By JOHN WAWROW

MILAN (AP) — Alina Muller instantly understood the significance her bronze medal-clinching overtime goal in a 2-1 win over Sweden meant not only to girls back home in Switzerland, but in the bigger picture of women’s hockey.

Muller has spent the past 12 years experiencing the ups and downs, fitful starts and stops her sport has endured since first splashing on the Swiss hockey scene as a 15-year-old by scoring her nation’s first bronze-medal clinching goal at the 2014 Sochi Games.

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These Milan Cortina Games, however, were different for Muller and the rest of the competitors. They represent the first Olympics since the Professional Women’s Hockey League was launched in the summer of 2023.

“Just a few years ago there would have been a hundred people in the stands, and now it’s crazy to see,” said Muller, the former college star at Northeastern and now in her third season with the Boston Fleet.

“Every year, it’s getting more exciting. We’re getting more physical, more athletic, faster, faster game,” she added. “And the stadiums are filling up.”

For a sport and league banking on enjoying a post-Olympic boost, the tournament delivered on many fronts.

U.S. captain Hilary Knight is heading home with a gold medal in closing her Olympic career. The tournament featured two thrilling medal finals, both ending in overtime, with the Americans beating Canada 2-1. And the competitive gap the U.S. and Canada have long enjoyed appears to be closing ever so slightly.

“This is just the new normal,” Canada coach Troy Ryan said following the loss Thursday.

“Largely because of the impact of the PWHL, you saw a lot of closer games,” added Ryan, who also coaches the PWHL Toronto Sceptres. “You saw international teams that have PWHL players in it showcase better than they previously did.”

Four years after Czechia broke through by winning its first medal, a bronze, at the world championships, Switzerland and Sweden climbed the ranks by reaching the medal round as the fifth- and sixth-seeded teams.

Just as important were the lack of lopsided scores, which previously raised questions as to whether anyone can catch Canada and the U.S. The most one-sided outcome was the top-seeded Americans’ 6-0 win over host Italy in the quarterfinals.

That’s a large departure from the past when Canada routed the Italian hosts 16-0 at the 2006 Turin Games, followed by Canada’s 18-0 win over Slovakia in 2010. Four years ago in Beijing, five games were decided by seven or more goals, including Canada’s 10-3 win over Switzerland in the semifinals.

In Milan, nine games were decided by one-goal margins, including four of eight in the knockout and medal rounds.

“What the entire world enjoyed in Milan was the highest level of Olympic women’s hockey we’ve ever seen,” PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations and Hockey Hall of Famer Jayna Hefford told The Associated Press. “The speed, the skill, the physicality, it’s all been elevated, and the competitive balance is stronger than ever.”

PWHL hats were notable around Milan, and the league’s Olympic pins so in demand they were traded in to pay for at least one dinner.

And the league’s influence on international competition is only expected to grow with more roster spots opening on the horizon. After adding two franchises last year, the eight-team PWHL is preparing to expand by as many as four more for next season.

The growth is a reflection of the league’s desire to attract even more talent from Europe. And the timing coincides with a deep and talented prospect class eligible for this year’s draft. It’s a group topped by Americans Caroline Harvey, the tournament MVP, Abbey Murphy and Laila Edwards, and also includes Sweden’s Josefin Bouveng, Finland’s Elisa Holopainen and Swiss goalie Andrea Braendli.

“I think it’s a big game changer,” Swedish coach Ulf Lundberg said of the PWHL.

“I’ve been there watching a lot of games and I can see it,” added Lundberg, whose team featured seven U.S. collegiate athletes. “It’s big events for every game and it’s for real, so I think it’s very important for women’s hockey.”

There’s a payoff, too, for PWHL players. They now have a league to return to, with the PWHL schedule resuming next week, rather than spend much of the next four years playing and practicing in relative obscurity as they’ve done in the past.

“I think it’s just the reality that women’s hockey isn’t going to go silent. It’s not going to go dark,” U.S. forward and Minnesota Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield said, a day before the gold medal final. “You’ll be able to see every one of these players in tomorrow night’s game a week from now, which is pretty awesome and hasn’t been the case for the existence of women’s hockey and the Olympic games.”

AP Winter Olympic: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI

President Donald Trump has long spread conspiracy theories about voting designed to explain away his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Now that he’s president again, Trump has stocked his administration with those who have promoted his falsehoods and in some cases helped him try to overturn his loss.

Those election conspiracists now holding official power range from the attorney general to lawyers filing lawsuits for the Justice Department. Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who unsuccessfully pushed the Justice Department in 2020 to back the president’s false claims, is now leading a sweeping probe of the vote from that election.

