Category Archives: Yahoo

A growing number of companies are pushing back their plans for workers to return to the office as the Delta variant of COVID-19 soars, raising questions about whether employees will ever see their old workspaces again this year.

Amid the debate, Salesforce (CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sees a disconnect between the C-Suite and employees being asked to return to work and his take may not be entirely popular with his fellow corporate leaders.

"I'm going to get calls from CEOs who do not agree with what I'm about to say. So I'm just putting that out there ahead of time. But look, we're not all coming back," Benioff told Yahoo Finance in an interview.

His remarks come as large companies have been pushing hard to get workers back to the office with a few even dangling the prospect of pay cuts for those who choose to continue remote work.

However, as 2021 enters its final quarter, the widening gulf between bosses and their workers shows no clear sign of being bridged. Benioff pointed out that globally, 15% of employees have come back to the office, and while he says it may eventually hit 40%, he doesn't see it going back to the total capacity.

For over a year, Benioff's Salesforce has embraced what he's called a "work anywhere, live anywhere environment" that's "all digital." What's more, employees are working and succeeding home, indicating that it's a trend here to stay, he added.

"You're at home. I'm at home. We're doing our work. This is going very well. And that's how a lot of people feel, which is they want to stay home, they want to continue to work at home. And that should be just all right, with CEOs, if their employees are productive," Benioff said.

He acknowledged that not all businesses or industries could work this way, but many CEOs need to recognize that work has fundamentally changed.

"I get it. But for all the CEOs who want to call me and say, 'Hey, Marc, you got this completely wrong. Everyone's going back to the office.' I don't think so. I think we've fundamentally shifted how we work and also what work is all about," Benioff added.

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A man arrives with a bundle of balloons at the Salesforce Tower and Salesforce.com offices in New York City, U.S., March 7, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

The 56 year-old billionaire founded Salesforce in San Francisco in 1999, pioneering the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for customer relationship management software (CRM). In July, Salesforce closed its $27.7 billion record acquisition of messaging app Slack, which Benioff said is "absolutely critical for the future of Salesforce."

And if he were starting Salesforce today, the cloud executive said he would "start it on Slack," arguing that the digital headquarters "is more important" than the physical headquarters.

"We knew every company was going to have to have a digital HQ, that it was a must-have, not a want," Benioff said.

"You've got to start there. You're not ending there. And this is why all of our products and our capabilities all have to be connected into it," he added.

We've left the old world behind...The reality is we're in a pandemic world, you know, this is a forever virus.Marc Benioff, Salesforce founder and CEO

Last week, Salesforce (CRM) delivered yet another record quarter, as the cloud-based software giant's products continue to benefit from more companies embracing the all-digital, work-from-anywhere world. The company saw second-quarter revenue top $6 billion up up 23% year-over-year, and hiked its guidance for fiscal year 2022.

Benioff pointed out that Salesforce's products are "incredibly relevant to today's time" as its customers undergo a digital transformation amid the pandemic.

Citing Salesforce COO Bret Taylor, Benioff explained that what's happening is "not a digital translation. It's a digital transformation. You can't just translate what you have been doing. You've got to transform and think about everything new."

He added: "You need to cultivate a beginner's mind. In this new world, if you're not cultivating a beginner's mind, as a CEO, I think you're making a mistake."

The CEO also doubled down on the thesis that the ways of working and running a company pre-pandemic are gone.

"We've left the old world behind. Goodbye to the old world. Now we're in a new world," Benioff said, later adding, "The reality is we're in a pandemic world, you know, this is a forever virus."

As such, Benioff argued that businesses and industries need two think about how to succeed in this new pandemic world.

"And that's why we need not a new version of something. We need a new vision for our future," he added.

Julia La Roche is a Correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.

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Salesforce's Benioff on the future of work: 'We're not all coming back' to the office - Yahoo Finance

Have you ever eaten food out of a dented can? It doesnt taste dented honest! It tastes like undented food! (I could go for an undented sandwich right now.)

Theres just something about that dent that turns people off. It is tough to stack dented cans, and a sharp dent might allow bacteria in or what I call, flavor! but still, people should see theres value in DCF (dented can food)!

