SNOWBALL FIGHT! Crowds converged Tuesday for a massive snowball fight at Meridian Hill Park in D.C.

Much of the District was shut down after a storm dumped several inches of snow on the region -- all the more reason for the D.C. Snowball Fight Association to step into action.

The group, which has been organizing chilly battles for about five years, originally planned Tuesday's snowball fight to take place at Dupont Circle.

The battle was moved at the last minute because the National Park Service plowed Dupont Circle Park a little too soon, but the switch didn't keep the cold-impervious crowds away. About 150 people showed up, as well as about five dogs -- and 20 or so news crews.

The fight began around 11 a.m. Tuesday, and and afterward, the nearby James Hoban's Irish Restaurant & Bar (1 Dupont Circle NW) had a room reserved for snowballers. The pub was also offering a prize for the "best"-dressed (whatever that might mean) player.

Of course, there were some rules for the fight, organizers said:

• "We'll respect any requests of the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. National Park Police
• We hope you won't target members of the media (too hard) or damage anyone's camera
• In the interests of safety, we urge everyone to play fair, NOT THROW ICE, and wear any protective gear that you think you need
• Pelting moving vehicles could cause accidents, so we say: please don't go there
• And we also want to state the obvious: anyone who behaves recklessly is responsible for the consequences."

Tuesday's battle was the group's first organized snowball fight of the year. It hosted four last year.

Past battles have drawn hundreds of revelers.

Debit or credit? You’re probably asked this question at the cash register several times a day, and if you usually answer "debit," you’re putting your money at greater risk than you might think.

When you use your credit card, you’re essentially taking out an interest-bearing loan; in return, the issuer offers perks, such as airline miles, and guarantees some consumer protection in cases of fraud.

Despite the benefits, nearly all the consumers the NBC4 I-Team approached on a recent afternoon said they prefer to use debit cards for daily expenses.

"Here, I use debit," said Patricia Rodriguez, who was paying for groceries at the Handy Market in Burbank.

Fellow shopper Tracy Hamanaka agreed.

"Why debit? Because it’s cheaper," Hamanaka explained. "I don’t like spending money that is invisible to me (like it seems to be with credit cards). I like spending money I know that I have."

The shoppers shared one prevailing opinion: that using a debit card is "safer" because it only allows consumers to spend only the money that’s in their bank accounts, which helps them avoid overspending and paying interest.

But what makes the cards so appealing is also what makes them riskier than credit cards: Because the cash is instantly withdrawn from your account when you choose "debit," you’re left more vulnerable to fraud.

Even if you instruct the cashier to process a transaction as "credit," you won't get the same level of protection as a credit card.

"The 'credit' or 'debit' you get prompted with (at the register) is a misnomer," said Kevin Yuann, a former Visa manager who now writes for the financial blog NerdWallet.

"What it really means," Yuann told the I-Team, "is do you want your debit transaction processed as a 'signature debit' or 'PIN debit.' You won't get the same level of protection as a credit card regardless of what you choose when you check out with a debit card."

If someone steals and uses your credit card, the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) limits your liability to $50. However, if you report a credit card as lost or stolen before it’s used, you aren’t liable for any charges you didn’t authorize.

Similarly, if you report an ATM or debit card missing before someone uses it, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) says you aren’t responsible for any unauthorized transactions. However, if someone uses your ATM or debit card before you report it lost or stolen, your liability depends on how quickly you report it.

If you report it missing within two business days, your maximum loss is $50; after that, up to 60 calendar days, and your maximum loss grows to $500.

If you wait more than 60 calendar days after your statement is sent to you to report the missing card, you’re liable for all the money taken from your account, and possibly even more (for example, if you have overdraft protection, or money in accounts linked to your debit account).

With the FBI warning about the spread of card "skimming" operations, in which thieves steal PIN numbers or private information embedded in the magnetic strips of ATM and debit cards, some consumer advocates suggest limiting your use of ATM and debit cards to making cash withdrawls – and even then, using extreme care to avoid being "skimmed."

