The Brief

The 42 teams that have qualified so far for next year's FIFA World Cup now know who they'll face in the initial phase of the tournament taking place across the U.S., Canada and Mexico next year.
That's after the draw for the men's flagship soccer tournament was held on a cold, wintry day at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

And it yielded interesting matchups, including Spain versus Uruguay, England versus Croatia, and France against Senegal, a contest with an interesting history given the African country famously beat the European powerhouse at the 2002 World Cup.

Then there are the hosts. The U.S., for example, will open the tournament with a match-up against Paraguay in Los Angeles, and will also face Australia and a yet-to-be-determined European rival.
As has been typical in recent draws, the ceremony attracted a slew of celebrities, including tenor Andrea Bocelli, as well as older and younger superstar athletes from both the soccer world and the host nations, including retired American quarterback Tom Brady.

And the event attracted controversy, too. As widely expected, President Trump received FIFA's first "Peace Prize," given "on behalf of football-loving people from all around the world" — though no fan ever voted for such an award.

Here are five things to know about the World Cup draw.

What was the draw for?

In short, it was to determine which teams will make up the 12 groups of four that mark the opening stage — or the group stage — of the World Cup.

The tournament has never been this big before — with 48 teams taking part, up from the 32 that participated at the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Not all teams that will take part in the 2026 World Cup are known, though. So far, 42 countries have qualified, with the remaining six — including Italy — set to compete in playoffs next March to determine the final list of participants.

And teams still do not know the locations and kickoff times for the games set to be held across all 16 host cities. That will be determined on Saturday, at a separate event.

So what did the draw look like?

In a World Cup of 48 teams, it predictably led to pretty stark contrasts, with a soccer powerhouse such as Spain set to face debutant Cape Verde — or a matchup between Germany and Curaçao, the smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup with a population of just over 150,000.

There will also be other matches that will likely draw attention, including Portugal with aging star Cristiano Ronaldo set to face off against Colombia, the finalist at the regional Copa America last year.

The top two sides of each of the 12 groups will automatically qualify. But even finishing third in a four-team group can ensure qualification: in fact, the eight-best third-placed teams will advance.

Is there a group of death? What about some of the favorites?

Just like in any tournament, one of the biggest talking points will become which group will be perceived as the "Group of Death," the moniker given to the group perceived to be the most difficult in a tournament.

There are a couple candidates this time around. Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia and whoever emerges from a playoff involving Ukraine, Poland, Albania, or Sweden could be one such group.

The other could very well be the one made up by England, Croatia, Ghana and Panama — or the one made up by France, Senegal, Norway and whoever emerges from the playoffs involving Bolivia, Iraq and Suriname.

But some of the favorites will face much lower-ranked teams in the group stage. That's the case for Argentina, which will face Algeria, Austria and World Cup debutant Jordan.

Top-ranked Spain, meanwhile, will face a tough opponent in 16th-ranked Uruguay but also 60th-ranked Saudi Arabia and tournament newbie Cape Verde.

What does the path look like for the hosts?

The United States and Mexico mostly avoid particularly high-ranked teams. Canada faces a tougher time.

The U.S., for example, ranked 14th will face 39th-ranked Paraguay in its opening game, as well as 26th-ranked Australia, and whoever emerges from a playoff involving Slovakia, Kosovo, Turkey or Romania.

Meanwhile, Mexico will face lower-ranked teams in South Africa, South Korea and a yet-to-be-determined European team.

Canada faces the potentially tougher path, set to face Qatar, but also higher-ranked Switzerland and potentially Italy, which will be in a playoff involving Bosnia and Herzegovina, Wales and Northern Ireland.

And why did President Trump receive a peace prize?

It's not quite clear — but one thing's for sure, it ensured that the draw wasn't all about sports.

Politics have typically been kept offstage at FIFA's World Cup draw ceremonies given the organization's long-held rules about staying politically neutral.

But on Friday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino presented Trump with the first-ever Peace Prize, crediting him with ending a number of wars and conflicts (something the U.S. president likes to boast about, though the evidence is less clear.)

Infantino and FIFA have justified the award, which it unveiled for the first time on Friday, as intended to acknowledge "exceptional actions for peace and unity."

But the award sparked criticism from some soccer fan groups and was seen by many of these critics as another step in Infantino's persistent and controversial courtship of President Trump, which FIFA's leader has justified as needed to ensure the successful staging of the World Cup.

The World Cup runs from June 11 through July 19, 2026.

NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan contributed to this report.

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Why it matters: Wasserman has been under fire for racy emails he exchanged decades ago with Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted sex trafficker and the ex-girlfriend of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The emails as part of the release of millions of documents related to Epstein by the Justice Department in January.

Why now: In a memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Wasserman told his staff that he had "become a distraction" to the work of the high-profile talent agency that he founded more than two decades ago.

In recent days, a number of artists — including musician Chappell Roan — have said they are cutting ties with the Wasserman agency.

Background: Critics have also called for Wasserman to resign as head of LA28, the nonprofit and organizing body behind the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

Earlier this week, the board of LA28 expressed support for Wasserman.

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The Los Angeles Unified School Board will vote Tuesday on a plan to eliminate jobs as the district contends with several years of spending more money than it brings in.

The reduction in force (RIF) vote is the first step in a monthslong process that could result in layoffs at the district’s central office and schools.

In meeting materials posted late Friday night, the district proposed issuing notices to thousands of employees and closing hundreds of additional positions at the central office.

The move would save approximately $250 million, part of an overall $1.4 billion “fiscal stabilization plan.”

“Even with approval,” the plan states, “with available reserves already being fully utilized, further reductions will be necessary based on the multi-year projections.”

Why is the board voting on potential job cuts?

For the last two years, the district has relied on reserves to backfill a multi-billion-dollar deficit. That deficit comes as enrollment has declined steeply but expenses have not.

There are more than 40% fewer students compared to the early 2000s. At the same time, as costs have increased, the district has not closed schools or significantly reduced staff. LAUSD hired more staff to support students during the pandemic, and now the federal relief dollars that initially funded those positions are gone.

What’s in the plan?

Reductions in force are proposed for several categories including “un-funded” positions, central office staff, and at schools that support higher needs students.

The RIF proposal would:

• Authorize notices to about 2,600 certificated and classified contract management employees and certificated administrators. (e.g. teachers, counselors, etc.)
• Close 657 central office and centrally funded classified positions. More than a third of these are IT technicians, by far the largest group.
• Reduce hours for 52 positions.
• Reduce pay for 22 positions.

“In total this represents less than 1% of the total Los Angeles Unified workforce,” the materials note.

It is unclear how many positions included in the proposed reduction in force will ultimately result in people being laid off. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said in a previous board meeting that a RIF did not guarantee layoffs, as staff could be reassigned to other positions or given the opportunity to transfer schools.

The district's budget outlook could also change as employees retire or move to jobs elsewhere, etc.

What happens now? 

LAUSD must vote on the reduction in force before March 15, the deadline for California school districts to notify staff they may be laid off. Decisions have to be finalized by the end of June.

In a letter sent earlier this month, the unions representing LAUSD teachers, support staff and principals asked the board to delay the RIF vote until there is more information available about state funding and the public has more time to understand the proposed cuts.

United Teachers Los Angeles members recently gave their leadership the power to call a strike if the union can’t reach a contract deal with the district.

How can I weigh in?

The board meets Tuesday at 10 a.m. Registration for public comment opens Monday at 9 a.m.( 24 hours before the meeting). Speakers can comment by phone or in person and are generally limited to two minutes.

You can also email all board members here or find your individual representative below or leave a voicemail message at (213) 443-4472, by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting .

In case you haven’t heard, a 3-year-old, female gray wolf was found last week near Lancaster.

Experts say it's the first time we’ve seen one of these carnivores in L.A. County in a century.

The young gray wolf is officially tagged as BEY03F. But Paula Ficara, executive director of the Apex Protection Project, has a better name.

“Everyone has decided to call her bae, which is really cute because that’s her number: B-E-Y. So for Valentines she can be your Bae: B-A-E,” Ficara said with a chuckle.

Ficara’s nonprofit has the mission of protecting captive-born wolves and wolf dogs, as well as wolves in the wild. They have a sanctuary in Acton, where 23 wolves live.

She said people have had a lot of questions about BEY: Is she sick? Is she a lone wolf?

“The truth is that ... the wolves are coming down. They’re migrating naturally back to their original habitat. ... She’s a young adult and she’s decided to go off in the hopes of starting her own family,” Ficara said.

It’s not impossible but unlikely that she’ll find a mate this far south. Ficara said she’s likely to go back home to Northern California if she can’t spot a partner within a couple weeks or so.

Steve Wastell, Ficara’s husband of 30 years and director of operations at Apex, explained their biggest concern while the wolf is in L.A. County.

“The last wolf that came down, almost this far, on his way back up, ended up being hit by a car. So that’s one of the biggest things that could happen to her,” Wastell said.

A male gray wolf, OR93, traveled as far down as Ventura County in 2021. But sadly, the wolf was hit by a vehicle and killed along Interstate 5 in Kern County.

It's part of the reason why Ficara and Wastell started the "Wolf Crossing" campaign. They’re encouraging people to post homemade wolf crossing signs at wildlife corridors, trailheads and other places where roads meet wild.

“Obviously, not everyone is going to slow down on the highway. But just to bring a little more awareness that there may be a wolf crossing,” Wastell said.

One of their first wolf crossing participants? A group of school-age kids who stopped by the sanctuary recently to learn about wolves and make a sign of their own to post in their area.