This article series is meant to point out some dented-can discounted players available on some sites, while also sharing a handful of players on that site who might be overpriced.

Were finding garage-sale priced players who are worth more on other fantasy draft sites, so you can squeeze the best value out of your draft picks.

We already did this ADP hack with quarterbacks and running backs, and well hit tight ends later this week.

How it works: FantasyPros posts an Average ADP on their site, which is a combined average of the ADP on several fantasy draft sites, including ESPN, Yahoo! and My Fantasy League. Since most ADPs on those sites are influenced by the prepopulated rankings from that site (and every site ranks differently with different experts), then those ADPs are skewed, compared to other sites. We compare the ADP on those major sites with the Average ADP on FantasyPros to find good and bad values, helping you know when you need to wait or hurry to take a certain player.

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Hacking the draft room: Exploiting the ESPN and Yahoo fantasy football rankings to optimize your wide receiver... - The Athletic

Learn more about the Yahoo Fantasy Football Championship!

We obviously love the game of fantasy football, but few things feel better than winning, and not much feels better than winning a championship!

Whether it's a prize, bragging rights, or both, becoming a fantasy football champion is unmatched and now, here at Yahoo Fantasy, we're offering the chance to be the ULTIMATE fantasy football champion!

We're happy to announce the first-ever Yahoo Fantasy Football Championship (YFFC), a 10-week contest culminating in an exclusive $200K Daily Fantasy Football event at MGM National Harbor resort in Maryland from December 11-12, during Week 14 of the NFL season.

There, the top winner of the contest will take home $100,000 and the title of best fantasy player!

Here's how it works. There will be 60 qualifiers for the championship 60 winners chosen during the 10-week competition who will earn a trip for two to MGM National Harbor to compete in the live finals. They will receive free entry to the $200K contest where they will battle it out for the championship!

In addition to cash prizes, the 60 qualifiers will be treated to a VIP experience that includes accommodation at MGM National Harbor resort, roundtrip airfare for two, MGM Resort credit for food and beverage, spa, or entertainment, a special welcome reception with some of your favorite Yahoo Sports analysts and celebrities, and a swag bag filled with Yahoo Sports goodies!

Here's how you can qualify for this exclusive championship:

-Join the Daily Fantasy NFL Yahoo Cup: Free to play! The top score in the Yahoo Cup each week will earn qualification to the YFFC.

-Play in the Daily Fantasy NFL Baller Contest: Baller contest available weekly. The top score in the weekly NFL Baller Contest will earn qualification to the YFFC.

-Play in a single game DFS contest: Each week from weeks 1-10, we will run one single game contest where the top prize includes qualification to the YFFC. Check out the lobby.

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-Join League of Champs or the DFS Invitational: These contests will be available by invitation only. To enter the applicable contest, look out for an official invitation via email to enter the contest. Top 5 scores from these contests will earn qualification to the YFFC.

-Play FREE season-long Fantasy Football: The top 5 overall ranked Fantasy Football players from weeks 1-10 of the regular season will qualify. For more information on rankings, click here.

-Play Best Ball: The top 5 cumulative scores through week 10 of the regular season for any Best Ball league with $100 or greater entry fee will qualify.

-Play in a Public Prize League: The top 5 cumulative scores through week 10 of the regular season for any Public Prize League with $100 or greater entry fee will qualify.

-Participate in weekly social media contests: Follow @YahooSportsbook and @YahooFantasy on Twitter and look out for 10 total contests where the winner will qualify for the YFFC!

Learn more about the Yahoo Fantasy Football Championship here!

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Do you have what it takes to reach the Yahoo Fantasy Football Championship? - Yahoo Sports

Apple CEO Tim Cook announces the new iPhone 11 Pro as he delivers the keynote address during a special event on September 10, 2019 in the Steve Jobs Theater on Apple's Cupertino, California campus. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Apple (AAPL) is expected to launch its new iPhone, likely called the iPhone 13, later this month. Like football, the autumnal equinox, and pumpkin spice lattes, its all but a guarantee this fall.

So what can you expect from Apples next-generation flagship? Rumors abound that Apple CEO Tim Cook & Co. will equip the iPhone 13 with everything from satellite communication functionality to screens with improved refresh rates for better scrolling to slick new cameras.

