A man was gunned down by a deputy during what authorities described as a case of "illegal narcotics activity" Thursday in Calimesa.

The shooting happened at around 6: 10 p.m. in the 1200 block of Calimesa Boulevard, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said. Deputies approached two men who were standing next to a vehicle, believing they were engaging in an illegal narcotics activity, according to a sheriff's department statement.

One of the subjects immediately followed the deputies' orders and was detained, while the other man sat down inside the vehicle and ignored commands. He then allegedly removed a handgun from his pocket, which is when the shooting occurred.

The subject died at the scene. Neither of the deputies were injured and the deputy was placed on administrative leave in accordance with department policy.

Investigators from the Cabazon Sheriff's Station and the Riverside County Sheriff's Central Homicide Unit responded to the scene and assumed control of the investigation.

The investigation is still ongoing.

David Binkle, the food services director at the Los Angeles Unified School District, has been removed from his position pending an internal investigation "into a confidential personnel matter," according to a statement from the district.

That investigating involves alleged conflicts of interest and mismanagement of the nation's second-largest school meal system, according to the Los Angeles Times. In a statement to NBC4, the LAUSD said Binkle has been temporarily reassigned due to an internal investigation, but did not provide details regarding the matter.

"David Binkle, Director, Food Services Division, has been temporarily reassigned pending the conclusion of an internal investigation into a confidential personnel matter," the statement said. "In the interim, Laura Benavidez and Timikel Sharpe, both Food Service Division Deputy Directors, are serving as co-directors. We continue to serve good food defined as healthy, affordable, fair and sustainable daily to hundreds of thousands of our students."

His removal came even though LAUSD has won national acclaim in the past five years, including praise from First Lady Michelle Obama, for its initiatives to transform school food from fatty meals to more healthful fare.

Binkle, 52, is accused by the Office of the Inspector General of failing to report payments from vendors to attend school food conferences and of ownership interests in a private food-related consulting firm, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

He is also accused of mismanaging the district's $500,000 annual marketing program, which was launched in 2011 as part of a revamped food contracting system, according to The Times. The program is funded by five major food contractors to promote healthful eating.

"We found that the program is currently at a minimum being mismanaged and at worst being consistently abused" by Binkle and the food services division, said the inspector general's draft audit, which was obtained by The Times.

Binkle denied wrongdoing, saying in an email to The Times that he was "deeply disheartened, frustrated and baffled" by his removal Dec. 4. 

He has been ordered to remain at home while continuing to draw his $152,000 annual salary.

"I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide since my actions were approved and encouraged from senior district officials, general counsel or the ethics office," he wrote, "I am confident the truth and facts will show the allegations are unsubstantiated."

LAUSD's $354 million food program serves 716,000 meals daily to 615,000 students at 1,200 locations.

The terror threat remains high abroad and at home. In Los Angeles, a major ongoing concern is that a terrorist could target award shows, premieres and ordinary citizens.

LA's FBI leader who watched the types of threats develop over two decades, Bill Lewis sat down with NBC4 in a rare interview before his retirement from his position as assistant director in charge of FBI's LA office.

As an FBI agent, Lewis worked the intense manhunt for Christopher Dorner, the shooting at LAX, the Olympic bombing at Centennial park and the cyber attack on Sony.

Four different kinds of terror events illustrated the ever-changing face of terrorism.

"I vividly remember when we first got computers in the FBI, we started to do our own paperwork on the computers, and then we started to sense that the criminal element was going to take advantage of the capability," Lewis said. "And as the years went by, them taking advantage of that has grown bigger and bigger and bigger."

The retiring assistant in charge says LA is toward the top of the terror target list. Why? Because Southern California is attractive to terrorists for all the reasons it's attractive to residents and visitors.

"I mean, we have Hollywood, so we have a lot of events that happen there," Lewis said. "Also, think of all the different sporting venues we have here. And I think probably most important, the Los Angeles airport and the ports are a big target threat to us."

But while he says the city could be a terror target, he also praises the systems already in place.

