Sen. Chuck Grassley announced Friday that he plans to cede the gavel of the Senate Judiciary Committee next year, serving instead as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, NBC News reported. 

“Looking ahead, at the Finance Committee, I want to continue to work to make sure that as many Americans as possible get to experience this good economy for themselves," Grassley, who’s set to become Senate Pro Tempore in the next Congress, said in a statement. "That means working to provide Americans with additional tax relief and tax fairness so they can spend more of their hard-earned money on what’s important to them.”

The Iowa Republican has served as chairman of the Judiciary panel since January 2015. Senate Republican Conference rules limit service as chairman and ranking member to six years, which means Grassley is eligible to serve as the Finance Committee’s chairman for one full congressional session.

The announcement means that Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. — a vocal member on the panel who has been a fierce defender of President Donald Trump and his policies — is likely to be the panel's next chair.

Like baseball and jazz, poker is an American creation that has roots from beyond our shores.

It is believed the game originated in New Orleans in the first half of the 19th century. Over the decades, it has developed and grown to become popular in casinos, on TV and the internet. Believe it or not, there was a time when for many poker players, the heart of the poker universe was right here in Gardena, California.

How this came to be is the subject of a book called "Gardena Poker Clubs, a High-Stakes History." The author, Max Votolato, has been kind enough to join us and help tell the story.

It starts with a loophole in a 19th century law and continues to this day with a publisher of adult sexual material owning both of Gardena’s surviving card clubs. In between, there are clashes with law enforcement, unexpected consequences of tax legislation and a connection to the Mojave Desert.

So pull up a chair and buy in for a few hands as we join our host, Sydney Kalich and our special guest Max Votolato with our story of how Gardena was once the "Poker Capital of the World." 

Votolato is not just an author but a filmmaker as well and his documentary, "Freeway City" tells Gardena’s history that goes well beyond poker. To learn more, check out the Facebook page. 

Learn more about his book here or listen to the audio version here. 

Immersive, step-inside, walk-through, highly visual, snap-a-snapshot spaces?

They've flowered with the vigor and pop of spring wildflowers in recent years around these parts, from the Museum of Ice Cream to Candytopia to 29Rooms, which is making a return to DTLA in December.

But, thus far, there've been no sightings of poinsettias or holly among the flowers. Or, to put it more plainly: No large-scale, multi-room holiday-themed pop-up experiences have settled into Southern California, as of yet.

That "as of yet" part will go away, on Sunday, Nov. 18, when Fa La Land rides its jolly sleigh over the ROW DTLA. 

It's a "holiday wonderland" of an "immersive pop-up," boasting a number of rooms dedicated to a various visual aspects of the yuletide. Look for a Mrs. Claus hair salon, in the North Pole village area, the Jingle Bell Toy Factory (where "elfie selfies" may be taken), and forest that goes fluorescent.

There's also a candy river — it's described as "flowing" — and a Fa La Fest, too (think music). And think hashtaggery, too: #falaland is what you'll want to stick on those pics, like frost sticks to the ground on a cold winter's morning.

Cheer-spreading situations should linger a bit, and Fa La Land shall, right past Christmas, and New Year's Day, too. It boards its sleigh to ride away after Jan. 6, 2018.

A ticket? Fa, la, la in this direction and procure yours, for $37. 

Thanksgiving Week?

Various foodstuffs and elegant sides and pie-based desserts and a veritable shelf full of spices are on the minds of many home cooks.

It's a time of year when, yes, vittles matter more than a little, and we're plotting out dinners, and planning grocery lists, with a fervor that is especially intense.

Which means, yes, that we're in the mood to try new foods, or foods we like and haven't had in a bit, or foods that will simply keep us truckin' as we make all of those trips to the market. Food on the brain? We have it.

And Dog Haus has a treat in store for both fans of plant-based goodies and those dine-outers looking to try something a little different but highly flavorful.

And that treat?

It's the Impossible Burger, and it is free, free, free, for the first 50 customers who order it on Monday, Nov. 19. And that's at all Dog Haus locations, too, and not just the original one, in Pasadena.

So if you're in a food-expansive, gotta-nosh frame of mind, given the time of year, prepare for a plant-based patty that has a "meat"-style texture and flavor, plus some of the flavorful fixings, too, including pickles, lettuce, tomato, onion, white American cheese, and secret sauce.

