| Sturgis motorcycle rally was a 'superspreader event' Posted: 08 Sep 2020 11:27 AM PDT  A month after 460,000 motorcycle enthusiasts converged on Sturgis, S.D., researchers have found that thousands have been sickened across the nation, leading them to brand the rally a "superspreader" event that will involve more than $12 billion in health care costs.
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| Touting Operation Legend, Barr says 'crime is down' in Chicago. But murders are up. Posted: 09 Sep 2020 02:14 PM PDT  Attorney General William Barr says crime is down in Chicago and Operation Legend is restoring order to the city. The data, however, shows there may not be much to celebrate.
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| Entire Rochester Police Leadership Resigns After Daniel Prude Death Posted: 08 Sep 2020 01:07 PM PDT  The chief of the Rochester Police Department announced he would resign Tuesday following the release of shocking footage of the March death of a 41-year-old Black man in police custody.La'Ron Singletary leaves the department after 20 years under heavy scrutiny over the death of Daniel Prude. He said earlier this week he would not depart his position.His top two officers in the department—Deputy Chief Joseph Morabito and Deputy Chief Mark Simmons—also announced they would step down from their positions. Simmons will stay on as a lieutenant, as will resigning commander Henry Favor. Another commander, Fabian Rivera, resigned Tuesday. Singletary did not name a successor. City council members told Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle they learned of the resignations as they happened. The city's mayor, Lovely Warren, had previously accused Singletary of failing to handle the Prude incident properly, saying she only learned of the March death in August after Prude's family obtained bodycam footage. She also said earlier this week that she ultimately supported Singletary. The New York Attorney General's office has opened an investigation into the death.The Brutal History of Spit Hoods, the Creepy Tool Cops Used on Daniel Prude"For the past two decades, I have served this community with honor, pride, and the highest integrity," Singletary wrote in a resignation letter. "As a man of integrity, I will not sit idly by while outside entities attempt to destroy my character. The events over the past week are an attempt to destroy my character and integrity." He decried what he described as the "mischaracterization and the politicization" of Prude's death.According to the Democrat & Chronicle, Singletary's personnel file depicted him as a "patient and professional" law enforcement officer. He started in the department as an intern in 1998, and the mayor previously described him as "dedicated to changing the culture of policing."Prude died March 30, seven days after Rochester police detained him, put a spit hood over his head, forced him to the ground, and rendered him brain dead. The Monroe County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, citing "complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint due to excited delirium due to acute phycyclidine [PCP] intoxication." His brother had called 911 for assistance dealing with Prude's mental health crisis.Joe Prude called the police's actions "cold-blooded murder." He called for the Singletary's resignation and those of other top police department officials. Mounting outrage over Prude's death, the shocking police body-worn camera footage of his detainment, and the amount of time that elapsed before police went public with the incident have inspired protests for nearly a week in Rochester.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Trump says Harris becoming the first woman president ‘would be an insult to our country' Posted: 08 Sep 2020 04:51 PM PDT  President Trump on Tuesday said that Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris becoming the first female president of the United States "would be an insult to our country."
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| A prototype of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' futuristic-looking flying-wing aircraft just took its first flight in Germany — take a look at the Flying-V Posted: 07 Sep 2020 07:05 PM PDT  Flying-wing aircraft have long been the domain of the military, but airlines and aircraft manufacturers are turning to them for the future of flight.
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| Boy's shooting raises questions about police crisis training Posted: 09 Sep 2020 01:23 PM PDT  A police shooting that wounded a 13-year-old autistic boy in Salt Lake City is revealing shortfalls in the way officers respond to a mental health crisis, an advocacy group said Wednesday, a part of policing that's facing renewed scrutiny during nationwide protests over brutality by law enforcement. Similar questions are being raised in Rochester, New York, following the death of a Black man whose brother called police about his unusual behavior shortly after a mental health evaluation. It comes as demonstrators have urged cities to "defund the police" and shift money to social services instead.