“They had just met most of our wolves here, face to face. And they were super excited about protecting and super excited about this wolf being down here. So they were like, 'Yeah, let's do it!'” Wastell said.

Wastell and Ficara are encouraging everyone to make a sign and post to social media in the hopes it will make L.A. a little more hospitable for our visitor from the north.

The Olympic medal is one of the most coveted awards that an athlete can receive. But at this year's Winter Games in Milan, medalists are celebrating cautiously.

"I was jumping in excitement and it broke," American skier Breezy Johnson said after earning her gold medal on Sunday. She warned other medalists "Don't jump in them."

Johnson is one of several athletes who reported their medals detaching from their ribbon and in one case, breaking in half.

American skier Breezy Johnson holds up her gold medal on the podium of the women's downhill event during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d'Ampezzo on Feb. 8.

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Stefano Rellandini

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AFP via Getty Images

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At a press briefing on Tuesday, Olympic organizing committee spokesperson Luca Casassa said he was aware that there were issues with some medals. He added that a solution has been identified and encouraged athletes with faulty medals to return them for repair.

"As a precaution, we are re-checking all the medals to make sure that the athletes' joy can be really 360 degrees when they conquer something which is so precious and so important," Casassa said in Italian.

He didn't specify what the issue or the fix was.

This isn't the first time that Olympic medals needed to be replaced. After the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, athletes raised concerns that their awards, which famously included pieces of the Eiffel Tower, were tarnishing and corroding after the games.

Athletes report faulty medals, but continue to celebrate their achievements

The exact moment when German biathlete Justus Strelow's medal came loose was caught on camera. In a video that has since gone viral, Strelow's teammates are seen clapping when a clang can be heard. The camera pans to Strelow, who picks up his medal and tries to re-attach it to his ribbon — leading to an awkward halt in celebrations.

In a video posted on Instagram, Alysa Liu, a figure skater with Team USA, showed off her ribbon-less medal, alongside the words, "My medal don't need the ribbon."

While most of the medal snafus were limited to strap issues, Swedish cross-country skier Ebba Andersson told Swedish broadcaster SVT that her silver broke in two when it fell in the snow.

Johnson, the American skier, said a small rectangular piece — that was supposed to hold the medal and ribbon together — came apart, making her medal unwearable.

"I'm sure somebody will fix it. It's not crazy broken but a little broken," she said on Sunday.

A few days later, Johnson told Reuters that she received a replacement medal, but she would prefer to have her original back, noting that her new medal was not yet engraved.

"They couldn't fix it so they gave me a new one," she said. "Although I'm actually curious, because then I think some of the later ones they were able to fix. So now I'm kind of wondering if maybe I can get the old one back fixed."

Design flaw or manufacturing glitch?

This year's medals resemble two halves coming together. In a video, Raffaella Paniè, who serves as the Brand, Identity and Look Director at this year's Winter Games, said it was meant to symbolize how each victory is the result of the athlete, as well as their team of family, coaches and trainers.

Reuters reported that the medals featured a safety clip, intended to snap off when pulled forcefully to prevent the ribbon from strangling. The Milano-Cortina press team did not respond to an email request for comment about the medals' clip function.

"It sounds like it's not all of the metals, it's just some of them, which leads me to believe that — just speculating — there's some sort of manufacturing glitch," said Doug McIndoe, editor of The MCA Advisory, a magazine from the Medal Collectors of America.

According to McIndoe, when cast metals are poured into mold and harden, it can cause the metal to shrink.

"It's possible that the opening where that clip goes in is maybe slightly too big, just a few millimeters or less than that, and it's just not securing that clip in properly," he said.

He added that it's an age-old question of how to make medals wearable, explaining that drilling a hole or incorporating one into the design of a mold to thread a ribbon through were historically unpopular methods. It wasn't until the 1960s that Olympic medals began to be worn around athletes' necks.

"Back from Roman times, they were, they were just something you hold in your hands and enjoy and a lot of them were issued in boxes," McIndoe added.

Even with the design hiccups, this year's gold and silver medals are worth the most they've been in a century. That's because the price of these precious metals have soared over the past year. Several factors are contributing to record prices, but a main driver is President Trump's tariffs, which is causing economic uncertainty in markets around the world, according to precious metals expert Peter Krauth.

Although each gold medal contains only about six grams of actual gold (the rest is made of silver) Krauth estimates that their current worth stands at around $2,300 — twice their value during the Summer Olympics in July 2024. A silver medal is currently worth around $1,400 — nearly three times its value two years ago, he said.

Krauth believes the price of gold and silver will continue to remain high for years to come, even up to the 2028 Summer Olympics. But he noted that the real worth of Olympic medals comes from the athletic achievement behind it.

"The sentimental value of a medal is worth way more than the metal in the medal," he said.
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