The Federal Trade Commission offers these other tips:

• Don’t carry your PIN in your wallet, purse or pocket.
• Carefully check your ATM or debit card transactions on your bank’s website, weekly if possible.
• Report any suspicious activity in your account immediately.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday urged an end to a crippling port strike "before the supply chain bends and breaks."

Garcetti spoke on the day that U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez was planing to meet with negotiators for both the dockworkers' union and the maritime association, which represents shipping lines that carry cargo and port terminal operators that handle it once the ships dock.

"We have to get this done," Garcetti said. "No walkouts. No lockouts. We have to have a deal, now."

Garcetti said he has had several phone calls with Perez over the weekend and has set up a daily conference call with West Coast mayors to help resolve the dispute.

Using a football analogy, Garcetti said Perez is the right man to get the job done.

"We've got a good running back in Tom Perez," Garcetti said. "Just hand him the ball and get through the line."

Garcetti said 22 of the 33 ships sitting off the LA County coast are container ships that could take up to eight weeks to offload. He said LA has "pretty much stopped" exporting goods. City officials have been making contracts with ports in the Gulf of Mexico and on the East Coast as an alternative to ship goods.

He fears that trade may never come back if the labor dispute is not resolved.

The two sides began meeting in May, and in recent weeks their disagreements at the bargaining table have led to historically debilitating problems moving cargo through 29 seaports from Southern California to Seattle.

After a fruitless meeting Friday between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association, President Barack Obama said Saturday that Perez would come west and engage in the talks, which a federal mediator has overseen since early January. Over the weekend, Perez was in touch by phone with both sides.

The ports are a critical trade link with Asia and the gateway not just for imports such as electronics, household goods and clothing but also U.S. exports including produce and meat.

Starting Saturday, companies locked out workers who would load or unload ships, saying they would not pay weekend or holiday wage premiums to crews they accuse of intentionally slowing work to gain bargaining leverage. As a result, cranes that would otherwise be moving containers onto dockside yards were raised up, stationary and eerily quiet on normally bustling waterfronts.

It was a broadening of a partial lockout that began in January, when the maritime association stopped calling night crews to load and unload ships, saying smaller crews would instead focus on moving onto trucks and trains containers that already had been unloaded onto cargo-choked dockside yards.

The union denies slowing down and says its members want to work. It blames troubles moving cargo on larger problems with the supply chain, including a shortage of truck beds to carry containers to distribution warehouses.

On Monday, massive ships continued lining up outside the ports, laden with imports now delayed by weeks. Off the coast of Los Angeles and Long Beach, for example, 33 "congestion vessels" were awaiting space at the docks, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California — a new high since this round of disruptions began.

The last contract expired in July. The two sides have reached tentative agreements on many of the key issues, but are stuck on whether to change the process of arbitrating workplace disputes.

Several other issues have been on the table, including pay. The maritime association says average wages exceed $50 an hour; the union says wages are set between $26 to $36 an hour — though many shifts carry a premium over that range.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

"It still pisses me off," Kobe Bryant said about the 2008 NBA Finals loss to the Boston Celtics in an hour-long special on NBA TV that aired Monday night. "That damn one eats at me. I wish I had that one."

Bryant would go on to win in 2009, and 2010 would provide the Lakers another shot at the Celtics in the NBA Finals. Bryant would get revenge, but apparently, the losses leave a stronger imprint.

"The Detroit one got away. The Celtics one got away," Bryant lamented. "I should have seven (rings)."

Bryant spent significant time with Ahmad Rashad in a one-on-one interview where the LA Lakers' star took a long view of his career and focused in on details to provide candid insight.

"I grew up in Los Angeles," Bryant said at one point. "They've seen me grow up from a 17-year-old kid to be a 36-year-old man."

Asked about his goals entering the NBA as a fresh-faced teenager, Bryant didn't hesitate: "It was really simple for me at the time which was, 'win as many championships as possible.' That was it."

Bryant would finish with five titles, but teammates, fans and even Bryant had to wonder how many more he could have won had he not clashed with center Shaquille O'Neal. Bryant and O'Neal would lead the Lakers to three titles and four NBA Finals before the situation became untenable.

"No," Bryant responded clearly when asked if O'Neal and Bryant were friends.

"I'm obsessive, and I believe we need to work night and day to figure out where we need to go. [O'Neal] wanted to do it a different way," Bryant explained why the partnership eventually failed. "I wasn't going to back down and neither was he."

For Bryant, his obsessive love for the game trumped almost everything else outside of it, and his desire to play with his foot constantly on the accelator derived from his duty to fans and the possibility to inspire the next generation.

"It doesn't matter if I'm sick. It doesn't matter if I have a sprained ankle," Bryant explained his mentality. "The kid that's sitting there might be the next me sitting up there watching, trying to get inspiration from that. I need to go out there and play."

"Basketball never felt like work to me," Bryant added.

With the 20th season of his Hall-of-Fame career looming, Bryant began to speak about his basketball mortality and acknowledge that the end was near.

"Even when you realize that you have to appreciate the time in the moment, it still goes by too fast," Bryant said. "At this age, you start having bigger perspective on things. The blinders come off a little bit. You get a chance to sit back and look beyond yourself."

Bryant spoke about the greats he played against entering the league in 1996, touched on the generation that came and went under his watch and now acknowledged an even younger generation of superstars emerging.

Asked if he saw himself in any of the young players, Bryant focused on former UCLA Bruin Russell Westbrook.

"Westbrook plays mean," Bryant said. "He plays mean like I did, with an aggression--that's the way I played."

For the 19-year veteran, the end may be near, but his desire to dominate on the basketball court had not softened. Looking at the greats that came before, Bryant took confidence from the players' abilities to impact the game despite having varying levels of athleticism. Ultimately, Bryant revealed that he would adjust his game but still insisted he could dominate.

"For me to look at where I am now and say 'I don't have the physical ability that I had back then' doesn't mean I can't be a dominant or a great player," Bryant explained. "There have been plenty of players in the league who haven't had that speed or that athleticism but have still been able to dominate. So, why can't I?"

The Lakers' star joked about playing with one arm if need be before sharing that he had come to peace with the end.

"When the end comes, I'm fine with that," Bryant said. "I'm not afraid of change."

"I think it's great. I think there's beauty in that," Bryant added, specifically referring to the process of decay and decline that is part of ending his career. "It's completely fine."

A man and woman were found dead Tuesday in Pico Rivera after a report of a shooting that authorities said appears to be a case of murder-suicide.

The bodies were found in the 9600 block of Kruse Road. The deaths appear to be a case of murder-suicide possibly involving a couple going through a divorce, according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The bodies were discovered in the home's kitchen by a relative at about 10 a.m. in a residential area just west of Pico Rivera Golf Course. The 74-year-old man shot his 69-year-old wife, then shot himself, according to sheriff's investigators.
 

The young son of former Chicago Bears running back Adrian Peterson has died.

Peterson made the announcement on Facebook early Tuesday morning, writing “#Ajsoars is in Heaven, where he belongs… #ajsoar #P3 #MyFirstSuperHero.”

AJ was diagnosed in June, when he was just 6 years old, with an inoperable tumor in his brain stem. His family started a GoFundMe page to help with their son’s medical treatment.

The GoFundMe page raised nearly $40,000 to help with the medical costs.

The family used social media and the GoFundMe page to chronicle AJ’s journey and keep supporters updated. Their Facebook page, titled “AJ Soars, Prayers for AJ," garnered more than 5,800 likes in less than a year.

Since Peterson’s last message about his son, more than 250 people have commented and even more offered condolences on their designated Facebook page.

Peterson spent eight seasons with the Chicago Bears, playing from 2002-2009.

A pursuit involving a driver suspected of driving under the influence of narcotics ended in a crash Tuesday in Canoga Park.

One person was hospitalized after the crash in the 8700 block of Mason Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Details regarding the victim's condition were not immediately available.

Aerial video showed a gray car in an intersection at Parthenia Street and Mason Avenue, its bumper laying in the street. A second car was stopped near a curb.

