Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he wants to maintain contracts with private prisons because he's concerned about meeting the federal correctional system's "future needs." But he hasn't said what those needs might be, NBC News reported.

The answer may lie in the Trump administration's hardline approach to immigration enforcement.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons' 20-year relationship with privately run lockups hinges on the housing of immigrants. Almost all of the 21,405 people currently serving time in one of those low-security facilities have been designated as "criminal aliens" ─ non-citizens who will likely be deported after they serve their sentences, according to bureau statistics.

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Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Sunday denied any suggestion that Trump Tower communications were wiretapped before the election, NBC News reported.

"There was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time, as a candidate, or against his campaign," Clapper told Chuck Todd in an exclusive interview on Sunday's "Meet The Press."

When Todd asked him whether he could confirm or deny if a FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Act) order for this existed, Clapper declared, "I can deny it." 

A 19-year-old motorcyclist suffered serious injuries in a solo crash in San Marcos Saturday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO). 

The crash happened at approximately 11:51 p.m. on Borden Road, near the intersection of Fulton Road, when deputies from the San Marcos station responded to the report. 

A preliminary investigation revealed the man was heading westbound on Borden Road and, for an unknown reason, lost control of his motorcycle and collided with several objects, according to Sheriff's deputies. The location is several blocks north of State Route 78. 

When officials arrived, they found a 19-year-old man lying on the sidewalk, unresponsive, deputies said. He was taken to Palomar Hospital with serious injuries. 

Alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the crash.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information related to the collision can contact Deputy J. Perham with the San Marcos Station Traffic Division at (760) 510-5210. Call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 with information and you will remain anonymous. You may be eligible for up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to a felony arrest.

Local jurisdictions must still iron out the rules and regulations for the growth, distribution and delivery of marijuana in California.

Zach Lazarus , the COO of the Green Alternative in San Diego, which sells medical marijuana, plans to get in to the recreational pot business too.

He said they want to “give back to the tax bases of the community and serve the underserved.”

On Politically Speaking, he said he is waiting for local governments to come up with the parameters within which they can operate.

At the same time, cities like Poway passed an emergency ordinance banning the sale of marijuana.

“Poway is a little bit different, always has been, always will be," said Poway Mayor Steve Vaus. "We take a pretty conservative approach to everything we do.”

On NBC 7's Politically Speaking, the two had an informative discussion about what happens next in the California pot industry.

The San Diego Repertory Theatre (San Diego REP) has announced its upcoming 2017-2018 season, which features a wide variety of productions, from a hit Broadway musical to a world premiere production to a Tony-nominated comedy. 

The six productions, to play at the Lyceum Stage and Lyceum Space Theatres, will span from August 2017 to April 2018. 

"San Diego REP at the Lyceum welcomes all of the diverse people of San Diego to a safe and open conversation about who we are and what we hold dear," said Artistic Director Sam Woodhouse in a statement.

"Season 42 at The REP is a bold collection of six provocative entertainments featuring characters taking giant steps towards respect, understanding, trust, forgiveness, acceptance, community, partnership and freedom," Woodhouse added in the statement. "And always towards lots and lots of love."

The season opens with "Evita", a hit Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Artistic director Sam Woodhouse will direct. The show will open on Aug. 3 and run to Aug. 27. 

New drama "Roz & Ray" will follow on Sept. 7 to Oct. 1. The play, written by Karen Hartman and directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, follows Ray, a single parent with one goal - to keep his twin hemophiliac songs alive. 

Later that month, the Tony Award-winning comedy "Hand to God", by Robert Askins, will open and run until Nov. 12.

"Black Pearl Sings!" opens on Nov. 22 and runs till mid December next. The soulful play set to music is written by Frank Higgins and directed by Thomas W. Jones II.

In 2018, "Vietgone" will open. The play is written by Qui Nguyen and runs until Feb. 18. 

The season will close out with "Beachtown", a world premiere play by Herbet Singuenza and Rachel Grossman. The play will be directed by Woodhouse. 

To renew or purchase a season subscription, call the box office at (619) 544-1000 (Monday to Sunday, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.).

For more information, click here.

FBI Director James Comey asked Justice Department officials to publicly reject President Donald Trump's claims that former President Barack Obama ordered the wiretapping of Trump Tower, the New York Times reported Sunday. A senior U.S. official confirmed the newspaper's reporting to NBC News.

