U.S.

Experts say bird flu threat small despite Cambodian fatality

A top World Health Organization official calls the recent global spread of bird flu and human infections worrying.

Cambodia — A top World Health Organization official, reacting to the death of an 11-year-old girl in Cambodia infected by bird flu, said Friday the recent global spread of the virus and human infections are “worrying.”

Dr. Sylvie Briand, the WHO’s director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said the U.N. agency is “in close communication with the Cambodian authorities to understand more about the outbreak.”

Speaking ahead of a meeting in Geneva on influenza vaccines, Briand called the global situation concerning the virus “worrying given the wide spread of the virus in birds around the world, and the increasing reports of cases in mammals, including humans.”

“WHO takes the risk from this virus seriously and urges heightened vigilance from all countries,” she said.

Independent experts also have expressed concern over a wave of bird flu that has spread through much of the world since late 2021, posing a potential public health risk.

Wednesday at a hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh, shortly after tests confirmed she had Type A H5N1 bird flu, according to Cambodia’s Health Ministry. She had fallen ill on Feb. 16, and when her condition declined she was sent to the hospital with a fever as high as 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) with coughing and throat pain.

The girl’s father tested positive for the virus but has not displayed any major symptoms, health authorities said Friday.

Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, normally spreads between sick poultry but can sometimes spread from poultry to humans. The recent detection of infections in a variety of mammals, including at a large mink farm in Spain, has raised concern among experts that the virus could evolve to spread more easily between people, and potentially trigger a pandemic.

Health Ministry spokesperson Ly Sovann told The Associated Press that the Cambodian father’s case is under investigation, and it was not yet known how he became infected. He has been put in isolation at a local district hospital for monitoring and treatment.

A ministry team collected samples from 12 people from the dead girl’s village known to have had direct contact with her, and laboratory tests confirmed Friday that only her father was infected.

have been infected,” professor James Wood, head of the veterinary medicine department at England’s University of Cambridge, said in an emailed statement.

“Tragic though this case in Cambodia is, we expect there to be some cases of clinical disease with such a widespread infection. Clearly the virus needs careful monitoring and surveillance to check that it has not mutated or recombined, but the limited numbers of cases of human disease have not increased markedly and this one case in itself does not signal the global situation has suddenly changed,” Wood added.

According to the World Health Organization, there were 56 bird flu cases in humans in Cambodia from 2003 until 2014, and 37 of them were fatal. Globally, about 870 human infections and 457 deaths have been reported to the WHO in 21 countries, for an overall case fatality rate of 53%. But the pace has slowed, and there have been about 170 infections and 50 deaths in the last seven years. In the vast majority of cases, the infected people got it directly from infected birds.

“Between 2005 and 2020, 246 million poultry died or were culled because of avian influenza,” says the World Organization for Animal Health.

U.S.

WeWork reaches deals to cut debt, extend maturities

(Reuters) -WeWork Inc said on Friday it had struck deals to cut debt by about $1.5 billion and extend the date of some maturities, in a bid to preserve cash as the flexible-workspace provider feels the heat of mass layoffs on its business.

The company, which offers workstations, private offices and customized floors, had enjoyed a pandemic-driven shift to flexible work outside traditional offices, but is now gearing up for a potential fallout from a likely economic downturn.

WeWork said it will also infuse the company with about $540 million in new funding.

Last month, the company forecast weak current-quarter revenue, after having announced moves to cut 300 jobs and exit 40 underperforming U.S. locations in a move aimed at curbing its real-estate footprint.

Under the deals announced Friday, key investor SoftBank Group Corp’s $1.0 billion unsecured notes would be converted to equity. The Japanese company held a stake of about 46% in WeWork before the restructuring was announced, as per Refinitiv data.

About $1.9 billion of pro-forma debt will now mature in 2027, WeWork said, adding that it would have less than $2.0 billion in net debt once the deal closes.

The agreements also cover an ad-hoc group which represent over 60% of the company’s public bonds and a third-party investor, WeWork said. The group includes King Street Capital Management L.P. and BlackRock Inc.

WeWork, which went public in 2021 after a two-year struggle, is yet to post a quarterly profit. But the company said on Friday it expects to turn a core profit this year, helped by cost cuts.

PJT Partners LP advised WeWork on the debt restructuring, while Houlihan Lokey advised SoftBank.

(Reporting by Priyamvada C and Kannaki Deka; Editing by Shailesh Kuber.

U.S.

Walmart just dropped a goldmine of goodies — score AirPods for $99 and more

Itching for some retail therapy? Walmart is packed right now with much-needed items at way-discounted prices. You can snap up a 43-inch smart Roku TV for only $178 (down from $249) and Apple Airpods for $99! And with spring around the corner, we’ve got Crocs for $35 that you can wear around the home … and, hopefully soon, outdoors. So with that in mind — let’s go!.

This Hisense 43-inch 4K Smart TV is fully optimized for the best images and picture quality, plus it has a game mode that provides minimal input lag time … and maximum action. It also allows you access to some of your favorite apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video and even live TV.

The 43-inch screen includes a built-in Google Assistant and a convenient voice-controlled remote that puts you in charge of all your entertainment. This reviewer shared: “It’s excellent because it allows you watch shows that you usually can only see on cable, plus it gets all the main TV channels without an antenna or cable hookup! I highly recommend this product.”

U.S.