"We are very lucky here in Los Angeles, because we have a very active joint terrorism task force where we have participation from our state, local, and our federal partners," he said. "That’s going to be what helps us find that next plot and help disrupt it."

As the FBI continues to adapt to new threats, so does their employee search. Agents needs computer expertise, and knowledge of languages such as Farsi. Because Southern California is so diverse — more than 130 languages spoken in LA alone — the FBI relies on the community as a primary resource in heading off terrorists in the city.

"Having people in the community no matter what community you are in, feeling comfortable and reporting stuff to law enforcement definitely is going to make a difference in stopping future attacks," he said.

In 26 years as an FBI agent, Lewis has seen change. The job still entails stopping organized crime, drugs and finding bank robbers, but terrorism tops the list — the growing concern being the "lone wolf."

"Our fear is that it would be a US citizen that would be able to get over there, come back and then continue radicalization here," he said.

And while that scenario of a lone wolf attack disrupting a public event, like the Boston Marathon bombing, is terrifying, Lewis also worries about the cyber terrorism and the damage that can do.

"Not only what happened in the Sony hack, but what can happen with any US citizen or any citizen of the United States when it comes to our banking institutions, the power companies, water companies," he said. "I really worry that someone is going to get into those systems and cause big problems."

Now, Lewis says Southern Californians have to become more proactive, as they're now a big part of the equation in finding and preventing terrorism.

"I think we have to keep our eye on everything all the time, which is a big difference from the way it was when I started 26 years ago," he said. "We have to keep our eyes on all the threats, because just when you think something can’t happen, something will happen."

Police have arrested a New York man on a variety of charges following a rampage through a Long Island neighborhood. 

Nicholas Patrikis is accused of crashing a Jeep, breaking into a nearby home and killing a cat while ransacking the Oyster Bay Cove place. He then allegedly menaced passing drivers with a kitchen knife and boarded a school bus where he robbed two students.

Patrikis pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges including burglary, robbery, animal cruelty, weapon possession and criminal mischief. Bail was set at $100,000. His attorney did not immediately comment.

Police say he was taken for medical evaluation before being charged.

Newsday reports that the two Oyster Bay High School students who were robbed were fine.

Rescuers hauled a man to man to safety after he fell from the Manhattan Beach Pier Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

Two Good Samaritans heard a man screaming for help in the Pacific Ocean at 1:22 p.m. and jumped off the pier to help him, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Firefighters and lifeguards jumped in after them, and when the man in distress was brought to shore, they performed CPR on the victim, fire officials said.

"Without the efforts of those firefighters that jumped off the pier, it would have been a very dicey situation," LACFD spokesman A.J. Lester said.

He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, where he remained Thursday night.

Clippers guard Chris Paul was critical of referee Lauren Holtkamp after Thursday's 105-94 loss to the Cavaliers that featured a barrage of technical fouls, including one in the third quarter against the All-Star.

Paul was assessed the technical foul by Holtkamp, who worked with officials Ken Mauer and Eric Lewis, with 10:17 left in the third following a free throw by Cleveland. The Clippers were attempting to quickly inbound the ball after a Cavaliers' freethrow when Holtkamp stepped in.

Paul questioned her and was slapped with the technical.

"The tech I got was ridiculous," Paul said. "That's terrible. There's no way that can be a technical. We try to get the ball out fast every time down the court. When we did that, she said, 'Uh-uh.' I said, 'Why uh-uh?' and she gave me a technical. That's ridiculous.

"If that's the case, this might not be for her."

It was part of a bizarre night in which Los Angeles was handed five technicals -- four in the third quarter, three of them in a 52-second span.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers also received a technical and forward Matt Barnes was ejected in the third by Lewis after getting his second "T." Barnes got tangled up with Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, shoved him and got the technical. He got the second one when he complained about teammate Jamal Crawford getting called for a charging foul and told Lewis, "Don't give them the game."

Barnes is tied for the league lead with 11 technicals. He also has been ejected twice.

"It keeps happening," Barnes said. "Some of these I earn, some of them I don't."

