Inside an arena in Tampere, Finland in mid-December, future top PWHL draft prospects faced off in a tournament final. At the Women's Euro Hockey Tour (or Six Nations Tournament), the Canadians faced an American roster stacked with senior national team talent, including Lacey Eden, Abbey Murphy, Caroline Harvey and Laila Edwards. A Canadian squad with less international experience stuck in the game until the final minutes, when the Americans pulled ahead on a Murphy goal for an eventual 5-3 win. Canadian goaltender Ève Gascon had 33 saves in the loss, putting up a performance her coach described as "phenomenal." "Not necessarily the results against the U.S. that we were hoping for, but we are super proud of our team's performances throughout the course of the tournament," Canadian national development team head coach Alison Domenico said in an interview with CBC Sports. "In that last game alone to kind of come back, being down a couple, it could have been easy to pack it in." American forward Abbey Murphy, pictured here at a Canada-U.S. Rivalry Series game in November 2024, scored the game-winning goal for the American national development team at the Women's Euro Hockey Tour/Six Nations Tournament. (Tony Avelar/AP) Even though several players on both sides of that final are likely to be high draft picks in the PWHL within the next few years, the tournament wasn't broadcast in Canada, nor was it streamed by Hockey Canada. While many Canadians will watch top NHL prospects at the world junior hockey championship for men under 20, which begins on Dec. 26, there's no world championship for women of the same age. There's a world championship for women under 18, which will take place in Finland in January and is broadcast nationally on TSN. But there are few international opportunities between that tournament and the senior national team, creating a development gap as women aim to reach the highest level of the sport. For fans, it also means fewer opportunities to see and get excited about future PWHL stars. Most will go from the under-18 tournament to play in the NCAA, but those games aren't always easy to find in Canada, either. Earlier this year, the IIHF said a women's world junior championship is on the horizon, but isn't likely to happen for several years, the Canadian Press reported. In Europe, the problem is that there aren't enough female players to fill teams on the under-18 side, a senior national team and another age group in between, according to Mike Helber, the director of hockey operations for the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. "What will end up happening is that our best players will play at least in two of the tournaments, maybe even all three," Helber said in an interview with CBC Sports. On the flip side, it's difficult for players to develop without opportunities to play against top players. Helber's goal is to increase the number of Swedish players between the ages of 19 and 24, and to get more of those players coming to North America for college. Those players grow playing against top Canadian and American prospects, and bring what they learn back to Sweden when they return to their national team, Helber said. "We need to get more players over towards North America to see how good the players actually are," said Helber, an American who played collegiate hockey at the University of Michigan. "They're shocked at times." Once the player pool grows, Helber would be open to seeing a world championship for college-aged players. In the meantime, he still wants to see Swedish players getting opportunities to compete against other countries. Sweden's Hilda Svensson celebrates a goal with the Swedish team at the women's world championship in April 2024. The 18-year-old also competed for her country at the Women's Euro Hockey Tour/Six Nations Tournament. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press) He liked the format of the Six Nations tournament, and is also looking for opportunities for the Swedish team to compete against American college teams. "They need to see the level that North American athletes play at," he said. "The best way to do that is to find ways to play against them." Countries weren't limited to sending players of a certain age to the Six Nations tournament. The PWHL took a break during the tournament but most European PWHL players opted to stay with their club teams, with a few exceptions, like Boston Fleet goaltender Emma Söderberg (Sweden). Like the United States, Canada sent its development team, which has only a handful of opportunities to compete each year. The team also played a three-game series against the Americans this past summer, which the U.S. won two games to one. Some players on the development team could be a big part of Canada's senior national team at the 2030 Olympics and beyond, including defender Nicole Gosling, who won a world championship with the senior team in April, and Caitlin Kraemer, . Defender Nicole Gosling competed for Canada's national development team at the Women's Euro Hockey Tour/Six Nations Tournament, and is likely to be a top PWHL draft pick in the near future. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press) With no in-between world championship for those players, it's important to find ways to keep getting them international experience, Domenico said. "Any way we can get them playing other countries and even just getting used to going overseas, getting the jet lag plan," she said. "Going through all of those experiences are really important when you get to that next level." For the PWHL, there could be a few benefits to having the best up-and-coming college-aged players competing against each other. It could help teams scout prospects. It could also help introduce a player like Kraemer to more fans before she gets drafted into the PWHL, just like a world junior tournament has done for top young players like Macklin Celebrini or Connor Bedard. "The PWHL is supportive of the development of women's hockey at all levels, which includes events that would provide greater opportunities for player development and that continue to grow the game globally," the league's senior vice-president of hockey operations, Jayna Hefford, told CBC Sports.
