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.

The School for Advanced Studies is a public high school in which every student earns an AA degree along with a diploma at graduation. It’s academically intense. So all the students at SAS are high achievers. In that environment, Alexia Borges considers herself one of the crowd.

“That’s what she likes to be called, ordinary, but we know she’s extraordinary because of the things she’s done and how compassionate she is,” said Arlene Martinez, the school’s counselor.

A senior, Alexia founded a club at her school called the Disability Awareness Bureau, called to action because her older brother, Damion, has autism.

“I think it’s really important because autism is such a pandemic globally that other people need to be aware of it,” Alexia said.

Alexia also writes a blog about her experiences with Damion, at www.alexiaborges.com . Her next project is writing a book to highlight her point of view: being a sibling to someone who’s autistic, often being his caretaker.

• Education on 6 Special Section

“Well I’ve definitely had to mature a lot faster than people my age,” said Alexia.

As she explains it to her friends, Alexia learns as much from Damion as he learns from her.

“Patience, understanding, loving, how to view the world through a different lens, he’s always so happy, so full of joy,” Alexia said. “I think he adds to my life more than he takes away.”

Through the blog she writes and the club she founded at school, all the work Alexia does at home with her brother is impacting her classmates as well.

“It really makes me feel like oh, she’s making a change, maybe I should, too,” said David Overholt, one of Alexia’s best friends.

“I find it pretty impressive to have the courage of what she’s doing, one, it takes a lot, and to have the willpower to keep on going every day,” said fellow senior Jandrice Nacier.

Alexia keeps on going, acing most of her classes. She wants to become a physician one day, but says her mission of changing society’s perception of autistic people will be her life’s passion.

“So it’ll definitely be something that’s close to my heart and something that I’m always going to want to keep pursuing,” Alexia explained.

From home to school to the world, Alexia Borges is just getting started.

Across South Florida on Friday, cities and organizations are paying tribute to those who served our country.

Veterans Day parades and ceremonies are taking places like Miramar, Miami Beach, Doral, Hollywood, Lauderdale-by-The –Sea and other cities across the area.

In Weston, veterans were given a free breakfast at the YMCA as a thank you for their service. Restaurants around the area – including Olive Garden, Anthony’s Coal Fire Pizza, Texas Roadhouse and more are offering free or discounted meals to current and former military personnel on Friday.

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.

Four suspects were arrested Friday after leading police on a chase through Southwest Miami-Dade following a carjacking and robbery.

According to Miami-Dade Police, a black truck was carjacked around 5 a.m. near Southwest 283rd Street and 143rd Avenue. That vehicle was later involved in a robbery at a bakery off Dixie Highway and Southwest 145th Avenue in Naranja.

Officers spotted the truck after an alert was posted and attempted to stop it, but the truck fled from cops and a pursuit began. The suspects bailed out of the vehicle off Southwest 142nd Avenue in Homestead, but were taken into custody.

The identities of the four suspects were not released, nor were the charges they will face.

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.

A firefighter was injured after responding to a blaze at a Pompano Beach auto shop Friday morning.

The fire broke out at the warehouse off Southwest 3^rd Street and 14^th Avenue shortly after 11:30 a.m. One firefighter was hurt when he fell off a ladder after losing control of a water hose.

Officials said the firefighter fell about 20 feet.

The firefighter is expected to be okay, but was transported to the hospital as a precaution. An investigation continues into what caused the fire. 

A North Carolina chapter of the Ku Klux Klan announced it will hold a rally in December to celebrate Donald Trump's presidential victory, in what a national hate-tracking group called the latest evidence that white supremacist groups are feeling emboldened since the election. 

Calls are now growing for Trump to speak out against a string of hateful incidents across the country since his election. 

The Loyal White Knights of Pelham, North Carolina, one of the largest Ku Klux Klan groups in the U.S., said on its website it will hold the event on Dec. 3. The time and location of the event were not listed. The group is based in Pelham, a small, unincorporated community in Caswell County near the Virginia border. It organized a rally in South Carolina last year protesting the removal of the Confederate flag from the state Capitol building. 

A phone call to the number on the group's website was not immediately returned. Caswell County Sheriff's Office said Friday it did not have information about the event. 

The official newspaper of the the KKK, The Crusader, endorsed Trump for president days before the presidential election and Trump's campaign was quick to reject the support.

"Mr. Trump and the campaign denounces hate in any form. This publication is repulsive and their views do not represent the tens of millions of Americans who are uniting behind our campaign," the campaign said then in a statement. 

Trump was previously criticized for being slow to condemn former Klan leader David Duke after he gave the candidate his backing. The Republican has also repeatedly retweeted messages from white supremacist sympathizers. 

Duke celebrated Trump's win over Democrat Hillary Clinton, tweeting early Wednesday, "This is one of the most exciting nights of my life. Make no mistake about it, our people have played a HUGE role in electing Trump!"

Ryan Lenz, spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups and crimes, said Trump's election "has ripped opened wounds of racial resentment in this country, wounds we thought were healed or we were working to heal for some time."

The SPLC has received reports of 200 racially-tinged incidents and hate crimes from across the U.S. since the election and it's working to review them and understand what is going on, Lenz said.

He added that the KKK and other white supremacist groups feel legitimized by Trump's victory: "The fact is they are once again going to march on the street and celebrate Trump’s victory is proof positive that Donald Trump's campaign has legitimized extremist ideologies in this country so much that they are no longer relegated to the fringes of American society."

Trump has not commented on the hate crime incidents and his presidential transition team has not responded to NBC's requests for comment on Thursday and Friday.

The president-elect did tweet about protesters who have held demonstrations across the U.S. against his presidency. In one tweet he said the protesters were "incited by the media." In a follow up tweet Friday morning, he struck a more conciliatory tone, saying "Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country. We will all come together and be proud!"

While most of the anti-Trump rallies were peaceful, police in Portland, Oregon, said a rally there overnight Thursday turned into a "riot" when some protesters carrying bats smashed car and store windows and lit fires. Early Wednesday, protesters in Oakland, California, smashed windows at the Oakland Tribune newsroom, and set tires, trash and newspaper stands on fire there and in Berkeley. 

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said incidents of vandalism from anti-Trump protesters also are a "troubling" trend. 

Greenblatt added he's not surprised by KKK's move and their attempt to gain publicity by exploiting the presidential election. He said other white supremacist groups are also celebrating Trump's victory.

James Edwards, a white supremacist who runs “The Political Cesspool, a radio show based in Tennessee, wrote about Trump’s opponents, “I hope President Trump shows them no mercy. Don’t be magnanimous, Mr. President. Crush the defeated, especially those in the media, and Make America Great Again!”

Lenz said The Daily Stormer, the most influential Neo-Nazi website, put out a call Thursday to harass Hispanic and Muslim immigrants and to make them feel a genuine sense of fear. 

SPLC published a petition Friday morning asking the president-elect to reject hate and bigotry. More than 17,000 people have signed it. 

Human Rights Watch has also called for Trump to speak out against hate-filled violence. The New York Times issued a similar appeal in an editorial. 

President Barack Obama, Clinton and other prominent Democrats have said they wished the billionaire businessman the best as he transitions to the presidency. 

But departing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid lashed out at Trump, saying in a statement that he has "heard more stories in the past 48 hours of Americans living in fear of their own government and their fellow Americans than I can remember hearing in five decades in politics."

"Watching white nationalists celebrate while innocent Americans cry tears of fear does not feel like America," he said.

He said that if Trump "wants to roll back the tide of hate he unleashed, he has a tremendous amount of work to do and he must begin immediately."

A fire at a northwest Miami-Dade apartment complex had crews working to put out the blaze that engulfed several floors Friday.

Crews responded around 1:30 p.m. to the building at Northwest 186^th Street and 67^th Avenue, located near the Country Club of Miami.

There have been no reports of injuries from officials. Footage appeared to show four floors of apartments that were damaged as a result.

The building was evacuated as a result. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Stay tuned to NBC 6 on air and online for updates.

President-elect Donald Trump's transition team includes some of the most conservative opponents to illegal immigration, NBC News reported.

Kris Kobach, Kansas' secretary of state, who is a champion of tough anti-illegal immigration laws and ideas, has been hired as part of the team.

According to a document obtained by The New York Times, Danielle Cutrona is leading the "Immigration Reform & Building the Wall" component of Trump's transition. She is Sen. Jeff Sessions' counsel on the Judiciary Committee. Sessions has long opposed illegal — and many forms of legal — immigration.

"There's going to be a lot to do there in part because Mr. Trump and Mr. Obama are diametric opposites when it comes to immigration policy," Kobach told Kansas' KWCH. "So there will be a lot of changes."

A couple of South Florida veterans received home renovations Friday from the Miami Heat to commemorate Veterans Day.

Heat President Pat Riley, along with former players Alonzo Mourning and Glen Rice, partnered with members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade.

Rickey Grant, a former First Class Airmen of the U.S. Airforce, and Tymothi Coffee, a U.S. Navy veteran, both had their homes renovated this year as part of the HEAT Home Strong Initiative.

Repairs and upgrades included a new roof, flooring, toilets, light fixtures, interior/exterior painting, landscaping and new appliance installations.

More women are asking Planned Parenthood workers about access to birth control and other health care since Donald Trump was elected president, according to the organization's chief medical officer. 

Some women have taken to social media to discuss their concerns about the prospect of affordable access to women’s health care diminishing, with one long-lasting form of birth control called an IUD apparently attracting extra attention. 

Trump has promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act as one of his first acts in office, which could mean the end of free, FDA-approved contraception, including birth control pills, diaphragms, IUDs and emergency contraception like Plan B. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Friday, Trump said he would consider keeping at least two parts of President Barack Obama's signature health care law: a ban on insurers denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and a provision that allows young adults to stay on their parents' plans. 

“Since the election, we have seen an uptick in questions about access to health care, birth control, and the Affordable Care Act,” said Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley, the chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood. “While we truly hope that birth control methods will be available, accessible and affordable to all women under the Trump administration, we understand people’s real concerns about losing access to birth control, which is basic health care for women.”

There is a real possibility that health care cuts could come in the months after Trump is inaugurated in January, according to Cindy Pearson, the 19-year executive director of National Women's Health Network.

"It's not an irrational fear," Pearson said. "It's a fear that stems from people who will soon be in charge of Congress and the White House. We're very concerned since Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence have supported policies that would leave women in difficult situations."

NBC has reached out Trump's campaign for comment. 

Trump has expressed different positions on women's health issues. He voiced disapproval for abortions during the campaign, even telling MSNBC’s Chris Matthews in March that women who get abortions should be “punished,” though he later backtracked on that statement. As for birth control, Trump said on "The Dr. Oz Show" in September that women shouldn't need a prescription to have access to it. 

There is one safe and effective form of birth control that can last for four years, when another president may be elected, and some women appear to be discussing it. 

The IUD, short for intrauterine device, is a T-shaped object inserted in a woman's uterus, where it can stay for years. It is 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancies — more than condoms, though IUDs do not prevent sexually transmitted diseases. Hormonal IUDs can last for about 3 to 6 years on average, while non-hormonal IUDs can last for up to 12 years, according to Planned Parenthood.

IUDs have offered a unique appeal for their longevity. Google searches for the term were four times their average on Wednesday night, after Trump was projected to win the presidency.

And women on Twitter have suggested that others get IUDs to last through a Trump presidency.

Kristyn Brandi, MD, OB/GYN and family planning specialist at Boston Medical Center and fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health called the Affordable Care Act a "game-changer" for helping women afford contraception.

“We don't really know what will happen with the new administration," she said. "I have heard of several women that are concerned about either access to IUDs or replacing existing ones. We have already seen patients who are seeking contraception based on concerns about what will happen to reproductive health and the Affordable Care Act."

The talk of IUDs may have been prompted by an article in The Daily Beast last week. 

"What Donald Trump has promised to do—and what Mike Pence has actually done during his tenure as governor of Indiana—is to make birth control a lot more difficult for women to access,” Erin Gloria Ryan wrote, advocating that women consider getting an IUD in case Trump were elected.

IUDs are the third most popular form of contraception, according to Planned Parenthood, behind condoms and birth control pills, and they were already becoming more popular. The organization has seen a 91 percent increase in IUD users in the last five years alone.

McDonald-Mosley said Planned Parenthood expects that trend to continue in coming years. 

Democrats have long supported Planned Parenthood, but Republicans have fought in recent years to restrict funding to the organization. Since Trump was elected president, the organization has made it clear that they are there to stay. 

"We now face a very different future, and there is uncertainty ahead," their website read after the race was called. "But one thing is for sure: We will never back down, and Planned Parenthood will never stop providing the care patients need."

Pearson and the NWHN are preparing to "fight like crazy" to stop potential health care cuts, she said.

--Suzanne Ciechalski contributed to this story

A man accused of stabbing to death his girlfriend in a Wynwood home was ordered held without bond during a court appearance Friday.

Carlos Enriquez-Polledo, 58, is facing a first-degree murder charge in the killing of 28-year-old Cylkia Gerena Maldonado.

Wearing a suicide prevention vest, Enriquez-Polledo was represented by a public defender at Friday's court hearing.

The defender argued unsuccessfully for a lesser charge of manslaughter.

According to an arrest report, Enriquez-Polledo walked into Miami Police headquarters and told an officer he had killed his girlfriend.

He led investigators to the home in the 3400 block of Northwest 1st Avenue where they found the body of Maldonado with a stab wound to her neck, the report said.

Enriquez-Polledo later admitted to stabbing Maldonado during a lovers quarrel, the report said.

Maldonado's family said she leaves behind her 8-year-old daughter.

U.S. equities closed mostly higher on Friday, with the three major indexes posting their best weekly gains of the year on the back of a surprise Republican sweep, CNBC reported.

"I think you're seeing a transition from a government that had its thumb on growth to a free economy," said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird. "We're now looking at an economy that can reach its full potential."

The Dow Jones industrial average closed about 37 points higher, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most gains. For the week, the Dow rose around 5.4 percent, marking its best weekly performance since December 2011.

"The Republican sweep across Washington should pave the way for tax reform at both the individual and corporate level. America's largest multinational companies will almost assuredly have the opportunity to repatriate some of its foreign cash holdings for a modest penalty," said Jeremy Klein, chief market strategist at FBN Securities.

President-elect Donald Trump is open to keeping parts of President Obama's signature health care law, he said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Friday.

Trump told the paper, after speaking with Obama at the White House the day before, he was considering keeping the clause that allows children to stay on their parents' insurance policies.

The president-elect also told the Journal that he favors the prohibition on insurers denying coverage to patient with a pre-existing condition.

"I like those very much," Mr. Trump told the paper.

Trump has argued in the past that the pre-existing condition aspect of the law should not be repealed.

During the Republican primary debate that aired on CNN on Feb. 25, Trump said of the prohibition, "I think we need it. I think it's a modern age. And I think we have to have it."

Despite his acceptance of these two aspects of the law, Trump reiterated to the Journal that he will repeal and replace Obamacare when he takes office.

Trump told the paper he would move "quickly" in repealing the law.    

Ten years ago, Susan Nayamora sat in Broward County Jail facing prison time after she violated probation for the fourth time.

"I was slowly killing myself," said Nayamora about her drug abuse. "I sat there for four weeks and I was told that I was pretty much looking at a minimum of five years in prison because my behavior had not changed."

She also received some unexpected news – Nayamora was four-and-half weeks pregnant with her fifth child.

This time, Nayamora got clean and began to work through the system until she found a new career as a certified peer support specialist.

Nayamora is the CEO and president of South Florida Wellness Network, a non-profit organization in Broward County that employs and trains certified peer support specialists.

"Peer support is part of the human connection," Nyamora said. "It’s your own personal experience living through the disease of addiction or mental health challenges."

Recovering from substance abuse could be a difficult journey with the risk of relapsing at any moment, if no support system is there.

Peer support providers’ own addiction is a pre-requisite for the job. They have a vital role in helping people in recovery stay sober because they know the struggles of addiction too well. They understand the daily battle of addiction and know how to navigate the system.

This has not gone unnoticed. In recent years, 38 states have created programs to train and certify people with "lived experience who have initiated their recovery journey and are willing to assist others who are in earlier stages of the recovery process," according to a 2014 national overview conducted by The Center for Social Work Research.

The growing heroin crisis in South Florida is devastating families and communities. In Miami-Dade County, three deaths relating to heroin use are reported every day, according to the medical examiner’s office. In Broward County, Carfentanil, an elephant tranquilizer often added to heroin, has been tied to 53 deaths this year.

As law enforcement and health organizations try to find some solutions to this growing problem, peer support specialists offer that needed support to those struggling with substance abuse to stay sober.

But the certification process to work on this job is filled with hurdles for anybody who had any run-ins with the law. Those applying for certification have to be three years removed from certain crimes. That means no felonies and first-degree misdemeanors and release from any court-ordered sanctions or supervision in the three years prior to application.

Nyamora thinks that’s too long.

"I think the timeline should be less," she said. "I also think the process should go smoother and quicker because the process is not easy."

People can appeal and be approved but Nyamora says the time it takes is another problem.

"We lost tons of amazing people who could have really benefited this community," she said. "Because you know people have lives and bills to pay and many of these people are single parents or people at different socio-economic status."

A strong support system present in their lives is what has helped Heather and Brian to stay sober. The couple was on a destructive path over a year ago – back on drugs after meeting at drug rehab here in South Florida.

"It’s sad to say but I loved the drugs more than I loved my kids at that point," said Heather, 26.

The couple, both from Philadelphia, met in South Florida while trying to get clean at a drug rehab. Since then, they’ve had relapsed once again as they found out that they were expecting their second child.

It took a scholarship from Reawakenings in Miramar to help them overcome their drug addiction and get the support they needed.

"We decided to stay down here because this is where our support system is," Heather said.

Mark Fontaine understands that people in recovery from substance abuse could have a crucial role at a time that is needed in Florida. That’s why Fontaine, executive director of the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association, is part of an effort to ask state legislators to change the current rules.

"We are talking about putting a bill together for this," Fontaine said. "The question is how long and difficult you want to make it for people."

Fontaine agrees the current system, including the appeals process, is time-consuming and cumbersome.

"We need to use every tool on the box to address addiction issues," Fontaine said.

Don Maines knows this battle too well.

"Addiction is a disease of the brain," Maines said.

Maines, a recovering alcoholic, has been working in the substance abuse field for almost 30 years.

And that means fighting the stigma that comes with substance abuse and mental illnesses.

Maines, a special advisor for substance abuse research for the Broward Sheriff’s Office, says the rule is unfair and it disqualifies good candidates.

"They are trying to help people, why don’t you give them a chance?" Maines questioned.

As the Trump presidency gains momentum, the president-elect's team continues to fill out its list of potential cabinet picks with new names, NBC News reported.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence will spearhead the transition, taking over for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who will be one of several vice-chairs, the Trump campaign announced Friday.

Pence, as well as Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign chief Steve Bannon will be leading the charge to whittle down names for cabinet positions. Along with them, the executive committee will include three of his children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, PayPal founder Peter Thiel, and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.

But despite Donald Trump's campaign pledge to "drain the swamp" in Washington and his outsider campaign, many of the prospects are clear Washington insiders.

North Miami Police arrested a man at an IHOP Friday afternoon after he allegedly stabbed his waiter.

The suspect had eaten at an IHOP located at 12875 Biscayne Boulevard earlier on Friday, when he later returned complaining that his food had been poisoned, according to North Miami Police.

Authorities say he began arguing with the waiter that had served him. He then chased the waiter inside the restaurant and stabbed him.

The suspect was detained and the waiter was transported to Aventura Hospital Trauma Center with serious injuries, police say.

Police identified the suspect as 35-year-old Gene Henry Hicks III. Charges are pending.