One hundred fifty people are feared dead after a German passenger jet crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday morning.

Germanwings flight 4U 9525 was less than an hour into its route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf when it went into a long descent and crashed between Barcelonnette and Digne, the airline's CEO said Tuesday. It's not clear what caused the descent or crash.

Here is a brief look at the crash by the numbers.

150: Number of people aboard the jet — 144 passengers and six crew members.

2: Number of babies included in the passenger count.

16: Number of 10th-graders from a German high school who were on the plane, along with their two teachers.

38,000: Altitude at which the plane was cruising just before it began its descent and crashed.

8: The number of minutes the plane descended steadily before crashing.

6,550: The approximate altitude of the Alpine site where the plane crashed, near the town of Digne in the French Alps.

More than 400: The number of police officers and rescue personnel dispatched to the area of the crash, according to the French Interior Ministry.

More than 6,000: The number of hours the plane's captain had logged on the plane.

24: The age of the plane that crashed.

46,700: The number of flights that plane had made before its crash.

About 58,300: the number of flight hours the aircraft accumulated since it was delivered to Lufthansa in 1991, according to Airbus.

1953: The year an Air France plane crashed the near the town of Barcelonette, killing 49 people.

In a new television special, Geraldo Rivera says convicted killer Scott Peterson is living the "Life of Riley" inside San Quentin.

Peterson has been on San Quentin's Death Row since March 17, 2005, convicted of murdering his wife and unborn child. He filed an appeal in 2012.

Rivera's observation is based on second-hand information, specifically an interview with Nancy Mullane, author of 'Life After Murder: Five Men in Search of Redemption.'

Mullane observed Peterson playing basketball on Death Row's half court. "I saw this quite, I would have to say buff looking young man with his shirt off and with these white boxer shorts basically and he was playing basketball. He looked like you were watching some college athlete on a neighborhood court play basketball," Mullane told Rivera on his Fox News special "Geraldo Rivera Reports: Scott Peterson 10 Years on Death Row."

"Scott Peterson has an exclusive life inside San Quentin," she added. "Scott Peterson is not someone who has shown remorse, who has taken responsibility."

"He's living in luxury. Unlocked cell door, plays basketball every day with his friends, strums the guitar. He lives the life of Riley on Death Row. They have cookouts. It is amazingly obscene," Rivera said during a March 20 appearance on Fox & Friends.

Rivera's hour-long program airs on March 28.

A young father died after being hit in the chest in a car-to-car shooting in Playa Vista.

Tomas Luna Gomez, 21, who leaves behind a daughter, was shot at Centinela Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard after 8 p.m. Monday, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said.

The Los Angeles resident managed to drive away from the scene in his silver Dodge RAM 1500 pickup truck, hitting several vehicles as he went, to Slauson Avenue and Braddock Drive, where he died.

Witnesses at the scene of the shooting said they heard six to eight gunshots coming from a car they refused to describe. They then said they saw the truck take off, ramming cars stopped at a red light trying to get away from the gunman.

Police were investigating both the shooting scene and the site of the man's death, and the scenes were cleared early Tuesday morning. Investigators are looking into obtaining surveillance footage as they try to find leads on the killer.

While police believe it was a targeted shooting, there is nothing to suggest it is a gang-related incident at this time.

A friend of one of the Boston Marathon bombers is expected to plead guilty to a reduced charge of lying to the FBI.

Khairullozhon Matanov is scheduled to appear Tuesday in federal court in Boston for a change of plea hearing.

Matanov was a close friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev's and an acquaintance of his younger brother, Dzhokhar. Prosecutors say Matanov deceived authorities when questioned about his relationship with Tamerlan Tsarnaev in the days after the April 2013 bombings. Tamerlan died after a gunfight with police.

Matanov had been charged with lying and with deleting information from his computer.

His lawyer has not said if Matanov plans to testify in the ongoing death penalty trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Matanov's lawyers say he went to police voluntarily.

Two lost hikers spent the night on Mount Baldy Monday evening after getting separated from the third person in their group.

The three men took the trek to the 10,064 foot summit Monday in the Angeles National Forest and agreed to meet at a waterfall on the trailhead later in the day, officials from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.

One of the men made it to the fall while the two others didn’t. The hiker that made it to the fall hiked down Monday evening and alerted officials at 10:30 p.m. that two people from the group were missing.

Temperatures ranged from 53 to 60 degrees throughout the night. It was unclear if the missing hikers were equipped for the cool temps.

At about 6 a.m. Tuesday one of the lost men was located. A little more than four hours later the second displaced hiker was also located and safely brought down the mountain. At least one of the missing hikers was reported injured and required a hoisted helicopter rescue, officials said.

