“The Sheriff supports Secure Communities, but he also knows that things can get better,” said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca.

Secure Communities is a controversial program through the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement designed to improve public safety by identifying criminal aliens and removing them from the United States.

Updated 2 p.m. Tuesday

A woman killed early Saturday morning in what appears to be a solo traffic collision was identified Tuesday morning.

Canyon Country resident Velma Yolanda Ortega, 35, died at the scene of the crash on Soledad Canyon Road just east of Langside Road.

Plan ahead, avoid the area, or stay home.

That’s the message public safety officials are sending to the public in anticipation of a planned 10-mile, 53-hour closure of the I-405 freeway between the U.S. 101 and I-10 on the weekend of July 16-17 for planned demolition work on the Mulholland Bridge, part of a major I-405 improvement project.

On Memorial Day, President Obama announced new leadership for the Department of Defense, naming General Martin E. Dempsey to replace Admiral Mike Mullen as the next Chairman and Admiral James Winnefeld as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Raymond Odierno has also been named to replace General Dempsey as Army Chief of Staff.

Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Buck McKeon released the following statement: