News

Pala Today News – 1/20/26

Written by John Fox on January 20, 2026

The following items are part of the award-winning “Pala Today” newscast heard this day at noon on PALA REZ RADIO™ 91.3 FM in Pala.

LOCAL AND REGIONAL NEWS

There will be a water shut off on a large portion of the Pala reservation tomorrow, January 21 from 6a to 9a. The shut off will affect everything east of Pala Temecula Road to the east end of the reservation. Plan your water usage for tomorrow outside of those hours and store up any you might need tonight or before 6a tomorrow. (Chairman Smith)

A chain reaction crash on northbound I-15 near the Lilac Bridge ended with one vehicle down a 200’ embankment. It happened around 11:20p last night. Reports show the driver rear ended another vehicle, then struck a call box and several road signs, scattering debris on the freeway before it went over the side of the roadway. The driver was trapped and had to be extracted from the vehicle, which took about a half hour. The driver was taken to Palomar Medical Center with undisclosed injuries. https://www.villagenews.com/story/2026/01/15/news/span-classbrnwsbreaking-news-spandriver-crashes-tumbles-200-down-embankment-along-i-15-near-lilac-bridge/80986.html

A 20-year old gunshot victim drove himself to Oceanside High School just before 7p last evening. Police responded to the area of Neptune Way and Cleveland Street where one shell casing was recovered consistent with a weapon and brand of ammunition found inside the victim’s vehicle. He was hospitalized with a wound to the shoulder. He originally said the shooting “may have happened near the beach”, but later updated that statement which police are investigating. Anyone with information can call OPD or Crime Stoppers. https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/police-gunshot-victim-drives-to-oceanside-high-school-after-being-shot

A hiker was found dead in the mountains near Anza Saturday after going to search for friends who had gone missing. The call to authorities was made around 8:30p Saturday with deputies responding to the 56000 block of Highway 74. Deputies dispatched a helicopter to search for five missing hikers. Four were found and hoisted to safety. The hiker who’d gone looking for the others was found near the bottom of a 150-foot rock race and pronounced dead at the scene. His identity has not been released. https://patch.com/california/temecula/hiker-killed-while-searching-friends-lost-rivco-mountains

Memorial services are set for 1p today for Riverside County firefighter Danny Cook. The 45-year old from Temecula died on New Year’s Eve as his engine crew battled a garage fire in Nuevo. Services are at Sunridge Community Church on Winchester Road. It is not open to the public. But there will be live streaming. Two occupants of the home where Cook died suffered minor injuries and have since recovered. No one else was injured. https://www.newsbreak.com/nbc-palm-springs-298461496/4450182442585-memorial-service-scheduled-in-temecula-for-fallen-riverside-county-firefighter

A couple of dozen SDG&E customers in Oak Grove, Warner Springs and Ranchita lost power last night at 10:36p. The utility says it will be restored by 3p this afternoon. https://www.sdge.com/residential/customer-service/outage-center/outage-map

There has been a swarm of earthquakes in the Coachella Valley, most of them related to a main shock of 4.9 just before 5p yesterday. That one, originally reported as being 5.1, was felt throughout Southern California. There have been well over a dozen aftershocks and other quakes within a mile or two of the first one – many in the 3 to 4 range on the Richter scale. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci41162719/executive

Pala weather is changing slightly. Today is our last day with highs in the 80s for at least the next week and there’s a chance of rain Friday. The full forecast is coming up. (below)

Mass at Pala Mission Church is broadcast live on Rez Radio 91.3 and streamed live on the Rez Radio App every Sunday at 8a.

SPORTS

In the NFL – When is a catch not a catch? Football fans, coaches and sportcasters are questioning the definition after a disputed interception that helped eliminate Buffalo in last weekend’s playoffs. An overtime pass by Josh Allen deep to Brandin Cooks was wrestled out of his hands by Ja’Quan McMillan. Officials ruled McMillan gained control before Cooks was down on contact. Denver’s ball at the 20. In his ruling, the referee said Cooks “was going to the ground as part of the process of the catch and lost possession of the ball when he hit the ground.” The Bills couldn’t challenge the ruling because it was overtime, so they called time to give officials time to review recordings for a better look. But New York reviewers had already made the final decision. Now comes the debate. People are citing similar circumstances with the call going both ways. The issue is who controls the ball when players hit the ground. It’s the reason the NFL eliminated the words “survive the ground” when overhauling the definition of a catch in 2018. According to the NFL rule book, a forward pass is complete when someone controls the ball before touching the ground, touches the round in bounds with both feet or any part of his body other than his hands, and after those first two conditions have been fulfilled, clearly performs “an act common to the game” like extending the ball forward, taking a step, tucking the ball away, or maintaining control of the ball long enough to do so. It’s an incomplete pass if the third condition is not met and the player hits the ground, loses control of the ball and doesn’t get it back before it hits the ground, or regains control out of bounds. There are also notations about two players catching the ball at the same time. Tie goes to the passing team. It is not a simultaneous catch if one player gains control first and an opponent later gains joint control. Watch the replays, refer to these rules and see what you think. https://apnews.com/article/bills-broncos-catch-interception-cooks-mcmillian-ba29037d5216ac8979362b29d05a5b80

Sundays’ championship games will be New England at Denver at noon on CBS for the AFC game, and the Rams at Seattle for the NFC game at 3:30 on Fox.

