(AP Image)

(CNS) – The southbound lanes of the San Diego (405) Freeway from the Getty Center Drive on-ramp to Sunset Boulevard will be closed from midnight until 5 tomorrow morning as part of the $1.2 billion widening project in the Sepulveda Pass.

Crews will close northbound lanes of the 405 from Moraga Drive to the Getty Center Drive off-ramp beginning at midnight on Wednesday.

Metro will begin closing on- and off-ramps as early as 7 p.m. and will start lane closures at 10 p.m.

The closures are necessary to conduct freeway survey work as part of the project to add carpool and exit lanes and make other improvements to the 50- year-old freeway between the Ventura (101) and Santa Monica (10) freeways.

The overall project is scheduled to be completed next year, and is being run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in cooperation with Caltrans.

Sepulveda Boulevard will remain open next to the freeway during the closures as an alternate route. But it only has one lane in each direction in much of the work zone.

Metro officials also announced the closure of a right-turn lane from northbound Sepulveda Boulevard onto eastbound Montana Avenue on Thursday and Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

A fiancé, some 60 friends and family and a viral video helped Isaac Lamb with what is being called the “first live lip dub proposal.” The Portland, Ore., man proposed to his girlfriend, Amy Frankel, last week and so far, more than five million people have viewed the video of the elaborate, choreographed dance routine. Watch the video here.

The first SARTRE (SAfe Road TRains for the Environment) road train on a public highway among other road users was performed successfully in May 2012. The test, which covered approximately 200 km, was carried out in Barcelona, Spain at 85 km/h. The road train was comprised of a Volvo XC60, a Volvo V60 and a Volvo S60 plus one truck automatically driving in convoy behind a lead vehicle. (Photo: Volvo)

There are bad drivers and good drivers. And in Spain there are no drivers!

A convoy of self-driving cars took to a public motorway in Spain in “normal” traffic — a world first, according to Swedish car maker Volvo. A professional driver took the lead in a truck and was followed by four self-driven Volvo vehicles.  They were equipped with safety systems that included cameras, radar and laser sensors.

The cars successfully drove for 124 miles at a speed of about 53 miles an hour. Volvo says the new technology would allow drivers to multi-task and work on their laptops, read or have lunch while driving.

(AP Photo)

(AP) – President Barack Obama will honor a diverse cross-section of political and cultural icons – including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, astronaut John Glenn, basketball coach Pat Summitt and rock legend Bob Dylan – with the Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony Tuesday.

The Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor. It’s presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the national interests of the United States, to world peace or to other significant endeavors.

Other recipients this year include:

• Toni Morrison, author of such novels as “Song of Solomon” and “Beloved.”
• John Paul Stevens, former Supreme Court Justice.
• Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts.
• Shimon Peres, president of Israel.
• John Doar, who handled civil rights cases as assistant attorney general in the 1960s.
• William Foege, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who helped lead the effort to eradicate smallpox.
• Gordon Hirabayashi, who fought the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
• Jan Karski, a resistance fighter against the Nazi occupation of Poland during World War II.
• Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers of America.

Albright was the first woman to hold the top U.S. diplomatic job, while Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth. Summitt led the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team to more NCAA Final Four appearances than any other team. And Dylan’s vast catalog of songs includes such rock classics as “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

(AP) – Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro received an honorary doctorate of fine arts during the 146th commencement at Bates College.

During a 15-minute address Sunday that was by turns sincere and irreverent, De Niro drew a steady stream of laughter from the 463 graduating seniors and more than 5,000 guests who gathered at the Lewiston campus.

De Niro, who left high school when he was a teenager to pursue an acting career, was one of three high-profile guests who received honorary degrees at Bates’ commencement. PBS “Newshour” senior correspondent Gwen Ifill and Princeton University molecular biologist Bonnie Bassler also were honored.

(AP) – The father of a young Georgia woman battling a flesh-eating disease says his daughter has spoken for the first time since she was taken to an Augusta hospital weeks ago for treatment.

Andy Copeland said in an interview with The Associated Press Monday that he was in church Sunday morning and missed his daughter Aimee’s first words. But his other daughter, Paige, told him Aimee said, “Hello. Whoa. Wow, my mind is blown.”

Writing on his Facebook page, Andy Copeland said: “Our baby can talk.”

Twenty-four-year-old Aimee Copeland developed necrotizing fasciitis after cutting her leg in a May 1 fall from a homemade zip line over a west Georgia river. Her left leg, other foot and both hands have been amputated.

She began breathing on her own last week.

(AP Photo)

(AP) – Each year, an estimated 1.7 million U.S. college students are steered to remedial classes to catch them up and prepare them for regular coursework. But a growing body of research shows the courses are eating up time and money, often leading not to degrees but student loan hangovers.

The expense of remedial courses, which typically cost students the same as regular classes but don’t fulfill degree requirements, run about $3 billion annually, according to new research by Complete College America, a Washington-based national nonprofit working to increase the number of students with a college degree.

The group says the classes are largely failing the nation’s higher education system at a time when student-loan debt has become a presidential campaign issue. Meanwhile, lawmakers in at least two states have pushed through changes and numerous institutions are redesigning the courses.more

If you’re unclear about melanoma and what it is, Dr. Steven O’Day, Director of the L.A. Skin Cancer Institute at the Beverly Hills Cancer Center, says melanoma is the most deadly of the three kinds of skin cancer. Listen to his report with KFWB’s Maggie McKay and Michael Shappee:

More points to keep in mind include:

• If you have a family history of melanoma see a dermatologist earlier than not for yearly checkups.
• Sunscreens can be detrimental believe it or not, if they aren’t used correctly. You need to reapply every 90 minutes.
• Get a broad spectrum, UVA and UVB, and use a lot of it, and apply 20 minutes before you go outside.
• Avoid the midday sun and wear protective clothes.

Before the summer heats up, safety advocates are urging parents to be aware of swimming pool dangers. Kathleen Reilly, of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, says there are hundreds of drownings each year that involve kids. Surprisingly, race plays a factor in child-related drownings, as does gender. Click the play button to listen.

Additionally:

• Of the estimated annual average of 5,200 pool- or spa-related injuries involving children younger than 15 from 2009 through 2011, a bit more than half happened at a residential location.
• Portable pools accounted for an annual average of 40 deaths involving children younger than 15.
• Children between the ages of 1 and 3 represent 2-thirds of the estimated injuries for 2009 through 2011… about the sames as the reported fatalities for 2007 through 2009.
• No deaths caused by entrapment, when the suction in a pool or hot tub traps a swimmer underwater, were reported in 2011. Seven entrapment injuries were reported last year.

Have you ever gone to the store to get sunscreen and been overwhelmed with how many choices there are? How do you know what number to get or if you need the one that says UVB or UVA? Nicole Serubow, Associate Editor at Consumer Reports breaks it down for KFWB’s Maggie McKay and Michael Shappee. Click the play button to listen: