below the average for the decade between 2006 and 2015.

Texas had the most officer fatalities, at 17, followed by California, Louisiana and Georgia.

"As we begin the new year, let us all resolve to respect, honor, and remember those who have served us so well and sacrificed so much in the name of public safety," memorial fund President and CEO Craig W. Floyd said in a statement.

The organization inscribes the names of officers killed in the line of duty on a monument in Washington, D.C. There are nearly 21,000 names on it already.

Kate Hudson’s Fabletics brand, which sells activewear, has chosen San Diego as a location in which to open one of its 12 planned new retail stores in 2017.

Founded in 2013, El Segundo-based Fabletics opened 18 locations starting in the fall of 2015. Twelve additional stores, including one in San Diego, are scheduled to open next year.

Cities where stores are scheduled to open in the first half of the year are Frisco, Texas; Indianapolis, Ind.; Lexington, Ken.; Schaumburg, Ill.; Boulder, Colo.; and Portland, Oregon.

In the second half of the year, Fabletics plans to open stores in Scottsdale, Ariz.; Paramus, N.J.; and in California, Cerritos, San Jose, San Francisco and San Diego.

No information was immediately available about where in San Diego the Fabletics store will be located.

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On Tuesday, 55-year-old Sara Kelly Keenan received something in the mail she's been waiting for her entire life: an accurate birth certificate, NBC News reported. 

Keenan was born intersex, with male genes, female genitalia and mixed internal reproductive organs. In September, she made headlines when a judge allowed her to become the first California resident—and second U.S. citizen—to change her gender to "non-binary."

Now, Keenan, who uses female pronouns, is making history again. Hers is believed to be the first birth certificate ever issued in the United States that reads "intersex" in the gender field, instead of "male" or "female."

Keenan was unaware of her anatomy for most of her adult life, because her parents and doctors agreed to keep it secret when she was born in New York City. Now, the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has issued Keenan's new birth certificate.

Kids between 10 and 15 who spend as little as one hour a day chatting on social networks are overall less content, NBC News reported, citing a recent report by published by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics.

"Spending one hour a day chatting on social networks reduces the probability of being completely satisfied with life overall by approximately 14 percentage points," the authors concluded in "Social Media Use and Children's Wellbeing."

The research, which was conducted from 2010 through 2014 and surveyed British households, was partially an effort to "contribute to wider debates about the socioeconomic consequences of the internet and digital technologies."

The study cited some theories for why children's well-being might decrease, including cyberbullying, an increase in social comparisons and a decrease in real-life, face-to-face activities.

The deadly warehouse fire in Oakland, California, earlier this month has raised concerns about the safety of converted gallery spaces. In San Diego, one art gallery was recently inspected and forced to shut down.

Soon after the Oakland fire, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) says it received an anonymous tip of possible overcrowding at La Bodega Gallery in Barrio Logan.

A fire marshal was sent to inspect the building, which resulted in city officials requiring the owner of the gallery, Chris Zertuchi, to make major changes to the space – renovations that will cost between $50,000 and $60,000.

Zertuchi told NBC 7 he’s concerned his art venue has been unfairly targeted. La Bodega Gallery has been forced to close its doors until it can raise the money to pay for the changes.

“We’re looking at new doors, sprinkler system, new lighting and a fire exit toward the back,” he said. “They cracked down on three different venues -- ours, Bread and Salt and Glass House -- all walking distance from here.”

Zertuchi said three shows were scheduled to debut at his art gallery next month, but now those plans are on hold.

SDFD Fire Marshal Doug Perry said La Bodega Gallery was not unfairly targeted.

“The answer is absolutely no,” Perry told NBC 7. “The complaint was that it was overcrowded. We go to numerous complaints in the Gaslamp and Ocean Beach for overcrowding.”

Perry said the Oakland warehouse fire was a wake-up call to city officials everywhere to be more vigilant of code compliance issues. He has talked to his staff about being more vigilant, physically going into buildings to inspect safety conditions and to conduct follow-ups on reports from the public.

Perry said the city did not shut down La Bodega Gallery. Rather, in its current condition, the space can only legally hold 49 people.

“The one thing I noticed was there was only one door in front of the gallery, and when you only have one door, you can only have 49 people in a suite. So I was concerned,” he explained.

Zertuchi said their events are often much larger than that, which is why the venue can’t currently operate under those parameters.

A traffic alert was issued Thursday morning on northbound State Route 163 due to heavy police activity.

California Highway Patrol (CHP) officials said a SigAlert was in effect just before 10:30 a.m. At least one lane on SR-163 just south of the Laurel Street Bridge was blocked until further notice.

No other information was immediately available.

Get traffic updates here.

Sometimes they were cute and cuddly. Other times, they got themselves into situations we simply couldn’t believe. Either way, their tales had to be told. Here’s a look at San Diego’s most memorable animal stories of 2016.

Venomous Yellow-Bellied Sea Snake Washes Up on Coronado Beach
In January, following strong El Niño storms in San Diego, a 20-inch-long, venomous, yellow-bellied sea snake washed up on Coronado’s Dog Beach, near Naval Air Station North Island. The species, rarely seen in California, was distinct in appearance, with a black top half and bright yellow lower half. It was found by a citizen who brought the snake, which was barely alive, to the attention of lifeguards, who then placed it in a bucket. The snake did not survive; scientists believe it washed ashore due to the El Niño conditions.

Sea Lion Found Sleeping in Booth at Restaurant
Tiny sea lion, party of one. In February, The Marine Room restaurant in La Jolla got a visit from a very special, whiskered patron: a 20-pound sea lion pup who somehow got into the restaurant overnight and made his way into a cozy booth. Restaurant employees found the young sea lion the next morning curled up in the booth and sleeping. The Marine Room’s executive chef, Bernard Guillas, shared photos of the pup on Facebook and his post went viral. SeaWorld San Diego’s Rescue Team was called to the restaurant to remove the little sea lion. Experts said this case was one of many unusual sea lion rescues in Southern California at the beginning of 2016 in part due to El Niño weather conditions, which caused very high and low tides and stormy weather, prompting sea lions to seek high ground, warm places and food.

San Diego Safari Park Welcomes Largest Cheetah Litter
When the San Diego Zoo Safari Park released new video of the largest cheetah litter delivered at the park’s off-exhibit breeding center, our hearts swooned. The six adorable little cubs were born to mom Addison – a much larger litter than keepers ever expected.

'I Can't Believe This Dog is Alive': Owner Reunites With Pup Presumed Dead at Sea
Try not to cry on this one. In this true underdog tale, Luna – a puppy presumed dead for five weeks after falling off a fishing boat – was reunited with her owner, Nick Haworth, in San Diego after being rescued by the U.S. Navy. Luna fell off a fishing boat two miles off the coast of San Clemente, near Naval Auxiliary Landing Field San Clemente Island (SCI). More than a month after she disappeared, Navy staff spotted Luna on a road on SCI. Luna’s reunion with Haworth followed – with lots of tail-wagging, hugs and kisses.

Ball Python Discovered in San Diego Resident’s Bathtub
Yikes. In May, a woman in Golden Hill was getting ready to take a bath. As she drew the water and looked down, she came face-to-face with a snake in her drain. It was a ball python, which was successfully snaked from the drain by officers with the County of San Diego Department of Animal Services (DAS).

Caught on Camera: The Rescue of Mr. Ruffles
Poor Mr. Ruffles. In May, DAS officers had yet another interesting case of an animal stuck in a bathtub drain. This time, it was a pug mix named Mr. Ruffles who had gotten his paw stuck in the drain cover of his owner’s bathtub as he was hopping out of the bath. Animal specialists rushed to the aid of the pooch and performed a rescue that included sedating Mr. Ruffles and rotating his entire body at the same time as the drain cover. The rescue was captured on cellphone video and, after a while, Mr. Ruffles was finally free.

Elderly Orangutan Dies at San Diego Zoo
In a heartbreaking decision in June, the San Diego Zoo euthanized Janey, a beloved, 55-year-old Bornean orangutan. Janey, born in 1961, had been suffering from respiratory problems that led to a series of cardiac arrests. Ultimately, the zoo said the best thing for Janey was to let her go peacefully. Janey was the oldest living Bornean orangutan in the United States.

Officers Find Abandoned Puppies at Kit Carson Park
In June, three Escondido Police Department officers discovered three puppies, shivering and abandoned, at Kit Carson Park. A woman jogging through the park stumbled across the pups; they were barely bundled in a coat thrown on the grass. The woman went to call police and, when she returned, she found the three officers each holding one of the puppies.

Two Greater Flamingos Born at San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Over the summer, two greater flamingos were added to the flock at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. After these cute little chicks hatched in July, Safari Park officials said it brought the number of greater flamingos born through its breeding program to nearly 200.

Giant Panda Xiao Liwu Turns 4
Who doesn’t love a good panda birthday? Over the summer, the San Diego Zoo’s giant panda, Xiao Liwu, celebrated his special day with gifts and treats, including a birthday cake made of ice, fruits and vegetables. At the ripe age of four, keepers now refer to the panda as “Mr. Wu.” At the time of his birthday he was up to 160 pounds – about the same size as his father, Gao Gao, and was on the cusp of the age of sexual reproduction for giant pandas. Mr. Wu is the sixth cub born to mother Bai Yun

Kokomo the Gorilla Shows Off Newborn
In October, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s gorilla, Kokomo, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, estimated to weigh between 3.5 and 4.5 pounds. Just two days after the little one’s birth, the park shared sweet, tender photos of the doting mother and her baby. Keepers said Kokomo was constantly holding the newborn, keeping her as close as possible. The baby girl joined the Safari Park’s troop of eight other gorillas – one adult male, three adult females and three little gorillas ranging in age from two to eight.

President Obama ordered sanctions against Russian officials and intelligence services Thursday in response to election hacking.

"Today, I have ordered a number of actions in response to the Russian government’s aggressive harassment of U.S. officials and cyber operations aimed at the U.S. election," Obama said in a statement Thursday. "These actions follow repeated private and public warnings that we have issued to the Russian government, and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm U.S. interests in violation of established international norms of behavior."

A New York City Uber driver has been given a green light, and then some.

Noah Forman says he managed to hit about 240 green lights in a row earlier this month in Manhattan — and he’s captured video to prove it.

It's not the first time he's attempted the feat: he hit 186 greens back in 2015 when he was driving a yellow cab. Video of that journey shows him driving from Battery Park to Central Park and back down to the World Trade Center.

But in the early morning hours of Dec. 6, Forman hit the streets with the aim of shattering his previous record. 

During the nearly 30-minute trip, he zigzagged from Harlem down to Washington Square Park, then back up to 59th Street and down again to the Lower East Side, where he finally hit his first red light.

A friend edited Forman's uncut video down to four minutes and said the feat might just be a world record. 

Forman confirmed reports that he'd like to eventually double his number to around 500 green lights — and bring new meaning to "going green."

Two separate storm system coming through San Diego early this weekend will make for a wet and windy New Year's Eve across the County, NBC 7 Meteorologist Jodi Kodesh forecasts. 

The first storm system will come in from the South, Kodesh explained. The morning commute will be spared from significant rainfall, but from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday the chances for rain increase. 

“Tomorrow, expect showers, take your umbrella with you. If you don’t get anything the first part of the day, the second part of the day, afternoon and early evening, is a good opportunity for it," Kodesh said.

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The bulk of Friday's rain will fall during the day, Kodesh forecasted. 

Then, Saturday - New Year's Eve - a secondary storm system will sweep down through Southern California and San Diego, Kodesh forecasted. 

Expect widespread showers Saturday afternoon to evening as a strong initial band of showers crosses the County. A second band of scattered showers will bring rain to many parts of the County later that evening. 

With the rain will come strong winds, Kodesh forecasted. 

There is a chance that Saturday's rainfall will be heavy, due to the high amount of precipitable water in the region, Kodesh said. 

Since the rainy season started on Oct. 1, San Diego County has seen 3.71 inches of rain - almost an inch more of precipitation than we saw this same time last year, during an El Nino. 

So far, we are 0.79 inches of rainfall above our average for the rainy season. 

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The clock is ticking and the year is almost at a close.

It's time to glance back and take a look at some of the stories that captivated everyone, including us at NBC 7. 

Some stories were heartwarming, others heartbreaking. There was the Rio Olympics, a lot of politics, and maybe too much Pokémon Go.

But there were the fair share of stories that were outright strange, and mysterious.

So here is a list of the top 10 local odd stories that caught our attention.

Total of 32 Bomb Hoaxes Made to Naval Base San Diego and Navy Yard

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Since November 2015, up to 32 bomb threats were made to Naval Base San Diego and local shipbuilding facilities. All of the threats were false but each one prompted a heavy security response from authorities. Work was shut down in ship yards and thousands were evacuated as a precaution until the area was deemed safe. 

On Dec. 14, 2016, the U.S. Attorney's office announced arrests in two separate bomb hoax threats, the first in the series of hoax threats made to the naval facilities in San Diego.

After 16 Years, Mystery Patient in San Diego Has a Name

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A man who suffered severe brain damage after a crash near the U.S.-Mexico border lived by the name "Garage 66" for 16 years after the crash. He lived at the UC San Diego trauma center in Hillcrest.

In Feb, 2016, the Mexican Consulate in San Diego announced they had finally identified the man, although details of his identity were not released.

Mysterious Blue and Green 'Streak' Reported in the Sky

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Did you see it too?

The bright blue and green streak was seen by dozens of San Diegans across the county in the early morning on Feb. 11. Residents in Poway, Chula Vista, Ramona, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Santa Fe, Coronado and La Jolla reported sighting of the mysterious light. Experts said it could have been debris from a meteor or from an object in outer space. But the real identity of the streak is still unknown.

Dead Humpback Whale Washes Ashore on Silver Strand State Beach

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With the ocean right next to us, local beaches occasionally get the remains of sea life washing up on the shores. But the 23-foot carcass of a humpback whale calf that washed up onto Silver Strand State Beach on Mar. 9 surprised many visitors. The carcass was removed using a contracted hauler and taken to a landfill in Otay Mesa.

