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Around SoCal

1. Port of LA reports strong February amid Middle East crisis, tariffs

Despite conflict in the Middle East and uncertainty related to federal tariff policies, the Port of Los Angeles processed 824,323 twenty-foot equivalent units in February, an increase of 3% compared to the same month last year, officials announced Thursday.

It was the second-best February in the port’s history. Cargo volume remained steady, though global developments are of concern across supply chains, the port’s Executive Director Gene Seroka said during an online briefing Thursday.

February 2026 loaded imports stood at 433,812 TEUs, a 5% increase compared to February 2025. Loaded exports stood at 116,633 TEUs, an increase of 7%, and the port processed 273,878 empty containers, a decrease of 2% compared to February 2025.

The port has processed roughly 1.63 million TEUs so far in the first two months of 2026, a 5% decrease compared to the same period in 2025.

2. Trump administration sues California over the state’s nation-leading vehicle-emission rules

The Trump administration is suing California over the state’s nation-leading vehicle emission standards. The lawsuit escalates an ongoing battle over the state’s efforts to curb pollution from cars that pose risks to the climate and public health. It comes as rising gas prices are undergoing intense scrutiny amid the Iran war.

California already has the highest gas prices in the nation due to taxes and environmental regulations.

The lawsuit comes months after President Donald Trump blocked the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. The state then said it would enforce previously adopted rules that aren’t as strict.

But the federal government says California doesn’t have the authority to do that.

(AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)

3. Lawyers in landmark social media addiction trial make final appeals to the jury

After about a month of hearing from addiction experts, therapists, platform engineers and executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, a jury has heard closing arguments before heading to the deliberation room to decide whether social media companies should be liable for harms caused to children using their platforms.

Closing statements in the trial began Thursday at the Spring Street Courthouse in Los Angeles.

Lawyers representing the plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman, and those representing the two defendants, Meta and Google-owned YouTube, made their respective cases to the jurors.

Around the Nation

1. U.S. begins tariff probes into China, European Union and other global trading partners

2. Judge hears arguments in Rep. Beatty’s lawsuit over fate of Kennedy Center

3. Oil jumps to $100 per barrel and stocks sink worldwide with no clear end in sight for the Iran war

Only on Spectrum News 1

(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

FAA shuts out helicopters from LAX airspace during safety review

 

The FAA is restricting many helicopters from entering the airspace around LAX while it conducts a nationwide safety review. The move follows the deadly 2025 midair collision near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

The restriction applies to news helicopters, law enforcement and fire aircraft, and medical flights operating under visual flight rules.

Some aviation experts warn that the change could delay police air support and medical transport missions.

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