Paul, head of the NBA Players Association, and Barnes weren't the only Clippers critical of the officiating during post-game interviews. Clippers forward DeAndre Jordan let out a yell after grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring over Love.

"I guess she thought I was talking to her," Jordan said of a technical whistled against him by Holtkamp in the third quarter. "We talked about it. She said that she thought I was talking to her. She made a call and I talked to the other refs and they disagreed with it. Hopefully it will be rescinded. We'll see."

Holtkamp, one of two active female officials in the NBA, is in her first full year in the NBA. She previously worked for six seasons in the NBA Development League and officiating games in WNBA, college and international competitions.

Over halfway through an 82-game season, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic have combined for only 28 wins. Entering Friday's contest, Orlando has lost 10 straight games. Somehow, the Lakers still hold a worse record than the Magic.

Even against a team that has lost 10 games in a row and just fired its coach on Thursday, Pinnacle Sports listed the Lakers as three-point underdogs. LA, fourth, ranks ahead of Orlando, fifth, in the race to the bottom.

Two games into their four game road trip, the Lakers have two losses.

First, LA spent the morning of Super Bowl Sunday in the "World's Most Famous Arena" embarrassing themselves in a blowout defeat to the New York Knicks, whom currently hold the second worst record in the NBA.

Watching two of the absolute worst teams playing in one of the least dramatic games of the season before turning over to see, arguably, the most dramatic and perfectly matched game in the history of sports somehow accentuated how great Sunday's Super Bowl truly was.

Second, the Lakers got through 47 minutes and 24 seconds against the Milwaukee Bucks with a six-point lead. In the final 36 seconds of regulation, the Bucks hit two three-pointers, and the two teams played a five-minute overtime period. Unlike a similar breakdown against the Chicago Bulls at the end of regulation only two games earlier, the Lakers could not retake hold of the contest in the extra period. Hence, the Lakers have lost two games in a row.

Next, the Lakers take their road trip to Orlando, and no one truly knows what to expect from a team that has not only lost on the court, but it has also lost on the sidelines. Against the Lakers, Magic assistant coach James Borrego will debut as interim coach for the hosts.

The Lakers and Magic met in Los Angeles nearly four weeks ago, and LA won 104-84 with Lakers rookie Tarik Black finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds in only 17 minutes. On Friday, Black expects to make his second consecutive start, as the Lakers have ruled out starting center Jordan Hill with a hip flexor strain. Hill is traveling with the team, but he does not expect to play for the duration of the road trip.

Considering the next stop will be Cleveland and LeBron James, the Lakers' best chance at getting a victory on their four-game roadie is definitely in Orlando.

The Lakers and Magic will tip 4 p.m. Pacific Time.

Notes: Ronnie Price is listed as probable due to a sore right elbow. Lakers forward Ed Davis revealed he plans to exercise his player option at the end of the season, meaning he will become a free agent after the season.

A police pursuit involving two men wanted in connection with a burglary ended Friday morning on a San Fernando Valley freeway, backing up traffic at the start of the morning drive.

The burglary report was received at about 6:10 a.m., and police saw the burglars leaving a home in the 1800 block of Ventura Boulevard in the west San Fernando Valley. Officers followed the driver eastbound on the 101 Freeway before the subjects stopped on the side of the road and surrendered at about 6:30 a.m.

The occupants were ordered out of the car as several patrol vehicles blocked eastbound traffic. The road reopened at about 6:45 a.m.

A man police described as "armed and dangerous" was found dead after a fire brought a four-hour armed barricade to an end overnight in Lancaster.

The discovery was made after the blaze broke out in the 5000 block of Gadsden Avenue at 12:03 a.m, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. Nearby homes in the area were evacuated overnight during the standoff.

A special weapons team had been stationed outside since around 7:30 p.m Tuesday after responding to a call that a known felon in possession of a firearm was inside the residence. He refused to come out after officers tried to serve him with several warrants.

"The suspect refused to comply," said  Lt. Holly Francisco, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "Ultimately, gas was introduced into the house and a fire started."

Details regarding the man's cause of death were not available Friday afternoon. The suspect was the only person inside the building, and was found dead in the kitchen.

Homicide detectives and arson investigators were at the scene.

Just three children returned to the Santa Monica High School Infant Toddler Center when it reopened Friday following a nearly weeklong closure due to a measles outbreak.

Normally the day care center typically cares for 26 children. It was shut down Monday after a 1-year-old child too young to be vaccinated who attends the center came down with the virus.

"I feel terrible for the small children in that program," parent Jill Sharaf said.

The Los Angeles Department of Public Health recommended that 14 infants stay home for 21 days, while staff and families returning to the day care center must have documented proof they are immune, a Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District spokesperson said. A blood test is required or proof of two MMR immunizations.

The day care center serves school staff, community members and three teen parents who attend the high school.

School officials expect more children to return to the Infant Toddler Center as families start to get their immunization records in order. But the measles scare has prompted conversations in families about public health, parents said.

"I'm a pretty progressive thinker. I'd love to not immunize my daughters," Sharaf said. But "we have a responsibility to the people around us."

"It's just kind of weird. You wouldn't expect it to be in your school," said high school student Madison Garrett.

The baby's case was the second at the school. A high school coach was diagnosed with measles in January, but school was kept open after officials determined students were at low risk for contracting the highly infections virus.

Decades after the notion of building a park over the 101 freeway was first floated, groundbreaking for a Hollywood Central Park may now be no more than two years away, according to its backers.

It is one of several pending proposals  for constructing concrete caps over stretches of freeways that run through trenches, and using the land above for parks and other development.

The obstacles are daunting, and only the Hollywood proposal has advanced to the stage of preparing an Environmental Impact Report. The EIR is expected to be published for public comment by the end of spring or early summer, said attorney Alfred Fraijo Jr., president of the Friends of Hollywood Central Park.

The cap would cover the freeway for the mile between Santa Monica Boulevard and Bronson Avenue. Envisioned amenities include athletic fields, a community center, eateries, retail, a parking structure and possibly even a small bed-and-breakfast inn, according to the the initial study by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

App Users: Click Here for Map

In so doing, the park would link two sides of a community connected only by street crossings over the freeway since it was built in the early 1950s.

"Why wouldn't anyone want this?" asked booster Philip Mershon, a long time Hollywood resident.

As a devotee of Tinseltown history and founder of Felix in Hollywood tours, Mershon is usually loathe to see historic sites disappear from view.

He'll make an exception for the 101 freeway.

"I would rather see a beautiful park here," he said over the din of passing autos.

The cost is projected in the area of $1 billion, Fraijo said, and is expected to require a variety of public and private funding sources.  He sees the inclusion of Hollywood in one of the Obama administration's "Promise Zones" as an encouraging sign for obtaining federal assistance.

Capping freeways is not a new idea.

The Memorial Park in La Canada Flintridge was planted over the then-new 210 Freeway four decades ago. Nationwide, backers count more than a hundred freeway caps, but only a handful in California.

In the past decade, the concept has come into favor with urban planners, and freeway caps have been proposed in five Southland cities, including Glendale, Ventura, Santa Monica and San Diego, as well as Los Angeles.

Apart from Hollywood, there is another Los Angeles proposal  for "Park 101" above the so-called "downtown slot" that separates the Civic Center from the historic El Pueblo district, where the city of Angeles was founded.

"I really see light at the end of the tunnel," said Don Scott, president of Friends of Park 101 District.

The regional local government planning association known as SCAG (Southern California Association of Governments) has encouraged freeway cap proposals with grants for studies, and also by working with the California Dept. of Transportation (CalTrans) to develop standards, according to Carl Morehouse, SCAG President.

"It's a chance to mend cities that were torn apart," Morehouse said.

In his city, Ventura, where he serves on the city council, Morehouse and other council members envision a cap that over the 101 freeway to reconnect downtown with the waterfront. The cap is also proposed as the location for a multi-modal transportation hub, including a new train station.

Any freeway cap on an interstate would have to be  approved by both the federal highway administration and CalTrans.

"I like the concept," said Carrie Bowen, director of CalTrans District 7, based in Los Angeles.

However, she also sees specific issues which need to be resolved first, including safety standards for both those atop the cap, and the motorists below on freeway stretches that will in effect become tunnels. Bowen cited a fiery 2007 pileup inside a Newhall Pass tunnel that houses the connector between Interstate 5 and the 14 freeway. Three persons were killed.

Another issue is future freeway expansion. Locking down a freeway's dimensions with a cap would make it more difficult, if not financially infeasible, to add lanes.

"Those are discussions that have to be had," Bowen said.

Proponents of freeway cap parks should not count on state funding, Bowen said, citing budget constraints and the need to fund deferred maintenance for existing structures.

Rights to build in the airspace above freeways constitute significant assets that CalTrans leases to generate revenue, but does not sell.

The cap proposals also represent a response to the increasing cost of obtaining land for new municipal parks. "Space 134" over the 134 freeway through Glendale would provide the city needed park resources for its downtown south of the freeway, and the densely populated residential neighborhoods north of it, said Alan Loomis, Glendale's principal urban designer.

"We're kind of reaching the point where it may be as cost-effective to build over a freeway as to acquire a developed property to tear down," Loomis said.

The first phase of Space 134 could be built within a decade for under a hundred million dollars, Loomis figures, "if you can get the funding -- which is literally the billion-dollar question."  

Dina Shacknai said Thursday the lawsuit accusing her of murder in the 2011 hanging death of her millionaire ex-husband's girlfriend at a California mansion "makes no sense.”

Shacknai spoke exclusively to NBC 7 more than three years after the deaths of Rebecca Zahau and her son Max Shacknai at the Spreckels Coronado mansion. The medical examiner ruled Zahau's death a suicide and Max's an accident as a result of a fall from a staircase in the home.

“It makes no sense to me," she said of the lawsuit. "We have been accused of horrific, horrible actions that are deplorable."

The suit filed by Zahau's family claims Shacknai, her twin sister Nine Romano and ex-husband's brother Adam conspired to kill Zahau. It accuses Shacknai of hitting Zahau four times in the back of the head and then working with the other two to strip the unconscious woman, gag her and hang her with a rope over the balcony.

Shacknai lost her six-year-old son Max after a tragic fall inside his father Jonah's Coronado mansion in July 2011. The only person there at the time was Rebecca Zahau, Johah's girlfriend--who just days after Max's death was found nude, bound and hanging from the mansion's second-story balcony.

“I never had the opportunity to ask what happened," said Shacknai.

Since both deaths, there have been countless investigators and attorneys involved. Shacknai's experts say her son's death was a homicide. Zahau's family believes someone also killed her. Their latest allegations were detailed in a $10 million wrongful death suit against Shacknai

Shacknai said the accusations in the suit are unfounded and said there is no way those actions could have happened.

"Frankly it's in my interest to find out what happened to her as well because I know for a fact who was not there. I was not there and neither was my sister," she told NBC 7.

Shacknai believes the Zahau family deserves to have answers but can't understand why she's a target. In the midst of everything, she said she tries to focus on the time she spent with her son and the work she's doing through the organization she started in his name.

"The closure for me will come with the resolution of these lawsuits because they are not productive, and the closure will be through Maxie's house, which is something positive,” said Shacknai.

Depositions for this civil case have started. In October, a federal judge ruled the wrongful death lawsuit in the case of Zahau will move forward. Judge Whelan said looking at the accusations in a light most favorable to the plaintiffs, the factual allegations are sufficient to support the conspiracy theory. Zahau family Attorney Keith Greer believes the case will not be settled and will go to a jury trial.

Former New England Patriots football star Aaron Hernandez is on trial in Fall River, Massachusetts, accused of killing a semi-professional football player found shot multiple times near Hernandez’s home. Testimony began in January and is expected to take six to 10 weeks.

Hernandez and the victim, Odin Lloyd, had been out at a nightclub two days earlier and later got into a fight, prosecutors say.

