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SAN ANTONIO If swingman DeMar DeRozan and the San Antonio Spurs cant agree to an extension by the late June deadline, the four-time All-Star intends to decline his $27.7 million player option for next season to become an unrestricted free agent, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

DeRozan, who has averaged 20 points in his 11-year career, would be among the top players on the market this summer.

DeRozan declining his option wouldnt close the door on him re-signing with the Spurs, sources said, but it would definitely open an avenue for a team like the New York Knicks, who are expected to be interested.

The Spurs acquired DeRozan, 30, from Toronto in the July 2018 deal that sent Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors.

DeRozan is shooting a career-best 52.8 percent from the field and averaging 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.

He was drafted ninth overall by Toronto in the 2009 NBA draft.

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Sources: DeMar DeRozan intends to decline $27.7M option if he cant agree to extension with Spurs - Yahoo Sports

The coronavirus continues to spread globally, with over 111,000 cases and 3,800 deaths as of Monday, according to thelatest datafrom Johns Hopkins University. Still, people dont know much about the new virus, what its symptoms are or how to prevent it.Alok Patel, MD, a physician and medical contributor, is breaking the virus down and letting Yahoo Lifestyle readers know what eight things they should be aware of starting with its name.

Whether youve heard of coronavirus, novel coronavirus or COVID-19, Patel says that each name is referring to the same virus, and is actually a variation of the name already attributed to a family of viruses or diseases seen in the country for decades. And although the latest strand is a brand new coronavirus, its spread just the same as existing viruses, including the flu.

Theyre usually going to spread from those droplets that people spew out when they sneeze, when they cough, from a runny nose. They cough those, you can inhale them, you can get them on your hands and then subsequently touch your mouth, your nose, your eyes and transmit it that way, Patel explains.

However, the virus can likely live, at least for a bit, on surfaces, including a kitchen counter, a doorknob and even your cell phone. So, when it doubt, you have to clean all of these surfaces, he says. But most importantly, you have to clean and wash your hands.

Symptoms of the coronavirus are similar to those of a cold or flu, with a fever, cough and some shortness of breath. They can be mild and subtle but its important to make sure that they dont progress to a higher fever or more serious level of breathing difficulty. Patel says that while anybody can get coronavirus, its the elderly and people with existing medical conditions that are most susceptible to a more severe illness course.

When it comes to testing for coronavirus, the process is much the same to testing for the flu, with a nose swab or a sample of sputum. Unlike many existing viruses, however, there is no vaccine for coronavirus, although there is one in development. People are estimating anywhere from end of the year to several years before that is widely distributed, Patel says.

In the meantime, people have to be diligent about washing their hands, cleaning surfaces and avoiding touching their faces in order to stay protected, while making sure to be prepared for an outbreak. We may have to work from home, we may not be able to go on that trip we planned, our childrens daycare or schools might be closed. We may have to stay at home, Patel explains. But its just generally good practice to make sure you have a two-week supply of anything you may need. Whether it be food or prescription medication. Not only for you, but also your family.

Patel also urges that the practice of good hygiene be taught to young children now, not only for the sake of coronavirus, but also for future health.

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A doctor breaks down the 8 things everyone should know about coronavirus - Yahoo Lifestyle

Despite vows to drastically expand the coronavirus testing regime, federal and state public health authorities have tested only 6,563 people for the coronavirus as of Tuesday morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and numbers provided by all 50 states.

That count includes people tested by the federal government and by state laboratories. Because those laboratories may not always report people who tested negative for the coronavirus, the true number of people tested is probably somewhat higher.

Confusion about that exact number persists even at the highest reaches government. Earlier on Tuesday, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said he couldnt provide the figure. We dont know exactly how many because hundreds of thousands of our tests have gone out to private labs and hospitals that currently do not report in to CDC, he said in a CNN appearance.

That number stands in stark contrast to the promises made by leading members of the Trump administrations coronavirus task force, who have variously asserted that 75,000 people would be tested by last weeks end and that laboratories across the United States would have the capacity to conduct 1.5 million tests by the beginning of this week.

Neither claim appears to yet be close to realized, angering some Washington lawmakers. We are in a crisis, and there are questions about our preparedness and ongoing response efforts, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said on Tuesday morning. Im very concerned and, I think, we all are about our nations capabilities for coronavirus. Other countries have been testing thousands of people for weeks, but the U.S. is woefully behind the curve.

The nations ability to test for the coronavirus was hampered early on because a test created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was found to have a contaminated reagent, meaning that one of its three markers the one that would indicate a person was not infected was not operational.

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The CDC eventually corrected that error but also had to grapple with the fact that by keeping the coronavirus tests within its own purview, it was severely limiting the numbers who could be tested. It has since allowed private and university laboratories to conduct testing, while also vowing to stock public health labs with sufficient quantities of the coronavirus test.

Still, the lag is evident, robbing epidemiologists of precious days as they seek to contain the spread of the disease.

Private laboratories are expected to intensify their own testing efforts, but as of Monday morning, Mark S. Birenbaum, who heads the National Independent Laboratory Association, said he was uncertain of how many of his members had begun to test for the coronavirus.

Many have not, he wrote in a text message.

CDC spokesman Richard Quartarone said that as of Monday evening, the Atlanta-based public health agency had tested 1,707 people. On March 3, that number had been 1,200 people, which means the CDC has tested 507 people in the last week, or about 72 per day.

In a congressional hearing on Tuesday, CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, said that state laboratories had tested 4,856 people. The source of that statistic is not clear: The day before, both the White House and the CDC said that information was not available. An industry group representing public laboratories also said it had not yet gathered the data.

State laboratories had tested 3,280 people as of Monday evening. That number is derived from the COVID Tracking Project, started by Denver-based venture capitalist Jeff Hammerbacher and journalists from the Atlantic, put the number of people tested by state labs at a somewhat lower 3,280. The data compiled by Hammerbacher slightly understates the number of people tested, since some states report only positive test results.

South Korea, by contrast, has performed well over 100,000 tests. An analysis by Business Insider found that the U.S. lags badly behind other nations in the share of its population that has been tested (the analysis, however, appears to exclude people who were tested by state labs).

At the same time, public laboratories cannot be relied upon to carry the brunt of the testing burden. On the whole, Michelle Forman, a spokesperson for the Association of Public Health Laboratories, estimates that public laboratories will be able to test only 10,000 patients per day, and that is when all 100 facilities are running at full capacity.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

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Fears of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) have now spread to the energy sector as the dramatic reduction in travel has resulted in lower global fuel demand.

On Friday, Saudi Arabia and Russia ended their three-year-old agreement on price cooperation, kicking off a price war as Saudi Arabia announced steep discounts and a boost in production. Following the news, the prices of Brent crude (the international oil price benchmark) and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (the U.S. oil price benchmark) dropped 24% on Monday before rebounding approximately 10% on Tuesday. This marks the steepest oil price drop since Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991.

A price war affects more than just the ones who kick it off, though. The U.S., which surpassed Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world's biggest producer of crude oil in 2018, will face significant downward price pressure as well if it wants to keep exporting oil.

This has resulted in approximately 55% of the world's largest publicly traded oil companies trading within 10% of their 52-week low prices, according to GuruFocus data. Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) are down 24.84% from Friday, March 6, while shares of ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) are down 12.22%. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) lost a whopping 46.61% as investors were already worried about the company's high amount of debt.

Given all the downward price pressure, value investors may be wondering if now is the right time to pick up cheap energy stocks. However, before deciding to buy energy stocks, investors may want to consider how long the downward pressure is going to continue - and which oil companies have the financial strength to capture market share during a price war.

Supply and demand

Since 1991, there have been two major declines in oil prices, which can be observed through ExxonMobil's yearly revenue chart below. One was in 2009, when prices fell to $35 per barrel (down from $55 in 2008) as a result of the Great Recession, which left large amounts of oil in storage facilities in the wake of reduced consumer spending. The other was from 2014 to 2016, when prices spiraled from $125 per barrel to $30 per barrel as oil companies around the world competed to supply emerging economies such as China and India with oil and ended up oversupplying.

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"With a combination of a massive supply overhang and a significant demand shock at the same time, the situation we are witnessing today seems to have no equal in oil market history," tweeted International Energy Agency Director Faith Biriol on Monday.

The oil industry recovered from the last three price collapses because global growth in demand was strong, but with demand growth expected to continue its slowdown, investors that follow the energy sector may see a new situation emerging.

According to IEA reports, global oil demand is expected to increase by 1.2 million barrels a day in 2020. "Unless other things change, we will see a surplus probably, unless there is very strong demand growth recovery," Keisuke Sadamori said in a CNBC interview.

While OPEC and Russia cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day in 2019 in order to support prices, the U.S. did not follow suit, and neither did most other major non-OPEC oil-producing nations, including Brazil and Norway.

Now, not only is the oil industry facing demand growth slowdown and a supply glut, it may also see reduced demand in 2020 due to slower overall economic growth and reluctance to travel in light of the new coronavirus. On March 5, the International Air Transport Association upped its estimates of the virus' total global toll on the air transport industry from $29.3 billion to between $63 billion and $113 billion, illustrating just one of the ways in which demand for oil will be negatively impacted as fewer planes take to the air.

As long as oil prices continue to decline due to various factors, the stocks of the companies that produce it are not likely to see growth in their earnings or share prices. Thus, stock support will need to come in the form of demand growth, supply cuts or increasing market share.

Fighting for market share

Without changes to supply or demand, oil companies will need to scramble to gain more customers and sell more oil than their competitors. This is a fight for market share, and the winners will be the companies that can survive devastatingly low profit margins while expanding their customer bases.

In this scenario, the most important characteristics for success are reputation and financial strength. Customers will naturally flock to producers that provide the best-known prices, ensure their drilling practices have the least impact on the environment, produce from a certain region or have some other characteristic that buyers find desirable. Meanwhile, even a good reputation cannot keep a bankrupt company afloat, so financial strength is important in order to survive having to sell at lower prices.

Oil companies that have both a good reputation and high financial strength are thus in a better position to capture market share while prices are low, which could leverage their profits once prices recover.

To buy or not to buy

Given the recent price declines, some investors may be thinking that now is the time to buy energy stocks at rock-bottom prices. Depending on the company, that may be the case. The best opportunities are likely to come from those companies that can capture market share and continue paying dividends as their profits drop.

Several large global oil producers now have dividends yields near or above 10% when you compare their current price to the trailing annual dividend (i.e., how much one share of common stock has earned in dividends over the past year). As of March 10, ExxonMobil has a dividend yield of 8.02%, Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.B) has a dividend yield of 10.64% and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE:VLO) has a dividend yield of 6.08%, all of which mark historical highs.

With a GuruFocus financial strength score of 6 out of 10, ExxonMobil has paid uninterrupted dividends since 2018. Royal Dutch Shell has paid uninterrupted dividends since 2013 and has a GuruFocus financial strength score of 5 out of 10. With no debt and a financial strength score of 6 out of 10, Valero has paid uninterrupted dividends since 2014.

As there is little to suggest that oil prices will see a significant increase anytime soon, investors wanting to get a slice of the energy industry may want to prioritize financially strong, big names with good dividend track records, and prepare to be in it for the long haul.

Disclosure: Author owns no shares in any of the stocks mentioned. The mention of stocks in this article does not at any point constitute an investment recommendation. Investors should always conduct their own careful research and/or consult registered investment advisors before taking action in the stock market.

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Is Now the Time to Buy Energy Stocks? - Yahoo Finance

The early results are in from Americas average investors: The coronavirus outbreaks impact on the global economy means weak equities markets may have further downside to go.

After two weeks of extreme volatility in markets not seen since the Christmas Eve massacre of 2018 which sent the major indices into correction and countless stocks into bear markets investors are bracing for the worst. In a new Yahoo Finance poll of more than 15,000 people, 78% said they do not believe the stock market has bottomed. When asked if stocks again well off their mid-February highs represented a buying opportunity of a lifetime right now, only 36% said Yes.

The poll was conducted this week amid several rally attempts in stocks and the Federal Reserves emergency 50 basis point rate cut designed to prop up the markets. Guess that wasnt enough to spur investor confidence, which has been shell-shocked these past few weeks.

Of course many pros will point to this poll as a possible contrarian indicator. After all, the average investor is often viewed as ones with the least best information on companies and markets. So, if this group is crazy fearful on stocks and selling accordingly - it could be the time for the smart money crowd to place bids for those cheaper shares on a view there will be no coronavirus-driven recession.

Trader Peter Mancuso prepares for the day's trading, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, March 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

I dont think we have to see a recession. I think it will be shorter term in nature, two quarters of contraction. Investors just need to be thinking longer term and should I panic sell and get out of great stocks right now. I think its time to sharpen pencils, keep a list of what you would like to buy because there are opportunities to go shopping, said Invesco chief markets strategist Kristina Hooper on Yahoo Finances The First Trade.

But while we appreciate the upbeat perspective, the majority of market pros Yahoo Finance has talked to these past two weeks are growing increasingly worried. Most have said the market is unlikely to stabilize until COVID-19 infection cases peak and a vaccine is found. Until those things happen, strategists believe the market will continue to price in significant economic unknown and major bottom line hits to companies.

The challenge right now is that investors are flying without radar the economic fundamentals are very clear, said JPMorgan Asset Management global market strategist Alex Dryden. And when you are flying without that radar, you are effectively flying blind.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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Stocks haven't bottomed as the market deals with coronavirus symptoms: Yahoo Finance poll - Yahoo Finance

Stick with Tesla because the next several years may look far different than a first quarter hammered by the aftershocks of the coronavirus.

Tesla (TSLA) bull Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities concedes the first quarter will likely be a nightmare for the electric car maker as the coronavirus stunts demand and production in the key market of China (and to a lesser extent, Europe). But Ives believes the longer term outlook remains promising as Tesla continues to assume a leadership position in the EV market.

The first quarter isnt going to be pretty, especially in China, Ives said on Yahoo Finances The First Trade. You look at over the next one, two and three years, can they get to 100,000 Chinese units in the first year? I believe that is something that will be a stretch, but ultimately I think four to five times the U.S. market in terms of opportunity.

Ives has a Neutral rating on Teslas stock with a price target of $710.

The market appears to agree with Ives, for now. Teslas stock is only down about 16% in the past month, relatively in-line with the pullbacks in the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500. If Tesla was losing believers after a tremendous run fueled by improved financial performance, the often volatile stock would be severely outperforming.

The recent market-driven pullback provides investors with a good opportunity to enter the stock in our opinion, and a perusal of offerings from competitors suggests that Teslas market position should continue to be dominant, said JMP Securities analyst Joseph Osha. Investors may find themselves with additional near-term opportunities to buy the stock as Tesla works through the first half of 2020 and the impact of COVID-19 becomes apparent.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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Coronavirus will wreak havoc on Tesla this spring but the pain will end: top analyst - Yahoo Finance

LOS ANGELES In their third meeting of the season, in one of the most anticipated matchups of the year, the Lakers finally secured their first win over the Clippers with a 112-103 victory, and LeBron James led the way with 28 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and two blocks.

In back-to-back games, James outplayed Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard in nationally televised contests.

At 35, what this [expletive] is doing is incredible. He is the MVP, Anthony Davis told Yahoo Sports after registering 30 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Thats no disrespect to that [expletive] in Milwaukee. Giannis is having a hell of a year, but if you think about what the most valuable player means, thats Bron to us. Look at our numbers when hes off the floor. Hes the MVP.

James got to the line 14 times, placing heavy emphasis on attacking the rim, which isnt an easy feat against the bruising Clippers. He provided the dagger with a drive through the teeth of the defense for an and-one layup late in the fourth quarter.

And when the ball found the bottom of the net, James let out an extended roar.

I was able to get to the rim a couple times in the fourth quarter. Im going to just do whatever it takes for my team to win, James said. If my teammates need me to take the challenge defensively, offensively, whatever, Ill take it. My teammates asked me to do it this weekend and the rest is history.