The Times reported that Comey requested that the Department of Justice publicly rebut the president's allegations — which he posted on Twitter without evidence — because the claims are untrue and suggest the FBI broke the law. Comey's appeal pits him against the president.

Despite the president's assertions, NBC News has found no evidence that would support his claims and it has been flatly dismissed by the past administration.

Here’s a look at what is going on in San Diego sports for the week of March 6^th-12^th.

PADRES: Monday the Padres play the White Sox, the Mexico World Baseball Classic squad Tuesday, Brewers Thursday, Angels Friday, Brewers again Saturday and Indians Sunday in Peoria.

GULLS: The Gulls host San Jose Wednesday and Tucson Friday. Puck drops at 7 p.m. both nights and Friday is Mighty Ducks Night with $2 Bud Light and a hat giveaway. Sunday the Gulls are in San Jose.

SOCKERS: The Sockers host either the Tacoma Stars or Ontario Fury March 12^th in the First Round Divisional Match. The 2^nd Annual Celebrity Game takes place during halftime at the Valley View Casino Center.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO TRITONS:

-SWIMMING & DIVING: Wednesday-Saturday at the NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Alabama.

-WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Thursday-Sunday NCAA West Regional TBD.

-MEN’S BASKETBALL: Thursday-Sunday NCAA West Regional TBD.

-SOFTBALL: Friday at Cal State East Bay 12 and 2 p.m. and Saturday vs. Cal State East Bay 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

-WOMEN’S TENNIS: Friday vs. Emory 2 p.m. and Sunday vs. Sonoma State 12 p.m. both at UCSD.

-MEN’S VOLLEYBALL: Friday at Ohio State 4 p.m. and Saturday vs. Ball State 1 p.m. both in Columbus, Ohio.

-WOMEN’S WATER POLO: Friday vs. CSUN 6 p.m., Saturday vs. Bucknell 8 a.m. and Sunday vs. Indiana Hoosiers 8 a.m. in the Aztec Invitational.

-TRACK & FIELD: Saturday at the San Diego Collegiate Challenge at UCSD.

-WOMEN’S ROWING: Saturday at the Sacramento State Invite 7 a.m.

-FENCING: Saturday at the NCAA West Regionals 9 a.m. in Stanford.

-MEN’S TENNIS: Saturday vs. Conordia 12 p.m. and Sunday vs. Bucknell 9 a.m. both at UCSD.

-BASEBALL: Saturday vs. Cal State Monterey Bay 1p.m. and 4:30 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m.

POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY SEA LIONS:

-BASEBALL: Monday vs. Hawaii Pacific 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Friday at Holy Names 5 p.m. and Saturday at Holy Names 12 p.m.

-WOMEN’S TENNIS: Thursday at Academy of Art 10 a.m., Friday at Sonoma State 10 a.m. and Saturday at Dominican 11 a.m.

-MEN’S TENNIS: Thursday at UC Santa Cruz 1 p.m. and Friday at Sonoma State 2 p.m.

-WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Thursday-Saturday at the NCAA West Regional.

MEN’S BASKETBALL Friday and Saturday at the NCAA West Regional.

-TRACK: Saturday at the San Diego Collegiate Challenge 9 a.m. at UCSD.

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO TOREROS:

-WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Monday and Tuesday vs. TBD in Las Vegas.

-MEN’S BASKETBALL: Monday and Tuesday vs. TBD in Las Vegas.

-BASEBALL: Tuesday at LSU 4:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday at Tulane 4:30 p.m., Saturday 2 p.m. at Tulane and Sunday 11 a.m. at Tulane.

-SOFTBALL: Wednesday vs. Detroit Mercy 1 p.m., Friday vs. George Washington 11:15 a.m. and Sacred Heart 3:45 p.m. in Santa Barbara and Saturday vs. UC Santa Barbara 9 a.m. in Santa Barbra.

-WOMEN’S TENNIS: Thursday at UC Santa Barbara 10 a.m. and Saturday at Long Beach State 11 a.m.

-MEN’S TENNIS: Thursday at Washington 4 p.m.

-WOMEN’S TRACK: Saturday at the Oxy Distance Carnival in Los Angeles all day.

-MEN’S CREW: Sunday at the Newport Regatta all day in Newport Beach.

SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY AZTECS:

-WOMEN’S SWIMMING: Monday-Wednesday at the Zone E Diving Championships in Flagstaff, Arizona.

-WOMEN’S GOLF: Monday and Tuesday at the Meadow Club Intercollegiate in Fairfax.

-MEN’S GOLF: Monday and Tuesday at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas.

-BASEBALL: Tuesday vs. USC 6 p.m., Friday at Nevada 1 p.m., Saturday at Nevada 1 p.m. and Sunday at Nevada 12:00 p.m.

-SOFTBALL: Tuesday vs. Detroit Mercy 6 p.m., Thursday at Cal State Fullerton 6 p.m., Friday vs. Boston University 11:30 a.m. and Harvard 2 p.m. in Fullerton and Sunday vs. Eastern Michigan 10 a.m. and Longwood 12:30 p.m. in Fullerton.

-WOMEN’S TENNIS: Friday vs. Sacramento State 2 p.m. at the Aztec Tennis Center.

-WOMEN’S LACROSSE: Friday vs. Saint Josephs 7 p.m. at the Aztec Lacrosse Field.

-WOMEN’S TRACK: Friday and Saturday at the NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas.

-WOMEN’S ROWING: Saturday at UCLA with Stanford 8 a.m. in Marina del Rey.

-MEN’S TENNIS: Saturday vs. Memphis 1 p.m. in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

-WOMEN’S WATER POLO: Saturday vs. San Jose State 2:15 p.m. and Chapman 4:45 p.m. and Sunday vs. Indiana 1 p.m. and Bucknell 6 p.m. all at the Aztec Aquaplex.

A resident at an independent living facility were injured Sunday morning after getting into an argument with another resident over money and food, San Diego police say.

The victim, a 56-year-old man, turned his back and was struck in the back of the head with a rock. the 59-year-old suspect then armed himself with a knife when the victim picked up the rock to retaliate, stabbing the victim in the arm. He suffered a one-inch cut to the left forearm.

The suspect fled, but is known to the victim.

The incident happened around 9:16 a.m. in the 4100 block of Jamul Avenue.

Southeastern Division detectives will handle the investigation.

A local baker and previous winner of Food Network's Cake Wars will take on other previous winners of the show in an all-star episode airing Monday night. 

Escondido baker Linda Caro, owner of Little Hunnys Cakery, battled it out against three other bakers on the Cake Wars Champs episode. 

Caro previously appeared on Cake Wars last fall with her assistant, Alicia Becerra. Together, the pair won the grand prize with a Powerpuff Girls-themed cake. 

In the first round, dubbed "Batter Up", the baker gets 75 minutes to make a cake which includes one of the challenge flavors picked by the judges. 

"The first round is the fastest you've ever made a cake in your life," Caro said. "It's only two people. The baker and their assistant. We were basically rushing the whole time, down to the last second."

Caro said if you make it past the first round, the second is even more challenging. 

Contestants are asked to make a tasting cake for the judges. It has to be at least three feet tall and tell a story. 

"There are so many things the judges are looking for: great tasting cake, properly baked, and great tasting fillings," Caro said. "For the design, they are looking for clean fondant work, a cake that tells a story and good execution."

The episode will air Monday, March 6 at 9/8c on Food Network. 

Lifeguards rescued four people from a sailboat that ran onto a reef at San Diego's Sunset Cliffs on Sunday, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD).

Officials first received two 911 calls from people on shore near Ladera Street Park at Sunset Cliffs around 11:17 a.m., saying they saw a sailboat that appeared to be too close to shore. 

The sailboat, about 35 to 40 feet, had gotten stuck on a reef, according to San Diego Lifeguards, however, lifeguards were unable to remove the boat from the reef. 

Lifeguards used a surf boat, rescue water craft and fire boat to rescue four people on board. 

No one was injured. 

No other information was available.

If you feel like it's been an unusually wet few months this year, you're right.

Now that the month of February is in the books, NBC7 Meteorologist Jodi Kodesh said, San Diego is well above its average rainfall for the rain season, which starts October 1.

San Diego hasn't had an ongoing rainfall average this impressive in over a decade.

Kodesh said that San Diego measured 11.62 inches of rain from October 1 through the last day of February. Normal rainfall for that time period is 7.36 inches, meaning San Diego is 4.26 inches above average.

This is good news for California and San Diego, according to Jeff Stephenson, the Principal Water Resources Specialist for the San Diego County Water Authority.

“The state can be in a drought condition, but we really aren’t in a drought condition,” Stephenson said.

