Quick changes at stores around San Diego following passage of Proposition 67 have caught many shoppers by surprise.

The plastic bag ban narrowly passed on Tuesday, capturing 52 percent of the vote. In response, several store chains were already eliminating plastic bags from stores and charging for paper bags.

The law doesn’t take effect until Dec. 9, when elections results are certified. But already, stores such as Walmart and Von’s were charging for reusable or paper bags to gear up for the new law.

That quick switch, however, was lost on a large number of San Diegans.

“I was not aware it was coming this soon,” said Walmart shopper Sally Martinez.

Many shoppers on Thursday were carrying their items outside in shopping carts sans bags. One shopper used a storage container to haul her purchases to her car.

“I wasn’t thinking about the bag situation and the Tupperware just happened to be on my list, so when I got to checkout that’s convenient,” said shopper Amira Satchi.

The new law only affects stores selling groceries, liquor or those with pharmacies. That means stores such as Dollar and Petsmart are exempt, as are restaurants.

The law didn’t outline a specific amount stores should charge, but did call for at least 10 cents per bag.

“Ten cents adds up,” one shopper said. “Sometimes you have a lot of bags, so I’d rather bring my own bags.”

Del Mar Racing returns for its fall season Friday, a 15-day stretch at the Stretch Run that will also bring festivals and concerts to the venue.

Back for its third year is Bing Crosby Season, which runs Nov. 11 through Dec. 4. After the three-day opening weekend, the track will host racing Thursday through Sunday during the fall season, with the first post daily at 12:30 p.m.

Opening Day – which lands on Veterans Day – will honor U.S. military service members. That day, the track will host its Veterans Day Salute – a day of horse racing, BBQ and a 4 p.m. country music concert featuring Coffey Anderson.

Track admission is free for active duty military and Veterans with valid ID cards on Opening Day.

For others, a $25 general admission ticket gets you racetrack admission on Opening Day, plus food at the BBQ, which includes a spread of pulled pork sandwiches, wedding beans, Southern slaw and peach cobbler. Another $10 gets you into the country concert. Proceeds from the Veterans Day Salute at the track will benefit Save Our Legion and the Semper Fi Fund to support local military families, organizers said.

Instead of an Opening Day Hats Contest like the one that traditionally signals the start of the summer season in Del Mar, Bing Crosby Opening Day will feature a “Stars & Stripes Fashion Contest.” Attendees are encouraged to wear their most patriotic gear for a chance to enter the contest and will more than $3,000 in prizes.

This fall, the Bing Crosby season includes concerts by Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals (Nov. 12), Reggae Fest With Iration (Nov. 19) and the Craft Beer Cider & Food Truck Festival (Nov. 26). A full calendar of fall Del Mar Racing events can be seen here.

This year’s summer racing season in Del Mar was plagued with an increase in horse deaths. According to a state report, 16 horses died since the season began on July 15. California State Assembly member Lori Saldana urged the California Horse Racing Board to investigate the deaths and injuries at Del Mar and called for changes.

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC), facing increased criticism over the deaths, decided it would push back the start date of the 2017 summer racing season and implement new biomarker technology on horses next year in an effort to prevent further deaths.

After an early rash of horses suffering fatal injuries at Del Mar over the summer, track president Joe Harper said a specialist was hired to study the turf. Harper also said more veterinarians were called in to check the horses.

On Tuesday, thousands of San Diegans headed to the polls to cast their ballots in a historic presidential election. 

The San Diego County Registrar's office says mail-in and provisional ballots are still being counted. 

Based off the current results, here is how communities across San Diego voted in the presidential race. 

Mobile users can click here. 

Areas that are RED indicate Trump received the majority of votes for that precinct.

Areas that are BLUE indicate Clinton received the majority of votes for that precinct.

Areas that are PURPLE indicate a tie vote or no registered votes received for that precinct.

A big rig fire ignited about an acre of brush along the eastbound Pomona (60) Freeway in the Hacienda Heights/Industry area Thursday, snarling traffic during the evening rush.

The fire was reported about 4:30 p.m. near Crossroads Parkway, just east of the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Firefighters assisted by aerial water-drops responded in force and worked to douse the flames. The blaze scorched about an acre of vegetation a hillside adjacent to the freeway, a fire dispatcher said.

Eastbound lanes were closed and traffic was backed up to east Los Angeles. Westbound traffic also was briefly halted. No injuries were reported.

It’s a pretty common deal: switch phone carriers and the new company will buy out your previous contract. 

