The Brief

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

As soon as you step into Niky’s Sports’ Pico Union store, it’s clear they’re ready for the FIFA World Cup.

Soccer jerseys from all the national teams who have qualified for the tournament are displayed front and center, especially Mexico’s “El Tri” home kit featured on a mannequin. Colombia’s, Argentina’s, Germany’s and Spain’s jerseys complete the colorful arrangement, with a picture of Spanish player Lamine Yamal holding onto his Adidas shoes.

No team that has made an impact in recent tournaments are absent.

As soon as you step into Niky’s Sports’ Pico Union store, it’s clear they’re ready for the FIFA World Cup.

With the tournament quickly approaching, Niky’s says they’re already seeing a rise in sales.

Sales have risen about 30% across Niky’s stores across L.A. County since the start of the year, according to manager Cynthia Molina, who adds that the Pico Union location is helping drive that trend.

The biggest demand has been for national team jerseys, particularly Mexico, Argentina and Colombia. Most national team jerseys typically cost between $100 and $150.

“I feel like, with the excitement going around now, we have a lot of people coming in just asking for jerseys,” Molina said. “So, it’s moving.”

As soon as you step into Niky’s Sports’ Pico Union store, it’s clear they’re ready for the FIFA World Cup.

Customers are buying gear as a way to connect with family, often making the visit to the store a memorable trip, Molina said.

“They’re wanting to support their teams. They’re coming and uniting with their families, sharing that whole experience all together,” Molina said. “People from all over the world are coming in sometimes and checking out the items we have.”

The boost in sales at Niky’s Sports is just a small piece of the economic impact expected when the first World Cup game is held in Inglewood on June 12.

The tournament is projected to generate around $892 million in total economic activity across the county, according to the Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee. Most of this is expected to come from visitor spending on housing, dining, and retail — an estimated $515 million, according to forecasts.

A boost is also expected from businesses increasing their purchasing and hiring more workers. When longer-term tourism gains from global exposure are factored in, total benefits could exceed $1.1 billion.

Officials also anticipate about $50 million in new local tax revenue.

The purchase of at least one jersey can be attributed to Janeth Diron, a local resident and longtime customer of Niky’s Sports, who visited the retailer’s Pico Union location on a recent March afternoon. 

Diron, 34, played soccer in high school and would always get her gear from the Pico Union shop, but on Wednesday she went in to buy her husband a Brazil away jersey. He plans to root for the team in the tournament.

Diron is looking forward to the tournament, even as she prepares to have a baby around the same time.

“I’m excited. I’ll have my husband home, and he’ll be enjoying that,” Diron said laughing.

Other shops are also beginning to feel the early effects of the World Cup. At Sportsland in Westlake, staff are seeing a jump in sales, but at nearby Pepe’s Sports, sales have remained steady. 

“For now, everything is staying normal; there’s still a lot of time,” co-owner Diego Ángel Gómez said, noting that demand usually spikes closer to the start of the tournament. 

The business has been in Westlake for nearly three decades and based on past World Cups, sales can jump dramatically depending on team performance, Gómez said.

As soon as you step into Niky’s Sports’ Pico Union store, it’s clear they’re ready for the FIFA World Cup.

During the last tournament in 2022, Argentina’s championship run drove a sharp increase in demand.

“Argentina saved our business,” he said. Argentina jersey sales nearly doubled, and he ran out of stock. 

He expects a similar pattern this year, with a big rise in sales about a month before kickoff and even more once the matches begin.

At Sports, a shop near MacArthur Park that has been operating for over two decades, sales associate Luis Sánchez said business has remained flat compared with six months ago. He attributes the slower buildup to broader economic and political factors.

“The situation with the government, rising gas prices, lack of jobs, immigration,” Sánchez said, listing what he believes is keeping customers away. Still, he remains optimistic that sales will pick up as the tournament approaches.

“Let’s hope so, we have faith,” he said

Growing fears about aggressive immigration enforcement tactics — and confusion over federal “public charge” rules that can affect green card and visa applications — are prompting some California families to retreat from child care and early education programs, even when their children qualify.

Under federal immigration law, officials can deny green card and visa applications if they determine the applicant is likely to rely heavily on government assistance. Although many benefits cannot be considered for purposes of the “public charge” rule, advocates say many families avoid social service programs altogether out of an abundance of caution.

Changes proposed in November by the current administration would repeal a 2022 rule that advocates say provided significant clarity on when the rule applies. During the previous Trump administration, the government made changes that widened what could be considered “public charge.” Even after those changes were rescinded, fears persist.

Advocates say the fear and confusion that are already impacting families could be far-reaching for a state like California, where it is estimated that nearly 1.1 million children have at least one parent who is undocumented, according to the National Center for Children in Poverty. More than half of those children are U.S. citizens and over 250,000 under the age of 5.

“With public charge there’s a level of anxiety around signing up for public benefit programs, submitting information, and/or scrutiny that may be increased and make people uncomfortable because of whatever the public rhetoric may be or the perception that it creates risk,” said Stacy Lee, chief learning officer and senior managing director of early childhood at the nonprofit Children Now.

She noted that many child care providers are uniquely positioned to support families because they are not only aware of the impact of immigration raids, but many have also developed trust with immigrant families who might be confused about proposed policy changes.

While public charge does not apply to U.S. citizen children and affects only specific types of immigration cases, many families, including those with mixed citizenship status, still withdraw from public benefits programs out of fear that participation would jeopardize their residency or protection from deportation, advocates say.

“Even when I was representing clients as an immigration attorney and I would tell them 100% that I was sure they were not going to be affected, that their case was exempt from public charge, sometimes they just still wouldn’t [enroll in public programs] because the fear is so severe,” said Liza Davis, advocacy director at The Children’s Partnership.

What is the current policy on ‘public charge’?

The current policy affirms that the public charge test is used only in specific immigration cases and does not apply to a wide range of people, including asylum seekers, U.S. citizen children of undocumented immigrants and lawful permanent residents applying for citizenship.

“A public charge only shows up when you are an individual that is submitting an application for a very specific form of relief, which a lot of people don’t qualify for,” Davis confirmed.

Additionally, only specific uses of certain benefit programs are considered.

Depending on a person’s specific immigration situation, cash assistance programs like CalWORKS could be considered for public charge tests. CalWORKs is California’s version of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which many families rely on for benefits such as child care, stable access to food and other basic necessities, like diapers.

Davis encourages families to seek accurate information and assistance. She says concerns about public charge often spread by word-of-mouth among applicants who may be comparing cases without properly accounting for the complexity of the immigration system, which includes many different types of applications with varying rules.

“We’re not able to anticipate what will happen in a different administration, but if this need is absolutely essential for you and you qualify for it right now, then you should really consider taking the help because it’s so important to the well-being of the children in your household,” Davis said she advises families.

Further exacerbating the issue is the lack of definitive certainty on whether and when rules related to public charge may change.

“Public charge has just been historically weaponized,” and different federal administrations have either made or proposed changes, leaving a sense of instability,” said Davis. “The ebb and flow, the unknown of it, and the fact that we can’t say ‘this is not going to change’ — there is no guarantee.”

How child care providers can support immigrant families with young children

Lee from Children Now says that home-visiting programs, which provide parenting support in a young child’s home, are one way to keep families accurately informed about anticipated changes to their benefits and how they can remain connected to social services.

“The standout has been families who have access to home visiting have someone they can trust, that they can ask questions to,” Lee said. “They can talk to their home visitor, who can explain to them what’s going on, what’s real, what’s not real. It’s hard to navigate what’s actually happening versus what’s just a lot of aggressive words or what’s being held up in courts.”

In 2025, about 18,200 children from over 17,000 families in California received home visiting services, according to the National Home Visiting Resource Center. It is estimated that nearly 2.6 million children from nearly 2 million families in the state would benefit from home visiting services.

What is the latest proposed change?

The latest proposed change would mostly repeal the 2022 rule clarifying when public charge applies, but does not offer regulations to replace existing rules. Advocates argue that the lack of clarity can lead families to disenroll or avoid eligible public benefits.

The administration acknowledges that changes to public charge rules between 2019 and 2022, “heightened fears among immigrant families about participating in programs and seeking services, such as health coverage and care.”

The current proposal, filed by former Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem, also recognizes the far-reaching impact of families withdrawing from public services out of fear. “DHS has determined that the rule may decrease disposable income and increase the poverty of certain families and children, including U.S. citizen children. DHS continues to believe that the benefits of the action justify the financial impact on the family.”

At a rally in February, the mayor of West Hollywood said he’s advocated for direct rail access to the city for years. Each time a new line was built, Mayor John Heilman said he was told it wasn’t the city’s time.

“Now is our time,” he said at the rally.

L.A. Metro’s Board is set to vote on Thursday on the staff-recommended route for the northern extension of the K Line, which would place three much sought-after rail stations in West Hollywood.

The decision over the train route is a political test for the board. West Hollywood has established itself as a powerfully pro-transit city and has for years studied the feasibility of fronting billions of dollars to kickstart the project without raising taxes.

At the same time, a small contingent of homeowners in an historic Mid City neighborhood continue to reject Metro staff’s assurances, backed by years of studies and history, that the train and its construction will have minimal, if any, effect on their daily lives.

The homeowners have met with L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who has a seat on the board of the countywide transportation agency, as recently as March 16. Metro Board Director Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, who lives in the neighborhood where residents are concerned, was also at the meeting despite recusing herself from public meetings about the project.

L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who has held positions as mayor and City Council member of West Hollywood and has a seat on the Metro Board, characterized the decision on Thursday as an existential one for Metro.

“Are they interested in being serious partners in building infrastructure when people come to the table with billions of dollars to invest?” Horvath said to LAist on Wednesday after a Metro committee declined to take a position on the rail extension. “Or are we going to move in a different direction?”

L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath has worked with and alongside West Hollywood to bring Metro rail to the city. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has engaged privately with Lafayette Square residents who are opposed to the route for the K Line Northern extension,

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Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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Primer on the extension

The K Line currently runs from Redondo Beach to Crenshaw and stops at the LAX/Metro Transit Center. Earlier in March, Metro officials recommended a route for the train to continue north through Mid City and West Hollywood and terminate at the Hollywood Bowl.

L.A. Metro staff recommended the San Vicente-Fairfax alignment for the K Line Northern extension. The alignment is shown in this map in a dotted green line. The pink line represents the current K Line.

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L.A. Metro

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The recommended route would attract 60,000 daily trips, the most of the routes studied by Metro. It would also reach a higher number of residents and jobs within a half-mile of the nine proposed stations, according to Metro staff estimates.

Committee meeting lays bare the politics at play 

During the public comment period at Metro’s Planning and Programming committee meeting on March 18, supporters celebrated the transformational potential of the route.

The route would connect to the D Line in Wilshire and the B Line in Hollywood, closing a north-south gap that currently exists in Metro’s rail network. The extension would link to cultural hubs, including the Museum District and Hollywood Bowl, major employers such as Cedars Sinai Medical Center and queer nightlife along Santa Monica and Sunset boulevards.

Also at the meeting, Lafayette Square residents expressed concerns, which have persisted for years, over the effects of tunneling on property values, noise and vibration, as well as the planned demolition of a nearby grocery store.

Based on the concerns, the Metro Board directed agency staff in October 2024 to do additional analysis and community outreach. That work, which cost an additional $2.3 million, filtered into the recommendation Metro staff will present to its board on Thursday. The presentation includes a modified route that minimizes underground easements under residential neighborhoods and assurances that tunneling will be deep enough to zero out any surface-level disruptions.

“They still want to tear down our only grocery store and our only drugstore,” Wade Eck, a 25-year resident of Lafayette Square, said to LAist. “That’s where people should really question what’s going on.”

Metro said it’s committed to relocating the Ralph’s that would be demolished before construction.

The fissure in public opinion about the train was enough for acting director of the committee, Ara Najarian, to suggest the discussion continue at the full board meeting Thursday, which he termed a “more august forum,” rather than issuing a recommendation.

Najarian said he supports the route as proposed by Metro staff, but he wants to ensure Bass can weigh in. The mayor could still share her thoughts on Thursday even if the committee recommended the item for approval.

The mayor’s meetings

Bass’ office told LAist she participated in meetings on March 11 and 16 about the K Line Northern Extension. The March 16 meeting involved members of the Lafayette Square neighborhood.

Bass supports the extension, her office said, but didn’t specify if that meant she supports the Metro staff-recommended route, would like to see a modification or wants to delay the vote entirely.

“Mayor Bass supports the K Line Northern extension because it will ease congestion, create jobs and expand access to culture, education, opportunity and housing,” her office said in a statement. “Mayor Bass regularly meets with community members and believes residents should have their voices heard at Metro headquarters.”

Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, who is one of the mayor’s appointees to the Metro Board, was present for both meetings, Bass’ office said.

The founding member of a faith-based development group in South L.A., Dupont-Walker’s current residence is in Lafayette Square, according to an LAist review of public records.