One of the reasons the San Diego County Water Authority has declared the San Diego region out of the drought is because San Diego has diversified its water supplies.

“We have the desalination plant, recycled water, and imported water from the Colorado River and some from Northern California,” he said.

According to Stephenson, most of San Diego County’s 24 reservoirs are about half full right now. Three of them are close to capacity, and the rest are typically used for imported water.

Despite the record-breaking rainfall, he said it’s still important to conserve.

In an effort to tighten security and to standardize security procedures, the TSA has announced a new “comprehensive” pat-down for passengers.

Chris Petersen, who travels about twice a month, says he’s not surprised or taken aback by the new regulations.

“It's a different world today,” he tells NBC 7. “I just want to get to where I'm going.”

Officers previously had several pat-down options for travelers who set off the metal detector, but the new, more complete pat-down will leave TSA employees with only one choice.

Aviation expert Jeff Price explains the new rules may help streamline the process.

“From an operations perspective, it's a little bit easier because everybody just has to learn one procedure, one technique,” Price says.

A 2015 homeland security study found that TSA officers failed to detect smuggled weapons in 67 out of 70 attempts: a failure rate of 95 percent.

The TSA tells NBC 7 the pat down will focus on the same areas of the body involved in previous checks, and will be for people who set off the metal detector and opt out of technology screening.

“You're 40 thousand feet up in the air, you don't want people bringing in things they shouldn't,” traveler Michelle Scherber says. She thinks more passengers probably reacted negatively to the rollout of the full body scanner x-ray machines. “I think that when they initialized the x ray thing, I think more people probably reacted to that.”

Republicans will introduce their much-awaited bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act this week, a senior House Republican aide told NBC News.

"We are now at the culmination of a years-long process to keep our promise to the American people," Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan's spokeswoman, AshLee Strong, told NBC News.

A draft bill obtained by NBC News two weeks ago indicated that Republicans intend to roll back much of President Barack Obama's signature achievement, replacing it with tax credits and state grants.

The senior House aide said there was a large staff meeting at the White House on Friday to resolve a few outstanding issues, while heath care committees in Congress worked over the weekend to incorporate technical guidance.

Nearly 200 people gathered in Imperial Beach Sunday to put pen to paper and demand congressional action on pollution at the area’s beaches.

143 million gallons of sewage spilled into the Tijuana River last month, making the river and parts of the coast unsafe.

The mayor of Imperial Beach says the City wasn’t notified until weeks after the spill. He has dubbed the situation a “tsunami of sewage.”

Organizer Molly Goforth has lived in Imperial Beach for five years.

“We live close to Helicopter Bay so we ride by the estuary on our bikes down to the pier to enjoy the day and the stench was so bad in the estuary, I looked at my husband and said we have to just make a stand,” Goforth tells NBC 7.

There was a town hall last week with the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC). A representative from Mexico was there too.

The IBWC has agreed to carry out a binational investigation into how this spill happened and the breakdown in communication.

“Anger works, but you really need constructive...really doing things,” Mark West of the Imperial Beach Council says. “And the way you're doing things and making things happen is by writing your federal officials.”

Goforth says next week they plan to get more letters from students at local schools.

President Donald Trump on Monday is expected to sign a revised version of his executive order that restricted travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, two senior White House officials told NBC News.

Trump first signed his immigration executive order on Jan. 27, restricting travel from Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Libya and Iraq. The new order would revoke and replace the previous one and remove Iraq from the list, as the country is a key part in America's fight against ISIS.

Various White House officials and even the president have been promising a new order since Feb. 6, when a federal judge in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order on the initial plan. However, a month later, a revised version has yet to be presented.

The new order would also put a temporary halt on all refugees seeking entrance into the U.S. The first order only halted entrance for Syrian refugees. 

Commander Willis E. (Bill) Hardy doesn’t see himself as a hero. Dozens of people who showed up at McP’s in Coronado to get an autograph, a photo and shake the hand of the 97-year-old World War II vet might disagree.

The Naval aviator shot down five kamikaze pilots on April 6, 1945 making him an “ace in a day.”

“I don’t think a hero has anything to do [with it],” he replied when asked applied people referring to him that way. “It’s just a day’s work when you’re doing it every day. There’s no ‘hero’ to it.”

Despite his modesty, Hardy remembers that April day with perfect clarity.

“They briefed us in the morning before we left the carrier that a thousand kamikazes were going to come down that day. 400 of the suicide pilots came down in groups from the main land to Okinawa,” he told NBC 7. “And so we got down low and flew up behind them and I told my wing man don’t fire till I fire cause we don’t want to get in a tussle so we pulled up underneath them and right behind them gave [the trigger] a squeeze, both their landing gear went down.”

Commander Hardy said shooting down the planes was the easy part.

“Shooting down the five was a piece of cake, but finding the way back to your carrier, which is 150 miles away when you only have 50 gallons of gas left,” he explained, “that was the hard part.”

He said what his misses the most about his time in the Navy was the challenge.

“I just miss the challenge,” he said. “It was a challenge every day to shoot the other guy and not get shot yourself, so I spent four and a half months in combat never got a hole in my airplane because I saw them fist and got them and they never got me.

Hardy also took part in two Tokyo strikes, the Iwo Jima invasion and the Okinawa campaign.

While in Okinawa Hardy was stationed on the USS Hornet.

The event was organized by the "The World War II History Project" group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the personal stories of WWII veterans.

Guests in two rooms were evacuated from the Bay Inn and Suites Motel in Midway after a driver crashed into the side of the building Sunday evening, according to San Diego police.

The suspect, in his 20s, was leaving a nearby strip club when he slammed into an SUV in the parking lot before hitting the back of the motel's parking garage.

His was arrested for suspected DUI and a hit and run. Speed was a factor in the crash, police say.

The driver took out a support beam when he crashed, compromising the structural integrity of the building. He fled but officers arrested him soon after.

The motel is located at Midway Drive and Wing Street. The crash happened around 9:30 p.m.

Hundreds of Marines are under investigation for allegedly posting nude pictures of nearly two dozen women on a private group Facebook Page called Marines United.

According to The War Horse, a nonprofit organization run by a Marine Veteran, the women were identified in the photographs that drew 2,500 mostly graphic comments.

Loretta Gabaldon is a Marine Veteran who was stationed in San Diego. She says it is appalling if proven true.

“I think it undermines all of us female veterans who have fought struggled and worked perilously to prove that we belong in the Marine Corps,” Gabaldon says.

The postings began following the assignment of two female Marines in early January to a Marine Infantry Unit at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. 

Gabaldon says she served with many leaders who exemplified the Corp's values of Honor, Courage and Commitment, and this behavior is not consistent with the standards of the Corps.

“It contradicts all of the core values that every Marine lives by,” she tells NBC 7.

NBC 7 contacted San Diego County Marine bases and NCIS and swift response came from the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

While General Robert Neller could not comment specifically on an ongoing investigation, he did say in part in a statement: "I expect every Marine to demonstrate the highest integrity and loyalty to fellow Marines at all times, on duty, off-duty, and online. I expect Marines to give their all to be the best human beings, teammates and Marines possible."

Gabaldon says she wants those responsible to pay the consequences.

“I just hope that the Marine Corps or the DoD actually takes action towards these individuals and makes an example of them so that this behavior does not continue,” she says.

Victims can go to Military OneSource or call 1-800-342-9647 to get help or for more information.

General motors has made a deal to sell two loss-making cars to French manufacturer PSA Group, the companies announced Monday, NBC News reported.

The deal, which gives German-based Opel and British-based Vauxhall to PSA Group, was valued at $2.3 billion. PSA Group promised to turn the two brands around to profit.

According to the Associated Press, the deal is expected to hand over 12 manufacturing facilities employing 40,000 people.

PSA Group, with the acquisition of Opel, becomes Europe's second-ranked carmaker by sales, while GM becomes a challenge to market-leader Volkswagen.

Joseph Kony's army of child soldiers robbed central Africa of a generation, and the self-proclaimed Christian prophet has been accused of murder, rape, kidnapping and torture by the International Criminal Court.

NBC News reports that the United States considers Kony a "specially designated global terrorist," and it's the Green Berets' mission to "apprehend or remove" the notorious warlord, the subject of the viral "Kony2012" videos, from the battlefield, with his top commanders.

They operate in an area of central Africa the size of California, and the physically, mentally and tactically demanding patrols can last days. The list of dangers is long, even without the possibility of encountering armed fighters.

But the mission may soon end. The Trump administration is shifting its focus to counterterrorism, and the Green Berets could be pulled from the search for Kony as early as this month, with the warlord still at large.