Or you can go with an Impossible Slider, which boasts caramelized onions, mayo, and white American cheese.

Of course, if you miss the chow-down giveaway, on Nov. 19, take heart, if you're an Impossible aficionado: The non-meat burgers are permanent additions to the Dog Haus menu, along with Beyond Meat sausages, another plant-based choice.

It's one of the foodie-iest weeks of the year, ahead, and Dog Haus is kicking it off with a hearty freebie of plant-tastic proportions.

Arrive at your local DH early, before hitting the market for all of the need-to-gets for your Thanksgiving menu.

Calling all (fast) foodies! It’s National Fast Food Day which means you can score deals from some of your favorite fast food places.

Arby’s

Use this coupon to get a free order of small fries and drink with a purchase of a Smokehouse Brisket sandwich.

Burger King

Get a "buy one, get one free" deal when you buy a Whopper or a bacon, egg and cheese croissan’which through the Burger King app. Whopper meals and Crispy Chicken meals are $5.

McDonald’s

You can score a lot of deals through the app, such as: Get an order of small or medium fries for $1, buy a four piece of Buttermilk Crispy Tenders and get the other one for $1, buy a medium or large McCafé to get the other one for just one cent, and more. Check out the McDonald’s app here. 

Pizza Hut

Pay just $5 for a menu item when you buy two or more from Pizza Hut’s deals list. Choose from a medium one-topping pizza, wings, pasta, desserts and more. 

Sonic

Use the Sonic app to get half off drinks and slushes. 

Wendy’s

Get two Dave’s single small combos for $10, o rbuy one Premium Chicken Sandwich and get one free. Other deals can be found in the Wendy’s app. 

Chick-fil-A

Skip the lines and use DoorDash with promo code CFADELIVERY after purchasing an order of $5 or more to get a free chicken sandwich, in participating cities.

Popeye’s

Get the Red Stick Chicken deal, chicken tenders marinated in a Tabasco pepper marinade, fries, a buttermilk biscuit and Pepper Ranch sauce all for $5. Download the Popeye’s app either on Google Play or the Apple Store for a free two-piece dinner with the purchase of a three-piece combo.

Dairy Queen  

The new Hungry Up deal, consisting of fries, a mini Blizzard and either a three, four, or five chicken strip meal for $4-$6, depending the amount of chicken strips you get, at participating locations. Download the Dairy Queen app for a small free Blizzard treat deal. 

A box truck driver tried to run from officers Friday after CHP performed a PIT maneuver in the Orange County area, causing the vehicle to flip onto its side.

The vehicle was stolen out of the La Habra area around 8:30 a.m., according to the Long Beach Police Department. 

The chase ended about an hour later in Seal Beach when a CHP unit performed a PIT maneuver and the box truck hit a median and flipped onto its side. 

The driver tried to run from officers near the crash site at Lampson Avenue and Seal Beach Boulevard, but was quickly taken into custody. 

Traffic was backed up for miles Friday after a high-speed pursuit ended on the Golden State (5) Freeway in San Fernando.

The pursuit of a stolen white Lexus began in Monterey Park.

Police there notified the CHP they were chasing the suspect about 2:30 p.m., an officer says.

A sheriff's official said the vehicle belongs to a Los Angeles Port Police officer.

It's unclear if there's a weapon in the vehicle.

Jeremy Wolf showed NBC4 the route taken by the Woolsey Fire when it burned through multiple communities.

"They need to get emergency supplies to horses that are up in the hills," Jeremy Wolf said as he got into a car and put on his seat belt. "I've become a resource for the community, and middle-man between the authorities manning the police roadblocks and residents out here trying to figure out whats going on past the barricades."

Wolf, who works in the office of State Senator Henry Stern, grew up in Agoura Hills and his family still lives there. He's a local, who knows all the locals.

Thursday he delivered emergency supplies and has allowed NBC4, and an iPhone, to accompany him for the ride, getting a first-hand look inside the restricted area through social media. 

"Everyone I know is communicating using Instagram," he said. "That's where locals are looking for answers." 

Wolf traveled along the route taken by the Woolsey Fire when it burned through multiple communities, including where it jumped the 101 Freeway, and the path it eventually took through Malibu right to the ocean.

Along the way is complete destruction. Power lines were down everywhere, hundreds of homes destroyed, and a gray and black landscape that looked more like the moon than Malibu.

Toward the end of the day, atop an Instagram-famous cliff known as "the snake Mulholland," is a vantage point of all the communities ravaged by the fire. A small charred squirrel killed by the fire is there. He is gray, and easily mistaken for a rock, frozen in time, still in the motion of running. 

One tiny animal made the enormity of the destruction all the more obvious in the ash left behind by the Woolsey Fire. So much land and homes were destroyed, not only for human residents, but for its wildlife too.

Watch the social media video above and scroll through the gallery below, for a look inside the burn zone. Follow @NBCLA for more social media content like this.

Many homeowners are returning to their damaged or destroyed properties following the Woolsey Fire to begin the clean-up process.

Because Los Angeles and Ventura counties declared a local health emergency, removing ash, contaminated soil or other fire debris from destroyed properties must first be inspected by either local, state or federal hazardous materials agencies. Ventura County officials say a state clean-up program, CalRecycle is offered for free for qualifying homeowners.

Since January- that program has removed what was left of 672 properties and 263,925 tons of ash, debris and contaminated soil by the Thomas Fire. The fire debris is collected, moved and designated to landfills under strict regulations.

Ventura County officials ask residents to go to here for information about fire recovery which also lists the "Best Management Practices" for fire debris/ash handling and dust control.

This information also describes what structures can be cleared from the property with no inspection here.

[[500646901, BL]]

A mother searching for her son, a husband who lost his wife to a stroke two months ago, two roommates just trying to survive — all victims of California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire, all living in their cars in the Chico Neighborhood Church parking lot because they want to be near the only thing they have left — their dogs.

None of them know what’s going to happen next.

Jean Eisenbarth escaped with Sweeney, her 8-year-old Great Pyrenees and her turtle, Kelly Winslow and Tim Joyner evacuated with their dogs Hazel, Moose, March, Delbert, and their two rats, Jay Raynor drove off with his yellow lab Gus, leaving behind homes in Paradise and the neighboring city of Magalia as a wildfire tore them apart, turning everything into ash within hours.

These are their stories.

____________

I Feel Like I’ve Been in a War

Jean Eisenbarth. Tuesday, Nov. 13, 12:55 p.m., The Neighborhood Church parking lot

How did you escape the night of the wildfires?

“My name is Jean Eisenbarth and this is my dog Sweeney — so if anybody sees us we’re okay. We’re from Shadowbrook Apartments in Paradise behind the DMV off of Clark. From what I hear, a lot of the apartments burned, some still are standing. There was a lot of explosions going on — it was like a battlefield, but we made it down here and there’s been a lot of donations and a lot of help. People are very kind but it was very scary. I didn’t think I was gonna make it out. I was one of the last ones in my family to make it out and I feel like I’ve been through a war. Everybody else here has gone through the same thing so I feel like I’m in the right place and hoping that we can go up and see our place sometime soon to see what we can salvage, and it’s just awful.”

Who helped you get out of Paradise?

"It was an old man and he was just walking in the neighborhood and I opened the door and I go, 'how do you get out of here,' and he goes, “It looks like everybody’s lost.” And I said, “We are,” and he didn’t even ask me to get in the car. He said, “Go to the stop sign, make a left and you’ll hit Skyway.” But he didn’t panic or nothing. I don’t know if I would have made it out if he wouldn’t have told me how to get out of there. I don’t know who he was and he didn’t seem scared, I think he was an angel, I honestly do."

Did you get any warning from anybody, or the city or anything like that?

"They were coming to warn us, but not beforehand. I didn’t get any warning through phone or anything."

"When I woke up in the morning the sky was orange and I told my friend that was staying with me, 'Pete, I think there’s a fire,' and he goes 'No, I think it was just a weird overcast.' And then we started hearing the explosions and then it got to midnight, totally dark. I had one candle and the reason I stayed so long was I was trying to catch my cats, they were scared. So I saw the police go into the other apartment complex so I ran out there and the cop car came up and I asked do we need to leave and he says, 'Oh my God yes.'" [[500648812, C]]

____________

We’ll starve, the Dogs Won’t

Kelly Winslow, Tim Joyner, Tuesday, Nov. 13. 1:30 p.m., The Neighborhood Church parking lot

Where are you guys from?

