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Sweden's women's soccer team delivered a commanding 6-0 victory over Serbia, securing their place in next year's Women's European Championship finals in Switzerland. This triumph concluded an 8-0 aggregate victory, ensuring Sweden's participation alongside Nordic neighbors Norway and Finland, who also emerged victorious in Tuesday's playoffs. With seven spots up for grabs, 12,378 fans in Stockholm witnessed a stunning first-half display that dashed Serbian hopes. Filippa Angeldahl opened the scoring with a penalty, followed by Kosovare Asllani and Stina Blackstenius adding to the lead. Midfielder Hanna Bennison added another, and Anna Anvegaard sealed the win, as the Swedes celebrated with a tribute to Caroline Seger. Elsewhere, Norway and Finland secured qualification with respective wins over Northern Ireland and Scotland. Portugal and Poland also advanced with narrow victories. Upcoming matches feature Belgium against Ukraine, and Ireland versus Wales in the final qualifiers. (With inputs from agencies.)By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — An elaborate parody appears to be behind an effort to resurrect Enron, the Houston-based energy company that exemplified the worst in American corporate fraud and greed after it went bankrupt in 2001. If its return is comedic, some former employees who lost everything in Enron’s collapse aren’t laughing. “It’s a pretty sick joke and it disparages the people that did work there. And why would you want to even bring it back up again?” said former Enron employee Diana Peters, who represented workers in the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Here’s what to know about the history of Enron and the purported effort to bring it back. Once the nation’s seventh-largest company, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 2, 2001, after years of accounting tricks could no longer hide billions of dollars in debt or make failing ventures appear profitable. The energy company’s collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work, wiped out more than $2 billion in employee pensions and rendered $60 billion in Enron stock worthless. Its aftershocks were felt throughout the energy sector. Twenty-four Enron executives , including former CEO Jeffrey Skilling , were eventually convicted for their roles in the fraud. Enron founder Ken Lay’s convictions were vacated after he died of heart disease following his 2006 trial. On Monday — the 23rd anniversary of the bankruptcy filing — a company representing itself as Enron announced in a news release that it was relaunching as a “company dedicated to solving the global energy crisis.” It also posted a video on social media, advertised on at least one Houston billboard and a took out a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle In the minute-long video that was full of generic corporate jargon, the company talks about “growth” and “rebirth.” It ends with the words, “We’re back. Can we talk?” Enron’s new website features a company store, where various items featuring the brand’s tilted “E” logo are for sale, including a $118 hoodie. In an email, company spokesperson Will Chabot said the new Enron was not doing any interviews yet, but that “We’ll have more to share soon.” Signs point to the comeback being a joke. In the “terms of use and conditions of sale” on the company’s website, it says “the information on the website about Enron is First Amendment protected parody, represents performance art, and is for entertainment purposes only.” Documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show that College Company, an Arkansas-based LLC, owns the Enron trademark. The co-founder of College Company is Connor Gaydos, who helped create a joke conspiracy theory that claims all birds are actually surveillance drones for the government. Peters said that since learning about the “relaunch” of Enron, she has spoken with several other former employees and they are also upset by it. She said the apparent stunt was “in poor taste.” “If it’s a joke, it’s rude, extremely rude. And I hope that they realize it and apologize to all of the Enron employees,” Peters said. Peters, who is 74 years old, said she is still working in information technology because “I lost everything in Enron, and so my Social Security doesn’t always take care of things I need done.” “Enron’s downfall taught us critical lessons about corporate ethics, accountability, and the consequences of unchecked ambition. Enron’s legacy was the employees in the trenches. Leave Enron buried,” she said. Follow Juan A. Lozano on X at https://x.com/juanlozano70

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he won't play Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's games by voting to bring down the government on an upcoming non-confidence motion. The Conservatives plan to introduce a motion that quotes Singh's own criticism of the Liberals, and asks the House of Commons to declare that it agrees with Singh and has no confidence in the government. The motion is expected to be introduced on Thursday and the debate and vote are set for Monday. Singh said he is not going to trigger an election when he believes Poilievre would cut programs the NDP fought for. "I'm not going to be playing Pierre Poilievre's games. I have no interest in that. We're frankly not going to allow him to cut the things that people need. I want to actually have dental care expanded, I want people to actually start to benefit from the pharmacare legislation we passed," Singh said. With the NDP's expected support, the Liberals should survive this next confidence vote brought forward by the Conservatives. The Tories have vowed to bring forward non-confidence motions every chance they get. The party will have two more opposition motions after this one, which are expected to continue to call for non-confidence. The NDP are scheduled to have their opposition day on Friday. Earlier on Tuesday, Singh did acknowledge that the Conservatives have a sizeable lead on the NDP in public opinion polls, while giving a campaign-style speech to visiting party staffers from across the country. Most pollsters in Canada have recorded a roughly 20 point lead for the Conservatives over both the Liberals and NDP for the last few months. The non-confidence vote was scheduled after Speaker Greg Fergus intervened to pause a filibuster on a privilege debate about a green technology fund. The Conservatives have said they would only end that debate if the NDP agree to topple the government or if the Liberals turn over unredacted documents at the centre of the parliamentary gridlock. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2024

A Reset for AmericaJean-Philippe Mateta struck in the second half with the only real piece of quality in a nervy encounter between two struggling teams. It is now two wins and three draws from the last six matches for Glasner’s side, whose winter revival is gathering pace nicely following a sticky start to the campaign. “I feel very happy, we’re all very pleased with the result, it was not the best performance but the result was more important,” said the Eagles boss. “Most of the time we controlled the game and we scored an amazing goal, a fantastic finish from JP. “We had more chances to decide the game but we couldn’t, but I think the win was well deserved. “We didn’t give them any chances from open play and with a clean sheet you can always take the win. “It’s a big win. Now it’s not time to sit back and relax but to keep going. In four days we face Manchester City. We stay humble. There are still many things to improve but we are on the right path.” Ipswich looked the likelier to score as a low-key first half drew to a close and were denied by a point-blank save by Dean Henderson from Harry Clarke’s near-post header. Shortly after the interval Wes Burns got clear down the right and lifted an inviting cross towards Liam Delap, whose header was straight at Henderson. However, from out of nowhere Palace conjured up a lightning counter-attack to go ahead on the hour. Eberechi Eze led the charge before feeding Mateta, who surged forward with a couple of stepovers before brushing off the attention of Jacob Greaves and finishing superbly past Arijanet Muric. It was the French forward’s sixth goal of the season, and his first away from Selhurst Park. Back came Ipswich with Leif Davis fizzing in another cross for Delap, who somehow mistimed his jump and completely missed the ball from six yards. As time ticked down Greaves looped a header against the far post, with the rebound just eluding substitute Ali-Al Hamadi. “Frustrating night,” said Town boss Kieran McKenna. “It was a tight first half, we weren’t fantastic in terms of the flow of the game and didn’t create as many opportunities as we wanted. But having said that neither did our opponents. “In the second half we conceded a really poor goal and that proved decisive. We can do better than we did tonight.”

Some of the creatives who helped shape the transgender storyline for the series are mourning its loss after broke the news last week that the character at its center will . “It hardly surprised me, but it devastated me,” Sarah Ligatich, a former Pixar assistant editor who consulted on the episode, tells . “For a long time, has not been in the business of making great content. They have been in the business of making great profits. Even as far back as two years ago when I was at Pixar, we had a meeting with [then-CEO] Bob Chapek, and they were clear with us that they see animation as a conservative medium.” As reported, — focusing on a middle school co-ed softball team called the Pickles with a voice cast including Will Forte as coach — is scuttling a storyline involving a character named Kai expressing her trans identity. A spokesperson for Disney, which acquired the acclaimed animation studio in 2006, said in a statement that “many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.” spoke to multiple former Pixar staffers who expressed their sorrow and dismay at the company having axed this storyline. One also noted the apparent irony of the Disney statement, given that the company’s animated films are known for including such adult themes as the death of a parent ( , ) or substance use ( , ). Of particular frustration was the episode having already been completed, meaning that adjusting story elements requires the team to scramble to be ready for the February release, not to mention that this brings added expense. “The episode in its final form was so beautiful — and beautifully illustrated some of the experiences of being trans — and it was literally going to save lives by showing those who feel alone and unloved, that there are people out there who understand,” says one former Pixar employee who did not work directly on the show but had seen it and asked to remain anonymous. The