NFL moves Vikings-Rams playoff game to Arizona after days of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The NFL has moved the Rams' wild-card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings to Arizona after days of devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

The game will be played Monday night at State Farm Stadium, the home of the Arizona Cardinals, in suburban Glendale.

The league announced the decision Thursday, a few hours after yet another fire broke out in an area several miles from the Rams' training complex in the Woodland Hills neighborhood. The Rams canceled the post-practice media availability for their players to allow everyone to get home quickly.

In a brief statement, the league said the decision was made “in the interest of public safety.”

Los Angeles has been besieged by multiple wildfires all week following two days of extraordinary wind across the vast metropolitan area. The newest fire triggered an evacuation order in West Hills, a suburban neighborhood directly northwest of the Rams' complex. The Kenneth Fire ballooned in size — charring over a square mile — within hours of igniting.

More than 10,000 structures burned in the two largest fires, the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades and the Eaton Fire near Pasadena.

While none of the fires was burning near SoFi Stadium in Inglewood — which is southwest of downtown Los Angeles — the NFL opted to move the game amid concerns about air quality, the strain put on the community and the possible demands on police and fire department personnel.

The Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers — who will play a wild-card game at Houston on Saturday — both practiced outdoors this week, but both teams' coaches were concerned about the air quality, with Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh cutting his players' normal outdoor time in half.

The Rams will travel to Phoenix on Friday after their early-afternoon practice in Woodland Hills, the team confirmed late Thursday. They will hold practice Saturday at the Cardinals’ complex in Tempe.

The Los Angeles area will be at a high fire risk through Friday, the National Weather Service announced.

A few hours before the Kenneth Fire broke out near the Rams' training complex, coach Sean McVay said he was optimistic the game could be played at SoFi Stadium as scheduled, while realizing uncertainty was unavoidable.

“We would like to be able to play the game at home in front of our fans,” McVay said. “That’s the way that we’re operating, but I can’t control when that decision will be made. ... If it’s not in LA, then the game will still be played, and we’ve got to be able to get ready for that.”

Game relocations are very rare in the NFL, but not unprecedented.

In 2003, the league moved a Monday night regular-season game between the Chargers and Dolphins from San Diego to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe to avoid wildfires in Southern California.

The Rams had a Monday night game against Kansas City relocated from Mexico City to Los Angeles in 2018 because of concerns about the playing surface at Azteca Stadium, and McVay cited that experience as part of his preparation for the uncertainty created this week.

“You acknowledge these things, but you also want to make sure that how you can control making sure that you’re doing the right things is preparing accordingly, while also being mindful that this is bigger than football,” McVay said. “If people you’re directly involved with are affected, you’re making sure you’re tending to that first.”

The relocation won't have much effect on the traveling Vikings, while the Rams weren't overly concerned about missing out on the comforts of home. Like most NFL teams, the Rams stay in a hotel on the night before home games to ensure a restful night of sleep.

Before the Kenneth Fire broke out, McVay said no Rams players or coaches had been forced to move or had lost anything to the fire, although some team personnel had been affected.

“We've lost power where I am for a couple of days," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “We've been lucky in that regard, that (loss of) power is the worst thing that's happened to us. Obviously it's a tough thing to watch on the news, to be around, to see. Driving around, seeing all that, it's just really sad to see what's going on. A bunch of people (are) doing everything they possibly can to try and get things under control and get people back to normal as quickly as possible.”

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Smokes from a wildfire rises over the Los Angeles Rams NFL football practice facility in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Greg Beacham)

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A senior official of the European Investment Bank says the regional lending agency is keen to double its funding for Bangladesh, but she expressed concern over human rights as the country endures a spell of political turmoil.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the bank’s Vice President Nicola Beer said the lending arm of the European Union will support reforms initiated by the interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus that has been running the country since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in mass protests in early August.

The 27-nation European Union is the largest destination for Bangladesh’s garment exports, a vital lifeline for millions of the country’s workers that earns the country more than $36 billion a year. The industry employs about 4 million workers, mostly women from rural areas.

Beer said the Luxemburg-based lending agency wants to double its fund portfolio for Bangladesh to 2 billion euros ($2.06 billion) while supporting the South Asian country's democratic transition, rule of law and freedoms of expression.

“Yes, of course, we are focusing on human rights, rule of law and freedom of expression,” she said. “In our discussions we always are very firm on these points that the freedom of expression, freedom of opinion ... are very important, and that this and all the following governments have really to make sure that these human and citizens rights are guaranteed.”

Hasina has been in exile in neighboring India since Aug. 5, when she fled the country. Yunus has promised to hold an election in December of this year or in the first half of 2026, depending on progress in reforms in various sectors.

Yunus is facing criticism over problems with law and order, rising commodity prices, treatment of minority groups and economic woes after many factories were shuttered due to labor protests or poor security. Economic growth fell to only 1.8% percent in the July-September quarter as student-led unrest disrupted business activities, according to a report released earlier this month by the Bureau of Statistics.

Beer said she appreciated reform measures taken by the Yunus-led government.

“This is important from what I hear, especially from entrepreneurs, is that they are applauding this course of reforms, which is now on the table,” she said. “So, we as a bank (will) try to support because this is important for the economy here in Bangladesh, for investors … coming from outside or inside the country.”

In October, the World Bank slashed its forecast for the fiscal year that will end in June to 4%, citing “significant uncertainties following recent political turmoil.”

The European Investment Bank is involved in some major infrastructure development projects, mainly focused on green energy, safe water, communication and climate change.

Beer visited bank-funded projects and met with officials, including Yunus, during her three-day visit to Bangladesh.

She emphasized the importance of working on integrating the region in such areas as electricity grids that could link to hydropower projects in mountainous Nepal, for example.

“I think we should discuss in the region to get more out of this interconnectivity, because this is a win-win situation, a win situation for Bangladesh, a win situation for the smaller neighbors like Bhutan and also Nepal or Myanmar. And it could be also a win situation for India,” she said.

Supporters of Bangladesh's ailing former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia shout slogans before Zia left Dhaka, Bangladesh, to travel to London for medical treatment, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

European Investment Bank Vice President Nicola Beer speaks to the Associated Press during an interview in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Al-emrun Garjon)

European Investment Bank Vice President Nicola Beer speaks to the Associated Press during an interview in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Al-emrun Garjon)

European Investment Bank Vice President Nicola Beer speaks to the Associated Press during an interview in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Al-emrun Garjon)

European Investment Bank Vice President Nicola Beer speaks to the Associated Press during an interview in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Al-emrun Garjon)