Of course, theres also speculation about new under-display technologies for unlocking your iPhone, and more. Heres what the rumor mill is churning out about Apples upcoming iPhone.

Lets start off with the sci-fi-sounding feature that Apple is reportedly bringing to the iPhone 13. According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the next iPhone will come with a custom Qualcomm X60 chip that will allow the phone to connect to low Earth orbit satellites.

The technology could allow for a more global solution to 5G connectivity. But according to Apple soothsayer Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, the satellite feature will, at first, be used as a means for iPhone owners to get in touch with emergency services and contacts via text when theres no viable cell signal available.

Gurman further states that the satellite capabilities could eventually be used to make phone calls, but the full feature set may not be available until next year.

Satellite company Globalstar (GSAT) soared as much as 40% following the news that Apple might add satellite communications to its iPhones, though it came back down afterwards.

Outside of satellite connectivity, the iPhone 13 lineup could get major upgrades to its cameras. The ultra-wide angle cameras are now expected to offer improved low-light capabilities and autofocus, according to MacRumors. Still, theres confusion as to whether the upgrades will be available on all iPhone 13 models or just the Pro and Pro Max versions.

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Gurman, meanwhile, says the iPhone 13 will feature a new video version of its Portrait mode, which traditionally captures photos and allows you to add a bokeh effect that blurs the areas around your subject.

Additionally, the iPhone 13 is said to get new camera filters that apply changes to color balance and lighting using artificial intelligence rather than the blanket filters the company has used for years.

The notch, or black area at the top of the iPhones screen that holds its FaceTime camera, is either not an issue for you, or an abomination.

Either way, Apple is reportedly changing the cutout for the iPhone 13. Depending on the rumors you choose to believe, the notch could shrink significantly, making more room for on-screen content, or disappear entirely.

A shot of a notchless iPhone during an episode of "Ted Lasso" may have been Apple's way of showing off its iPhone 13. (Image: Apple)

Mock-ups of an iPhone 13 with a smaller notch have been floating around the web for some time. But the notchless version of the phone has only just come to light thanks to an episode of Ted Lasso, an Apple TV series that prominently features iPhones.

In the episode, one of the shows characters can be seen holding what is clearly an iPhone without a notch.

It would be quite an interesting move for Apple to debut the new look of one of its important products via its own series, but it could also be an editing trick.

The design of this years iPhones are likely to remain largely the same as last years. There will be a 5.4-inch iPhone mini, 6.1-inch iPhone, 6.1-inch iPhone Pro, and 6.7-inch iPhone Pro Max.

But the high-end Pro models could get faster displays this time around. According to seemingly the entirety of the internet, the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max should get screens with variable refresh rates up to 120hz.

A 120hz refresh rate means smoother scrolling and gaming, while a variable refresh rate means the phone could kick down the refresh speed when it doesnt need to be so fast.

Faster refresh rates mean the phone has to work harder, so a variable rate can save on battery life.

The phones are also rumored to get always-on displays that could show the time and message notifications without having to activate the screen. Android phones have done this for years and display the text in white on a black panel to save on battery life.

Thats all weve got so far in terms of iPhone rumors. But theres sure to be more that crop up as we get closer to the phones big debut this month.

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Got a tip? Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com over via encrypted mail at danielphowley@protonmail.com, and follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.

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Apple: What to expect from the iPhone 13 - Yahoo Finance

Less than a week after Liberty University announced and enacted a temporary campus-wide quarantine amid rising infections, the school is reporting a sharp surge in positive COVID-19 cases and offering free vaccinations.

The private evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia last week ordered a campus-wide quarantine from Aug. 30 to Sept. 10. Prior to the fall semester beginning on Aug. 24, the school did not have a mask or vaccine mandate in place.

Liberty's COVID-19 dashboard on August 25 reported 159 active COVID-19 cases, out of which 124 were students. On September 1, the number of total active cases reported within the last 10 days spiked to 488, out of which 430 were students.

The university has around 15,000 students and 5,000 faculty or staff on campus. More than 1,500 people are currently in quarantine, 1,056 of which are on-campus students. A Liberty University official told WFXR News that the quarantine annex at in the college "has reached maximum capacity."

