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By ALEX TURNBULL and SUMAN NAISHADHAM, Associated PressCHAMPAGNE, France (AP) — Across wine country in France, Italy and Spain one number is top of mind: 200%.That’s because last week U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a tariff of that amount on European wine, Champagne and other spirits if the European Union went ahead with retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. products. The top wine producers in Europe could face crippling costs that would hit smaller wineries especially hard.Europe’s wine industry is the latest to find itself in the crosshairs of a possible trade spat with the U.S.Bottles Champagne are for sale at…

By ALEX VEIGALOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in February as easing mortgage rates and more properties on the market encouraged home shoppers.Existing home sales rose 4.2% last month from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.Sales fell 1.2% compared with February last year, ending a string of five straight annual increases. The latest home sales topped the 3.92 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. On an unadjusted basis, sales fell 5.2% from February last year, when the month included an extra…

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business WriterThe average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. rose slightly for the second week in a row, a modest setback for prospective home shoppers as the spring homebuying season ramps up.The rate rose to 6.67% from 6.65% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.87%.Including this week, the average rate on a 30-year home loan has risen only twice in the past nine weeks, a welcome trend for aspiring homebuyers struggling to afford a home after years of soaring home prices.“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has stayed under…

Colorado would become the second state in the country to prohibit credit card companies from charging “swipe fees” on taxes or tips under new legislation that passed the state House on Wednesday.Every time a customer uses their Visa or Mastercard at a restaurant or store, the credit card companies charge the business a fee that’s typically between 2% and 4% of the total bill. That total includes the cost of sales tax — which businesses say they collect and pass on to the government — and tips, which are given to workers.House Bill 1282 would prohibit credit card companies from…

By COLLIN BINKLEY and CHRIS MEGERIAN, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Thursday calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Education Department, advancing a campaign promise to eliminate an agency that’s been a longtime target of conservatives.Trump has derided the Education Department as wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology. However, completing its dismantling is most likely impossible without an act of Congress, which created the department in 1979.A White House fact sheet said the order would direct Secretary Linda McMahon “to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure (of) the Department of Education and return education authority…

TORONTO — Kelly Sutherland got his name in the paper, which is something no NHL referee ever wants.Sutherland earned an ignominious assist on the game-winning goal early in the third period Wednesday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 2-1, at Scotiabank Arena.“I haven’t seen one like that in a while,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “There’s always some crazy bounces in this game. It’s a pretty fluid game. But that one was a little strange, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.”The Avs were on the power play when Maple Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit…

A 56-year-old man died Thursday after he was hit by a Regional Transportation District bus near Denver’s 16th Street Mall.Jard Davis was pronounced dead at Denver Health on Thursday night, according to the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner.Davis was taken to the hospital from 17th and Champa streets, where the Denver Police Department said a pedestrian was seriously injured in a crash at around 12:23 p.m.Police officials believe the pedestrian was crossing the street against the signal before the crash, but the investigation is ongoing, Sgt. Jay Casillas said Wednesday.RTD officials confirmed the man was hit by a MallRide…

A woman dubbed the “Super Bowl Scammer” has stolen nearly $10,000 from victims across the Denver area, authorities said.Arapahoe County Sheriff’s officials are trying to find a woman with the alias Gigi Levi who has successfully scammed victims in 2023 and 2024, according to a press release. The release stated the woman convinced several people in the Denver metro to purchase fake Super Bowl tickets, flights and hotel reservations. In one instance, the woman posed as a Live Nation lawyer and convinced a couple to buy a $6,800 package that purported to include Superbowl tickets, airfare, and accommodations in Las…

Thoughts of home drift in and out for Max Shulga, but life at Virginia Commonwealth moves too fast to leave much room to feel the pain from 5,000 miles away.In rare quiet moments, the escape fades. And the VCU star will let it wash back over him, sirens erupting again this week in his birthplace of Kyiv, Ukraine, where the war that’s prevented him from returning to the culture he knows continues.Shulga sat at a locker inside Ball Arena on Wednesday afternoon with an NCAA Tournament game to play Thursday, an ocean removed from the geopolitical conflict. There is nothing to…

The Force was already strong in the Yale locker room when Bez Mbeng began wheezing like a young Darth Vader.Hooooo-ahhhhhhHooooo-ahhhhhhThe best defender in the Ivy League had grabbed an aerosol-sized can full of oxygen. Mbeng pressed the business end to his mouth, leaned back at his locker stall and took a series of very loud, very deliberate breaths.Hooooo-ahhhhhhHooooo-ahhhhhhDancing at 5,280 feet above sea level? Smart kids don’t miss a trick.“My trainer and her assistant have done an unbelievable job in making sure my guys have oxygen, altitude sickness (medicine) and doing all those things to prepare them,” said Yale coach…