Bird flu toll worst
ever, USDA says
The American outbreak of avian influenza is officially the worst on record with 50.54 million dead birds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The highly pathogenic virus was found at a commercial turkey farm in South Dakota this week, resulting in tens of thousands of birds being killed to prevent further spread. That pushed the 2022 total depopulation figures above 2015 when 50.5 million birds were killed, USDA data shows.
The virus has mostly affected turkey and egg operations, sending prices to all-time highs and contributing to soaring food inflation. While the spread slowed during the warmer months, it continued to fester and now risks further spread as cooling temperatures prompt more birds to migrate.
In addition to the turkey farms, bird flu has also been detected in recent days at a Utah petting zoo and Missouri chicken farm. The virus has been confirmed in over 630 flocks in 46 U.S. states. The risk to humans is low but people should avoid unprotected contact with wild or domestic birds that look sick, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
-- Bloomberg News
Hyundai's Georgia
plant adds supplier
RICHMOND HILL, Ga. -- South Korean automaker Hyundai has announced a second large supplier for its new electric car plant on the Georgia coast.
Hyundai Mobis plans to invest nearly $1 billion in a new facility in Bryan County that could employ around 1,500 workers, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a news release.
The plant in Richmond Hill will make powertrains for Hyundai's electric vehicles manufactured at its new plant scheduled to open in 2025 about 30 miles west of Savannah as well as components for a Kia plant in West Point and another Hyundai plant in Montgomery, Ala., officials said.
Earlier this month, the governor announced that Joon Georgia would invest $317 million and hire 630 workers for a Hyundai parts plant in Statesboro.
"When we celebrated the groundbreaking of Hyundai's new electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility in Bryan County, we knew it would unleash transformational job creation and investment in that entire region of our state," Kemp said in a statement this week.
In October, Kemp was in Bryan County for a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Hyundai plant, projected to make up to 300,000 vehicles a year. Georgia officials say it's the state's largest economic development project.
-- The Associated Press
Index climbs 5.08
for finish of 850.65
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Friday at 850.65, up 5.08.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.