LeBron James drives against Kawhi Leonard during a 112-103 Lakers win at Staples Center on Sunday. (Harry How/Getty Images)

The Clippers feature a roster built on flexibility and, probably most importantly, the ability to inflict punishment. The Lakers are viewed as a team that doesnt like physical contact and there were times when their brawn was tested.

While the Clippers were at the line in the second half of Sundays game, Davis moseyed to the other end of the floor to get in offensive position. At first he was in the paint, but then Montrezl Harrell pushed him out.

Davis resisted.

Harrell kept bodying Davis, preventing him from setting up so close to the basket. And even when Davis was a good distance away from the hoop, Harrell just leaned his 250-pound frame on him. This happened a few more times to the point where an irritated Davis complained to an official that he was being fouled and hacked before the ball was even in play.

Physicality is the Clippers identity.

From Harrell, to Patrick Beverley, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Marcus Morris, their objective is to suffocate the opposition defensively. And this style of play could often lead to a physical pounding over the course of a 48-minute contest.

During those brutal encounters in the paint between Davis and Harrell, the Clippers big man let Davis know he wasnt going to halt his aggressive tactics.

Youve got catch me on the run in order to hit me, Davis told Yahoo Sports of how he responded to Harrell. Im not about to change how I play. If they want to do all that physical [expletive], then thats fine. But Im going to keep moving and using my speed. That stuff doesnt bother me at all.

Beverley was on the receiving end Sunday of what he usually carries out.

Avery Bradley, known for typically being quiet, picked the pocket of Beverley in the opening quarter and then proceeded to yell in his face, prompting a technical for taunting. Beverley tried to instigate a spat with James in the third quarter, but the four-time MVP walked away like nothing happened.

I dont think we were chippy at all, Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma said. It was more so them.

Leading up to this bout, the Lakers downplayed the importance of getting a win over the Clippers before the playoffs. But it was clear that L.A. really wanted this game.

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Both teams have aspirations of something bigger than a regular season win, but both teams understand that it's a process, James said. They want to try to continue to get better throughout the year and put themselves in the position to be at full strength when the postseason comes around. But also not losing sight of what needs to happen today or tomorrow. I know that's from our perspective and it looks like they're doing the same.

In a possible Western Conference finals preview between two teams with contrasting styles, the Lakers took Round 3 and discovered they dont have to change their approach to compete and beat their in-town rival.

Were a good team just the way we are, Davis told Yahoo Sports. Were not soft, were pretty good and especially with [LeBron].

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A new antitrust class action lawsuit alleges that textbook publishers and on-campus college chain bookstores conspired to monopolize the textbook market, forcing students to pay higher-than-market prices for course materials.

Plaintiffs argue that publishers built the Inclusive Access model a digitaltextbookmarket in collaboration with top publishers ostensibly aimed at reducing the cost of course materials to monopolize the market for textbooks in Inclusive Access classes and thereby raiseprices,are actionableviolations ofthe federalantitrust laws.

Singling out the big three publishers Cengage, Pearson and McGraw-Hill, as well as on-campus bookstore chains the lawsuit filed in a New Jersey federal court argues that the practice is illegal under the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act.

A University of Colorado sophomore watches as employees carry away his textbooks after selling them back to the CU bookstore inside. (Photo: Jeremy Papasso/Digital First Media/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images)

This suit by a student standing up for all of her peers against the the potential harms of Inclusive Access and ultimately, like these, this suit could affect every student in America, Kaitlyn Vitez, higher education campaign director for the progressive non-profit U.S. PIRG Education Fund, told Yahoo Finance. We're talking about a really huge segment of America's college population.

The textbook market which Vitez previously called a broken marketplace has been dominated for decades by a few dominant publishers that leverage deep expertise in educational materials and relationships with universities. Vitez said that the lawsuit has the potential to really shake up the publishers plans to eliminate the used textbook market.

Textbooks - Filed Complaint by Aarthi on Scribd

While the amount of money an average college student spends on textbooks has declined slightly in recent years, the lawsuit contends that the publishers introduction of an online model has resulted in the loss of choice.