In the College Football Playoffs – Last night at Miami Gardens, the Indiana Hoosiers capped an undefeated season with their first national football championship by beating #10 ranked Miami on their home turf. It was a see-saw game that went down to the wire. Final score 27-21. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/47667168/mendoza-hoosiers-cap-perfect-season-win-first-national-title

In the NBA – James Harden led the Clippers with 36 points as they outlasted the Capitals in Washington 110-106. Yesterday’s other winners were Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, Detroit and Golden State. Among seven games tonight, the Clippers are at Chicago and the Lakers are at Denver.

In college basketball –

In women’s NCAA play – #1 UConn routed Notre Dame 85-47. #5 Vanderbilt topped #7 Michigan 72-69. #12 Ohio State upset #9 TCU 71-69.

In the NHL – The Ducks topped the visiting Rangers 5-3. Other winners were Carolina, Colorado, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Chicago, New Jersey and the Islanders. Among tonight’s games, the Kings host the Rangers in LA.

In the minors – The San Diego Gulls next game is tonight at Tucson.

In lacrosse – The San Diego Seals next game is Friday at Philadelphia.

Local High School Sports –

Bonsall –girls’ basketball at The Cambridge School at 4p; boys’ basketball hosting Cristo Rey at 6p

Great Oak – girls’ soccer hosting Vista Murrieta at 4p; boys’ and girls’ basketball against Vista Murrieta beginning at 4p with games on both campuses; girls’ water polo hosting Chaparral at 6p

Fallbrook – no scheduled games today

Valley Center – girls’ water polo against Southwest at Mar Vista at 4p; girls’ basketball at Orange Glen at 5p

BUSINE$$

As of midday trading on Wall Street, stocks were down sharply. The Dow fell 1.3%. The S&P was off by 1 ½%. And the Nasdaq was down 1 ¾%. Gold soared to record highs, trading up $169.30 on the Comex at $4,765.10. The benchmark West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures shot up $1.24 – that’s more than 2% to $60.68 a barrel.

The worst day for stocks and treasuries in months comes on the heel of threats by President Trump over the weekend to hit countries aligned with Greenland and Denmark over the sovereignty of the arctic island. www.marketwatch.com

Canada agreed Friday to cut tariffs on EVs from China in exchange for lower Chinese tariffs on Canadian farm products. https://www.npr.org/2026/01/16/nx-s1-5679469/canada-cut-tariff-chinese-evs-canadian-farm-products

Netflix today changed its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery from a mix of cash and stock to all-cash. The offer is now $27.75 per share in cash for HBO Max and the Warner Bros. film studios. Warner Bros. Discovery continues to support the Netflix offer while Paramount Skydance continues to build pressure for a hostile takeover of the entire WBD operation including cable TV networks such as CNN and TNT. https://www.npr.org/2026/01/16/nx-s1-5679469/canada-cut-tariff-chinese-evs-canadian-farm-products

LIFESTYLE / GREEN LIVING

During his 2024 campaign to regain the White House, Donald Trump promised to cut Americans’ energy bills in half. He also uttered the now famous catchphrase “drill baby drill”. One year into his second term, the price of gasoline is down 20% to its lowest level in 4 ½ years. But there is no drilling. The price of oil is too low to justify it. Instead, oil industry lobbyists have secured federal concessions to ease the pain to them of low oil prices including increased drilling in the Gulf, more liquid natural gas exports, and easing emissions standards. Meanwhile, the average US household saved $177 on gasoline in 2025, compared with 2024. As for the main burn in most Americans’ budget, electricity – it continues to become more expensive. Wholesale prices in New York and New England were up 60% last year. According to Powerlines, a national consumer education nonprofit, 80m Americans, which is about one in three households, struggles to pay utility bills. The increase in prices for electricity is due to an aging power grid, the cost of natural disasters, higher prices for natural gas, which are up 50% compared to a year ago. That price increase is being driven in part by feds allowing more of it to be exported, leaving less remaining for domestic use. According to financial services firm, Lazard, big solar and wind projects generate more cost-competitive energy than natural gas, nuclear or coal-fired plants. But the Trump administration ended federal tax credits for them and cancelled $13b in funds for them. He also has said there will be no new wind projects. Energy advocates and even some business groups are against that policy. Meanwhile, the administration is also rolling back efficiency standards for appliances, something that would cut household bills for increasingly expensive energy. https://www.npr.org/2026/01/20/nx-s1-5670378/trump-energy-promises-one-year

