Power returned to tens of thousands of customers early Tuesday after morning outages that spread across the South Bay and led to a spectacular flare-up at a refinery.

About 102,000 customers were without power early Tuesday in Los Angeles County. That number included more than 38,000 customers in Redondo Beach and nearly 19,000 customers in Hawthorne.

The outages also affected the Torrance Refinery, which produced a large flare that sent a towering column of smoke over the area. The flare is part of safety procedure at the plant, located about 25 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

Other communities without power included Gardena, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Torrance.

SoCal Edision said power was restored at about 8 a.m. Details about what caused the outages were not immediately available.

The city of Torrance issued an emergency alert, asking residents to stay indoors due to the refinery flaring, part of a burnoff safety procedure.

"When the power grid goes down, the refinery goes down," said Sgt. Paul Kranke, of the Torrance Police Department. "When it loses power, it flares. That burns out product in the line."

The refinery was shut down for about 20 minutes.

The shelter in place order was lifted later Tuesday morning, but authorities continued to monitor air quality. An unplanned flare event notification from the refinery is required by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The flaring is expected to continue for the "next few days," according to the city of Torrance.

"We have to figure out why this is occuring," said Mayor Patrick Furey. "This is the third time in the last several months, and it's very concerning to us."

The Torrance Refinery, formerly the Exxon refinery, was purchased by PBF Energy in July 2016. The plant employs more than 600 people and covers about 750 acres.

The refinery can process about 155,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 1.8 billion gallons of gasoline per year. 

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The San Diego County Registrar of Voters is sending a record-breaking number of mail-in ballots Tuesday.

The 960,000 ballots being mailed to more than 60 percent of voters in San Diego County represents the highest number of mail-in ballots ever sent by the registrar, staffers tell NBC 7 San Diego.

There are a lot of reasons why people are choosing to vote this way. For one, people can take their time and vote in their own home.

And this year, that may be necessary as there are over 180 decisions to make on this year’s ballot.

Four years ago, in the last presidential election, there was a 77 percent voter turnout.

The registrar wants to remind voters that mailing in ballots early allows the county to release the results right after polls close on November 8.

It's still not too late to register to vote and get your mail in ballot.

Hillary Clinton aide Brian Fallon was in touch with the Department of Justice during litigation involving Clinton emails to be released to the public, according to emails released by WikiLeaks purportedly from her campaign chairman John Podesta's Gmail account.

"DOJ folks inform me there is a status hearing in this case this morning," Fallon emailed a group of staffers in May 2015, NBC News reported.

It is unclear how much contact Fallon had with Justice Department officials. The hearing he refers to was a public court hearing, the details of which are publicly available through the court.

The email, released Tuesday, renews allegations from Republicans that the Department of Justice investigation was inappropriate and unusually cozy with the subject of the investigation: Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state.

Clinton's opponent, Republican Donald Trump, retweeted a copy of the email on Tuesday.

Two dogs rescued from Thailand’s dog meat market have come to a local shelter to find forever homes.

Cinderella and Leanne, two of 750 dogs rescued by the Soi Dog Foundation in Buriram, Thailand, were brought to the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe.

The dogs, both female “Thai cross breeds”, are currently undergoing treatment at the Woodward Center. The Center says they are in need of special long-term foster homes to help with socialization and to provide a safe place to stay while they recover and get continued treatment.

“Leanne is waiting for knee surgery now,” Center veterinarian Dr. Oba said. “It’s too soon to tell how much recovery time she will need, but both dogs are in good hands with us and we will make sure they get everything they need to live happy, healthy lives.”

The Soi Dog Foundation, created in 2003, is dedicated to serving homeless, neglected and abused dogs of Asia, but expanded its focus to include dogs victimized by the “Trade of Shame” in 2011. Now the foundation works together with the governments of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to enforce and strengthen legislation related to the trade.

In Thailand, the foundation employs undercover agents to find smugglers, butchers and tanneries within the country.

Most of the 750 dogs rescued from the trade are currently being sheltered in Thailand, but with no government budget dedicated to the care of rescued animals, many are suffering in livestock shelters.

Last year, supporters of Soi Dogs Foundation built a complex of shelters on government-owned land in Buriram to temporarily house the animals, but the Woodward Center says more help is needed.

The center is currently working with the Soi Foundation and the Home 4 the Holidays campaign’s network of 4,000 animal welfare organizations in hopes of receiving assistance in providing the dogs with medical care, foster care and eventual permanent placement.

For more information on Cinderella and Leanne, visit the Helen Woodward Center’s website.

A 91-year-old woman became emotional when San Diego Sheriff's officials (SDSO) helped her recover her stolen purse, crying and hugging the deputies on scene.

The incident happened at approximately 4:14 p.m. Monday when deputies responded to a robbery call where the suspect allegedly forcibly snatched a purse from an elderly victim. The robbery happened on the 9600 block of Mission Gorge Road in Santee. 

The victim gave deputies a precise description of the suspect, his car and where she saw him escape, deputies said. 

Deputies from the Santee and Lakeside substations, as well as the K-9 Unit and the Sheriff's helicopter, ASTREA, were able to find the suspect in his car on the 8500 block of N. Magnolia Avenue in Santee. 

James Farquar, 29, was arrested for robbery, elder abuse and possession of narcotics, Sheriff's officials said. He was booked into the San Diego Central Jail. 

Deputies also recovered the stolen purse and cash. 

When they went to return it to her, the victim became so emotional she cried as she hugged all the deputies on scene. 

No other information was immediately available.

Speeding was one of the top mistakes made by teen drivers in fatal crashes across the county in the past five years, according to an AAA report.

The report, released on Wednesday, states that teen drivers were involved in approximately 14,000 fatal crashes in the last five years—out of which 4,200 involved speeding.

“Nearly two-thirds of people injured or killed in a crash involving a teen driver are people other than the teen,” said Bill Van Tassel, AAA’s manager of Driver Training Operations.

According to the report, 65 percent of driving instructors responded in a survey that parents are not preparing their kids to be good drivers, compared to 10 years ago. Instructors said teens also picked up certain behaviors from their parents, such as using their cell phones while driving or speeding 15 mph more than the posted limit.

“Most teens are learning important driving skills from watching their parents and they are picking up bad behaviors along with the good ones. So it’s up to today’s parents to set a good example. It may end up saving their children’s lives,” said Jennifer Ryan, Director of State Relations for AAA.

Approximately 77 percent of drivers between the ages of 35 to 55 stated in a recent survey that they talked on the phone while driving. The survey, taken by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, also showed that 68 percent of teen drivers said they were distracted with their phones while driving.

AAA advised parents to set a good example and speak to their teens about the dangers of speeding and distracted driving. The organization also reccommended teaching teens how to drive under various conditions and setting rules to follow while on the road.

Teens should also be enrolled in qualified driver education programs, for which you can find more information here.  

A nationwide search has been launched for a stolen van that's been modified for a quadriplegic driver.

Mark Kern told NBC 7 whoever stole his van over the weekend in Oceanside stole much more than a vehicle, but his freedom.

Kern is a quadriplegic. A car accident left him mostly paralyzed when he was 19-years old. He has some movement in his arms, just enough to allow him to drive.

Police confirm they are investigating the theft of Kern’s 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan from his home in the 3600 block of Vista Campana in Oceanside. The van had been retrofitted for him.

He says it took him 10 years to pay it off and contains thousands of dollars-worth of medical equipment.

“This [thief] had to think about this. It wasn’t just an crime of opportunity I don’t think,” said Kern.

He said there were two other incidents. Around Christmas, he says someone broke into his van and stole some pocket change. Then around May, he accidentally left his key in the ignition, but then someone tried to start the car and broke the key, leaving part of it stuck.

Police said Tuesday there is no information on a suspect and they have forwarded the case to detectives.

Hurricane Matthew-bloated rivers in North Carolina will continue to rise this week, threatening to flood parts of the state, NBC News reported. 

"Record flooding is slowly moving down river on Nuese and Tar rivers," NBC meteorologist Bill Karins said. "Crests will occur in the next two days, but even then it will be well into the weekend before these rivers show significant water level drops."

In Greenville, authorities had ordered evacuations for about one-tenth of its 90,000 people. The Tar was expected crest later in the day and officials warned it would overwhelm every bridge in the county, The Associated Press reported.\

Matthew's death toll in the U.S. has climbed to 38, half of them in North Carolina.

A candidate for New York State Senate has sparked a firestorm in Harlem after telling NBC 4 New York's I-Team he was planning to hand out “Kool Aid, KFC and watermelons” at a campaign event in the primarily black community.

Jon Girodes, the Republican candidate for New York’s 30th District, used the racially stereotypical food reference in an email to the I-Team during an exchange about a disputed real estate deal.

The incumbent, who headlined his campaign website with an image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said there was nothing offensive about his planned event.

“What I think is anyone who gives free food to people is doing them a favor,” Girodes told the I-Team. “Get a bunch of people who say it’s offensive and let me go into their neighborhood and give it out for free and see if they take it.”