When the item came up at the committee meeting on Wednesday, Dupont-Walker recused herself, citing a “perceived conflict.”

When reached by email and phone, Dupont-Walker declined to comment on the nature and terms of her recusal and in what capacity she attended the meetings with the mayor.

“Unfortunately while deliberations are in process this month, I am not engaging [regarding] this matter,” Dupont-Walker said in an email to LAist.

Metro Board Member Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, a Lafayette Square resident, as recused herself from public meetings about the extension but has participated in private meetings with the L.A. mayor about the project.

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West Hollywood isn’t shaken

West Hollywood City Councilmember Chelsea Byers grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and told her parents she wanted to move to a city that was walkable and had a train.

“ My parents now live in that city in Arizona, while I am waiting for a train here,” Byers said to LAist.

Byers said she’s hoping the politics and behind-the-scenes maneuvering doesn’t jeopardize the opportunity the train extension presents for West Hollywood.

In 2018, the West Hollywood City Council initiated the process of studying how the city could, in coordination with L.A. County, capture a certain proportion of future property tax growth in a defined area near the project and funnel it towards construction. Critically, this plan wouldn’t involve raising taxes.

“Every time a property is redeveloped or sold, it adds to that increment, which adds to the amount of money that you can raise,” Eli Lipmen, head of transit advocacy group Move LA and supporter of the Metro-recommended route for the extension, said to LAist.

The Metro-staff recommended route is the most expensive of the options studied, with an estimated capital cost of nearly $15 billion. That cost far exceeds the $2.2 billion allocated toward the project in the expenditure plan for Measure M, the half-cent sales tax for transit projects county voters approved in 2016.

Byers said a swift decision on Thursday is critical to the success of the financial plan, known as an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, since the city has a “huge list” of redevelopment projects on the horizon.

If the Metro staff-recommended route is approved on Thursday, West Hollywood City Council and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors would separately pursue creating the district within which property tax growth could be captured.

Though she was “disappointed” that the vote on Thursday will happen without the recommendation from the committee, Horvath ultimately struck an optimistic tone.

“ I believe that this agency is committed to a future that connects our region …  and I think this alignment really is an important component of that regional conversation,” she said.

Two pilots were killed and dozens of passengers injured when an Air Canada regional jet collided with a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night.

Air Canada Flight 8646, operated by regional airline Jazz Aviation, was landing in New York around 11:30 p.m. when it struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle, said Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.

Officials say 72 passengers and four crew members were on board the flight from Montréal-Trudeau International Airport.

Garcia said at a press conference early Monday that the pilot and first officer, who have not yet been identified, were both killed. She said 41 passengers and crew members were transported to the hospital.

"At this time we understand 32 have been released, but there are also serious injuries," Garcia said early Monday.

The collision happened just before midnight on Sunday.

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She declined to elaborate on the condition of the nine people who remained hospitalized at the time of the press conference. Air Canada said in a Monday morning statement that it "cannot confirm the exact number of injuries or if there are other fatalities at this time."

Capt. Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l, issued a statement calling "the loss of our two fellow crewmembers onboard Flight 8646 … a profound tragedy."

Garcia deferred many of the reporters' questions to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the federal agency that investigates civil transportation accidents, which quickly dispatched a go-team to New York.

LaGuardia will be closed until at least 2 p.m. ET on Monday to facilitate that investigation.

Condolences poured in Monday from state and federal leaders on both sides of the border.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the collision "deeply saddening" and said transportation safety officials are working closely with their U.S. counterparts on the ground. President Trump, asked about it before boarding Air Force One, called it "terrible:" "They made a mistake. It's a dangerous business."

Air traffic control cleared the vehicle, then tried to stop it

The collision crumpled the front of the passenger jet, tilting its nose upward and forcing passengers to evacuate through emergency exits. Photos from the scene show debris hanging from the exposed cockpit and scattered across the tarmac, as the damaged emergency vehicle lies on its side nearby.

The damaged Port Authority fire truck sits near the runway on Monday. Officials said the two people on board were hospitalized but in stable condition.

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Timothy A. Clary

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Garcia said the two officers on board the Port Authority vehicle were in "stable condition with no life-threatening injuries." The firetruck had been on the runway at the discretion of air traffic control, responding to a separate "odor" incident involving a United Airlines plane, she said.

"Anytime anyone is moving on any of our runways or taxiways, they have to get clearance from the tower," she added.

