Author: reporter

By MATTHEW DALY, WILL WEISSERT and COLLEEN LONGPALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive, to serve as energy secretary in his upcoming, second administration. CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Wright is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market.Wright has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change, and could give fossil fuels a boost, including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas…

The Avalanche survived an apocalyptic injury/availability crisis by treading water in the NHL standings, and critical reinforcements have arrived.The Avs are now (mostly) healthy. They have work to do to ensure a spot in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and to try and reestablish themselves as a legit championship contender.There are also some significant questions left for the Avs to answer before the trade deadline, which will shape the final form of this roster and potentially play a huge role in whether or not Colorado can make a real push for a second title in four seasons.Let’s dig into them.1a.…

Over the summer, Laura Marciano, a researcher at Harvard University, interviewed 500 teenagers for a continuing study investigating the link between technology and loneliness. The results were striking.For several weeks, the teenagers, who were recruited with the help of Instagram influencers, answered a questionnaire three times a day about their social interactions. Each time, more than 50% said they had not spoken to anyone in the past hour, either in person or online.To put it another way, even though the teenagers were on break from school and spending plenty of time on social media apps, most of them were not…

Dear Eric: When my mother passed away, her trust was split mostly between me and my sister, with a small percentage to my sister’s two kids. My mother and my sister lived together. My mother put the down payment on their house, and they split the mortgage and utilities. My sister covered most of the mortgage.I have always imagined gifting a percentage of my stake in the house to my sister because she has been responsible for providing care for our mother and shared the expenses. In general, I have no interest in forcing her to sell the house, pay…

Scoring, soaring and passing drive interest in basketball — not sitting, sulking and pampering.The NBA has a problem because of the way it is packaged and covered. Nikola Jokic is off to the greatest statistical start in league history — 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, 11.7 assists in 38 minutes per game — and ratings stink.They cratered during the opening night doubleheader and remain in decline with ESPN viewership down 27% and TNT 16%, per Puck News.There is a confluence of contributing factors. It starts with the most talked-about players the first two weeks: Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and the Lakers’ Bronny…

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A year ago, TikTok’s e-commerce business in Indonesia was thriving. With its viral videos, TikTok had become a worldwide phenomenon, and it was translating its influence into a powerful new revenue stream by letting users buy and sell things while its videos played.Indonesia was a critical market and the first place where TikTok rolled out this feature. The app, owned by the Chinese tech giant ByteDance, had about 130 million users, nearly as many as it had in the United States. Since its launch here in 2021, TikTok Shop had become one of the most popular places…

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. edged lower this week, ending a six-week climb.The rate slipped to 6.78% from 6.79% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s still down from a year ago, when the rate averaged 7.4%.Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate, also eased this week. The average rate slipped to 5.99% from 6% last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.76%, Freddie Mac said.Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including the yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds, which…

For most of October, Sean Payton harped on his offense’s need to improve on third down.The Broncos weren’t just struggling, they were flat-out bad.Denver didn’t convert better than 36% of its attempts in any of its first seven games and entered Week 8 at No. 31 in the NFL, floating around a 26% conversion rate.Over the past three weeks, though, the money down has been an entirely different story for Payton’s offense.In a win against Carolina (11 of 17) and losses at Baltimore (6 of 14) and Kansas City (7 of 13), the Broncos offense was far from perfect, but…

The Colorado Avalanche will ice its healthiest lineup of the season Friday night, welcoming back three key forwards.But it wasn’t all good news at Ball Arena ahead of the club’s game against the Washington Capitals. Starting goaltender Alexandar Georgiev did not participate in the morning skate and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, the team announced.Justus Annunen will start against the Capitals. Trent Miner has been recalled from the Colorado Eagles to back him up.Georgiev had a terrible start to the season, even briefly losing the No. 1 role to Annunen. His past four starts have been the best stretch…

Jurors on Friday found a Denver police officer guilty of harassment for striking a handcuffed teenager after an arrest last year.Dat Truong, 32, a 10-year Denver police officer, will likely be decertified from working as a police officer in Colorado due to the conviction. Jurors deliberated for about an hour before delivering the verdict after a two-day jury trial ended Friday afternoon.“We are obviously disappointed with the verdict, but thank the jury for their service over two long, difficult days,” defense attorney Ryan Brackley said Friday.Truong was charged with misdemeanor harassment after he struck a 17-year-old boy whose hands were…