On this day in music history – January 20,

1965, Radio disk jockey Alan Freed died at the age of 42 from cirrhosis brought on by alcoholism. He called himself the “father of rock and roll”, hosted concert tours and appeared in movies including 1956’s “Rock Around the Clock” and “Don’t Knock the Rock”. His career was destroyed by the payola scandal that swept through the broadcast industry in the early 1960s.
In 1968, one-hit-wonders, John Fred and the Playboy Band began two weeks at #1 with “Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)”, a song inspired by The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky (With Diamonds)”.
It’s been long-rumored that in 1969, just days after the release of their first album, Led Zeppelin played a show in the gym at a youth center in Wheaton, Maryland. Reports say only 55 people attended, making it the smallest audience the group ever played to. It was a Monday and the same day as Richard Nixon’s inauguration as President. Zep supposedly got paid $250. But there’s no hard evidence it ever happened … no ticket stubs, no posters or other advertising. Just a handful of people who say they were there.
In 1972, on the first date of a British concert tour, Pink Floyd attempted to premiere their new album, “Dark Side of the Moon” but had to abandon the performance after technical problems during the track, “Money”.
In 1982, during a concert in Des Moines, Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a live bat. Someone in the audience had thrown it onstage. Stunned by the light, it lay motionless. Thinking it was a rubber fake, Osbourne picked it up a bit off the head, causing it to flap its wings. After the show, Ozzy was rushed to a hospital for rabies shots.
In 1983, Def Leppard released their third studio album, “Pyromania”.
In 1988, The Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Surviving group members, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon’s widow and two sons attended. Paul McCartney did not, saying in a letter that business differences with the others were the reason for his absence.
In 1999, Bill Albaugh, drummer for the 60s psychedelic group, The Lemon Pipers died at the age of 53. They had a #1 hit in 1967 with “Green Tambourine”.
In 2002, following his death, the re-release of George Harrison’s 1971 hit, “My Sweet Lord” again topped the British chart. It replaced Aaliyah’s “More Than a Woman” at #1, the only time in chart history that one deceased artist took over the top spot from another deceased artist.
In 2012, R&B singer Etta James died of complications from leukemia at the age of 73. She’s best remembered for the #2 hit, “At Last”. She had nine other Top 40 hits and three Grammys.

Born on this day …

In 1889, blues musician, Leadbelly, whose real name was Huddi William Ledbetter
In 1924, country singer Slim Whitman
In 1933, Ron Townson from The 5th Dimension
In 1942, Billy Powell from The O’Jays
In 1943, Rick Evans from Zager & Evans whose one hit, “In the Year 2525” went to #1 in 1969.
In 1945, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eric Stewart who was with The Mindbenders in the 1960s, 10cc in the 1970s and collaborated extensively with Paul McCartney in the 1980s.
In 1947, George Grantham, drummer with Poco.
In 1952, Ian Hill, bass player with Judas Priest, and Paul Stanley from KISS
In 1979, Rob Bourdon, drummer with Linkin Park

https://www.thisdayinmusic.com/search/?keyword=&date=20&month=1

Other celebrity anniversaries today …

Actor, comedian Bill Maher is 70
Actor Rainn Wilson from TV’s The Office is 60
Among those who’ve passed, comedian, George Burns was born this day in 1896
Actor Leon Ames from movies including “Meet Me in St. Louis” and TV’s “Mr. Ed” was born in 1903
DeForest Kelley, best remembered as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy on Star Trek was born in 1921

http://www.davesfunstuff.com/a-mb/2080-date0120.htm

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Call the Pala Fire Department at 760 742 1632 before starting any open fires to get the day’s Cal Fire and APCD recommendations. Fire Department permits are required for any burning on Pala tribal land.

Pala seniors’ lunch menu for tomorrow (1/21) – baked chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables and dessert

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WEATHER

Pala Weather – sunny with a high of 81 this afternoon … patchy morning low clouds and fog tomorrow morning, clearing to partly sunny and 76 … 70 Thursday … 69 with a 20% chance of light rain Friday … mostly sunny and 72 Saturday … 76 Sunday and Monday … overnight lows, about 46 tonight through Friday night … 43 Saturday night … 45 Sunday night

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