Here are some highlights from the court proceedings so far.

Trophies on display, and memories of O.J.

Defense lawyers and prosecutors have been sparring over Hernandez’s football trophies from the start.

The defense won the first round when Bristol County Superior Court Judge Susan ruled that the jurors would be allowed to see the trophy case when they toured the house on Feb. 6. Hernandez’s lawyer James Sultan had argued that the house should be shown as it was at the time of Lloyd’s death in 2013.

But the day before the tour, prosecutor Patrick Bomberg prevailed when he told the judge that religious items and memorabilia from Hernandez’s football career had been added to several rooms. He drew a comparison to the O.J. Simpson murder trial when photographs and a Bible were placed in the retired football player’s house. Simpson was later acquitted on charges of killing his former wife and a waiter. Judge Garsh said anything new would have to be covered or removed.

A mother’s tears

Lloyd’s mother, Ursula Ward, twice left the courtroom in tears before testifying on Feb. 4, when the judge asked her not to cry as she was shown photographs of her son.

“I understand this is very emotional for you,” Garsh told her.

Ward remained stoic when she viewed an autopsy photo of her son’s face and another of her son wearing the same clothes he was dressed in when his body was found.

Juror removed

Judge Garsh dismissed one of the jurors on Feb. 3, saying there was evidence that she had discussed her opinion about the case and, in particular, had said that it would be hard to convict Hernandez without the murder weapon, which has never been found. The woman also attended more Patriot games than she disclosed, talked about evidence that the judge had ruled inadmissible and over the last few years had expressed an interest in serving on the jury, the judge said.

To watch the Super Bowl or not

As Hernandez’s former team prepared for the match-up against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL’s championship game, Judge Garsh told the jurors they could watch the game but only if they left the room if Hernandez’s name came up.

“You hear that word, you’ve got to walk out of the room,” Garsh told them on Jan. 30. “Distance yourself.”

During the 2012 Super Bowl, Hernandez caught a touchdown pass from the Patriot’s quarterback, Tom Brady — though the team lost the New York Giants. This year, the Patriots beat the Seahawks 28 - 24 in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 1.

Sheriff's deputies are looking for a man who made an order at a Riverside County yogurt shop before robbing the place Thursday night, authorities said.

He handed a note to the employee demanding an undisclosed amount of money after making his order at the Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt Shop in the 23000 block of Clinton Keith Road, Wildomar, at approximately 9:15 p.m., according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. 

When he received the money, he grabbed the note and fled, officials said.

The man was described as a man of medium build with dark, short hair with an unshaven face. He was last seen wearing a tan-colored cap; a gray, striped, long-sleeved shirt and light-colored jeans.

Deputies ask anyone with information to call 951-245-3300 or 951-776-1099.

The Bay Area's Power Couple is at it again.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan have announced a $75 million donation San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center to complete an acute care and trauma facility.

The gift is the biggest donation the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation has received since it was established in 1994, the foundation said Friday. It supplements an $887.4 million bond issue that San Francisco voters approved in 2008 to start building the facility.

According to the Foundation, the grant will "Fund critical state of the art equipment and technology for the new building and will help convert the existing hospital building into an ambulatory care facility."

Zuckerberg and Chan recently also donated $25 million to fight Ebola. In a press release, Zuckerberg said, "Priscilla and I believe that everyone deserves access to high quality health care."

Chan, a pediatrician, is completing her residency at the University of California, San Francisco and works regularly at the hospital, where she focuses on treating underprivileged children.

The newest donation is the latest in a series of tech windfalls helping Bay Area hospitals. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff donated about $250 million for the newly minted Benioff Children's Hospital.

Scott can be found on Twitter: @scottbudman

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.

A young, golden-eyed and very rare tiger has been brought to the Los Angeles Zoo, making his debut Friday.

There aren't many other tigers like Castro Jr., the new resident of LA who goes by C.J. With only 400 left in the wild, the Sumatran tiger is one of the most endangered tiger subspecies in the world, according to Stephanie Zielinski, animal keeper for the Los Angeles Zoo.

