News

Pala Today News – 1/27/26

Written by John Fox on January 27, 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

A statewide joint effort by 18 law enforcement agencies has led to 105 arrests in San Diego County for human trafficking. Operation “Stand on Demand” took place January 19 through 24 across multiple counties. Such sweeps have been made possible thanks to expanded enforcement options under Assembly Bill 379. https://www.newsbreak.com/newsnation-2045693/4462996584888-statewide-human-trafficking-operation-leads-to-more-than-100-arrests-in-san-diego

An officer-involved shooting is under investigation in Escondido. It began this morning with a 2a call to a halfway house near Grand and Elm due to concerns about the welfare of a male resident there. The resident was reportedly armed with a knife and had barricaded himself in a bathroom as officers evacuated other residents. Police negotiated with the man for about an hour, then left to deescalate the situation. The man eventually came out and confronted an officer in an alley behind the facility with a stick. When he refused instructions and charged, the officer fired multiple times. The man was hospitalized in critical condition. The officer was uninjured. https://www.newsbreak.com/abc-10-news-kgtv-563645/4462662102554-officer-involved-shooting-in-escondido-under-investigation

A pedestrian in a wheelchair was struck by a car Monday afternoon just after 4:30p at the intersection of East Washington and North Beech in Escondido. The victim was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries. The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with police, who do not believe drugs or alcohol were a factor in the incident. https://www.newsbreak.com/fox-5-san-diego-1589916/4461998591453-pedestrian-in-wheelchair-struck-by-car-in-escondido

A Friday night DUI checkpoint at Rancho California and Butterfield Stage Roads led to the arrests of two people – one for suspicion of DUI, the other on two outstanding criminal warrants. Seven citations were issued for people driving with a suspended or revoked license. A total of 417 vehicles were screened. https://patch.com/california/temecula/2-drivers-arrested-7-cited-during-temecula-dui-checkpoint

Pala will be sunny and warm for the next week, warming into the mid-80s by 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 – The Buffalo Bills have promoted offensive coordinator Joe Brady to head coach with a five-year contract. He replaces Sean McDermott, who was fired following the Bills’ divisional playoff loss to Denver. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47744752/sources-bills-promoting-oc-brady-head-coach-5-year-deal

In the NBA – The Lakers won their second consecutive road game. They beat the Bulls in Chicago 129-118. They’re in 5^th place, while the Clippers are currently in the final Western Conference playoff spot, 2 ½ games ahead of Dallas. Yesterday’s other winners were Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Boston, Houston and Minnesota.

In college basketball – #1 Arizona defended its ranking with an 86-83 win over #13 BYU. #4 Duke routed #20 Louisville 83-52.

In the NHL – The Ducks win streak ended last night at Edmonton with the Oilers winning 7-4. Mattias Ekholm scored a hat trick for the Oilers. Others winners were Tampa Bay and both New York teams. The Kings game at Columbus was postponed due to weather. https://www.espn.com/nhl/schedule/_/date/20260126

Pittsburgh’s Bryan Rust has been suspended for three games for an illegal check to the head of Vancouver center Brock Boeser Sunday. He’s currently on injured reserve. This is Rust’s first suspension in almost 700 career NHL games. https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/47745716/penguins-bryan-rust-suspended-3-games-brock-boeser-hit

In the minors – The San Diego Gulls next game is tomorrow hosting Tucson.

In Major League Baseball – Dodgers’ starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto will join teammate Shohei Ohtani on Team Japan in the upcoming World Baseball Classic beginning March 4. Yamamoto made 30 starts for the Dodgers last year, posting a 2.49 ERA over 173 2/3 innings and finished third is last year’s Cy Young Award voting. His shining moment came in the World Series when he pitched six innings, allowing only one hit in Game 6, then came back the next night to record the final eight outs of Game 7. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47735984/dodgers-star-yoshinobu-yamamoto-japan-wbc-roster

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

Local High School Sports –

Bonsall – girls’ basketball vs. Coastal Academy at 4:30p; boys’ basketball hosting Ocean View Christian at 6p

Great Oak – girls’ wrestling at Murrieta Valley; girls’ water poll hosting varsity finals: soccer against Temecula Valley beginning at 4p, girls’ hosting, boys’ away; boys’ wrestling at Murrieta Valley at 5p; girls’ varsity basketball hosting Ayala at 6:30p

Fallbrook – no schedule published

Valley Center – girls’ wrestling at Mission Vista; boys’ and girls’ basketball against Mt. Carmel beginning at 4p, varsity hosting, JV away; soccer against Escondido beginning at 4p, boys’ hosting, girls’ away

BUSINE$$

As of midday trading on Wall Street, stocks were mixed. The Dow was down almost a full percent. The S&P 500 was up a half percent. And the Nasdaq gained 1%. Gold fell $2.60 from its record high on the Comex to $5,079.60 an ounce. The benchmark West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures gained $1.50 to $62.13 a barrel.

Meta and YouTube are headed to court to defend against claims that what they do harms young people’s mental health. TikTok already agreed to settle the case with undisclosed terms yesterday. Snap settled as well last week. The plaintiff, a 19-year old identified only as KGM and her mother allege social media platforms get young people hooked on scrolling, enable bullying, disrupt their sleep and send them down harmful content paths. The Los Angeles trial is expected to take several weeks. https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/26/tech/social-media-youth-mental-health-trial

UPS plans to cut an additional 30k jobs as it winds down its partnership with Amazon. They’d already cut 48k jobs last year. Most of this year’s cuts will be through attrition with voluntary separation programs being offered to full-time drivers. UPS estimates disconnecting from Amazon will save it $3b. It’s all part of a broad plan to reinvigorate UPS, whose shares gained 4% this morning. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/27/ups-job-cuts-amazon-unwind-turnaround-plan.html

Speaking of Amazon, the retail giant is closing its Fresh and Go locations to focus energy online and in its Whole Foods division. Amazon is one of the top three grocers in the U.S. with over $150b in gross annual sales to about 150m customers. Same-day delivery has made Amazon physical stores less and less necessary. It’s already available in dozens of major cities with more being added this year. Meanwhile, the retail giant plans to over 100 new Whole Food locations this year with some of them being converted Fresh and Go locations. https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-fresh-go-stores-closing-expanding-whole-foods

US consumer confidence has dropped to its lowest level in more than 11 ½ years. The report issued today by the Conference Board covered the political spectrum, with those identifying as “independent” being the most pessimistic. Concerns include inflation, affordability, and weak job prospects. The consumer confidence index dropped 9.7 points this month to 84.5. The increase in those worried about job prospects roughly matches the Labor Department’s latest unemployment report. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-consumer-confidence-slumps-january-level-last-seen-2014-2026-01-27/

GM topped earnings expectations for the fourth quarter. It slightly missed revenue expectations as it announced a 20% increase in its quarterly dividend and an authorization to repurchase $6b in shares. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/27/general-motors-gm-earnings-q4-2025.html

GM also expects to top Ford as the #1 maker of vehicles in the U.S. GM is pushing to increase domestic production. Tariffs from importing vehicles built in other countries cost GM $3.1b in tariffs in 2025. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/27/gm-plans-to-top-ford-in-us-production-amid-trumps-tariff.html

LIFESTYLE / GREEN LIVING

Nearly 20% of new car loans now have monthly payments of more than $1k. Those trying to avoid such a budget buster are opting for 7-year loans, which now account for 22% of new loans. All that, plus high interest rates have pushed financing a vehicle to a record-high average of $42,388 just for the interest. The increased cost of new cars is far exceeding the rate of inflation and is due in part to tariffs. It’s also due to required safety features and galloping technology. But it greatly increases the risk of negative equity in your vehicle. In the second quarter of last year, the average borrower who rolled over negative equity paid $15,881 in interest annually – more than $6k more that the average borrower who didn’t owe more than their trade was worth. https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/1000-car-payment-record-highs.html

The price of gasoline is a much smaller consideration. And not a consideration at all if you have an EV. But for those on a tight budget, here are the current retail gas prices. The nationwide average for regular is ten cents higher than a week ago at $2.86 a gallon. The average in San Diego County is up slightly at $4.37. In Riverside County, it’s $4.12. The lowest local price for a gallon of regular today is $3.57 at United Oil at 5^th and Centre City Parkway in Escondido. Horizon Fuel Center in Valley Center is $3.59. The lowest price in southwest Riverside County is $3.76 at Murrieta Sam’s Club. https://www.gasbuddy.com/gaspricemap?lat=33.55140242556427&lng=-117.14852993041549&z=14

On this day in music history – January 27,

1956, RCA released the Elvis single, “Heartbreak Hotel”, having just purchased the singer’s contract from Sun Records for $35k. It became Elvis’ first Gold record, selling over a million copies.
In 1962, The Beatles’ played the last of many concerts at Aintree Institute when manager, Brian Epstein became infuriated by the promoter paying the 15 pound performance fee with small change.
In 1970, John Lennon wrote, recorded and mixed down his new single “Instant Karma!” all in one day. How appropriate! It arrived in stores ten days later.
In 1971, David Bowie arrived in the U.S. for the first time, attracting publicity by wearing a dress at a promotional event.
In 1972, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson died in Chicago of heart failure and complications from diabetes. She’d recorded over 30 albums and was internationally known as a singer and civil rights activist.
In 1973, “Superstition” from Stevie Wonder’s “Talking Book” album became his second #1 hit. The drum beat of the song, written by Wonder came from Jeff Beck, to whom Wonder had offered the song. But Motown’s Berry Gordy insisted that Wonder record it first with Beck instead being offered “’Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers” which appeared on Beck’s 1975 “Blow By Blow” album.
In 1973, Sweet appeared at the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock, Scotland and were driven offstage by a barrage of bottles. The incident inspired their later song, “Ballroom Blitz” which rose to #5 on the Hot 100.
In 1990, Kylie Minogue had a #1 hit in England with “Tears On My Pillow” – a remake of the 1958 hit by Little Anthony & The Imperials.
In 1998, James Brown was charged with possession of marijuana and unlawful use of a firearm at his South Carolina home. Brown later claimed the drugs were to help with his eyesight.
In 2014, folk singer and activist, Pete Seeger died at the age of 94. He had a string of hits dating back to the 1950s as a member of The Weavers. His 1960s activism was fueled by The Weavers being blacklisted the previous decade during the McCarthy era.
In 2015, an out of court settlement awarded song writing credit to Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne for Sam Smith’s hit “Stay With Me” due to its similarity to Petty’s 1989 hit “I Won’t Back Down”. Smith’s song had been nominated for three Grammys including Song of the Year, which honors the song’s author.

Born on this day …

In 1918, blues slide guitar legend, Elmore James, who wrote “Shake Your Money Maker”, a song that was covered by Fleetwood Mac in 1968. Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King and Keith Richards all cite James as an early influence.
In 1919, David Seville, creator of The Chipmunks who had a #1 hit in 1958 with the Christmas novelty, “The Chipmunk Song”.
In 1930, R&B singer Bobby Bland
In 1944, Nick Mason, drummer with Pink Floyd and the only member of the band to play on every one of the group’s albums since Floyd’s formation in 1965.
In 1946, Nedra Talley from The Ronnettes.
In 1951, Brian Downey, drummer with Thin Lizzy and Seth Justman, keyboardist for the J. Geils Band
In 1957, Janick Robert Gers, guitarist with Iron Maiden
In 1968, Mike Patton, singer and instrumentalist with Faith No More

https://www.thisdayinmusic.com/search/?keyword=&date=27&month=1

Other celebrity anniversaries today …

Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt is 57
Among those who’ve passed, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born this day in 1756.
“Alice in Wonderland” author Lewis Carroll was born in 1832
Radio actor, Howard McNear, best known as Doc on radio’s “Gunsmoke” heard twice weekly on Rez Radio was born in 1905.
Actress Donna Reed was born in 1921.

http://www.davesfunstuff.com/a-mb/2080-date0127.htm

Programming on Rez Radio 91.3 is made possible in part by the Pala Band of Mission Indians and donations from listeners like you. Call 760 742 4200 or email 91.3@palatribe.com for details on contributing to community radio in Pala.

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 (1/28) – meat loaf, mashed potatoes, vegetables and dessert

The Pala Band of Mission Indians has employment opportunities including full time and part time. For a list, go to the Palatribe dot com website.

Go to Facebook.com/RezRadio for community events and news affecting, or of interest to Pala and inland North County.

Listen to Rez Radio just about anywhere and access all of our assets with the free Rez Radio App, available at Google Play and the Apple App Store.

A transcript of this newscast will be available at our website, Rez Radio dot FM and on the Rez Radio App an hour or two after broadcast.

WEATHER

Pala Weather – sunny with a high of 76 this afternoon … partly sunny and 76 again tomorrow … 82 Thursday … 85 Friday … 84 Saturday … 80 Sunday … 76 Monday … overnight lows, 44 tonight and tomorrow night … 48 Thursday night … about 51 Friday and Saturday night … 47 Sunday night

In addition to 91.3 FM in the San Luis Rey River valley, REZ RADIO can also be heard on the REZ RADIO APP (the best was to listen), at www.RezRadio.FM , iHeartRadio, TuneIn.com and Radio.Garden. On the I Heart Radio and TuneIn apps, search “Rez Radio” and save us as a favorite. On Radio dot Garden, just zoom in on the world map to find Pala, CA.

SMART SPEAKERS – For Amazon devices like Echo and Dot, just say “Alexa, play KPRI.” For Google devices, “Hey Google, play KPRI.” If you prefer the iHeart stream, enable the iHeart skill and tell your smart speaker to “… ask iHeartRadio to play Rez Radio 91.3. (or, … to play KPRI).

This update courtesy of “PALA REZ RADIO^TM” 91.3 FM, Pala, CA. To unsubscribe, reply to this email with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject line. The “unsubscribe” option is not available to employees of the Pala Band of Mission Indians at their employee email address. Feel free to forward this to your friends and encourage them to subscribe or report news and community events by sending an email to 91.3@palatribe.com

LISTEN TO REZ RADIO

Rez Radio Website – Listen to Rez Radio 91.3 through your browser at RezRadio.fm.

iHeartRadio Website – Listen to Rez Radio 91.3 through your browser at iHeart.com.

iHeartRadio Apps – Download the free iHeartRadio music app for iOS, Android, Windows, and participating car, home, and portable devices. Once the app has been downloaded, search for “Rez Radio” and save us as your favorite.

TuneIn Website – Listen to Rez Radio 91.3 through your browser at Tunein.com.

TuneIn Apps – Download the free TuneIn music app for iOS, Android, Windows, and participating car, home, and portable devices. Once the app has been downloaded, search for “Rez Radio” and save us as your favorite.

AudioNow – Provided by AudioNow, listen to Rez Radio 91.3 anywhere there is phone service by dialing (712) 775-5748. There is no cost for the service, but calls will use mobile plan minutes. If you’re calling from a landline, normal long distance charges will apply.

The Community Events and Casino Corner portions of this newsletter can be heard three times daily Mon-Sun on Rez Radio, at 7:25a, 12:25p (in Pala Today M-F), and at 5:25p as the “Pala Community Calendar”. Submit items for the calendar to 91.3@palatribe.com at least a week before the event.

You can view the events on the Calendar page.

SHOWS

You can find a wide-range of Pala Rez Radio programming at www.RezRadio.FM

RESOURCES

The Pala Band of Mission Indians and Rez Radio gathered this list of resources as a courtesy and offers no guarantee of accuracy. Please contact us if you find an error or if any link needs to be updated.

Check out the list of information on our Resources page.