Inclusive Access increases students costs and eliminates their choices in order to increase the profits of textbook publishers and on-campus college bookstore retail chains, the lawsuit asserts.

In response to this story, textbook publishers defended the model.

We believe Inclusive Access benefits students by making our first-class instructional materials available to them at below competitive rates, and we believe the lawsuit has no factual or legal merit, a McGraw-Hill spokesperson said in a statement.

A Pearson spokesperson said: Pearson is aware of this lawsuit and is reviewing the complaint. Pearson stands by the Inclusive Access model, which offers real benefits to students, instructors and institutions.

Cengage is prepared to defend vigorously against these allegations, a spokesperson from the company stated. Cengage has been and remains a forceful advocate for student and textbook affordability.

A student stands in from of books in a campus bookstore. (Photo by: Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Online textbooks in the Inclusive Access model sometimes come with access codes to quizzes, homework assignments, and even exams. Some of the prices of the textbooks can run pretty steep, and in many cases, students cant rely on a used textbook at cheaper rates.

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Publishers emphasize that theres always an opt-out option. But schools sometimes sign up for these textbooks in advance to secure discounted rates from the publishers and, in some cases, tacking that cost on to their students tuition and fees.

20-year-old University of North Carolina at Pembroke student Jorge Castillo told Yahoo Finance that as part of his schools pilot program to increase students access to education materials, one of the classes had automatically charged me for a book. And this book I already had bought it before.

Castillo added that the book that I had bought before was 50% cheaper than the book that was automatically charged to my fees. They charged me $45 on tuition and fees. Doesn't sound like a tremendous amount, but in reality, if I can get a book for $20 on Amazon, thats gas money and money I can use for other [things].

Follett, the company running the program, insisted that an opt out feature allowed students like Castillo were free to do so and buy alternative course materials at a cheaper rate.

But Castillo said it wasnt that simple.

Its not easy to opt out, he said. So for instance, I have my school email and they sent it to another email that I normally don't use that I had in high school.

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

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Most veterans of the 18-year war in Afghanistan wouldnt have predicted this was how the fightback after the attacks of 9/11 would end: with the U.S. President calling the conflict a waste of American blood and treasure, and a U.S. peace deal with the Taliban forcing Afghan officials to sit down with the militants and discuss dismantling a government the U.S. helped build.

The long-awaited U.S.-Taliban deal to end the war, signed on Feb. 29, has not had a smooth start. Days after it was penned, the militant group attacked Afghan forces in the south of the country, apparently over the Afghan governments initial refusal to release 5,000 prisoners, a condition written into the deal before intra-Afghan talks can start. U.S. forces in Afghanistan, which have long provided air support to Afghan troops, bombed Taliban positions in response. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has since agreed to release some of those prisoners, according to the U.S. Secretary of State, but its not clear how many, or if its enough to get both sides to show up for talks.

The countrys leadership remains in a steady state of political crisis. On Monday, there were two separate Afghan presidential inaugurations held in the capital city, Kabul: one ceremony for Ghani and one for the other claimant to the presidency, his rival Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, who has rejected last Septembers election results claiming rampant voting fraud.

President Donald Trump has shown no sign of souring on the agreement, calling the Taliban warriors in remarks to supporters last week, and even conceding the militants may one day take the country back from the Afghan government. You can only hold somebodys hand for so long. Its not supposed to happen that way, but it possibly will, he told reporters Friday at the White House. And though its not certain when or if the Taliban will sit down with the Afghan government, on Monday U.S. forces spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett announced the U.S. will draw its troop numbers down from 13,000 to 8,600 in the next 135 days, per its agreement with the militant group.

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Trumps embrace of the Taliban has landed like a gut punch to some of the men and women whose lives have been changed forever by the war. Even for veterans who think the U.S. should get out of Afghanistan, it looks a lot like Washington is backing the people who plunged Afghanistan back into the middle ages in the 1990s, harbored al-Qaeda as it plotted the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, and killed thousands of American troops since, instead of backing a modern Afghan government that holds elections, and allows women to vote, work outside the home, and ditch veils if they so choose.

The fact that the deal hit so many roadblocks in so few days has also fed a sense of numbness among veterans, deepening the sentiment that the war wasnt worth fighting, as most veterans said in a Pew poll last July.

I wanted to get out, but I didnt think wed get out like that, handing the guys we fought for the last 18 years a victory, said one long-serving U.S. veteran who recently left Afghanistan after multiple tours, who requested anonymity because he may return again to work there.

Since the signing of the peace deal, he said hes been having painful discussions with other soldiers whod fought the Taliban since 2001. Saying these people who have been committing these horrible crimes, they really arent so badIts hard for us to get our heads around, he said.

Its also a confusing time for those who lost loved ones in the war. For surviving families, its important that they understand that their loved ones life and service had meaning and purpose, says Bonnie Carroll, who runs the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, better known as TAPS, based in Arlington, Virginia. That purpose, she says, includes knowing that their sacrifice helped create a stable country where the next generation grow up with opportunities for education, employment and security.

Veterans of the Afghan war have previously fallen into a couple major camps: the Lets get out, and walk away from sunk costs. Dont throw good money after bad group; and the smaller but more vocal camp, which includes retired Gen. and former CIA Director David Petraeus, who believes the U.S. must keep an enduring military presence in Afghanistan, like it has in Germany and South Korea, as a backstop against another 9/11.

A former CIA officer who served in Afghanistan and took part in these debates says previous military commanders like Petraeus have argued that an enduring presence requires roughly 10,000 troops at the cost of tens of billions a year. The new deal calls for a drawdown to 8,600 by the fall, a number deemed sufficient by the current U.S. commander in Afghanistan Gen. Scott Miller, and zero within 14 months, if conditions are met.

Those conditions include how the Taliban handles terrorists in territory it controls and whether it takes part in intra-Afghan talks, according to senior administration officials briefing reporters anonymously, as a condition of sharing the information. But they are are laid out in the deals classified annexes, and have been criticized by U.S. lawmakers who have read them as putting too much trust in the Taliban.

Some high-level veterans agree. One former senior U.S. commander praised the deal for breaking the status quo of a never-ending war, but worried that the Taliban are getting too much legitimacy and at the expense of the Afghan government, and that the deal puts too much trust in the Taliban to keep up their end of the bargain after U.S. troops have left. Actually pulling out all our troops in 14 months time leaves us with no leverage and severely limits our ability to verify whatever conditions are in the agreement or claims that are made by the Taliban.

Others welcome the drawdown. Getting down from current troop levels of about 13,000 to 8,600 is heading in the right direction, says the former CIA officer, who counts himself firmly in get out now camp. The young boys who are dying there now dont even remember 9/11. They were one or two when it happened, he says. I dont like the idea of were just going to stay forever, on an ill-defined mission which can only be described as trying to keep a lid on the place so it doesnt become a staging ground for another big terrorist attack on the West.

Few would argue that Washingtons goals in Afghanistan are clear. The conflict started off with a straightforward enough mission in 2001 to topple the Taliban and capture or kill the Al-Qaeda terrorists it harbored, key among them, 9/11 plotter Osama bin Laden. U.S. special operations forces got Bin Laden inside Pakistan in 2011. But in that decade, the U.S. campaign morphed into an expensive and ultimately unsuccessful operation of nation-building, fueled by a mixture of hubris, good will and that old-fashioned American can-do spirit. Allied troop strength in Afghanistan peaked at 150,000 between 2009 to 2013. Over nearly 20 years, the U.S. has spent $876.4 billion, according to the U.S. Inspector General for Afghanistan.

Successive Afghan administrations havent done much to prove to Washington that the investment has been worth it. Attempts to export democracy and development there have foundered in large part due to the countrys systemic corruption, a byproduct of 40 years of war where many of its denizens have done what it takes to survive. Leaving the country is in the best interest of the U.S. and the Afghans, said the former soldier, who was one of the longest serving Americans in the country. Our presence has fueled corruption from the start, hindered civilian aid efforts, and created perverse incentives in both countries for the continuance of the war.

If it has become a proverbial money pit for Washington, it has been a font of heartbreak for allied troops, with more than 3,500 US and NATO forces killed, as well as an estimated 45,000 members of the Afghan security forces lost, according to the Afghan National Security Council. Back home, U.S. troops struggle with the memories of launching counterattacks that have killed or injured some 150,000 Afghans caught in the crossfire, another figure shared with TIME by the Afghan NSC.

Thats why it was time to go, as the longtime commander, the soldier and CIA officer who served there all agree. But the former soldier hoped the U.S. would simply step away with no deal, and keep backing the Afghan allies theyd trained, at least financially. Im okay with the Afghans fighting for their own country and us supporting them from a distance. Im not comfortable with us just walking away.

It is morally wrong to give legitimacy to an enemy that continues to murder our people, he continues. And it undermines our credibility around the world. Who can or should trust an America that cavalierly surrenders an ally like this?

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'I Didnt Think Wed Get Out Like That.' Veterans Have Mixed Feelings As U.S. Withdraws Troops From Afghanistan - Yahoo News

United Airlines (UAL) President and incoming CEO Scott Kirby warned on Tuesday that the airlines move to cut overall capacity could hit 20% this May and grow by an equal or greater amount each month until ticket demand returns.

Our current dire scenario planning option is for revenue to be down 70% in April, Kirby told investors at the JP Morgan Industrials Conference in New York City. While he doesnt expect the revenue hit to actually be that bad, he says Uniteds goal is to raise liquidity, cut cap ex, and reduce capacity to position ourselves to bounce back when the crisis ends.

The warning from the United Airlines CEO comes as all of the major airlines face fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak, which has hit the travel industry particularly hard. CEOs from Delta and American Airlines also said at Tuesdays conference that they were cutting capacity as the coronavirus reduces demand for tickets.

Boeing 767 300 of American Airlines at Viracopos Campinas Airport, Sao Paulo Brazil

Delta (DAL) CEO Ed Bastian is piloting his airline down a similar path to United since the virus spread outside of China. Since then we have seen a 25 to 30% decline in net bookings and are prepared for it to get worse, Bastian told investors at the conference.

Delta is taking aggressive actions to maintain its financial position, which includes reducing international capacity by 20% to 25% and domestic capacity by 10% to 15%. Delta is also targeting $1.8 billion in cost reductions, which include a company-wide hiring freeze, voluntary leave options, parking aircraft and retiring older planes. But, he noted, This demand destruction like all others is temporary.

Credit: David Foster/Yahoo Finance

American Airlines (AAL) is also cutting its schedule, suspending service from some U.S. airports to Rome, Milan, Venice, and other cities in Europe. Chairman and CEO Doug Parker told the JP Morgan conference its cutting domestic capacity by 7.5% in April. American is aggressively readjusting our flight schedule ... which will result in a 10% reduction in our international summer capacity versus our current schedule, he said.

Parker says that includes a current 55% reduction in trans-pacific capacity. These reductions are based entirely on customer demand, not safety concerns, Parker said.

Investors rewarded the airline leaders transparency, driving their stocks up during Tuesdays trading session. But 2020 has been rough for the airlines: Shares of Delta are off roughly 22% year to date, and United and American are down about 40%. But Americans Parker says, The U.S. airline industry will manage through this and American Airlines will lead the way.

Bastian echoed that sentiment, pointing out the airlines are in better cash positions than after previous crises like the 2001 terror attacks that led to several big airline bankruptcies. Over the last 10 years, weve transformed Delta by strengthening the balance sheet, Bastian said.

But all three admit the coronavirus outbreak and the challenges it poses to their businesses continue to change. Its one reason Delta suspended its full-year guidance and Kirby said United would suspend its guidance for the first quarter. Let me be blunt, speaking for United, hope is not a strategy, Kirby said. Our strategy is to act quickly.

Adam Shapiro is co-anchor of Yahoo Finances On the Move.

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Airline CEOs warn coronavirus is cutting into reservations and are prepared for it to get worse - Yahoo Finance