Refresh this page for updates.

A plow truck fell into a sinkhole Tuesday morning along a snow-covered New Jersey road.

The accident happened along Wordsworth Lane in Lopatcong Township in Warren County as a snowstorm moved out of the area around 7:30 a.m., said Mayor Tom McKay.

Instagram user MRLish456 captured the aftermath on Instagram. The township truck's plow could be seen dangled above the truck, which was partially emerged in the hole.

The shaken driver of the plow managed to get out of his vehicle. He was taken to the hospital for observation, said McKay.

The township issued a warning for people to avoid the area. McKay said it could take hours to remove the truck.

A man's body was found on a Malibu beach Tuesday afternoon.

The fully-clothed body was located on the beach in the 20000 block of Pacific Coast Highway, according to Sgt. Braden of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Malibu/Lost Hills station.

Exclusive homes dot the area where the body was found.

It is not yet clear how the person died or came to be on the beach.

Former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis was one of hundreds of passengers rescued by the "T" from a disabled Amtrak Acela train Tuesday afternoon -- and he was tweeting about it.

After the Acela train, #2154, became disabled 6 miles south of Providence, workers helped about 200 passengers board the MBTA commuter train, #818, via a gangplank and gave them a ride into Boston.

Meanwhile, it could be a month before the Boston area's transit system is running at full capacity again following a series of snowstorms.

MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott, who is stepping down effective April 11, said Monday that the storms that have dropped more than seven feet of snow in the region have "crippled our infrastructure."

Gov. Charlie Baker said on Tuesday the MBTA's 30-day recovery plan is on the "outer limits," and that crews are working everyday to get the aging transit service back up and running from core to outside of Boston.

Boston has seen 7.5 feet of snow since Jan. 23.

American millennials are racking up more diplomas than previous generations.

But they still fall short in skills and smarts when compared to their peers across the globe, a new study found.

The study by the Educational Testing Service, a nonprofit that develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually, found that U.S. young adults between the ages of 16 to 34 demonstrate weak skills in literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments compared with international students. This comes even amid Census and Pew Research Center data showing American millennials are the country's most educated generation.

“While it is true that, on average, the more years of schooling one completes, the more skills one acquires, this report suggests that far too many are graduating high school and completing postsecondary educational programs without receiving adequate skills,” Irwin Kirsch, director of ETS’s Center for Global Assessment, wrote.“If we expect to have a better educated population and a more competitive workforce, policymakers and other stakeholders will need to shift the conversation from one of educational attainment to one that acknowledges the growing importance of skills.”

The 67-page report, available here, used data obtained by the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, a study developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that assesses and compares basic skills and the broad range of competencies of adults around the world. The PIAAC compared the U.S. to 21 other member countries of the OECD, focusing on those residents born after 1980 and who were 16 to 34 years of age at the time of the study.

Researchers found that the average scores for American millennials were lower than in most other countries. American millennials also ranked at the bottom in numeracy and problem solving involving technology. Even the best performing and most educated milliennials, who study authors said are typically native born and starting with the greatest economic advantage, do not perform well compared to their international peers, the report found.

American millennials with a four-year bachelor’s degree scored higher in numeracy than their peers in just two countries: Poland and Spain. Those with a master’s or research degree scored higher than their peers in just three countries. And students whose highest level of education was less than high school or high school scored lower than their peers in nearly every other participating country.

ETS researchers Madeline Goodman, Anita Sands and Richard Coley, who wrote the report, said policymakers should take note of the trend, as the millennial generation will shape the economic and social landscape for America’s future.

“The findings are import across a lot of different issues," Goodman said. " … It does seem like it points out a systematic challenge that we have and need to confront. The largest take away here is that skills are an important part of the situation. … all of these issues should be set in the context of inequality of opportunity.”

Want an easy way to pay to ride a Los Angeles city bus? There's an app for that.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Tuesday the launch of LA Mobile, an app that allows riders of DASH and Commuter Express buses, which provide rides around downtown Los Angeles, to pay their fares via mobile phones.

"No more fumbling for change," Garcetti said during a news conference on Tuesday. "You're never not going to have your phone, right? So when you have your phone, you've got your ride."

LA Mobile is available for free on iPhones and Android phones. Users can buy tickets or passes with a credit or debit card and automatically store them on their phones for later use. The app displays estimated bus time arrivals. Reduced transit fares for students, seniors and people with disabilities can't yet be purchased through the app.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation is California's first transit agency to create a systemwide mobile ticketing application, said Seleta Reynolds, the general manager of the LA City Transportation Department.

Mariano Reyes, a frequent bus rider, likes the idea.

"I think it's creative," Reyes said. "I think the city is doing a great thing for people."

A pursuit ended with a car on its side in front of a home and a manhunt in a northern Orange County recreational vehicle park after an electronics store burglary.

One person was in custody after the early morning pursuit and RV parking lot search that involved a police K-9. The pursuit began after a burglary at a RadioShack near Lincoln Avenue and Walker Street.

A Tennessee man accused of soliciting donations for the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre and using the money for personal gain has been indicted on six counts of wire fraud, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Robert Terry Bruce, 34, of Nashville, could face a sentence of up to 120 years in prison if convicted.

He was indicted Tuesday on charges that he defrauded donors from around the country, including in Connecticut, who thought they were helping to raise money for Sandy Hook but in reality were paying to support Bruce’s personal training business, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

• Read the indictment
  

According to federal prosecutors, Bruce set up the 26.4.26 Foundation in the wake of the December 2012 shootings and hosted two athletic charity events in early 2013.

He solicited contributions through a PayPal account and told supporters the “Schools 4 Schools run” and “CrossFit Cares” event were designed “to help raise funds for increased school safety, families of victims, memorials to teacher heroes, awareness and prevention in schools across America.” the U.S. attorney's office said.

Bruce told donors all proceeds would benefit the 26.4.26 Foundation, but in reality, he used most of the money to cover personal expenses and bolster his personal training business, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Several donors who fell victim to the scam are from Connecticut.

The allegations came to light over the summer when 26.4.26 co-founder Ryan Graney told the Associated Press that only $30,000 of the $103,000 raised had been used for the true purpose of the organization.

Bruce was arrested Feb. 13 and indicted Tuesday. He’ll be arraigned in Hartford on Monday, Feb. 23 and could be sentenced to 20 years in prison on each count if convicted, according to federal prosecutors.
 

A year ago, a mystery driver struck Damian Kevitt as he was riding his bike near the Gene Autry Western Museum.

The driver dragged him a quarter mile, breaking dozens of bones, fracturing his ribs, shattering his shoulders and severing his leg. Then the driver left Kevitt in a pool of blood.

"This was a bad day," Kevitt said. "Worst day of almost my death. I'm still recovering. I'm still doing physical therapy."

He lives with the pain of unanswered questions. Who did this? Why aren't they facing justice? Will they ever?

"As soon as you run — whether or not you're at fault — you're a criminal," Kevitt said.

Kevitt is launching a billboard campaign within a week. His message: that the epidemic is bad and getting worse. Some 7,500 people are injured or killed every year in Los Angeles County.

"We're talking one every hour," Kevitt said.

He said his campaign will appeal to peoples' sense of decency.

Robert Bonanomi, whose son, Michael, was struck and killed by a mystery driver in Studio City, thinks the campaign is a good idea.

"Hopefully, it makes everybody realize that it's a community issue, a community responsibility," Bonanomi said.

Like all the other victims and their families, Bonanomi and Kevitt are already living with their pain. They're thinking about future victims.

"It's got to stop," Kevitt said.

A man was critically hurt with burns covering 90 percent of his body after lighting himself on fire inside the bathroom of a Southern California Starbucks on Tuesday morning, officials said.

Before 8:20 a.m., a man walked into a Starbucks in the 15300 block of Sherman Way in Van Nuys and went inside the bathroom, Los Angeles fire officials said.

After he went into the bathroom, bystanders heard "an explosive sound." The man then staggered out of the bathroom and collapsed near the entrance, where Starbucks customers helped douse the flames, officials said.

Firefighters said man had "extensive burns" and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

The burns cover 90 percent of his body, officials said.

Aerial video showed firefighters and police officers outside the Starbucks and on the business' roof.

The victim is possibly a transient who is about 60 years old, officials said.

Residents of a Rosemead apartment complex were being allowed back into their homes Tuesday night after a bomb squad investigating what appeared to be a pipe bomb gave the all-clear.

A neighbor reported hearing an explosion, then flames at a home in the 4200 block of North Walnut Grove about 4 p.m., Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Rick Flores said.

Firefighters battling the blaze found a possible pipe bomb on the property, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ed MacKenzie. He said an explosion had not occurred.

As a precaution, a bomb squad was called to investigate and about a dozen apartment buildings in the surrounding area were evacuated, MacKenzie said.

About 7:30 p.m., officials said no pipe bomb had been found. Evacuations were being lifted.

There were no immediate reports of injuries as a result of the fire, MacKenzie said.

The Rosemead High School gym at 9063 Mission Drive was made available for the Red Cross to help displaced residents.

NBC4's Beverly White contributed to this report.

A man who spent 15 years in prison for a crime he says he didn't commit is suing Northwestern University, saying a former professor there tricked him into confessing to a double murder.

“I am angry at the people who did what they did to me,” said Alstory Simon. He was freed from prison nearly five months ago and now hopes to get restitution for the emotional distress he endured spending a decade and a half of his life behind bars.

Simon’s Lisle-based attorneys Terry Ekl and Jim Sotos fought to get Simon released and on Tuesday filed a $40 million federal lawsuit against former Northwestern professor David Protess, among others, claiming Simon was tricked into confessing to a 1982 double murder.

Simon's confession in the high-profile case helped free another death row inmate, Anthony Porter, who served 17 years before evidence surfaced he was innocent, thanks to the investigative work of the Northwestern University professor and his students.

At one point in 1998, Porter was just 48 hours shy of execution when attorneys won a stay by raising concerns about his mental competence at trial.

Now Simon’s legal team says Protess, who overturned wrongful convictions through his university journalism class, used illegal tactics to get Simon’s confession, which freed Anthony Porter from prison.

“Northwestern knew about these activities as early as 1996," Ekl said, "and did not put a stop to anything."

Northwestern said in response to the lawsuit saying it “denies all wrongdoing in this matter and looks forward to being vindicated in a court of law.”

Private investigator Paul Ciolino, who got Simon to confess to the murder on video tape and is among those named in the lawsuit, said in a statement that Simon’s attorneys’ “media spin of the horrific injustice suffered by Mr. Simon is a legalized version of a hold up for a big payday.”

“I don’t have to read this lawsuit to know it is frivolous,” Ciolino added.

Attorney Jim Sotos maintained they have “no problem” with class projects on cases of innocence and understands they are valuable.

“The problem is when you have rogue individuals operating investigative classes that are functioning as investigative agencies outside the boundaries of the law,” Sotos said. “That kind of thing needs to stop.”

Protess could not immediately be reached for a comment.

Immigrant rights groups, city officials and others denounced on Tuesday a federal judge's ruling that stalled President Obama's executive action on immigration.

Yelling "Shame on you," demonstrators picketed outside Los Angeles City Hall. They were angry at U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen's decision that puts on hold Obama's orders that could spare from deportation as many as 5 million people who are in the U.S. illegally.

LA City Councilman Gil Cedillo said he believed the president's executive order was well within his right as commander-in-chief.

"Our question to you (judge) and the governor of Texas is what part of 'legal' don't you get?" Cedillo said.

Democratic Congresswomen Maxine Waters and Judy Chu joined in the chants of "Si se puede," as they discussed their beliefs about the president's order.

"Congress has given the president the ability to prioritize deportations," said Chu. "That ability to prioritize deportations is exactly what the president has done."

Angelica Salas, the executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, which arranged the demonstration, said she expects the tables to turn on appeal.