When asked for comment, university spokesperson Scott Lamb told Yahoo Finance that it was unsurprising to see cases shoot up given that as of "two weeks ago, these people were [not] in Lynchburg at all" and that now "they are here, and hence, the [numbers] have gone up."

Lamb added that the school's quarantine, a temporary pivot to remote learning, the new offering of free vaccinations, and the suspension of all large indoor gatherings have been enacted to "slow the spread of the virus and maintain a safe and healthy campus environment while the institution continues to act responsibly as a community partner in battling the pandemic."

The school sent an email to students informing them that it will be hosting a "first dose clinic" on September 3, according to an email obtained by Yahoo Finance.

An email offering free COVID-19 vaccines to Liberty University students, faculty, and staff. (Courtesy of a Liberty University student)

One former student said that she was concerned about the outbreak spilling into the surrounding areas.

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"I know people that work in health care here in Lynchburg that are just overwhelmed by how scary it is, and they said it's worse than it was last year," Lynchburg resident Tobi Walsh, a 2015 Liberty University graduate and former employee of the school who lives less than two miles from campus, told Yahoo Finance.

"With everybody back it's kind of scary because you go like to Target and you see all these students that are Liberty students because they're wearing, their [residence hall] shirts ... it's obvious that they're on-campus students," said Walsh, who noted that the area is already experiencing a rise of COVID-19 hospitalizations. "And they're not wearing masks, they're not social distancing, they're acting like everything is normal, and it's scary."

Liberty University student Jared Marshall, right, and his roommate and fellow student Jake Baker, sit inside their apartment near Lynchburg, Virginia, on March 31, 2020. (Photo by AMANDA ANDRADE-RHOADES/AFP via Getty Images)

Earlier this week, a current Liberty University student discussed what it felt like on campus.

"To me, it's just been a very unsafe environment," Robert Locklear, a 21-year-old journalism student at Liberty, told Yahoo Finance. "We're seeing thousands of students from literally all over the country gathered together with zero restrictions ... you're on the bus with 50 other people packed together, you're in the cafeteria with hundreds of other people, you're passing in the hallways and coming in very close contact with no one wearing masks."

Walsh noted that the news of the outbreak was particularly "frustrating" given that the school is gearing up to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

"I want to be excited, and celebrate my school and these friendships that I made," she said. "But when I see stuff like this and that these students don't care, it's really hard to be proud of where you came from."

Aarthi is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. She can be reached at aarthi@yahoofinance.com. Follow her on Twitter @aarthiswami.

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Liberty University COVID-19 outbreak on campus worsens, vaccinations now offered - Yahoo Finance

Whoop is now valued at $3.6 billion, after its latest $200 million funding round led by Softbank. Yahoo Finances Myles Udland and Brian Sozzi discuss the company overview and outlook with Whoop CEO, Will Ahmed.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

MYLES UDLAND: All right, well, fitness tracker Whoop, it is now valued at some $3.6 billion, following the company's fundraise earlier this week. SoftBank's Vision Fund coming in with $200 million. And whoop's CEO and founder, Will Ahmed, joins us now to talk about this latest fundraising, sort of the outlook for the business here. Will, great to have you on the program once again.

Let's just start with the capital raise, the second time I believe you guys have tapped the markets within the last year, if my calendar is correct there. And I'm just curious what the backdrop has been like for you guys both on your business side, but just the environment for folks who are looking to make the kinds of big venture bets that you guys are able to underwrite.

WILL AHMED: Yeah, you're right. You know, we raised $100 million in October of last year. So that would have been nine or 10 months ago. And now, obviously, just announced the $200 million raise led by SoftBank. I think it's a time where companies that are growing very rapidly like Whoop do have access to new capital. And that was certainly the case for us. SoftBank has been a great partner for us historically. They participated in our last round. And I think this is very early days for health monitoring.

Yes, Whoop is now the most valuable wearables company in the world, but it's still early innings. Wearable technology, in my opinion, has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry and really improve human lifespan. And we're starting to see that now with just the way Whoop members are changing their behavior and improving their health.

You know, for folks who aren't familiar with Whoop, it's a small wearable sensor collecting data around strain and recovery and sleep. And really, the biggest benefit to using Whoop is that it will help you change your behavior and improve your health. So if you've been on Whoop for a year, you've got a lower resting heart rate. You've got a higher heart rate variability. You're getting more sleep. You're getting higher sleep quality. And all of those things are obviously positive.

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BRIAN SOZZI: Well, full disclosure, Will, I'm actually charging mine up right now. I've been using it for about eight months. So I totally get it. But when you are out there, raising--

WILL AHMED: What's your recovery today?

BRIAN SOZZI: It's still tracking. My usual average is about 40% or under. And it's very bad. It's very bad. But we're going to take that offline because I know I need to improve--

WILL AHMED: [INAUDIBLE]

MYLES UDLAND: I'm ready for [INAUDIBLE]

BRIAN SOZZI: That's pretty good. That is impressive. I would expect nothing less from the founder of Whoop. But let me ask you this. When you are out there raising this money, why are you able to raise this money at this valuation with the threat of the Apple Watch? I mean, this week, we're hearing that they might add a blood pressure monitor to the next Apple Watch. How are you closing these funding rounds?

WILL AHMED: Well, you know, the business has been growing very quickly. I think we're the fastest growing company in the space. We're also the only business that has a subscription. You know, Whoop is entirely a subscription. So whereas companies in the past like Fitbit or Jawbone were just selling hardware-- it was a one-time expense-- with Whoop, we have a very loyal membership base that is paying every month. And so that pulls us more into the Sas world than your traditional hardware business.

You know, in terms of other competitors in the space or other players in the space, this is-- health monitoring is really the future. And so I expect every single big technology company to try playing this space. Obviously, a lot of companies have entered and exited the space because they failed. I mean, it's a very hard space in general. So just the fact that there are trillion dollar companies playing in the space, I think that more so proves the market size and potential than anything else.

MYLES UDLAND: Yeah, Will, I wanted to ask a little bit about your work with high level athletes. You know, certainly, the headline might be working with Maholmes or with LeBron, some of these other folks. But, you know, I get a kick out of when, you know, you guys have the blog of someone who's in the Tour de France, right, what their strain is like. You do that with CrossFit athletes. What has that channel done for you guys? And how much more work-- I mean, do you want to have a Whoop tracker basically on every college and above athlete that you can find?

WILL AHMED: Absolutely, and we're starting to get there. I mean, I think if you meet a serious athlete who's wearing a wearable, there's, like, a 95% chance it's Whoop. You know, the technology and the origin story for Whoop was really to help optimize the best athletes in the world. And of course, we've found over time that our technology is now helpful for everyone.

But that high end, really aspirational pro athlete, I think, helps set a tone for the rest of us. I mean, sports is still a religion. People watch and enjoy their favorite athletes. We've been integrating Whoop data into live sports broadcasts with Whoop Live. I don't know if you guys have seen that, but the ability to see someone's heart rate as they're trying to make a putt to win the US Open or, shortly here, the Ryder Cup. We're now doing that in NASCAR. We're doing it in-- on the LPGA TOUR.

And we've got a bunch of announcements coming in terms of where else we'll be doing it. So that's one example where you're trying to connect the experience of the best athletes in the world and how their bodies are changing and evolving to stress with me and you. And, you know, it creates a feeling of understanding that comes with all the Whoop data. And I like that a lot.

BRIAN SOZZI: Yeah, full disclosure, Will, I'm looking at my heartbeat right now on the platform. It's about 100 beats per minute interviewing you. So maybe it'll go down a little bit. But again, that's kind of, like, my norm. I do want to ask you, because Myles and I got into a pretty big debate earlier in the week on what is next for you in the hardware. I mean, this is a pretty simple band. I think we both agree we would like to see some innovation on the battery. What does the next generation of the strap look like?

WILL AHMED: OK, I just had to check. I'm at 60 right now, guys.

BRIAN SOZZI: That's pretty good. We're not asking you tough enough questions then.

WILL AHMED: You got to push me here. All right, so the hardware, you know, it's something we're constantly innovating on. I think we're going to have some really interesting announcements coming. And I guess I just have to say, stay tuned on that front.

BRIAN SOZZI: And, well, Will, quickly, before we let you go, what is the-- what's your ultimate goal here? I mean, do you envision the company as a public company? Do you envision it where you exit and put it under a larger umbrella? What's your vision?

WILL AHMED: Well, we're building the business to be a standalone business. So for now, that's being a private company. But I do expect over time, we'll be able to take the company public. We certainly have the revenue profile and gross margin profile of a successful publicly traded company. So we're going to keep marching with that in mind. I think Whoop is a pretty unique asset as a company because it operates within health monitoring, which is new and cutting edge and has a huge market potential. But it's also a subscription business. So it plays off the tail ends of your typical Sas business.

MYLES UDLAND: All right, we'll leave it there. And Will, it has been great tracking your story through the years. Will Ahmed, founder, CEO at Whoop. Will, I know we'll be in touch. Thanks for the time.

Originally posted here:

Whoop CEO: I expect every big tech company to enter the health monitoring space - Yahoo Finance

Carole Baskin has confirmed that Joe Exotic's former animal park has sold, and cannot be used as a zoo. (Photo: Araya Doheny/Getty Images for NightFly Entertainment, Ltd.)

Carole Baskin has confirmed that the zoo previously belonging to Joseph Maldonado-Passage, known as Joe Exotic from Netflix's Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, has been sold.

Reached by phone on Sunday, Baskin, the owner of the nonprofit sanctuary Big Cat Rescue, confirmed to Yahoo Entertainment that not only has the Oklahoma property formerly used as an exotic animal park been sold to a local couple who are known for purchasing properties that need a lot of work, but that the new owners cannot use the ownership for anything Tiger King-related.

The news was first eported by TMZ.com on Saturday.

"When we sold the property in June, we required that it never be used as a zoo, or for anything related to Tiger King or anything like that," Baskin told Yahoo.

Her husband, Howard Baskin, also stated that the couple had a covenant written into the deed that stipulates the property cannot be associated with Tiger King.

"If it became an RV park or storage unit," he explained, "We don't want it named the Tiger King RV Park. We would like the 20 years of mistreatment of animals there to be forgotten and be history."

The Baskins have big plans coming up the pipeline. They told Yahoo they recently worked on a documentary called Shooting Joe Exotic with Louis Theroux "that played in Britain back in April to rave reviews, and was on the top of their on-demand list for weeks."

Right now, the couple is in Los Angeles for the premiere of the documentary The Conservation Game, which follows the story of Tim Harrison, a retired cop who "starts to suspect that Americas top television celebrity conservationists may be secretly connected to the exotic pet trade," according to the website.

"It exposes the way these people that take cubs onto late-night shows, are asked where the animals come from and where they go and they say they came from the zoo," Howard Baskin told Yahoo. "And in the film, these people were confronted, and they all admit that they have no idea what happens to the animals after they use them. It's very powerful, and it's controversial."

Last month, it was determined that Maldonado-Passage would receive a new prison sentence, Yahoo Entertainment previously reported. In 2019, he was convicted of attempting to hire two men to kill Baskin. He was sentenced to 22 years behind bars, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit ruled in July to vacate the sentence on a technicality.

In September of 2020, Joe Exotic applied for a pardon from the Trump administration. He sent a handwritten note, obtained by Yahoo Entertainment, stating that he looked up to the then-President Trump because you stand for what you believe in no matter what anyone thinks.

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Carole Baskin confirms sale of Joe Exotic's former zoo, says it can't be used for 'anything related to Tiger King' - Yahoo Entertainment

The WHO is tracking a COVID-19 variant called Mu, which has been found in 48 out of the 50 states in the US. Reuters

The World Health Organization is tracking a COVID-19 variant called "Mu."

Mu, also known as B.1.621, was first detected in Colombia, and has since spread to 39 countries.

The WHO says it has a "constellation of mutations" that suggests it can evade vaccine immunity.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is tracking a new COVID-19 variant that it says could have the ability to evade the immunity people get from vaccines and prior COVID-19 infections.

Called Mu, the B.1.621 variant was first detected in Colombia in January this year. It has since been detected in 39 countries and was added to the WHO's watchlist on August 30.

In the WHO's weekly bulletin, the organization said the variant "has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape."

The WHO noted in its bulletin that further studies will need to be done on the mutated variant to see if it can evade immune defenses to COVID-19 like the Beta variant first detected in South Africa.

According to the open-source database Outbreak.info, 1,953 cases of the Mu variant have been reported in the US. At press time, only two states - South Dakota and Nebraska - have not yet seen infections of the Mu variant.

"At the moment, it looks like there's genuine cause for concern in USA, Central America, and South America, but as we saw with Delta, a potent variant can traverse the globe in the blink of an eye," said Danny Altmann, an immunology expert at Imperial College London, to The Telegraph.

Mutations of the COVID-19 virus have indeed wreaked havoc worldwide. The contagious Delta variant caused a devastating wave of COVID infections in India and led to a sharp surge in cases in the US.

The recent case surge in America has prompted the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend that even the fully vaccinated should wear masks indoors.

At press time on September 1, the US reported a daily average of 166,080 cases of COVID-19 infections, bringing its total number of infections to 39,527,445, per The New York Times' COVID-19 case tracker. This marks an 18% increase over the last 14 days in the number of COVID cases reported in the US.

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The WHO is tracking a new COVID-19 variant called Mu that might be able to evade immunity from vaccines and previous infections - Yahoo News

The definition of discount is a deduction from the usual cost of something, typically given for prompt or advance payment or to a special category of buyers.

I consider my fellow readers of The Athletic as a special category of buyers. Thats why Ive written this special article series about ADP Hacks for you this month (plus, because my editor assigned this series to me).

If this is your first exposure to this series, the elevator pitch to you is this: Our ADP hack points out which players are being drafted earlier or later in ADP compared to other draft sites. (Pretend its a long elevator ride.) This lets you know if you have to reach for a player you like higher than you expected or if you can wait a little later.

We already did this ADP hack with quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers.

The tight ends position is interesting because the top ones are bunched at the top, which all draft sites seem to agree with in Average Draft Position. But cohesiveness starts to unravel in the middle rounds on who is deserving of a TE1 spot on your roster.

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Hacking the draft room: How to exploit ESPN and Yahoo tight end fantasy rankings using ADP - The Athletic

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT) is no stranger to very high speeds on the racetrack.

The tiremaker has had a long, storied 100-year history in the sport of racing. It all began for Goodyear back in 1901, when Ford founder Henry Ford put Goodyear rubber on his car sponsored by the Detroit Driving Club. Come 1922 and after years of wins, Goodyear dropped out of active race participation amid the economic uncertainties of the time.

Goodyears unofficial return to racing came in 1954 with the test of the Police Special Tire in Darlington, South Carolina. The company made its official return into racing in 1958.

In the 1960s, Goodyear scored major victories at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans with legends Dan Gurney and Bob Bondurant behind the wheel of a GT Cobra. Legend AJ Foyt scored a few Indy 500 wins, too.

Today, its safe to say Goodyear continues to be the dominant tire player in all things racing. Producing racing tires by hand out of its high-tech Akron, Ohio, manufacturing plant, Goodyear makes every racing tire produced for Nascars top three series as well as the NHRA/Top Fuel league. The company churns out more than 100,000 tires each year for Nascar. About 4,000 tires are brought to the track by Goodyear on a typical Nascar race weekend.

A worker hand makes a Nascar tire at Goodyear's Akron, Ohio manufacturing plant.

And suffice it to say, the racing tire of today has come a long way from those Henry Ford days. A Nascar tire is constructed to handle speeds of more than 200 mph. At those 200 mph speeds, the surface area of one tire touching the track is roughly equal to half of an 8.5 inch by 11 inch piece of paper.

Each Nascar tire is 15 inches, weighs 24 pounds, has an RFID tag and the name of the person that made the tire on a sticker. The tire life ranges from 80 to 100 miles, or the distance it takes to use a full tank of fuel. Each tire costs $503.

As for the NHRA tires, they are designed to handle speeds in excess of 300 mph. The front tires for a top fuel car go for $274, and $919 for the ginormous rear tires.

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Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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Goodyear's road to making Nascar tires - Yahoo Finance