A man with unknown injuries and blood on his face was seen reuniting with the two other hikers who were hugging each other at the base of the mountain shortly after 10 a.m.

Both men are in stable condition, officials said.

Police, search crews and the FBI are searching for a 30-year-old physical therapist who was reportedly abducted Monday morning from a Vallejo home and is being held for ransom.

A man who knows Denise Huskins told police she was “forcibly taken against her will,” said Vallejo Police Lt. Kenny Park at a news conference on Tuesday. “We’re treating it as a kidnap for ransom.”

However, he did not elaborate on what the ransom demand might be. “All I can tell you is that there was a ransom demand,” Park said.

Huskins who is a physical therapist at Kaiser Vallejo Hospital, was reported missing on Monday about 2 p.m. by a man who knows her and who apparently witnessed the abduction from the 500 block of Kirkland Avenue on Mare Island, police said.

The event, however, took place earlier in the morning and it’s unclear why the man waited to alert authorities. His exact relationship to Huskins has not been made public. Park simply called him “the man who reported the crime.” However, he did not dispute reporters’ assertions that the man is her boyfriend.

Park said police are interviewing the man but don’t consider him a “person of interest.”

Huskins' car was also reportedly taken from the residence, however the 2000 Toyota Camry was later found at an unnamed location in Vallejo, officers said.

Huskins also lists on her Facebook page indicates that she's a physical therapist at Southern California Orthopedic Institute. Her Facebook page states she is from Huntington Beach and that she moved to Vallejo in June 2014.

KNBC reporters went to Huskins' Huntington Beach family home and spoke with her brother Devin Huskins, who said the family is waiting to get more details about what's going on before saying anything to the media. Huskins' dad flew up to Vallejo to talk with investigators, despite their suggestion not to, her brother said. Her father told NBC Bay Area he is praying for his daughter's safe return.

Devin Huskins said his siter has lived in Vallejo for a few years now. She lives right across the street from the Kaiser Permanante Hospital where she is finishing up a Physical Therapy Clinical course. He said the alleged abduction took place at her boyfriend's house — they don't live together, she was just there hanging out with him. He believes Huskins' boyfriend is the man who reportedly called police about the abduction.In this photograph, Denise Huskins is shown with her mother. Photo courtesy of the Huskins family.

Neighbors in Vallejo were surprised.

“We’ve seen her,” Matea Rolovic said, adding that Huskins lives with two male roommates. “She’s beautiful.”

“It’s bizarre, yeah,” added Patrick Van Deweg. “It’s a really bizarre story.”

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Vallejo Police Department at 707-648-4524.

NBC Bay Area's Gonzo Rojas contributed to this report.

Robert Durst’s lawyer said Tuesday that his 71-year-old client “was tricked” while filming the HBO documentary in which the millionaire was recorded saying "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."

“The editing was designed for good television, but it wasn’t designed to get to the truth," attorney Dick DeGuerin said in an interview on the "Today" show.

"The Jinx" chronicled the life of the eccentric and controversial real estate heir, including the 1982 disappearance of his first wife, Kathleen, the 2000 death of his friend Susan Berman and the 2001 shooting death and dismemberment of Durst’s elderly Texas neighbor, whom he admitted to killing. He was later acquitted on a self-defense claim in that case.

Durst was arrested on March 14, the night before HBO aired the finale of “The Jinx," and charged with one count of first-degree murder in Berman's death. The final episode includes audio of Durst mumbling “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course,” while wired to a microphone in the bathroom.

DeGuerin told NBC's Savannah Guthrie that Durst didn’t take “good advice” that he received from other lawyers about his participation in the film and subsequently "was tricked as he was told probably would happen."

"I think he was regretting it in that bathroom conversation,'' he said.

When asked by Guthrie whether he was concerned about Durst’s apparent confession in “The Jinx,” DeGuerin said, “That’s not a confession.”

A 14-year-old girl was convicted Tuesday of starting last year's devastating Cocos Fire by sparking a small fire in her backyard.

The judge found her guilty of four of the five counts against her, including the one linking her to the Cocos Fire, though the judge said she did not intend to harm anyone. 

The blaze destroyed 36 homes and caused more than $10 million in damage last May. Outside the courtroom, one woman whose apartment burned in the Cocos Fire said she felt as if justice was served. 

"Like the judge says, there’s no winners in this," said Mitzi McKinney. "It’s a sad situation, but I feel like justice was definitely served today. The evidence was overwhelming that she started the fire that burned all the homes down. I’m sad and happy at the same time."

McKinney said she hopes the teen gets the help she needs and hopes no one loses their home, like she did last May. 