Keri Persky out of Rancho San Diego thought it sounded like a great idea when she heard about Verizon’s new buyout program. 

“We were trying to consolidate to only have one bill, so we were transferring our family account from Sprint to have one bill with Verizon instead of having two,” Keri said. 

The family account would merge with her husband's existing Verzion account. The deal included new phones and Verizon paying off her old phone account. 

But they had to turn in the phones from their previous carrier. 

“We handed over my Sprint phone there at the Verizon store and my daughter, who lived in Riverside, mailed her’s in because it had to come directly to the store,” Keri said. 

Everything was working out great until Keri started getting bills and collections notices from her old phone carrier Sprint, saying her account was never paid off. 

Three months after they switched, Verizon told Keri she didn’t qualify for the special Verizon offer because her husband’s account was a business account. 

Keri says that was never mentioned when they signed up at the Verizon store. 

“I don’t think it’s my job to know their policy, I feel it’s Verizon employee’s job to know their policy and educate me as the customer,” Keri said. 

Keri says she talked to 10 different people at Verizon trying to straighten out the problem, but nothing seemed to work, so she contacted NBC 7 Responds for help. 

“It would be amazing if I could just get what I was promised,” Keri said. 

We reached out to Verizon and they promised a thorough investigation. At first, Verizon offered Keri’s family a partial refund but after we walked them through the situation, Verizon honored what was originally promised and covered all fo the costs for Keri’s Sprint plan, totaling over $2,000. 

A spokesperson for Verizon told us through email, “We try to deliver the best possible experience for each and every Verizon customer. In this case, we did not deliver on that promise. We appreciate NBC 7 Responds for bringing this issue to our attention and for giving us the opportunity to do the right thing for our customer."

Crews are working to put out a blazing brush fire in San Diego's Mission Valley neighborhood, burning near Qualcomm Stadium.

The fire began around 6:12 p.m. on the 3100 block of Camino Del Rio N near the Interstate 8, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) officials confirmed.

SDFD says the fire sparked near the riverbed area off Camino Del Rio North, near Qualcomm Stadium and Costco. The area is adjacent to a residential development on Fenton Parkway, though no evacuations have been issued at this time for that development or other areas. 

Crews were working to make access on all sides of the fire.

There is no immediate threat to any structures at this time.

The MTS trolley service in the area was shut down, as crews pulled hoses across the tracks to battle the flames.

The fire was burning at a slow rate of spread but crews were working to keep it away from the high power lines in the area, according to SDFD. If it spreads at least two or three more acres, it could spread to the surrounding area.

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) was requested to respond to the scene.

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. 

Kidde is recalling 3.6 million smoke alarms in the United States, and another 1.5 mllion in Canada, the company and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Thursday.

The recall involves the Kidde NightHawk talking combo smoke/carbon monoxide alarm with model number KN-COSM-IB and manufacture dates between June 1, 2004 and Dec. 31, 2010. 

The alarm can fail to continue to chirp when it reaches its seven year end-of-life, even if the batteries are replaced, leading consumers to believe it is still working. Kidde has received eight reports of incidents with the recalled alarms; no injuries have been reported.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled alarms and contact Kidde   for a free replacement alarm. 

Consumer Contact: Kidde toll-free at 855-239-0490 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at www.kidde.com and click on "Product Safety Notice" for more information.

The San Diego County Animal Services and the Animals for Armed Forces program are offering free pet adoption for military members and their families this weekend in honor of Veterans Day.

Military members can visit any of the county’s three shelters this Saturday and Sunday, November 12 and 13, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and have all adoption, vaccination, microchip, and spay and neuter fees waived.

Photo ID must be presented along with one of the following: military ID, dependent ID, DD-214 and driver’s license or NGB Form 22.

County Animal Services shelters are among 28 locations in the state offering free adoption through Animals for Armed Forces.

A pedestrian was struck by a car in San Diego's Ridgeview-Webster neighborhood, San Diego Police (SDPD) confirmed. 

The collision happened at approximately 6:08 p.m. Thursday on the 4700 block of Federal Boulevard.

According to SDPD, the pedestrian, a 71-year-old man was crossing the 1500 block of 47th street from east to west when he was struck by a 60-year-old male in a Lexus. The pedestrian was not in the crosswalk. 

The pedestrian was taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital where he was treated for serious non-life threatening injuries.

Police said there is no indication anyone fled the scene.

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. 

The Unites States Coast Guard announced that it has suspended the search for 42-year-old Tony Nguyen as of 5:24 p.m. Thursday after a 204-square-mile search.

On Wednesday evening, Nguyen and four friends were lobster fishing aboard Nguyen’s 25-foot boat when a large wave capsized the vessel. Multiple agencies were called to the beach to launch a difficult rescue of the five men.

San Diego Lifeguards swam into the water and pulled two of the passengers safely to shore. Two others were rescued by lifeguards by boat, Lee Swanson of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department confirmed. Surfers and Good Samaritans also reportedly helped.

The fifth man – Nguyen – was not immediately located. An overnight search for Nguyen ensued with little luck.

As of 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Nguyen remained missing.

Nguyen’s family is extremely worried. Officials said Nguyen was not wearing a life jacket at the time of the boating incident. His family said he does not know how to swim. Nguyen’s sister-in-law told NBC 7 Nguyen is an avid fisherman who goes out on his boat three to four times a week.

La Jolla resident Barbara Gray said the surf was strong at Windansea Beach when Nguyen’s boat capsized.

“They [the waves] were huge, really coming in quickly,” Gray described. “I’m sure it was a tough rescue.”

The U.S. Coast Guard aided in the rescue of the fishermen Wednesday night, launching a helicopter crew and two boat crews: the San Diego Sector MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and the Coast Guard Cutter Sea Otter and Station San Diego Response vessel.

Coast Guard crews continued to search for Nguyen Thursday, along with crews from various other agencies including the SDFD, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, San Diego Mission Bay Lifeguards and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

High surf conditions persisted, however, making it tough for lifeguards to conduct dive operations in the water. Instead, Coast Guard crews tackled the search by air, from Crystal Pier to La Jolla Cove. Other teams were scouring the water by boat. Some lifeguards walked onto access points and cliffs to see if they could see anything from those spots.

Eventually, Nguyen’s boat was found lodged in a cliff off Winamar and Camino de la Costa. Still, there was no trace of the missing man.

The surf is expected to remain high for the next few days, further challenging the search.

Officials said the four other men who survived the rescue were wearing life jackets. They were all taken to local hospitals and released.

Authorities have made an arrest in the homicide of a 92-year-old woman found dead inside her apartment. 

A family member found Maria Rivera, 92, dead on October 22 in an apartment complex on D Street. 

When officers began investigating, they determined the apartment had been burglarized prior to Rivera's death. 

Officials launched a homicide investigation and worked to identify and locate the man responsible for killing her. 

Peter Thao, 26, has been arrested in connection with the homicide, National City Police said Thursday. 

Police arrested the San Diego resident without incident outside of his home on Aries Road. He will be booked into County Jail on related murder charges. 

Police declined to comment on what evidence linked Thao to the crime.

Authorities do not believe there are any outstanding suspects, but the investigation is ongoing.

No other information was immediately available.

Businesses along Main Street in El Cajon were evacuated Thursday afternoon due to a natural gas leak in the area, El Cajon fire officials said. 

The natural gas leak happened at approximately 2:30 p.m. Thursday on the 200 block of Main Street. Several hours later, crews capped the line. 

Businesses on the south side of the 200 block of Main Street were evacuated, police said, though it is unclear how many were affected. 

During the leak, the entire block was shut down to traffic. 

One person complained of sickness.

It is unclear how many businesses will be without gas at this point, fire officials said. 

No other information was immediately available.

Authorities in Mexico are searching for a Chula Vista mother accused of kidnapping her 2-month-old son from a recovery center and fleeing with the infant across the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Baja California agency, Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado, issued an Amber Alert for the infant, Maximus, and his mother, Erika Ramos Saucedo, 36. Saucedo does not have legal custody of her son.

The National City Police Department (NCPD) said the case is being investigated as a parental abduction. Maximus was dropped off by Child Protective Services at the South Bay Womens Recovery Center located at 2414 Hoover Ave. in National City Tuesday for a supervised visit with Saucedo.

Police said the boy was left alone with the mother, unsupervised. Saucedo then took her son and fled in her car.

By 9:42 a.m., Saucedo and the baby boy were seen leaving the U.S. and entering Mexico via the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the NCPD confirmed.

Child Protective Services reported the abduction to the NCPD at 11:53 a.m. Tuesday. Other agencies are also involved in the search for the baby and Saucedo, including Mexican authorities, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Missing and Abducted Children Unit.

The NCPD said the California Highway Patrol was contacted to issue an Amber Alert in San Diego County. However, since the mother and baby crossed into Mexico, the Amber Alert was not granted locally.

NBC 7 spoke with Jose Garcia, the father of the baby who said he is angry with Child Protective Services for leaving the infant unattended with Saucedo. 

Garcia said that the agent had been distracted with other children in a car and had left his son unattended with Saucedo. The agent had also called a suprervisor prior to calling 911, giving time for his ex-girlfriend to take the baby across the border, he added.

The investigation now continues in Mexico.

On Thursday, the Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado posted a notice on its Facebook page saying officials are still searching for Saucedo and Maximus. The agency said Saucedo’s car is a white Suzuki with the California license plate 7PPW607.

Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado said Saucedo had called Maximus’ father, allegedly threatening to kill herself because she doesn’t have any money. The agency said the “Alerta Amber” was issued in Mexico for fear of Saucedo harming herself and the child. The father told the agency Saucedo allegedly uses drugs, which is part of the reason she does not have custody of their son.

The agency's alert described Maximus as having short, brown hair and dark-colored eyes. The infant weighs about 17 pounds and is approximately 19.5 inches tall.

Saucedo and Maximus are believed to be in Tijuana. Anyone with information can contact Mexican authorities.

No further details were immediately released.

NBC 7 has reached out to San Diego Child Protective Services for further information.

Fourteen years after the disappearance and presumed killing of a 14-year-old girl in San Diego’s South Bay, police are reigniting their search for answers in the mysterious cold case.

On Thursday, the Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD) Crimes of Violence Unit announced detectives, with help from the FBI, were “revisiting” the open and unsolved homicide case of Gabriela “Gaby” Gonzales.

The teenager, believed to have been a victim of foul play, disappeared on April 5, 2002. According to the CVPD, she is presumed to have been murdered, her body likely buried in the Otay River Bottom at Otay Valley Regional Park.

The CVPD said Thursday that detectives had recently developed new leads that provide hope that Gonzales’ body will be found and that her killer or killers will be identified and arrested. With this new information, the CVPD said the FBI has joined the investigation with a mission to find the teen’s remains and finally bring resolve to her family.

To that end, investigators are making a major push Thursday on this cold case.

"Actually, not knowing in a sense, it closes a closet in your heart, having hope. But the reality is, it's been a long time and we've suffered a lot,"  said Gonzales' brother Eduardo Fernandez.

CVPD detectives and FBI agents will pass out fliers about Gonzales’ case in the South Bay community in hopes that someone who knows something will come forward.

CVPD Lt. Fritz Reber said that with the passing of so much time, key witnesses may have a change of heart and finally come forward.

"Their life may be in a different spot now, they may have kids of their own and different priorities," Reber explained. "Anyone who was reluctant to come out and talk before, please do now."

At the same time, Chula Vista Public Works personnel plan to clear the brush in the Otay River Valley. This will allow Chula Vista and the FBI’s Evidence Response Team (ERT) to access areas of the Otay River Valley that could hold clues and evidence of the teenager’s murder.

Reber said detectives have obtained information that led them to the Otay River Valley.

"We do think we will find evidence of her disappearance here," he told NBC 7.

Over the years, police have received more than 400 tips on the case, Reber said. In 2003, witness interviews and the investigation led detectives to classify Gonzales’ case as a homicide. Since then, police have been searching for the teen’s killer.

Reber said that on the day Gonzales vanished, her mother had gone to the grocery store. When the mother returned home, she found a note from Gonzales saying she had gone out.

That was the last time Gonzales’ family ever heard from her.

"No one knew where she went," said her mother, Leticia Gonzales in spanish. "I never stopped looking for her. I could never stop searching for my daughter."

On the note, Gonzales had written that she loved her mom along with the name of her boyfriend, Juan Jose Vera. He was Gonzales' boyfriend at the time, and a documented gang member who had served time for a series of bank robberies.

According to Reber, the teen had a good relationship with her family and was never considered a runaway. Gonzales disappearance and the open-ended case has been devastating for the teenager's family.

Reber said Gonzales’ cold case has always remained among the most pressing for the department and detectives vow to work tirelessly to finally solve it. He said investigators have invested their heart and soul into the case.

"I will keep waiting until her body is found," said Gonzales' mother.

Anyone with information on the teenager’s disappearance or killing can call the CVPD’s Crimes of Violence detectives at (619) 691-5075 or the department’s non-emergency line at (619) 691-5151. Other numbers to call include the departments anonymous tip line at (619) 422-TIPS or San Diego Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case, and the Chula Vista Police Foundation is matching this, offering another $1,000 reward.

If alive today, Gonzales would’ve been 29 years old.

After learning the results of the polarizing presidential election, Theresa Govert, of East Haddam, Connecticut, felt compelled to paint a sign with a powerful message for her town. Someone vandalized it within a day and spray-painted "Trump 2016" over it.

The sign says, "Dear Muslims, immigrants, women, disabled, LGBTQ and all people of color, we love you boldly and proudly. We will endure." The message was taken from a tweet by writer and activist Shaun King.

Govert said she thought it was something people needed to see after the election.

"I just wanted to make sure that even in our small community that anyone who did feel marginalized felt supported and it's about coming together," she said.

Govert painted the sign and put it up at Wilmer F Palmer Road and Route 149 on Wednesday afternoon. By Thursday morning, someone had spray-painted over the message with "Trump 2016."

Govert said she knew when she painted the sign that there was a chance someone might deface the sign. But she wasn't expecting it to happen with the name of the president-elect.

"A sign that is encouraging love to use his name to do the opposite seems counterproductive," she said.

Residents who were supportive of the sign's original message were shocked by the vandalism.

"I hope that's not the message that the Trump presidency has, to be racist and prejudiced," said George Hungerford, a lifelong East Haddam resident.

"Unless you have everyone together, you cannot make America great again," Kate O'Boyle said.

Another longtime resident, Nancy Murray, was so shocked by the sign that she bought a bucket of paint and painted over the graffiti.

"They're trying to divide us," she said. "We just don't want division here."

Govert said she plans to paint another sign with the same message and post it again.

A new, larger model of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.’s Predator C Avenger aircraft made its first flight on Oct. 27, the company said Nov. 10.

A bigger body and a larger fuel tank give the remotely piloted aircraft greater range, GA-ASI said. Endurance is 20 hours, four hours greater than the original Predator C.

The first flight took place at GA-ASI’s Gray Butte facility in Palmdale.

Unlike other GA-ASI products, Predator C is jet-powered. The new model has a 76-foot wingspan, while the original model has a 66-foot wingspan. Predator C ER can carry an additional 2,220 pounds of fuel. The initials ER stand for extended range.

The aircraft can carry JDAM bombs, Hellfire missiles and sensors to collect intelligence.

Poway-based GA-ASI is an affiliate of privately held General Atomics. The business used its own funds to develop the aircraft.

Donald Trump's transition team continued to fill out their list of potential cabinet picks, many of whom are part of the establishment, or, in Trump's words, part of the swamp that he promised to drain, NBC News reported.

Sources told NBC News that Texas Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, is being considered for Secretary of Homeland Security; former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers, a past chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is on the list for Director of the CIA; while Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, is in the mix for Treasury Secretary.

One of the more unexpected names to come up Thursday was JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Dimon's chief of staff confirmed to NBC News that, though Trump has had no formal conversation with him, some of Trump's senior advisers have told Dimon he would make an "excellent" Treasury Secretary.

A technical issue at with a computer IT firm briefly caused technical problems for airlines in the United States early Friday afternoon, according to American Airlines.

It was one of several air carriers affected by the outage at Sabre, which tweeted about 12:45 p.m. ET that it was working on recovering from unspecified issues customers were facing.

American didn't provide more details about what systems and airlines were affected. Reports on Twitter indicated outages at American, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue; all three responded to several tweets about saying computers, kiosks or the website not working.

American Air confirmed that the issue was with Sabre, and that it affected more than one airline.

"Earlier today, Sabre had a brief technical issue that impacted multiple carriers, including American. This technical issue has been resolved. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience," the company said in a statement.

An FAA representative told NBC it was checking on the reports.

Travelers were evacuated from the San Diego International Airport Friday morning after a faulty smoke alarm sounded off, airport officials confirmed.

Rebecca Bloomfield, of the San Diego Airport Authority, told NBC 7 the alarm went off in the Southwest Rotunda at around 8:45 a.m., near Gates 3-10 at Terminal 1

Crews with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) and the San Diego Harbor Police went to the airport and soon, officials cleared Terminal 1. Less than15 minutes later, travelers were allowed back into the airport.

Some were very frustrated – and rushed – because they had to go back through security lines. Many feared they may miss their flights.

Other passengers said they were relieved to hear the evacuation was only due to a false alarm, and that no one was hurt.

The Airport Authority said passengers traveling Friday should check with their airlines in case of delays. As of 10 a.m., the San Diego International Airport’s website showed departing flights leaving on time.