insiders note that the episode had changed significantly from older footage that has circulated on social media last week and showed the character deliberating over which bathroom to use. “So it’s just very frustrating that Disney has decided to spend money to not save lives.” Pixar’s moves of late about the direction of its projects and whether it intends to prioritize diversity. After the company laid off 14 percent of its staff in May, — the director who replaced John Lasseter as chief creative officer in 2018 — raised eyebrows with an interview about the company’s latest goals. In light of Pixar seeing a few titles underperform in recent years, Docter said that the studio should make the “most relatable films” possible, which was perceived by some as advocating for a shift away from more autobiographical stories centering on underrepresented characters and voices. His remarks came in the wake of the 2022 criticism of to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. This was followed later that year by right-wing pundits creating a furor over a in Pixar’s 2022 spinoff movie . Recently, members of the team behind Disney Channel’s animated series made headlines with social media posts noting that the company had decided not to release an episode centering on a recurring transgender character. “It’s 100 percent political,” a former Pixar employee who identifies as trans says about the decision. He notes that ABC News recently paid $15 million to brought by President-elect Donald Trump: “Disney just had the settlement with Trump. We saw it recently with the episode that was cut. All of us who knew about and this character were all just clenching: ‘Please don’t hit us next.'” Indeed, those with Pixar ties worry that the change is not an isolated situation in terms of projects pulling back on their messages. Disney CEO Bob Iger , “The bottom line is that infusing messaging as sort of a number one priority in our films and TV shows is not what we’re up to. They need to be entertaining, and where the Disney company can have a positive impact on the world, whether it’s, you know, fostering acceptance and understanding of people of all different types, great.” According to a former Pixar artist, the team behind , the 2026 Jon Hamm-led Pixar film focusing on a human and beaver who swap bodies, was forced to downplay its planned message of environmentalism. “Unfortunately, when you have your whole film based around the importance of environmentalism, you can’t really walk back on that,” says the artist, who did not work directly on the movie. “That team struggled a lot to figure out, ‘What do we even do with this note?'” Another title that turned heads internally was the forthcoming original feature , centering on a boy who teams up with aliens. It had initially been slated to hit theaters in March but saw its release date pushed to summer 2025. Initial director Adrian Molina, who is a gay man, departed the film earlier this year. Docter has stated that Molina, who will receive a director credit, moved to a different Pixar project. In the meantime, Pixar released in June, en route to it becoming the year’s highest-grossing film. Ligatich, who is trans, recalls feeling welcomed and valued during her two-and-a-half-year Pixar tenure before being laid off in May. She has been in contact with members of the creative team, including executive producer David Lally, following Disney’s decision to excise the storyline for teen trans actress Chanel Stewart. Ligatich also expresses frustration that the show has been completed for quite some time and saw its release date delayed multiple times after the initial launch was set for a year ago. “I can’t tell you how much I cried yesterday thinking about that conversation that David had to have with [Chanel],” Ligatich says. “Not only are you asking someone to play someone they’re not, but to also get them to wrap their mind around a political conversation that is just so beyond them,” says Ligatich. “They had this story in the can for two years, so they could have released it in a Biden presidency, and they chose not to.” (For her part, Stewart has said she was “ ” about her retooled character.) Ligatich says she knows artists who do not want to work on the episode in question, though insiders note that staffers were given the option not to work on the episode. So far nobody has taken the company up on that offer. Whether other animation studios will follow Pixar’s lead in potentially limiting queer storylines and other aspects of diverse or potentially polarizing storytelling remains to be seen. Because of this, one of Ligatich’s fellow Pixar castoffs is working to launch an independent animation studio to encourage underrepresented voices. Ligatich believes that there is a market for such animated stories at places like Netflix, which may not focus on creating content, but has made some noteworthy acquisitions in the space. “Netflix is more than happy to host content that tells authentic LGBTQ stories,” Ligatich says of the streamer that won the animation feature Oscar this year for its acquired title . That film, praised as a trans allegory, had previously lost its home when the Disney-acquired Blue Sky Studios was shut down in 2021. “That’s really how it’s going to go moving forward, is you’re going to see a lot of indie studios pop up to tell stories.” THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day More from The Hollywood Reporter