"This whole thing to me all the way through is extremely sad on every level," said McKinney. "So like the judge said, there’s no winners in a case like this, it’s very sad all the way around."

The prosecutor said it is too early to decide on any potential punishment for the girl. Restitution for victims is possible in the future and the parents of the girl could be responsible, though only to a limited dollar amount. The exact dollar value of any restitution, if any, is unclear. 

During the trial, the teen girl admitted to starting fires with a lighter the same week the Cocos Fire swept across San Diego’s North County, destroying dozens of homes last May, according to her mother’s testimony in court during the trial.

The girl told investigators she "didn't want to kill anybody" -- only to "see what would happen" when she set the first of two fires in her backyard, according to an audio tape played in court on Monday.

During the trial, prosecutors claimed the defendant set two fires in her family’s backyard on May 13 and May 14. One of those fires, prosecutors say, left behind an ember that floated away and eventually sparked the Cocos Fire. That fact, however, was disputed by the defense.

The girl was charged with four felony charges, including two counts of arson of an inhabited structure or property in which multiple structures were burned, and two counts of arson of a structure or forest land in a reckless manner. She also faced a misdemeanor of unlawfully allowing a fire to escape from one’s control.

It is NBC 7’s policy not to identify juvenile defendants; we are not identifying family members to conceal the defendant’s identity.

A woman's body was found in a shallow grave in Philadelphia’s Frankford section and police arrested a man who was seen digging the grave with a shovel, police said.

Residents near the 4700 block of Frankford Ave. told NBC10 they heard a woman screaming Tuesday morning, but no one called police. One witness even saw a man and woman arguing on the street.

"I was walking down Frankford and saw a couple fighting," said witness Michael Kendell. "People argue all the time on the street, I just kept walking."

Around 11:30 a.m., a woman's body was discovered in a shallow grave behind a property on that block.

"I saw them walk in and then the girl never came out. Next you see the cops all over the place," said Kendell.

Another witness says he was walking in the area and saw a man with a shovel digging the grave. That's when he flagged down officers who quickly located the man, who took off running, police said.

When the officers caught up with the man, they used a Taser to subdue him, according to officials.

The man was taken into custody.

No word on charges or on the identity of the woman.

This story is developing. Check back for details.

Two diners face assault charges in a connection with using a car to run over and injure a waitress who confronted them about skipping out on paying their $45 tab, prosecutors said.

Rowshaid Cordell Pellum, 24, of Cerritos, and Santeea Munay Ralph, 23, of Long Beach, face charges at an arraignment scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

They are accused of running down 28-year-old waitress Maria Uriostegui on Sunday night in the parking lot of the Mexico Lindo in unincorporated Anahiem.

Pellum faces one felony count of aggravated assault, one felony count hit and run with injury, and one misdemeanor count of defrauding an innkeeper.

If convicted, Pellum faces up to four years and eight months in state prison. Ralph is charged with one misdemeanor count of defrauding an innkeeper. She faces up to six months in jail.

Two other women were charged with one misdemeanor count of defrauding an innkeeper.

Uriostegui, who suffered scrapes and bruises, told reporters Monday outside the restaurant that she is happy to be alive.

Family members have set up an account to help with Uriostegui's medical bills:

If you'd like to make a donation, it's for Chase bank and the account number is: 13-33-36-610.

A push, backed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and a majority of Los Angeles County supervisors, to increase the minimum wage in Los Angeles will be considered during a committee hearing Tuesday.

App Users: Click here to view map of recent local minimum wage trends.

Officials from Los Angeles along with members from the California Restaurant Association and industry representatives will discuss the pros and cons of increasing the current $9 an hour minimum wage steadily to $13.25 an hour by 2017 and $15.25 an hour by 2019.

“We all want better lives, better quality of life, better wages, a stronger economy for everybody in Los Angeles, what we’re really arguing is how,” Ruben Gonzalez said, a member of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce who is against the wage hike.

A UC Berkeley report commissioned by the city of Los Angeles and released last week showed that raising the minimum wage in LA would have more benefits than drawbacks. Two other reports commissioned by business and labor groups with conflicting conclusions would also be considered during the LA council’s Economic Development Committee discussions.

“Well I think the only study is the one that a bunch of council members are going to do when they really sit down and listen and look at all the issues,” Bill Chait said, a prominent restauranter in LA. “I think that Los Angeles has a unique sorta condition and politically in terms with how the council interacts with the mayor and I think it hopefully will foster really good dialogue to come up with the best situation.”

Chait, who is behind some of LA’s favorite restaurants including Republique, Bestia and Redbird, said he is partly for the proposal.

“We don’t think it’s a lose, we think it’s an issue that had to be addressed and we think that there’s been a real need to raise non-tipped employee compensation for a while,” he said.

On the other side of the argument, opponents feared a wage hike would hurt LA.

“The only way to absorb those costs is to cut jobs, cut hours for workers, move, move your shop or close your doors,” Gonzalez said.

The UC Berkeley report also found that a wage increase likely would prompt businesses to pass costs onto customers, driving demand down by $1.128 billion by 2019. Concurrently, the incomes for workers would go up $2.381 billion by 2019 and likely have multiplier effects on spending in the economy, the report said.

It also noted that wages for about 600,000 workers would be affected. Half of those workers lived outside the city and their spending would happen where they lived, not in LA. This in turn would lower the gross domestic product in LA by 0.1 percent, which translated to the loss of 3,472 jobs by 2019.

Tuesday’s meeting is the first in a series of four meetings scheduled through the end of March and beginning of April held by the council’s Economic Development Committee to discuss the results of the trio of studies.

City News Service contributed to the report.

An exotic, "plump" tegu lizard described as being "quite a treat" is awaiting a reunion with its owner after it was found wandering in a Fontana yard over the weekend.

Fontana police were called out Sunday for a "lizard in a front yard" and expected to find a small iguana or bearded dragon, said Jamie Simmons, supervising Animal Services officer at the Fontana Police Department.

Instead, they found a giant lizard that comes from Argentina, a tegu.

"Fortunately, it was a very docile creature," Simmons told NBC4 on Tuesday. "Obviously, whoever owns it took very good care of it."

Tegu lizards are legal to own, can grow very large and have a wide girth, Simmons said. The lizard found in the 18000 block of Grenada Avenue in Fontana appears to be plump, yet not fully grown.

"He's a little plump, so I'm not sure what he was doing when he was out and about roaming the neighborhood," Simmons said, adding that the lizard is "quite a treat."

Simmons said they expect the reptile may have outgrown his enclosure and was venturing out, but they're just hoping to get it back to its rightful home.

"We really hope the owner comes forward," she said.

The tegu lizard is now at the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, where officials are feeling good about its potential reunion.

"We haven't nicknamed the lizard because I presume the owner will come sometime today," spokesman John Welsh said, adding that the shelter isn't 100 percent sure of its sex or age.

Anyone with information should call Fontana Police Department Animal Services at 909-350-7620 or Riverside County Department of Animal Services at 951-358-7387.

Tegu lizard found in #Fontana. Hoping owner will come forward. Contact #FontanaPD Animal Services 909-350-7620 pic.twitter.com/FvDccpzylq

— Fontana PD (@FontanaPD) March 23, 2015

Do you know who owns this lizard? #Fontana Animal Services Officers found it Sunday.Hoping owner will come forward. http://t.co/96zS4mb6rD

— Fontana PD (@FontanaPD) March 24, 2015

Click on the map location to view information about local minimum wages, including rates, when the ordinances were passed and what proposals are on the table.

Note: This graphic was created with December 2014 data provided by the National Employment Law Project.

App users, click here to view map.

Officials were responding to reports of a stabbing in the Pomona area Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman from the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

The incident happened in the 800 block of S. Garey Avenue in the employee parking lot of the Pomona Unified School District building at 12:40 p.m.

A woman was airlifted to a nearby hospital, officials said.

District employees did not believe the injured person was a teacher or a student, Richard Martinez said, Superintendent for the Pomona Unified School District.

Details about the woman's condition were unknown.

A mother of three children was found dead Tuesday morning and a man was hospitalized after a stabbing in a San Fernando Valley alley.

The female victim, a woman in her 40s, was found dead in a Van Nuys residential area near Kester Avenue and Lemay Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Another individual, identified only as a male, also suffered what appeared to be stab wounds and was hospitalized in serious, but stable, condition, according to police.

The man told police that three men got out of a black vehicle and assaulted him and his girlfriend, authorities said. The man told police he was unconscious and that he found the woman dead after regaining consciousness.

He called 911 three hours after the attack, police said.

"This takes time," said Los Angeles Police Capt. Lillian Carranza. "We have to do a thorough investigation, we can't discount anything and jump to conclusions."

Paramedics said the woman died at the scene, about a block northwest of Van Nuys High School.

The weapon was recovered at the location, police said.

No arrests were reported early Tuesday, and police said there are no suspects outstanding. Yellow police tape blocked off the alley during the investigation.

Police indicated earlier that a 4-year-old was involved in the altercation, but later said no child was present.

NBC4's Nyree Arabian contributed to this report.