The most dramatic action from that mandate was the seizure in late January of ballots and 2020 election records from Fulton County in Georgia, a Democratic stronghold that includes Atlanta. The county has long been a target of election conspiracy theorists aligned with Trump, and the affidavit for the search warrant shows the action was based on 2020 claims that in many cases had been thoroughly investigated.

Election officials across the country, especially those in states controlled politically by Democrats, are bracing for more turmoil during this year’s elections, when control of Congress is on the line.

“The election denial movement is now embedded across our federal government, which makes it more powerful than ever,” said Joanna Lydgate, chief executive officer of States United Democracy Center, which tracks those who promote election conspiracy theories. “Trump and his allies are trying to use all of the powers of the federal government to undermine elections, with an eye to the upcoming midterms.”

Trump has remade the federal government as an arm of his own personal will, and his attorney general, Pam Bondi — who helped try to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss — has declared that everyone working at the Justice Department needs to carry out the president’s demands. Even with all the issues facing him in his second term, from persistent concerns about the economy to his immigration crackdown, Trump continues to push the false claim that he won the 2020 presidential election.

Some of the people who populate his administration are, like Bondi, longtime supporters who continued to help Trump even as he sought to overturn an election. Some played minor roles in supporting the false claims about the 2020 presidential election. Still others have pushed conspiracy theories, often fantastical or debunked, that have helped persuade millions of Republicans that Trump had the 2020 election stolen from him.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Portland, Oregon, company is recalling nearly 3.4 million pounds of frozen chicken fried rice products sold at Trader Joe’s stores and in Canada because they may contain pieces of glass, U.S. Agriculture Department officials reported.

Ajinomoto Foods North America Inc. pulled Trader Joe’s Chicken Fried Rice from stores nationwide. The frozen product — containing fried rice, vegetables, chicken meat and eggs — is sold in 20-ounce plastic bags. The affected packages have best-by dates of Sept. 8 through Nov. 17, 2026. The products are stamped with the establishment number P-18356 inside the USDA mark of inspection.

The company also recalled cardboard packages containing six bags of frozen Ajinomoto Yakitori Chicken with Japanese-Style Rice with best by dates of Sept. 9 to Nov. 12, 2026. Those products were sold only in Canada.

The problem was detected after four consumers complained of finding glass. No injuries have been reported. Consumers should avoid eating the product and throw it away or return it to the store where it was purchased.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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By STEPHEN WHYNO, AP Hockey Writer

MILAN (AP) — Quinn and Jack Hughes watched in person as the U.S. women’s hockey team rallied to beat Canada in the gold medal game at the Olympics on Thursday night in an overtime thriller that showcased the face of the sport in Hilary Knight and her likely successor in that spot, Laila Edwards.

The Hughes brothers had a family stake in the matter. Their mom, Ellen, had a role in the women’s championship as a player development consultant.

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“Happy for her, happy for the whole team, everyone on the coaching staff,” Quinn Hughes said. “You knew that game was going to be tough, but I think they deserved it.”

Players from either team have also gotten to know each other from hanging out in the athletes’ village, Jack said, giving the men even more rooting interest.

“All of us, we were obviously really pumped up for them,” Jack Hughes said. “That was all about the girls, and we were super excited for them.”

J.T. Miller also took his daughter, Quinn Hughes said, and the rest of the men’s team watched at the end of their hall in the treatment room in the village they share with the women. Megan Keller’s OT goal was a cause for celebration.

“We were going nuts,” Dylan Larkin said. “It’s a pretty cool moment and great for them. For Megan Keller, that’s a great story: a Michigan girl, very proud for her. Great moment for USA Hockey.”

Coach Mike Sullivan opened his remarks following the team’s game day skate by congratulating the women’s team. There’s also a staff connection: Assistant John Hynes worked with women’s coach John Wroblewski at the U.S. National Team Development Program.

“We were talking about it last night; we were talking about it again this morning,” Sullivan said. “It’s a great thrill. Those girls, what a terrific hockey team and they’ll be an inspiration for the next generation of girls growing up in the United States. … We couldn’t be more proud of them.”

The U.S. women outscored opponents 33-2 on the way to gold. The also-unbeaten U.S. men face Slovakia in the semifinals on Friday night, and Sullivan hopes his team is inspired by what the women accomplished.

“Without a doubt,” Sullivan said. “You look at how dominant they’ve been throughout the course of their tournament and before, that’s one of the best women’s teams I think I’ve seen. We certainly aspire to do the same on the men’s side.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics