January 20, 2026
January 20, 2026
On Monday, January 19, 2026, at 5:56 p.m. PST, a notable earthquake struck Southern California, rattling communities across the Coachella Valley and beyond. The event, centered near Indio Hills in Riverside County, registered as the strongest quake in the state so far this year based on available reports and magnitude readings. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and various news outlets, the mainshock's magnitude ranged from 4.6 to 5.1, with some preliminary...
Santa Monica, CA – January 18, 2026 – With the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket now at Launch Pad 39B for the upcoming Artemis II mission (targeted no earlier than February 6, 2026), attention is turning to the follow-on flight that will achieve the long-awaited return of humans to the lunar surface. Artemis III, the first manned lunar landing since Apollo 17 in December 1972, is currently planned for 2027, with NASA describing it as targeting "no earlier than mid-2027."...
January 18, 2026 – In a major milestone for NASA's Artemis program, the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket topped with the Orion spacecraft completed its slow journey to Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, January 17, 2026. The 322-foot-tall vehicle, weighing approximately 11 million pounds, traveled about 4 miles from the Vehicle Assembly Building at roughly 1 mile per hour, taking nearly 12 hours to reach the pad. This rollout paves...
My brother was discharged from St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica after a week of treatment for a serious liver condition. Just days later, his hemoglobin had plummeted to a dangerously low 6.6 (normal levels are around 13–17 for men). His primary care doctor urgently directed us to the emergency room at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Westwood. What we encountered was shocking - a scene that felt more like a war zone than a state-of-the-art hospital. Beds lined the...
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - Homes are not being rebuilt, by and large. But satellite images released this week reveal a remarkable transformation in Pacific Palisades, where winter rains have restored vibrant green vegetation to hillsides charred by the catastrophic January 2025 Palisades fire. The blaze, which destroyed over 6,800 structures and claimed 12 lives, left vast areas barren, but new growth on surviving trees and the appearance of rebuilt structures on former...
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - A new analysis by Redfin shows that real estate investors purchased about 40% of vacant lots sold in fire-damaged areas of Pacific Palisades during the third quarter of 2025, sparking worries among locals about the community's future character. Following the January 2025 Palisades fire's destruction of thousands of homes, many owners face tough choices between rebuilding or selling, leading to a surge in available lots and cash purchases by...
ALTADENA, Calif. - After more than six weeks of an unusual - and increasingly frustrating - cohabitation, a 550-pound male black bear has been successfully removed from beneath an Altadena resident's home, bringing relief to homeowner Ken Johnson and ending a saga that drew national attention. The bear, tagged by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife as Yellow 2120, first squeezed into the crawl space under Johnson's kitchen around Thanksgiving 2025. It remained...
Santa Monica Pauses Downtown Parking Rate Changes After Business Backlash City officials have postponed the implementation of new parking rates in eight downtown structures until at least January 27, 2026, following intense opposition from local businesses. The planned changes, originally set to take effect on January 12, would have reduced the free parking period from 90 minutes to 30 minutes in facilities such as Structures 1 through 8 and the Ken Edwards Center. This...
Why January can feel emotionally heavy It’s early January. Your inbox is crowded with fresh-start messages, your calendar looks untouched, and social media hums with promises of transformation. Everywhere you look, momentum seems to be building. Yet you’re sitting with your coffee, feeling oddly out of sync with all this optimism. The gap between January's promises and its reality feels disorienting. While the world races toward change, you might feel a heaviness in these...
Big changes in 2026 traffic laws: What drivers should know nationwide Traffic laws in the U.S. are changing in 2026. States are adding new ways to catch people breaking laws, increasing fines, and putting in place rules to make driving safer. While not every new rule directly affects car insurance, certain violations, such as speeding and DUI-related offenses, often contribute to higher premiums. It’s not one big national change. Instead, it’s a trend toward using cameras...
AI tutors, with a little human help, offer ‘reliable’ instruction, study finds An AI-powered tutor, paired with a human helper and individual-level data on a student’s proficiency, can outperform a human alone, with near-flawless results, a new study suggests. The results could open a new front in the evolving discussion over how to use AI in schools — and how closely humans must watch it when it’s interacting with kids, The 74 reports. In a randomized controlled...
The LA Art Show 2026 delivered a spectacular Opening Night on January 7, marking the start of its highly successful 31st edition as Los Angeles' longest-running art fair. Under the direction of producer and director Kassandra Voyagis, the event featured over 90 exhibitors from 25 countries-including Ireland, France, Greece, Israel, and South Korea-showcasing a vibrant mix of contemporary and modern art. The fair ran from Wednesday, January 7, through Sunday, January 11, 2026,...
Donald Drowty, remembered both for his music and his lifelong commitment to helping others, passed away at the age of 87 on December 28, 2025, leaving a legacy of creativity, compassion, and service. Don was best known as a member of Dante and the Evergreens, the early rock-and-roll group that helped define the West Coast sound of the late 1950s. As part of the group, he contributed to music that brought joy to countless listeners and secured a lasting place in American...