TJ: "We’re from Magalia, and upper Magalia — right now we’re kind of in a flux because the fires are getting to that point so we’re kind of waiting for news you know day by day."

Are you staying here are all night?

TJ: "Yeah we have been safe here. I’m finding that people are putting aside their differences and just coming together, I think that’s what is happening. It’s incredible. Everyone’s in the same boat."

But you don’t know if the fires reached your house or what’s going on?

TJ: "We’re getting the same information everyone is online. I just found out by accident on Google. But we don’t really know … We’re just two roommates trying to survive."

Who are your other roommates?

TJ: "This is Hazel, this is Moose, March is on the floor, and Delbert, and two rats. I got them covered very well so they’re warm."

What are they eating?

TJ: "We have dog food, the dogs are eating well. We’ll starve, the dogs won’t. We’re realizing that this is going to be a long ordeal."

So what’s next?

"If you don’t own your home and are renting like we are, you’ll really have no other recourse than to go after the company. That company no longer has a home itself. So now you have to go try to find them. Actually we got a letter from our realtor and she said that it’s gonna be a while so …"

It’s gonna be a while before the electricity goes back up there. So even when we do go up there we’re gonna have to have everything in place cause we’re gonna have to have food, gas, water. It’s like camping in your own home. We’re gonna get a little propane thing, we’re already thinking ahead."

[[500648602, C]]

____________

Mother’s Intuition

We came across a Paradise evacuee in the parking lot of The Neighborhood Community Church who didn’t want to go on camera or be identified. She was emotional as she told us she was searching for her son. “Nobody’s seen him since two days before the fire, he was in a homeless camp in the woods. It’s devastating to see — If it hadn’t been for our neighbor who begged my husband and I to leave, we wouldn’t have left. So bless Virginia for saving us. We didn’t take anything — our computer or our meds. But it’s just things. At least we got out alive.”

Before we left she added:

“Just pray that they find my son, I'm hoping that he’s not dead, when you are a mother you have that mother’s intuition, and I can’t feel him,” she said. “The miracle out of this is that we have come together as one.”

[[500649061, C]]

____________

[[500657692, C]]

Everything’s gone but I got my car ... and my dog

Jim Raynow, Tuesday, Nov. 13. 1:45 p.m., The Neighborhood Church parking lot

JR: "What do you wanna know?"

Just your story, how you got here, how things are going.

JR: "Long story."

Are you from Paradise?

JR: "No I’m from Magalia. I lost my wife two months ago to a stroke and two months later I lose my house so I’m here."

When did you get here?

JR: "Thursday."

And you know for sure that your house is gone?

JR: "Well yeah my neighbor, it was kind of weird, he found me here about an hour ago and how he found me was that he was watching the news and saw me behind a reporter. I haven’t seen him since last Thursday but he tracked me down. He had a friend of his take a picture of his house from the street and it’s burned to the ground. I’m right next to it and at the edge you can see that my house is gone. Everything’s gone but I got my car."

Is that your dog? What’s his name?

JR: "Gus! It’s our dog, my wife’s baby. He’s 14 years old and he lost his mommy so we’re living in our car — it sucks. He’s got the backseat and I got the front. It’s funny I know everybody says that, it is what it is."

Do they have shelters inside?

JR: "They’re full. I got here Thursday and they were full. But I can’t have a dog. They do a good job, I got brand new clothes from these people it was amazing. Showers."

How long have you lived in Magalia?

JR: "Twenty-five years, I like it. I’m like in limbo. It’s like gravity and space, I’m in between."[[500649981, C]]

____________

We Lost Everything

Gary Brand, Nov. 13, 3.32 p.m. The Neighborhood Church parking lot

Where did you live in Paradise?

"34 Wayland Road, Space #12. Lived there for 47 years."

Can you tell us how you escaped?

“We just got out of there the best way we could. We lost everything. I’m coping the best I can but my wife ain’t. She lost her Chihuahua. He got so scared he went under the couch and would not come out and the officers told us we had to leave, now, so we left.”[[500647531, C]]

____________

Burned out of Paradise

Chris Hughes, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 3:59 p.m., Burrito Bandito, Chico

What Happened?

"Burned out of Paradise, born and raised there — Feather River Hospital — went to high school there, and drove around those streets, and it’s all gone. I really don’t know what to think about it. Just taking it a day at a time. Three dogs crammed into a car, trying to make life work."

How are they doing?

"They’re coping, but they’re all a little stressed out. It’s a crazy situation right now. Everybody’s a little dazed. But yeah, trying to stay focused."

[[500652672, C]]

____________

Waiting For FEMA

Terry Black, Nov. 13, 6 p.m., Wal-Mart Parking Lot, Chico

How long have you been here?

“We’ve been here about four days, I can’t remember anymore. It was like a movie at first, like you see people panicking on TV all over town, that’s how it was. The sky was red, and then I heard a boom!"

How long do you think you’ll be here for?

"We don’t know yet, we are waiting for FEMA."[[500648202, C]]

____________

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When 20-year-old Clarence Bourne was shot and killed at 39th and Budlong in Exposition Park on June 23, 2013, it was just days before he was set to graduate from Venice Youth Build where he had been studying to be an electrician.

"He was very young when he got murdered," his sister Kamaiya Bourne says."It was the beginning of his life."

Clarence graduated at the top of his class, was given his diploma posthumously.

And for his family, his life - and his death - remain at the top of their minds.

"Our house was so close to where he got murdered that we could hear the gunshots," Kamaiya recalls. "And there were so many that we thought they were fireworks."

LAPD South Bureau Homicide Cold Case Section released crime scene photos for the first time this week.

Evidence markers show the shell casings scattered on the ground - more than 15 of them.

Detective Ben Perez says Clarence was walking home from a girlfriend's house when he was approached by two men, who opened fire.

It was just before the 4th of July, which could be why some callers to 911 seemed so confused.

They thought they heard fireworks, some realized they were gunshots, and one caller gave police the information that's become the crux of the case.

Caller: "And the people that did it ran down the street."

911: "OK and did you see if it was men or women running?"

Caller: "Men."

911: "How many?"

Caller: "2."

911: "White, Black, Hispanic?"

Caller: "Black."

Five years of no arrests, though, and Clarence's family still feels haunted.

"I will never forget that day," his aunt Amenta Hunt says. "They took away a piece of my heart."

Clarence's sister says he left the family's home just after 9 p.m.

He was later killed on the same streets he once wrote about in a class project about his life story:

"Growing up in Los Angeles is not the easiest place to live. From hearing helicopters at night while you were sleeping to hearing gunshots at the house party. In the area of LA where I live, there is a lot of poverty and violence happening. Every day is a struggle where I live due to poverty and violence. You have to watch your back."

The Bourne family is making a public plea for help, hoping that with the time that's passed, it could be the comfort an eyewitness needs to come forward.

"Who would do that?" Kamaiya asks. "Just show yourself. That's all."

His aunt goes a step further.

"We just want Clarence to be at rest," she says. "Right now we don't have peace because we don't have any justice. Without justice, there's no closure."

Anyone with information is asked to contact LAPD South Bureau Homicide at 323-786-5113. Anonymous tips can be called into CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

Jemel Roberson graduated from Lane Tech High School on Chicago's North Side in 2010.

This evening hundreds gathered on campus to remember their classmate. Meanwhile, activists are calling for swift action against the officer who shot and killed him.

Community activist Jedidiah Brown says witnesses to the shooting and the moments leading up to it need to speak out.

“Today, I’m breaking the silence and I’m appealing to them to come on and come forward and the community will stand with them because we cannot let Jemel stand by himself," Brown said.

Brown says he’s received videos that clarify what happened but witnesses who shot them he says are fearful.

“Because those who have it are afraid of retaliation and the view that’s come forward is that they’ve been intimidated by law enforcement," he said.

Roberson, 26, was working as a security guard at Manny’s Blue Room Lounge in Robbins early Sunday. While trying to subdue a suspect he was shot by a white Midlothian police officer responding to the scene.

“Jemel saved lives that night only to lose his life," Pastor Leaundre Hill said. "So, we want answers. We want results. And we want them now."

Illinois State Police say witnesses told them Roberson was ordered by the officer to put down his gun several times before he was shot. Midlothian’s police chief called it a “blue on blue shooting” and a tragic case of friendly fire.

Others have disputed that.

This morning dozens of clergy, community activists and family members gathered in Midlothian demanding the firing of the unnamed officer.

“And they need to charge him with murder," said Rev. Michael Pfleger. "That’s what it was. It was murder."

Again, this evening former classmates and supporters of Roberson held a vigil here at lane tech and released balloons. Meanwhile, the police officer, a 4-year-veteran, remains on administrative leave.

Halloween ends, in Pasadena, with the stroke of midnight on Oct. 31, much in the way that it concludes in other locations.

But is Halloween truly done in the Crown City at that moment? We'll pause, and tap a fingertip to our chin, and summon the best "hmmm" face we can, because of this, we're unsure.

After all, people will dress as outer space travelers, and zombies, and cowboys, and zombie cowboys, and a host of other wacky, outlandish, devil-may-care characters in the weeks after Halloween.

Why? Because they'll be a part of what might be the most devil-may-care-y event in all the land, the Pasadena Doo Dah Parade, the started-long-ago answer to the Rose Parade.

Where the Rose Parade has tradition and pomp, the Doo Dah Parade has, yes, tradition, 41 outings, but a distinct lack of pomp or statliness or that rosy, regal air.

Instead, anyone can enter, for ten bucks, and dress however they like, and create dance routines that are both puzzling and charming, and while throwing food is now forbidden, doing pretty much anything else is high up on the "go for it" scale.

The only rule at the Doo Dah is, wait for it, "the Doo Dah rules."

We didn't make that up. That's a thing.

And has been the spirit of the spectacular since it came into weird being, in 1978.

By the by, this particularly sprightly spectacular always takes place on a Sunday, because the Rose Parade is never on a Sunday.

And that Sunday in 2018? Nov. 18, with a start time of 11 in the morning, but mentally picture a shrug emoji next to that hour, because sometimes the Doo Dah is prompt, while other years it has a bit of molasses in its get-go.

The place to be is on East Colorado, between Altadena Drive and San Gabriel Boulevard.

Arrive early, to be close to Colorado, if you like parade participants possibly/maybe coming up to you and chatting or giving out high fives.

We mean... it could happen, but, really, anything can.

It's one of the charms of the parade, which holds its over-the-top queen tryouts in October, and then selects its royal figurehead from the line-up of harmonica-playing, tap-dancing, you-name-a-talent aspirants.

It's all pretty amazing, and locally loved, and oh-so-itself. Is "deeply Doo Dah" descriptive enough? If so, there is no Doo Dah as Doo Dah as this Doo Dah, one of the Doo-Dah-iest daliances in Pasadena and anywhere that's not Pasadena, too.

The Hill fire that began burning Nov. 8 in Ventura County was caused by human activity, investigators confirmed.

The Ventura County Fire Department, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and CAL Fire ruled out all other potential causes before reaching a conclusion on the incident.

The brush fire scorched thousands of acres in the Hill Canyon in the Santa Rosa Valley and forced mandatory evacuations and closure of the 101 Freeway. 

Fall is historically one of the most dangerous times of the year for wildfires in California. Seven of the state's 10-most destructive wildfires occurred in October -- many fueled by monster winds, including Santa Ana gusts. Through Nov. 4, Cal Fire has reported about 5,600 fires that burned more than 621,700 acres. During that same period last year, the agency reported 5,800 fire that burned 316,600 acres. Over the last five years, California has averaged 5,293 fires that burned 231,400 acres during that interval.

The investigative team is asking the public to call 1-800-468-4408 if they have any information regarding the fire or saw anything or anyone in the HIll Canyon Trail area on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A reward of $10,000 is available for information that leads to whomever began the fire.

The Hill fire is now 100 percent contained.

Meeting Santa is a treasured experience for kids, but the things that accompany the visit – bright lights, loud noises, crowds – can make it hard for some children with special needs to join in.

Westminster Mall is offering a solution by hosting a Sensitive Santa event on Sunday. Children with all spectrums of special needs are invited to attend a sensory-friendly holiday experience from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The event provides a calm, welcoming environment with less noise, muted lights and much smaller crowds.

