San Diego city officials approve lowering speed limits

SAN DIEGO — On Thursday, Feb. 19, the city of San Diego released its Comprehensive Speed Management Plan, which aims to reduce speed limits on more than 20% of the city’s roads. The plan is part of the city’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic-related injuries and fatalities.

Through the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, the U.S. Department of Transportation granted $680,000 to San Diego in support of Vision Zero efforts. 

Recent changes in California law — including Assembly Bills 43, 1938, and 382 — allow the city more flexibility to determine appropriate speed limits. The city is focusing on streets with a high number of crashes resulting in fatalities or serious injuries, corridors with a high concentration of bicyclists or pedestrians, school zones, and commercial streets with frequent crossings and loading or parking zones. 

Instead of defaulting to 25 miles per hour, corridors with high fatalities or serious injuries caused by crashes and areas with high pedestrian and bicyclist activity may see 5-mile-per-hour reductions. School zones may reduce speed limits to 15 or 20 miles per hour within 500 feet of schools, and business districts can reduce speeds to 20 or 25 miles per hour.

The city found that more than 20% of its roads — 679.1 miles — were possible areas for speed limit reductions. Roads on this list include La Jolla Village Drive, Genesee Avenue, Gilman Drive, and La Jolla Shores Drive. 

The changes are subject to available funding and approval by City Council, but the plan is estimated to begin in the 2027 fiscal year.

 

ICE denies access to Otay Mesa Detention Center

SAN DIEGO — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers denied California Sen. Alex Padilla and San Diego County supervisors access to Otay Mesa Detention Center on Friday, Feb. 20. Padilla’s unannounced visit to the facility is protected under federal law, which authorizes members of Congress to visit immigration detention centers without prior notice.

San Diego County Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Paloma Aguirre were granted access to the facility earlier in the week to assess health and safety conditions, but were blocked from entering on Friday. San Diego County Public Health Officer Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan and another county official were allowed to inspect the facility on Friday morning with limited access.

“Our chief medical officer was granted access earlier in the day,” Aguirre said in a report from CalMatters. “He was cleared and he was able to enter the facility, but he was unable to complete a full inspection, so he was only able to see the kitchen and some medical bays. He did not have access to the policies and procedures, he was unable to see any medical records, or talk to any of the detainees.”

Before the supervisors’ visit on Friday, the county had received information from attorneys about several detainees who said that they hadn’t received necessary medical care or proper meals. Detention center officials approved Lawson-Remer and Aguirre’s request to inspect the facility and interview detainees earlier in the week, but upon arrival, they were informed that ICE officials reversed their clearances. 

ICE agents at the detention center threatened to call the San Diego County Sheriff to arrest Lawson-Remer and Aguirre, who said they will challenge the federal government’s denial of access in court.

Conducted separately from Lawson-Remer and Aguirre’s inspection, Padilla’s unannounced visit on Friday afternoon was to examine the conditions of the facility — including adequate access to fresh food, drinking water, and quality medical care — and pressure ICE to be more transparent.

 

Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s tariffs

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court struck down multiple tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump in a 6-3 majority ruling on Friday. The ruling comes in response to Trump’s 2025 imposition of taxes on U.S. trade partners under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, an action the court determined exceeded the scope of his presidential power.

Countries taxed by Trump in the past year paid an estimated $200 billion to the U.S. in import tariffs. The court’s ruling did not specify how the countries that were taxed in 2025 will be refunded. In his dissent, Justice Brett Kavanaugh recommended that the government refund the billions, despite the fact that the costs may have already been transferred to consumers by the taxed countries. 

The court has sided with Trump in about two dozen cases over the last year, according to Reuters, which has heightened his power to shape policy on a variety of issues. However, the court’s decision to invalidate many of Trump’s tariffs marks a restraint on the power it has given to the executive branch in the past year.

In response to the majority decision, Trump announced on Saturday that he would raise the global import tax rate into the U.S. to 15%. He called the court’s ruling “ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American” in a social media post following the decision. He also praised dissenting justices on social media, while complaining about Justices Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Chief Justice John Roberts, who were members of the majority opinion against the tariffs. 

Currently, the tariff rate set by Trump is 10%, which was authorized in an executive order on Friday. This executive order does not require a congressional vote and can only be in effect for 150 days before expiring. The 15% rate will go into effect on Tuesday, Feb. 24, following Trump’s State of the Union address. 

 

Mexico operation kills cartel leader

TAPALPA, Mexico — Violence broke out in several cities in Mexico on Sunday following an operation executed by the Mexican government to kill Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Reuters reported that cartel members blockaded highways and burned cars in over six states in response to Oseguera Cervantes’ death. 

Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” died in custody of the Mexican government in Tapalpa, Jalisco. U.S. military personnel had no involvement in the physical operation to capture Oseguera Cervantes; however, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence provided Mexican authorities with “complementary information,” according to Mexico’s Defense Ministry. Oseguera Cervantes was one of the highest-priority cartel targets for the U.S government.  

Twenty branches of the state-run bank in Jalisco were damaged after Oseguera Cervantes’ death, and public transportation was suspended in some areas, according to The New York Times. Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus Navarro declared a “code red” in response, recommending that people stay home until the order is lifted.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated on Sunday that state governments in Mexico are working in “full coordination” to address the violence. She also praised agencies involved in the operation to kill Oseguera Cervantes. 

“We work every day for the peace, security, justice, and well-being of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said. 

U.S. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X that the Trump administration “commends and thanks” the Mexican government for executing the operation. Details remain unclear about specific intelligence the U.S. provided to Mexico for the operation.