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Texans star Tank Dell faces career-threatening injury after brutal collisionNissan and Honda to attempt a merger that would create the world's No. 3 automaker TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda have announced plans to work toward a merger that would catapult them to a top position in an industry in the midst of tectonic shifts as it transitions away from its reliance on fossil fuels. The two companies said they signed an agreement on integrating their businesses on Monday. Smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors agreed to join the talks. News of a possible merger surfaced earlier this month. Japanese automakers face a strong challenge from their Chinese rivals and Tesla as they make inroads into markets at home and abroad. What a merger between Nissan and Honda means for the automakers and the industry BANGKOK (AP) — Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan will attempt to merge and create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels. The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors also had agreed to join the talks on integrating their businesses. Honda will initially lead the new management, retaining the principles and brands of each company. Following is a quick look at what a combined Honda and Nissan would mean for the companies, and for the auto industry. Nordstrom to be acquired by Nordstrom family and a Mexican retail group in $6.25 billion deal Century-old department store Nordstrom has agreed to be acquired and taken private by Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group in a $6.25 billion deal. Nordstrom shareholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each share of Nordstrom common stock, representing a 42% premium on the company’s stock as of March 18. Nordstrom’s board of directors unanimously approved the the proposed transaction, while Erik and Pete Nordstrom — part of the Nordstrom family taking over the company — recused themselves from voting. Following the close of the transaction, the Nordstrom Family will have a majority ownership stake in the company. An analyst looks ahead to how the US economy might fare under Trump WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump won a return to the White House in part by promising big changes in economic policy — more tax cuts, huge tariffs on imports, mass deportations of immigrants working in the United States illegally. In some ways, his victory marked a repudiation of President Joe Biden’s economic stewardship and a protest against inflation. It came despite low unemployment and steady growth under the Biden administration. What lies ahead for the economy under Trump? Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics spoke recently to The Associated Press. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. American consumers feeling less confident in December, Conference Board says American consumers are feeling less confident in December, a business research group says. The Conference Board said Monday that its consumer confidence index fell back in December to 104.7 from 112.8 in November. Consumers had been feeling increasingly confident in recent months. The consumer confidence index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months. The measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market tumbled more than a dozen points to 81.1. The Conference Board says a reading under 80 can signal a potential recession in the near future. Stock market today: Wall Street rises at the start of a holiday-shortened week Stocks closed higher on Wall Street at the start of a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% Monday. Several big technology companies helped support the gains, including chip companies Nvidia and Broadcom. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1%. Honda's U.S.-listed shares rose sharply after the company said it was in talks about a combination with Nissan in a deal that could also include Mitsubishi Motors. Eli Lilly rose after announcing that regulators approved Zepbound as the first prescription medicine for adults with sleep apnea. Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The internet is rife with fake reviews. Will AI make it worse? Researchers and watchdog groups say the emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools that allow people to efficiently produce detailed and novel online reviews has put merchants, service providers and consumers in uncharted territory. Phony reviews have long plagued many popular consumer websites, such as Amazon and Yelp. But AI-infused text generation tools enable fraudsters to produce reviews faster and in greater volume, according to tech industry experts. The deceptive practice is illegal in the U.S. and becomes a bigger problem for consumers during the holiday shopping season, when many people rely on reviews to buy gifts. A tech company and watchdog group that uses software to detect fake reviews says AI-generated reviews have multiplied. Romanian lawmakers narrowly approve new pro-European coalition during period of political turmoil BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian lawmakers have voted narrowly in favor of a new pro-European coalition government led by incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. The move on Monday could usher in an end to a protracted political crisis in the European Union country following the annulment of a presidential election. Parliament approved the new administration in a 240-143 vote in the 466-seat legislature. The new coalition is made up of the leftist Social Democratic Party, the center-right National Liberal Party, the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party and national minorities. President Klaus Iohannis swore in the new government on Monday night. Government regulators close investigation into Ford Focus recalls Government safety regulators are closing an investigation into two previous recalls of the Ford Focus after determining that Ford Motor Co. has satisfied its concerns. Ford recalled around 1.5 million Ford Focus sedans from the 2012-2018 model years in 2018 because they could lose power. The issue was a malfunctioning canister purge valve and software that didn’t adequately detect when it was stuck open. Ford fixed the software in two separate recalls, but after cars continued to stall, the government opened an inquiry last year. Earlier this fall, Ford offered to replace the canister purge valve on all of the vehicles, satisfying regulators' concerns. AI will eavesdrop on world's wildest places to track and help protect endangered wildlife PUERTO JIMÉNEZ, Costa Rica (AP) — A biologist hid 350 audio monitors across Costa Rica’s tropical rainforests to spy on endangered spider monkeys in order to help protect them. But she had to go back to collect the data and feed those sounds into artificial intelligence systems that can recognize monkey calls. Now tech giant Microsoft's philanthropic arm is hoping to supercharge AI-assisted wildlife research with new solar-powered devices that can capture sounds, images and other wilderness data for a year or more without human intervention. Researchers say more AI wildlife surveillance is urgently needed to monitor the health of species at risk of extinction.
President-elect Trump wants to again rename North America’s tallest peakGoogle has clearly been on a rampage lately as they continue rolling out new, amazing AI technology. However, instead of simply announcing things, Google is shipping them in a speedier way than we are used to, and there are real users out in the wild with access to Veo 2 – Google’s new AI-powered video generation tool – and the things they are creating are absolutely stunning. The first post I came across was on Threads, comparing Veo 2 to Sora, and it’s not even a remotely fair fight. In the words of the Threads post, it’s like comparing a bike to a starship. In other words, Veo 2 is light-years ahead right now when it comes to life-like, realistic AI videos. X remove ads View on Threads However, over on X, I found a thread where one user was taking prompt requests, running them through Veo 2, and simply posting the results. While not perfect, these videos truly showcase the immense power on offer with Google’s latest video generation tools. It’s truly shocking how good this stuff is. Everything here is 100% generated w/ Google Veo 2. I've got early access, and the visual fidelity and prompt adherence is genuinely nuts. Let's test it together and have some fun. Drop your prompts below — and for the next hour or so I'll reply with videos 👇 pic.twitter.com/7UupqatLIL — Bilawal Sidhu (@bilawalsidhu) December 17, 2024 As Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) has posited so many times before, this is the worst AI video will look moving forward. It will quite literally only get better. And when you say that in reference to the videos in that X thread above, it’s a mesmerizing/terrorizing statement. I’m on the wait-list for VideoFX in Google Labs, so I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll get the official invite soon. But I don’t really think I need that first-hand experience to be in awe of what Google has accomplished with Veo 2. Many of the normal issues with AI video (fingers, legs, physics, walking) don’t seem to be an issue for Veo 2, and that means we’re at the point where AI videos won’t be quite as easy to recognize in the very, very near future. And as things continue to improve, that separation only dwindles more. For so many reasons, this is all a bit unsettling and inspiring all at the same time. I know this could all be used for nefarious purposes, but I also know that there will be great artists who put tools like this to amazing use to make some amazing content. It really feels like a turning point in the AI-generated video race, and again, it’s only going to improve even more from here. Wild! Join Chrome Unboxed Plus Introducing Chrome Unboxed Plus – our revamped membership community. Join today at just $2 / month to get access to our private Discord, exclusive giveaways, AMAs, an ad-free website, ad-free podcast experience and more. X remove ads Plus Monthly $2/mo. after 7-day free trial Pay monthly to support our independent coverage and get access to exclusive benefits. Start free trial Plus Annual $20/yr. after 7-day free trial X remove ads Pay yearly to support our independent coverage and get access to exclusive benefits. Start free trial Our newsletters are also a great way to get connected. Subscribe here! Click here to learn more and for membership FAQ