For many, this presidential election has taken an ugly, dark and virtually unprecedented turn, making the news a PG-13 minefield of lewdness that recalls the coverage of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, NBC News reported.

The tenor of it all is putting millions of parents and teachers in a tough situation — balancing just how much to let their children see and hear while also teaching them about civics and the world around them.

"Parents are at a loss. They don't know how to respond to their kids" said Denise Daniels, a psychologist and child development expert.

For many, that tension came to a head with the release Friday of a recording of Donald Trump bragging about groping women in graphic ways. Some parents said they were dreading the conversation they would have to have when their kids heard the tape, while others lamented that their child had learned the slang term for female genitalia from a presidential candidate.

A gas main break at the UC San Diego School of Medicine prompted the brief evacuation of two buildings, according to a UCSD spokeswoman.

The break was caused by construction on the south side of Stein Clinical Research Building Tuesday afternoon, according to the alert. 

The gas leak was quickly isolated and the gas flow turned off, said UCSD spokeswoman Laura Margoni. 

The Stein Clinical Research and Medical Genetics buildings were evacuated. 

UCSD officials said everyone should be let back into the buildings by 3:05 p.m.

No other information was immediately available.

President Barack Obama was interrupted during a rally for Hillary Clinton by hecklers alleging that Bill Clinton is a rapist, NBC News reported.

Pro-Donald Trump radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones offered cash rewards to anyone who carried out the stunt, $1000 for wearing a “Bill Clinton is a rapist” t-shirt on television or $5000 for being heard yelling the slogan, while wearing the t-shirt.

Jones, the founder of the Infowars website, has also said on his radio show that Obama and Hillary Clinton are demons who smell like sulfur. A Clinton campaign spokesperson said that the interruptions on Tuesday were organized by Jones and Infowars.

Obama seemed unfazed by the hecklers and joked, “these folks are auditioning for a reality show,” as they were escorted out of the rally.

Natural and organic foods grocer Lazy Acres Natural Market plans an Oct. 15 public opening for its new store in Encinitas, which will be its first in San Diego County.

The grocery chain was founded in 1991 in Santa Barbara and is owned by Carson-based Good Food Holdings, parent of Bristol Farms. A company statement said the Encinitas store, at 150 Encinitas Blvd., will have a ceremonial ribbon-cutting on Oct. 12, with local business and government leaders.

The Encinitas store will sell items including organic produce and wellness products, vegan and gluten-free offerings. It will have a fresh-prepared foods section and a Pannikin Coffee stand. 

Good Food Holdings also operates West Coast stores under the names Bristol Farms and Metropolitan Market. There are currently two Lazy Acres stores in operation, in Santa Barbara and Long Beach.

Lazy Acres’ brokers at Retail Insite confirmed in July that the grocer would occupy the space in Encinitas that formerly housed tenants including Smart & Final.

Lazy Acres also recently leased a space for an upcoming store on Washington Street, in San Diego’s Mission Hills neighborhood. That space formerly housed Haggen Inc.

A Chula Vista man was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on Tuesday morning for evading more than $150,000 in income tax, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Raul Casillas, 55, admitted that he did not pay his income tax from 2008 to 2010 even though he was aware that he was required to file a federal income tax return with the IRS.

According to his plea agreement, Casillas admitted that he evaded taxes by using cash in business transactions and depositing money into bank accounts opened under his wife’s name, along with those under entities he controlled.

Casillas was previously arrested in 2009 and convicted of felony elder abuse and contracting without a license. He had posed as a licensed contractor and scammed elderly customers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars according to prosecutors. 

“Tax evasion results in an increasing burden on honest taxpayers who pay their fair share of income tax. Today’s sentence sends a message to the public that if you attempt to evade tax by hiding or disguising your income, the government will prosecute you and the punishment could be severe,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy.

Casillas was ordered to pay more than $187,000 in restitution.

Donald Trump is suggesting Washington politicians in both parties collude to keep themselves out of legal trouble.

Trump at a rally Wednesday in battleground Florida criticized the Department of Justice's refusal to recommend charges against Hillary Clinton for blending personal and official business on a homebrew email server. He's suggesting that both Democrats and Republicans in Congress went along with it.

"Did they make a deal where everybody protects each other in Washington?" Trump asked the crowd in Ocala.

The Republican nominee went on to call the probe "one of the great miscarriages of justice" in United States history.

Trump, increasingly isolated after the revelation of a vulgar 2005 video, has been lashing out at both parties in recent days, targeting both Clinton and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said he would no longer campaign for the Republican presidential nominee.