On an audio feed from the time of the incident, archived on the website LiveATC.net, an air traffic controller can be heard granting clearance to the vehicle to cross the tarmac, then quickly and repeatedly calling on it to stop.

Not long after, a different voice says they have just gotten word the airport will be closed for a while, adding, "that wasn't good to watch."

"I tried to reach out to them, I stopped them," the original voice says. "We were dealing with an emergency earlier and I messed up."

LaGuardia flight cancellations add to travelers' woes

All flights into and out of LaGuardia Airport were cancelled on Monday morning. It's one of three main airports serving the New York City area.

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At least 573 flights into or out of LaGuardia were cancelled on Monday, according to a tracker from FlightAware.

Many of those were operated by Delta Airlines, for which LaGuardia is a major hub. The airline said in a statement that it will automatically rebook affected passengers "to the next best itinerary," and that "additional schedule adjustments are possible if the closure extends."

LaGuardia was the 19th busiest airport in the U.S. in 2024, according to Federal Aviation Administration data. It saw about 900 inbound and outbound flights per day in January 2026, according to a Port Authority dashboard.

It is one of the three main airports serving the New York City metropolitan area. Another, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, briefly issued a ground stop on Monday morning after the air traffic control tower was evacuated due to smoke, according to local media.

Travelers pass the time at LaGuardia on Monday morning.

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Steve Kastenbaum for NPR

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Air travel has recently been fraught for many Americans, due to the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security, which is now in its sixth week.

Many Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, forced to work without pay, have either quit or called out from work, resulting in longer security lines at many airports. The Trump administration said over the weekend that it would be sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to assist at unspecified airports around the country starting Monday.
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Contractors are expected to get the green light Monday from the Port of L.A. to start transforming 12 acres of densely industrial land next to the Wilmington waterfront into a green space called the Avalon Bridge Project and Gateway.

Residents say the project can’t be done soon enough.

“Right now, it's not safe to walk from downtown Wilmington all the way to the waterfront,” said Salvador Lara, who’s lived in Wilmington for 35 years and works for a nonprofit that does clean-ups in the neighborhood.

Until 2024, most Wilmington residents had little reason to walk to the waterfront. That year, officials unveiled the Wilmington Waterfront Promenade, a 9-acre open space with picnic areas, grass and a public dock.

Now, residents go there to enjoy the park and trails, as well as free events such as wellness fairs and Dia de los Reyes celebrations. But access remains a problem.

Lucia Moreno-Linares, a Wilmington resident and former L.A. Harbor Commissioner, points to last year’s Shakespeare-by-the-sea event as a good example of the challenge.

“Most people used their car to get there, especially because it was in the evening,” she said. Yet for many residents, it would not have been a long walk, if there was a way to get through the industrial area safely."

She expects the bridge project will make a big difference.

“When the bridge is finished, I think we'll have a better turnout for that event,” she said.

Public officials broke ground in February on the Avalon Bridge Project and Gateway.

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The 380-foot bridge will give pedestrians and bicyclists a way to safely cross over working rail lines and avoid port traffic to get to the promenade. The concrete bridge will feature a cable-stayed arch structure.

The Avalon Bridge Project is expected to be completed in 2028. It's part of the Port of L.A.'s decade-old Public Access Investment Plan that's set aside $400 million for waterfront and education projects, including the promenade, the bridge project and San Pedro Town Square. One construction will be a massive sundial.

A rendering of the Avalong Bridge Project and Gateway. It's meant to help people avoid train tracks and truck traffic to walk to a watefront park.

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Courtesy Port of L.A.

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A rendering shows what part of the Avalon Bridge Project is expected to look like when finished in 2028.

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Courtesy Port of L.A.

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The access problems residents hope the bridge project will fix

Just north of the promenade and the future gateway project lie the dense residential and business districts whose roots go back to the mid-19th century.

But the harbor grew massively in the 20th century, with railroad tracks and heavy container truck traffic popping up between those residents and the water.

Now that the waterfront promenade includes places for people to walk, ride their bikes and grass on which to lay a picnic blanket, the industrial area acts as a barrier.

The Avalon Bridge Project gives pedestrians a way to safely skip over those hurdles. It's designed to improve the quality of life of residents, who for generations have sacrificed a lot for being on the doorstep of the massive Port of L.A.

“What makes this project special is that it's all about more than just building infrastructure,” said Port of L.A. executive director Gene Seroka at a recent briefing. “It's about giving Wilmington residents direct access to their own waterfront and creating spaces where the community can gather and connect.”