Authorities Seek 4 Suspects in Brutal Mission Beach Beating

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A University of San Diego student was knocked to the ground, beaten and kicked. The entire incident was caught in a surveillance video which appeared to show one of the suspects jumping up and stomping onto the victim's head, police said. 

Three men and one woman were believed to be involved in the incident. Police released images of the four suspects in May.

Two Men Fall Down Cliff in San Diego Playing Pokemon Go

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The Pokemon Go craze swept through the United States and the world after its July 6 release this year. The "augmented reality" game does warn players to be aware of their surroundings but there were several reported accidents. 

According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO), the men, ages 21 and 22 years old had climbed over the fence near a cliff in Encinitas to capture a popular character in the game.

San Diegans Confused Over Facebook Safety Check of Explosion

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Facebook usually allows users do a "safety check" during major natural disasters or crises, such as the Berlin and Paris terror attacks. But the feature turned on for an unknown explosion in San Diego, causing a lot of confusion for San Diegans on Aug. 10. Although there was an explosion at an apartment in City Heights, the safety check came around 24 hours later. 

It's still not clear why the feature turned on.

Creepy Clown Hysteria Sweeps Across the U.S.

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In October, there was a rash of "creepy clown" sightings across the country, including here in San Diego. Some local schools even banned clown costumes for Halloween in light of the hysteria. Authorities also issued advice for those who chose to wear the costume.

Dead Man Elected to Office in Oceanside

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Gary Ernst died on Sept. 23 but his name was still on the election ballot for the Oceanside City Treasurer race in November. He defeated opponent Nadine Scott by a six percent margin, officially winning the race. Scott spoke to NBC 7 after the election, claiming that Councilman Jerry Kern was the reason for her loss.

Body of Missing Navy Wife Found After Two Years

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Elizabeth Sullivan went missing in October, 2014. The Navy wife and mother of two was last seen at her home near Liberty Station, police said. There was a reported sighting of her just two days after her disappearance but no leads turned up clues to her whereabouts. On Dec. 7, 2016, police confirmed that Sullivan's body had been found in the water near Liberty Station earlier in October.  

President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his call for the U.S. to "move on" rather than retaliate against Russia for interfering in the 2016 election as the Obama administration imposed new sanctions against the Kremlin's intelligence services and their top officials.

"It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things," Trump said in a statement. "Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation."

The White House expelled 35 Russian intelligence diplomats from the U.S., and it imposed sanctions on nine Russian individuals and entities in retaliation for Russia's interference in the U.S. presidential election by hacking American political sites and email accounts.

Obama's move to punish the Russian government puts Trump in a tough position of having to decided whether or not to undermine retaliatory sanctions or abandon his calls for better relations with Moscow. U.S. officials acknowledged that Trump could use his executive authorities to reverse the sanctions.

Trump's refusal to accept the assessment of the intelligence community also appears to put him at odds with congressional leaders, who appear appear to be unified in the conclusion that Russia's government was responsible for hacking its way into tipping the election in favor of the GOP candidate.

Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham said the sanctions are a "small price" to pay for interfering with U.S. elections, adding that they'll lead efforts in Congress to impose stronger penalties.

But the president-elect has held firm to his skepticism of the intel apparatus he's about to inherit.

Trump has long had a cozy relationship with Putin, going out of his way to praise him during the campaign and resisting joining the chorus of criticism over Russia’s alleged involvement in the elections. He has said the idea that Russia tried to help him win was “ridiculous.”

“I think it’s just another excuse,” Trump said in December. “I don’t believe it. No, I don’t believe it at all.”

The president-elect has also belittled the intelligence agencies that he will assume command over on Jan. 20, insinuating in a tweet that they couldn't be trusted.

“These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction,” he said.

Trump said in July that he would consider lifting previously imposed sanctions against Russia, including those against Russian state banks and corporations following its 2014 invasion of Ukraine. While the U.S. has thus far refused to recognize the legitimacy of Russian referendums in Crimea, Trump has hinted in the past that he may be prepared to do so.

Two people were taken to a local hospital after three cars collided in San Diego's Rancho Santa Fe neighborhood, sending a sedan plummeting 15-feet down an embankment, Rancho Santa Fe Fire Department officials said. 

The crash happened on Thursday when firefighters responded to a call of a traffic collision on Del Dios Highway, near Camino de Estrella. 

When they arrived, they found three cars - two sedans and a minivan - had crashed. 

The impact sent one sedan flying off the road and down a 15-foot embankment, firefighters said. 

Two people were taken to Palomar Medical Center. One suffered major trauma and the other suffered mild trauma. 

Del Dios Highway was shut down in both directions as authorities worked on the rash. 

The cause of the crash is under investigation.