"C.J. is an incredibly well-natured and energetic tiger," Zielinski said in a statement. "He has very distinct gold eyes, and he loves to swim in the different pools in his habitat."

C.J. weighs 250 pounds and was born in March, 2013, according to the Zoo. He came from the Sacramento Zoo.

C.J.could potentially breed with female tigers, which Zielinski said was an exciting prospect. There were only 245 Sumatran tigers in human care as of 2007, according to the San Diego Zoo.

Sumatran Tigers are smaller than the other five subspecies of tiger that haven't gone extinct, the LA Zoo said. They live on Sumatra, an island in Indonesia, where their habitat is being destroyed by agriculture and tigers are being killed by poachers or villagers.

A suspicious package was found at a fire station in North Los Angeles Friday afternoon, police said.

A Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad was headed to the LA Fire Department station, in the 7700 block of Foothill Boulevard in Tujunga, police said.

Refresh this page for updates on this developing story.

A federal judge has ordered a new round of court hearings to determine whether the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 should be able to spend more time outside a D.C. mental hospital, reports NBC News' Pete Williams.

John Hinckley Jr. was found to be insane when he shot and wounded Reagan outside a downtown D.C. hotel more than 30 years ago.

In 2006, received permission to periodically leave St. Elizabeths Hospital to visit his mother's home in Williamsburg, Virginia. The length of those visits has expanded over the years.

Now the federal judge overseeing the case said the hospital has created a new set of recommendations for Hinckley, a plan currently sealed, Williams reported.

On Friday, Judge Paul L. Friedman ordered St. Elizabeth's to undertake a risk assessment by March 31 and set a schedule to receive responses from doctors, Hinckley's lawyers, and the Justice Department, with deadlines set throughout April.

Doctors at St. Elizabeth's had previously tried to let Hinckley spend roughly half the year in Williamsburg, divided into eight visits, but the government opposed that plan, according to Williams.

A 19-year-old from suburban Chicago spent more than two days lost in the Swiss Alps during a ski trip says he crossed chest-deep streams, hiked up a ravine and used his Boy Scout skills to build a shelter out of snow to survive the ordeal. 

In his hospital room, Mark Doose’s ski boots are a reminder of the harrowing two and a half days he spent lost in the frigid mountains outside of Zweisimmen.

The teen, a graduate of Hinsdale Central High School who is studying at the Swiss Federal Institute of technology, said he lost his way during white-out conditions.

“It started to snow a little bit harder, and so I decided to follow the pylons of one of the lifts down, because I figured that would go down to the base of the mountain,” he said. “But at some point, when I was following that path, I ended up in a ravine.”

Doose says he started hiking down the ravine, hoping it would lead him to safety.

“The snow was about up to my waist, and there were points where there were a lot of fresh snow that had just fallen, and it was pretty heavy snow, so it was difficult to hike through,” he said.

Doose hiked about two kilometers in the ravine, sleeping for only about two hours late Sunday night and early Monday morning.

“At one point, the ravine just came to a waterfall, so I couldn’t really go any further there, so I hiked up the embankment, probably 30 to 35 meters, with my skis,” he said.

He also says he crossed a number of rivers and streams, sometimes chest deep, all in temperatures that hovered just above zero.

“I wasn’t able to hike that fast, but I knew I had to keep moving in order to stay warm and keep from freezing, and especially after going through the water,” he said. “That was when I kept moving the most to try and keep my body temperature up.”

Doose says he used his Boy Scout skills, building a shelter out of the snow, to survive a second night in the mountains.

“Late at night there were a few times when I got pretty cold, and I was worried that it would be difficult to keep moving, but for the most part the whole time I just told myself that in order to stay alive I had to keep moving and keep hiking,” he said. “I really didn’t have any other option.”

More than 48 hours later, he came across a road, where he shouted out to three people who were able to call for help.

“When they first answered me, that was just incredible,” he said. “To have someone respond after not talking to anyone or having anyone hear me for almost two and a half days, that was pretty emotional.”

Doose was treated for mild hypothermia and a bruised toe.