"We know that history is on our side," she said. "We know the law is on our side. This ruling is way off the legal tracks ... Anti-immigrants are playing political theater and risking the unity of millions of families."

On word of the temporary injunction, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ceased its preparations for the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of American Citizen Children).

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said his agency will stop working on the program — which was set to begin for DACA-Expansion Recipients on Wednesday — until further notice.

"The Department of Justice, legal scholars, immigration experts and even other courts have said that our actions are well within our legal authority," Johnson said in a statement. "Our actions will also benefit the economy and promote law enforcement. We fully expect to ultimately prevail in the courts, and we will be prepared to implement DAPA and expanded DACA once we do."

In Los Angeles, those who would have begun to benefit from the DACA expansion fear they will have to return to "the shadows."

"I was a little stunned," said Erica Alvarez, who had spent the last two months preparing for her DACA application. "I thought to myself, 'Is this for real? Is this happening?'"

Alvarez was 33 years old when the first DACA went into effect with an age limit of 30. The expanded version would remove the age restriction, making her eligible.

"It's just a matter of time," Alvarez said. "I want to go after my American dream."

The Immigrant Justice Clinic at Loyola Law School has been inundated with questions and concerns over the changes.

Attorney Emily Robinson oversees the program and says Obama's executive orders are not unique to this president, but the challenge against it is.

"They've been more extreme under even Republican presidents in the past," Robinson said. "This is unprecedented."

It has led to confusion for some families.

El Camino College student Jose Montes, 19, showed up on the steps of LA City Hall in his blue cap-and-gown, calling himself a proud DACA recipient — his status is not at risk.

"We have learned to love this country and we feel American," he said.

He was 5 years old when his parents brought him from Mexico.

"We didn't know what we were supposed to do," he said. "They just told us ... we're gonna have to move, we're gonna have to go to America and you're gonna have to learn a language."

Since receiving his deferred action status, Montes said his life changed.

"I have been able to open credit," he said. "I have been able to get my driver's license. I've been able to get a job and this will be the first year I file taxes."

The courtroom challenge has to do with Obama's executive order on Nov. 20, 2014 which expanded the DACA program to three-year-increments and removed the age restrictions.

The order also implemented the DAPA program, similar to DACA, but for undocumented parents of citizen children.

One of the named claimants in the case is Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

"For the time being the President's amnesty program is dead in its tracks," said the attorney representing Arpaio in the Texas lawsuit, Larry Klayman, of FreedomWatch.org. "You just can't decide as president that you're going to let 5 million people stay here, you have to have a procedure for that."

Arpaio and Klayman also filed their own lawsuit in the U.S. District of the District of Columbia on Nov. 20, 2014, within hours of Obama's announcement of his latest executive amnesty programs.

A judge heard that lawsuit in December but denied a preliminary injunction the following day by finding that Arpaio's office as sheriff did not have "standing" to challenge Obama's programs.

The case is on appeal.

But Klayman says the judge in Texas did the right thing.

"He stopped this amnesty program in its tracks, he said the President has to give people notice of what he's doing and give them an opportunity comment before the Department of Homeland Security can consider putting it into effect," said Klayman, adding he doesn't believe an appeal will stand.

"The president can't override congressionally-mandated law just because he wants to do that," he added.

California Governor Jerry Brown issued a short statement after the ruling as well, backing the Obama Administration's policy.

"California stands firmly with the White House," Brown said. "Further delay will not fix our broken immigration system."

Since taking office, Brown has signed the Dream Act, which allows top students who are on the path to citizenship apply for college financial aid; AB 60, which extends the legal right to drive on the state's roadways to millions more Californians; and a number of other bills to enhance school, workplace and civil protections for California's hardworking immigrants.

Last year, Brown also signed legislation to provide legal services to the unaccompanied minors arriving in California from Central America.

Montes said his family remains in limbo.

He said he has siblings that would qualify for DAPA if the program ever gets of the ground.

"I don't think the message is clear that we're Americans too," Montes said. "It doesn't matter that we weren't born here. I think America, you take it in your heart."