2023 New York Yankees Betting Preview: Odds to win AL East, World Series, over/under win

The 2023 Yankees look like a real contender to win their 28th World Series championship in franchise history and their first since ’09. The Yanks might very well have the best starting rotation in baseball, headlined by Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon, and the offense is going to remain near the top of the league in most offensive categories thanks to a nine-year, $360 million contract to keep newly dubbed captain Aaron Judge in pinstripes.

The betting market also agrees that the Yankees are one of the top contenders to hoist the Commissioners Trophy this fall, giving them the second-lowest odds to win the 2023 World Series at +750, per DraftKings Sportsbook. New York’s also expected to win the AL East for a second consecutive season, entering the year as the odds-on favorite with +110 odds.

Below, we’ll list the various New York Yankees futures markets bettors can delve into and advise how to approach betting on them.

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook

2023 New York Yankees regular season win total: Over or under?
OVER 94.5 wins (-105)
UNDER 94.5 wins (-120)
Last season, the Yankees entered the season with a 92-win over/under and surpassed that number by finishing with a 99-63 record. This year, the Yankees’ regular season win total has increased to 94.5 wins, which is a fair number for a team who seemingly got better in the offseason.

Even in an ultra-competitive AL East, the Yankees won 47 of their 76 divisional games, giving them a respectful 62-percent win rate. However, with MLB instituting a balanced schedule, New York will play just 13 games against divisional foes instead of 19. While that might seem like a positive thing given how deep and competitive the AL East is, considering the Yankees’ inner-division success, that might hinder their chances of getting to 95 wins.

New York began last season as arguably the best team in baseball, entering the All-Star break with a 64-28 record, but it played .500 baseball to finish out the regular season. Considering how dominant they were in the first half, it was unlikely the Yankees maintained their .696 winning percentage throughout the whole season.

The Yankees still managed to boast an above-.500 winning percentage in both home (.704) and road games (.519) and had just one month (August) where they failed to play .500 ball (10-18). So, which Yankees team will we see more often in 2023? The one that dominated the first half or managed to get by in the second half?

We’ll side with a mix between the two, with more consistency throughout the season that leads the Bronx Bombers to eclipse their regular season win total of 94.5. Between an offense that ranked fourth in wRC+ (115) and a pitching staff that held hitters to the third-lowest xwOBA (.290), New York has a real shot to cash their regular-season win total OVER for a second consecutive season.

2023 New York Yankees odds to win AL East
Team Odds
New York Yankees +110
Toronto Blue Jays +215
Tampa Bay Rays +380
Boston Red Sox +1700
Baltimore Orioles +2200
A team projected to win close to 95 games should also be projected to win its division, so it’s no surprise to see the Yankees priced as the team to beat in the AL East at +110. While the Blue Jays’ odds to win the AL East (+215) appear to be more enticing, it’s tough to bet against a team that had an above-.500 winning percentage against every divisional foe last season.

The AL East is likely to be a two-team race between the Yankees and Blue Jays, but you can never count out the Rays (+380). The Red Sox (+1700) have too many glaring holes on their roster to compete for an AL East title, and although the Orioles (+2200) put together an 83-79 season, they failed to post a winning record against their AL East opponents, something you can’t have if you’re vying for the division title.

While we think the Yankees are on track for another successful regular season, we profiled the Blue Jays as our favorite bet to win the division in our divisional odds preview. We think the Jays’ odds should be a bit shorter than +215, therefore we see some value on the Jays to take the AL East. As a bettor, it’s tough to find value on the Yankees, as they’re always a public darling, and bettors tend to pay more of a premium to bet on them. There might not be betting value on the Yankees to win the AL East, but considering the betting market gives them a 47.62-percent chance to win the division, it tells you the market still sees them as the most complete team in the AL East.

2023 New York Yankees AL pennant odds
Yankees odds to win the American League: +360 (implied probability: 21.74 percent)
The Yankees sit right behind the Astros with the second-best odds to win the American League at +360. New York hasn’t won the AL pennant in over a decade (13 seasons) but has reached the ALCS three times in the past six seasons.

The Astros have been the Yankees’ kryptonite, ending their hopes of winning the AL pennant the past three times. Houston’s roster is just as, if not even more, as impressive as last season, with the addition of 2020 AL MVP Jose Abreu bolstering an already dangerous lineup. While they’ve had their struggles against the Astros in the postseason, it’s only a matter of time until Aaron Boone’s bunch breaks through to the World Series considering they’ve reached the ALCS 50 percent of the time over the past six years.

The betting market correctly priced the Yankees’ AL pennant odds, but they could still be a worthwhile bet at +360 for those higher on the Yankees than the market.

2023 New York Yankees World Series odds
As previously mentioned, the Yankees have the second-best odds to win the 2023 MLB World Series at +750, trailing only the Astros (+600). Granted they’re able to stay healthy, New York’s pitching rotation is going to be tough to score runs against the October, and as long as they’re able to clutch up with runners in scoring position, New York has as good of a chance as ever to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy this fall.

A modest wager on the Yankees to win it all in 2023 isn’t a bad way to dish out a portion of your bankroll, but with the World Series odds market available throughout the season, it’s usually a good idea to wait a bit before making your bet. The odds likely won’t be around 7.5-1 if they again get off to a hot start, but New York could be around 10-1 if they start slowly. Of course, it’s all part of the gamble, but we recommend holding pat for the time being while reevaluating the World Series markets after a month or so.