If you want to protect yourself and your family from the flu this year, you'll have to get the flu shot instead of the nasal spray, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials are not recommending the nasal spray given a lack of effectiveness of the last three years. Doctor's at Rady Children's Hospital said Tuesday that, while most children would rather get the spray over the injection, it's simply not the best line of defense against the flu.

The CDC said it remains unclear why the nasal vaccine has continuously underperformed. Last year, roughly 20 million people received the nasal spray, about one-third of those being children, officials said.

Officials also say some patients will be able to get the flu shot using a needle that is 90 percent smaller and thinner than the typical needle.

The flu shot is recommended for anyone 6 months and older, but is especially important for infants and adults over the age of 65.

Rady Children's Hospital is offering free flu shots to its patients. On Tuesday, 12-year-old Piper got her flu shot and put to rest any worries other children may have about getting the injection.

"The shot I just did, did not hurt at all. Seriously, I was really expecting my arm to be sore all day, for it to be really painful. I was afraid I was going to cry in here -- but it was actually way less than I thought," said Piper. "Definitely worth it because I don't want to get the flu."

A woman was injured in a skydiving accident Tuesday night in Mission Valley, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD).

The intial call came in at approximately 7:35 p.m. to SDFD as a woman who suffered "traumatic injuries" at an indoor skydiving facility located on the 2300 block of Camino Del Rio N near Qualcomm Way.

The location is listed to be iFly San Diego.

SDFD says the woman did not want any medical attention. It's unknown what the extent of her injuries were.

At this time, it's unclear what led up to the accident or what happened.

NBC 7 reached out to iFly San Diego who denied to release a statement regarding the incident.

No other information was immediately available.

Please check back for updates on this breaking news story.

The family of a 21-year-old driver struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver driving his kids home from school cried as the accused entered a not guilty plea to charges against him Tuesday. 

Paul Schenk is facing several charges related to the crash, including Gross Vehicular Manslaughter while Intoxicated, 2 counts of Felony Child Endangerment, DUI Causing great bodily injury as well as Driving with a Measurable amount of Alcohol and injury to a child under 5 years old.

In court, Schenk's attorney Paul Pfingst argued that his client is a veteran with a 21-year service career pulling wounded warriors from combat. Because of his past, he suffered mentally, Pfingst told the judge. 

Six days before the crash, Schenk went to VA Hospital in San Diego asking for help, but was turned away, according to Pfingst. 

"We always make an effort to meet the Veteran's needs based on the urgency of their health issue," a statement from the VA San Diego read. "In addition to regular mental health appointments, we offer our Psychiatric Emergency Clinic which is a walk-in clinic for Veterans in distress or if feel they need urgent care. That clinic that is open Monday - Friday from 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Veterans can also get urgent mental health care through our Emergency Department which is open 24/7."

As Pfingst entered a not guilty plea on behalf of his client, the victim's family was both visibly outraged and saddened in court. Family members spoke out in court, calling the defendant names, while others were barely able to control their crying. 

"The family is devastated," Deputy District Attorney Cally Bright said after the arraignment. "There were 16 family members that were present here today. Her parents. Both of her brothers. Her sister. Obviously, for someone who is just 21-years-old to lose their life, it is always a sad circumstance and the family is doing the best as they can."

At the Tuesday arraignment, Bright outlined what happened the day of the crash. 

On Sept. 12, Schenk picked up his 5-year-old and 4-year-old from school, Bright said in court. He put his 5-year-old in the front seat and 4-year-old in the back seat without seat belts. 

At the time of the crash, he drove with his kids in the back seat with a blood-alcohol level approximately more than four times the legal limit, at 0.33, according to Bright -- the equivalent of 17 drinks. 

Bright said Schenk crossed the shoulder near Vista Ramona Road and E Old Julian Highway and over-corrected, smashing into the victim's car head-on at approximately 4:30 p.m. 

The impact of the crash instantly killed Racheal Guarneros – Callahan, 21. 

Family members say she had just finished work at the Riviera Oaks Resort and was on the phone with someone when the collision occurred.

Her cousin Valissa Espinosa said the allegation that the other driver was driving under the influence is “really going to weigh on all of us knowing she was stripped away innocently."

The 4-year-old was ejected from the backseat and had to be airlifted to Rady Children's Hospital, where he received stitches for his injuries; the 5-year-old was taken to Palomar Hospital.

Pfingst asked the judge for no bail until his client undergoes surgeries for his injuries from the crash, while Bright asked for $2 million bail.

The judge set bail at $2 million. 

If convicted, Schenk could face 18 years in prison. He will next appear in court on Nov. 9.