Sensitive Santa, which is held in partnership with Autism Speaks, is free to attend. Photo packages will be available for purchase. Reservations are recommended.

The people exercising at Hard Charger Training Center in Thousand Oaks are working for more than just their personal fitness goals. They're also working out for a cause.

The gym held a special Borderline Boot Camp on Saturday to raise money for the families of the 12 victims of the mass shooting that took place at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Nov. 7.

The bootcamp's organizer, Miguel Juarez, says fitness can provide a form of healing to the residents of a city still reeling from the shooting and the effects of the Woolsey Fire.

"You can push past the physical pain you feel in here, then mentally too you will get stronger," he said.

Juarez, a decorated Marine, says his brother-in-law and several of his colleagues survived the shooting.

Time inside the gym offers a respite from the emotional toll of the past week for people like Nadia Foster, a student at Cal Lutheran University.

"Trying to stay calm for them in the midst of the chaos between work and school and home, trying to keep it together has been hard," Foster said.

Chris Paul, Assistant Dean of Students Cal Lutheran, comes to Hard Chargers five days a week. She says the workouts help give her strength to carry on.

Attendees of the Borderline Boot Camp filled a glass jar with more than $1,000 in cash in just a few hours Saturday morning. Juarez is also accepting donations to his Venmo account: @TheMarineMiguel. He says 100 percent of donations will go to the victims' families.

"We will stand up to evil and come together - stronger than ever," he said.

Amid the ongoing hand recount for Florida's U.S. Senate and commissioner of agriculture contests, Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes said her office has misplaced more than 2,000 ballots.

Snipes said the 2,040 ballots "are in the building" – referring to the Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office in Lauderhill.

The ballots were discovered missing after there was a discrepancy between the recount returns and the original unofficial returns. Snipes said some members of her team did not have as much training as others and possibly misplaced the ballots in the wrong tray during the machine recount.

Snipes added that the vote totals and the number of people who participated in the election matched with the original unofficial returns.

Snipes has been under heavy scrutiny over the way her office has handled the 2018 election and subsequent recount. Broward County's machine recount results were not used in a final tally because they were turned in two minutes after the 3 p.m. Thursday deadline.

A hand recount is ongoing for the U.S. Senate and Florida commissioner of agriculture contests. More than eight million voters cast ballots in Florida.

Outgoing Florida Gov. Rick Scott is leading incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson by about 12,600 votes.

Florida's 67 counties have until noon on Sunday to turn in the results for the hand recount to the Florida Department of State.

Inspired by the Girl Scout promise to help people at all times, 9-year-old Ella Herran launched a campaign to collect supplies for people affected by the deadly fires in California. Carolyn Johnson reports for NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018.

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum on Saturday conceded in the Florida gubernatorial election to Ron DeSantis.

Gillum, the Democratic candidate, made the statement in a post on Twitter that comes two days after the machine recount results showed Republican DeSantis maintained his lead and the margin between both candidates was not enough to trigger a manual recount.

"I want to congratulate @RonDeSantisFL on becoming the next Governor of the great state of Florida. My wife R. Jai and I could not be prouder of the way we ran this race. We could not be more thankful to my running mate, @ChrisKingFL and his wife Kristen," Gillum wrote.

"Most importantly, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for being part of this campaign. I wouldn’t be here without the support that was shown by millions of Floridians. I encourage y’all to keep fighting for what we believe in," Gillum added.

During a Facebook live video, Gillum said that he will remain politically active and that his followers should "stay tuned."

DeSantis replied to Gillum's Twitter post: "This was a hard-fought campaign. Now it’s time to bring Florida together.

President Donald Trump earlier on Saturday congratulated Gillum on the hard-fought campaign in Florida.

"Congratulations to Andrew Gillum on having run a really tough and competitive race for Governor of the Great State of Florida. He will be a strong Democrat warrior long into the future - a force to reckon with!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

A manual recount was ordered in Florida's election for the U.S. Senate race between outgoing Florida Gov. Rick Scott and incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, as well as the Florida commissioner of agriculture race between Democrat Nikki Fried and Republican Matt Caldwell.