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| Ben Sasse Calls for Repealing 17th Amendment, Eliminating Popular-Vote Senate Elections Posted: 09 Sep 2020 06:00 AM PDT  Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) called to repeal the 17th Amendment on Tuesday, which would eliminate the requirement that U.S. senators be elected by popular votes.In a Wall Street Journal op-ed titled "Make the Senate Great Again," Sasse called for an end to the amendment, among other changes to the Senate "aimed at promoting debate, not ending it." He also recommended abolishing standing committees, requiring senators to show up for debates, implementing 12-year term limits, and requiring senators to live together in dorms when in Washington."What would the Founding Fathers think of America if they came back to life?" Sasse wrote. "Their eyes would surely bug out first at our technology and wealth. But I suspect they'd also be stunned by the deformed structure of our government. The Congress they envisioned is all but dead. The Senate in particular is supposed to be the place where Americans hammer out our biggest challenges with debate. That hasn't happened for decades—and the rot is bipartisan."Before the 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913, Article I of the Constitution mandated that each state legislature vote to send two senators to Washington. Sasse argues that returning control to state legislatures would be a way of increasing local control in the Senate in a time of polarization and nationalization in politics."Different states bring different solutions to the table, and that ought to be reflected in the Senate's national debate," he wrote. "The old saying used to be that all politics is local, but today—thanks to the internet, 24/7 cable news and a cottage industry dedicated to political addiction—politics is polarized and national. That would change if state legislatures had direct control over who serves in the Senate."The Nebraskan Senator also suggested ridding the Senate of cameras because in the presence of cameras, Senators "aren't trying to learn from witnesses, uncover details, or improve legislation. They're competing for sound bites.""Without posturing for cameras, Republicans and Democrats cooperate on some of America's most complicated and urgent problems," he wrote.
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| Lukashenko reportedly tells Russian TV the U.S. is orchestrating the Belarus protests Posted: 08 Sep 2020 02:11 PM PDT  In his first sit-down interview since anti-government protests swept the nation, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made a slight concession, The Guardian reports — the so-called "last dictator in Europe," who has held his post for 26 years, acknowledged he "may have sat in the president's chair a little too long." But, other than that, he denied responsibility for the unrest, instead pointing a conspiratorial finger at the United States, and reiterated that he does not plan on stepping down.Lukashenko reportedly told members of the Russian media — whom The Guardian notes did not appear to subject the ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin to tough questioning — that he believes Washington is orchestrating the protests via the messaging app Telegram from centers in Poland and the Czech Republic, using the situation as a dry run, more or less, for a similar operation in Russia for the future.The claims are unsubstantiated and dismissive of Belarus' growing, internal, and organic opposition movement that is seeking change from the autocratic regime in Minsk, although Lukashenko accused what he described as a class of "young bourgeois" in Belarus who "want power" of stirring up trouble, as well. Read more at The Guardian, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and RT.More stories from theweek.com The true Election Day nightmare scenario DHS whistleblower says he was told to stop providing Russia intelligence analysis, downplay threat of white supremacy More than half of households in 4 largest U.S. cities struggled financially during pandemic, poll shows
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| Klamath National Forest fire threatening homes near California-Oregon border Posted: 08 Sep 2020 11:24 PM PDT  The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office issued an evacuation order for the town of Happy Camp. Fires rages elsewhere in California and in Oregon.
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| India in shock over 86-year-old grandmother's rape Posted: 09 Sep 2020 03:22 AM PDT  Police have arrested a man in his 30s for the rape and assault of the woman in Delhi.
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| Battleground states not ready for presidential election, House Democrats warn Posted: 09 Sep 2020 09:45 AM PDT  Key battleground states "face the risk of serious problems" in the Nov. 3 presidential election, House Democrats warned on Wednesday.
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| 9 Color Blocking Ideas for a Bright, Cheery Home Posted: 09 Sep 2020 08:56 AM PDT |
| Venezuela's Maduro proposes giving Russia COVID-19 vaccine to legislative candidates Posted: 08 Sep 2020 06:17 PM PDT  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday proposed administering a Russian coronavirus vaccine to nearly 15,000 candidates in upcoming legislative elections so that they can campaign safely. Russia in August licensed a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing, a move celebrated by Moscow but questioned by some experts who note that only about 10% of clinical trials are successful. Maduro's adversaries are broadly planning to boycott the Dec. 6 vote on the grounds that it is rigged in favor of the ruling Socialist Party, although one faction of the opposition has opened talks with the government to seek vote guarantees.
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| ‘You’re a mask Nazi.’ American Airlines bans passenger over note to flight attendant Posted: 09 Sep 2020 11:05 AM PDT  The airline is now investigating.
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| The prehistoric megalodon shark had fins as big as human adults and heads the length of cars, according to new research Posted: 09 Sep 2020 05:51 AM PDT  Megalodons, the largest sharks ever to roam Earth's oceans, had heads the size of cars and 5-foot dorsal fins.
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| Ari Fleischer on DHS whistleblower complaint, revelations in Bob Woodward's new book Posted: 09 Sep 2020 12:11 PM PDT  Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary, joins John Roberts on 'The Daily Briefing.'
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| Ukrainian church leader who blamed COVID-19 on gay marriage tests positive Posted: 08 Sep 2020 02:21 PM PDT  Patriarch Filaret, a prominent Ukrainian Orthodox leader, blamed same-sex unions for the global coronavirus pandemic, which has killed thousands in Ukraine.
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| Tucker Carlson will be the Republican nominee in 2024, founder of pro-Trump super PAC predicts Posted: 09 Sep 2020 07:54 AM PDT  There has been mounting speculation that the Fox News host might stand for president
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| Trump, Biden and the road to 270 electoral votes Posted: 08 Sep 2020 09:14 PM PDT  For such a volatile year, the White House race between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden has been remarkably consistent. With Election Day just eight weeks away, Biden is maintaining the same comfortable lead in most national polls that he enjoyed through the summer. Trump remains in striking distance, banking on the intensity of his most loyal supporters and the hope that disillusioned Republicans ultimately swing his way.
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| An influencer who traveled to Rwanda to work with gorillas says she was locked up for 4 days after a false-positive COVID test Posted: 08 Sep 2020 03:30 AM PDT  Charly Jordan said she was quickly taken to a hotel to isolate when her test came back after a few days.
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| It’s Almost Throw Blanket Season Posted: 09 Sep 2020 08:37 AM PDT |
| Allegiant Air forced a passenger off a plane after he asked a flight attendant to put on a face mask. Posted: 08 Sep 2020 05:22 PM PDT  Allegiant began requiring masks on July 2, two months after other airlines did so, and some passengers said the rules weren't always enforced.
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| Sudan floods: Nile water level threatens ancient pyramids Posted: 08 Sep 2020 04:01 AM PDT  The record-breaking Nile level could inundate precious relics as the country is hit by heavy rains.
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| More than a dozen police chiefs faced backlash – and left – after George Floyd's death. Here's a list. Posted: 09 Sep 2020 04:51 PM PDT  George Floyd's death sparked a wave of protests. Here's a list of police chiefs who have have been fired, resigned or abruptly retired since then.
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| A Florida jogger kept his cool while cops detained him. Then, they offered him a job Posted: 09 Sep 2020 08:58 AM PDT  Florida jogger detained by cops offered job by sheriff
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| Two women charged with hate crimes after stealing child’s Make America Great Again hat Posted: 09 Sep 2020 11:32 AM PDT  Camryn Amy, 21, and Olivia Winslow, 21, were charged with robbery, conspiracy, endangering the welfare of a child
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| Chipping in? Trump may put up his own cash on reelection Posted: 08 Sep 2020 10:47 AM PDT  President Donald Trump is putting out the word that he is considering spending as much as $100 million of his own fortune on his reelection effort as campaign officials try to buck up key supporters and donors amid daunting polling numbers and other bad news. Trump said Tuesday that he's prepared to use his own money and spend "whatever it takes" to win a second term in the White House, but he sidestepped just how much of his own cash he's willing to invest. "If I have to, I would," Trump said of spending his own money.
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| Striking before and after photos show the extent of the damage caused by California's raging wildfires Posted: 09 Sep 2020 01:03 PM PDT  California's wildfires have already eaten up 2.3 million acres across the state, resulting in at least eight deaths and 3,700 destroyed structures.
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| Hundreds of Americans planted those alarmingly mysterious Chinese seeds. Others ate them. Posted: 08 Sep 2020 07:47 AM PDT  The same rules apply to a package of mysterious seeds found in your mail as do to a bag of fries discovered in a parking lot: As tempting as it is, don't open it, and most certainly do not eat what's inside.Unfortunately, dozens of Americans didn't follow those basic life instructions when they received unsolicited packets of seeds seemingly coming from China a few months ago. State governments were deluged with thousands of questions from people who'd gotten the seeds, and had no idea how to respond when some people said they'd eaten them, Vice reports.Vice's Jason Koebler requested records regarding the seeds from every state's department of agriculture, as well as from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and some USDA labs. From those records, Koebler found "tens of thousands of Americans received what they perceived to be Chinese mystery seeds in July." Many of them reasonably "panicked," quickly asking their governments what they should do, he wrote.Others maybe didn't panic enough. One woman in New Mexico called in to her state department of agriculture after reports of the mysterious seeds started circulating, and let it know that "like a dumbass, I planted them." "Everything that's in the garden where I planted them are having a hard time and are starting to die," she continued, asking for some advice. Officials told Vice they were overwhelmed with the number of calls, Facebook messages, and emails they'd gotten, and in several cases, had to figure out what to tell people who ate the seeds. Read more at Vice.More stories from theweek.com The true Election Day nightmare scenario Michael Cohen says Trump lied about sending investigators to Hawaii to look into Obama's birth certificate The Lincoln Project's inevitable ad on Trump's toxic comments on U.S. troops uses his own slurs against him
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| Students in a virtual UH lecture got a scare when a proclaimed ISIS recruiter joined in on their class and made the following remarks. Posted: 08 Sep 2020 03:13 PM PDT  UH students got a scare during a zoom lesson when investigators said a man made threatening comments in the middle of the virtual lecture.
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| Lukashenko's love of being photographed with guns suggests he might be worried about the loyalty of his inner circle Posted: 09 Sep 2020 08:47 AM PDT  Western security experts believe Lukashenko wants to be sure he is never the only unarmed man in the room, just in case his inner circle gets ideas.
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| Jessica Krug, the professor who pretended to be Black, resigns from George Washington University Posted: 09 Sep 2020 04:38 PM PDT  Her resignation was announced by the university in a tweet explaining that her classes for the semester "will be taught by other faculty members."
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| 5 gators found ‘belly up’ in Louisiana bayou spur investigation by wildlife officials Posted: 09 Sep 2020 02:34 PM PDT  Officials have an idea about what happened.
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| Hong Kong protests: Police tackle 12-year-old girl to the ground Posted: 07 Sep 2020 06:39 PM PDT  Police say she took part in an illegal gathering but she says she was just buying school supplies.
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| Trump running out of time to turn around 2020 campaign Posted: 09 Sep 2020 01:30 AM PDT  The presidential race is still leaning toward Joe Biden, while the battle for control of the Senate is a toss up.
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| Dispatches from the apocalypse: Photos show eerie scenes and orange skies as smoke tints the atmosphere across the West Coast Posted: 09 Sep 2020 03:15 PM PDT  Smoke from hundreds of wildfires across the West Coast has turned the sky orange and red. Here are some of the most striking images.
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| US Navy ends search for USS Nimitz sailor in Arabian Sea Posted: 08 Sep 2020 11:32 AM PDT |
| Indian and Chinese troops man remote Himalayan outposts just hundreds of meters apart Posted: 09 Sep 2020 04:29 AM PDT  Indian and Chinese troops were facing off on Wednesday, barely a few hundred meters apart, in a remote Himalayan region where shots were fired for the first time in decades, Indian officials said. "The situation is tense," an official in New Delhi said, adding that Indian and Chinese troops were squaring off in close proximity in at least four locations south of the Pangong Tso lake that both lay claim to. "Both are on their own sides of the LAC," the official said, referring to the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border.
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| Ohio governor forced to deny rumors of ‘coronavirus camps’ as unfounded conspiracy theories go viral Posted: 08 Sep 2020 02:11 PM PDT  Mike DeWine calls conspiracy theory 'crazy' and 'ridiculous'
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| ACLU Staffer Attacks University for Accepting ‘Provocateur in Training’ Nick Sandmann Posted: 08 Sep 2020 07:23 AM PDT  An ACLU Kentucky communications associate criticized Transylvania University on Saturday for accepting Nick Sandmann, the high school student who sued major news outlets for their coverage of a controversial interaction he and several of his classmates had with a Native American activist."Does anyone else think it's a bit of a stain on Transylvania University for accepting Nick Sandman [sic]? I'm sure it's a "both sides" defense, but it's pretty counter to their mission and another instance of there not actually being equal sides to an issue," ACLU's Samuel Crankshaw said in a Facebook post first uncovered by Jonathan Turley."I think TU should accept anyone willing to have an open mind and engage in debate, regardless of their views. That's how we all learn," he continued. "But this kid clearly is a provocateur in training with no intention of learning. He exists only to troll, intimidate and play victim."An assistant professor and diversity scholar at the university, Dr. Avery Tompkins, commented on the post calling Sandmann's "public behavior and rhetoric atrocious and uninformed" and saying he would closely monitor Sandmann at the school."We can't not admit academically qualified students due to their political and personal views. If he ends up in my Intro class, fine. He might learn something that is actually based on research and evidence," he said.Tompkins said Sandmann is part of organizations with "anti-intellectualist views" and would likely "view me as part of some liberal brainwashing machine, but signing up for Transy and my class means he is required to learn that information, even if he disagrees."The professor continued: "If he were to cause problems by being disruptive, trolling, or engaging in unethical behavior of any kind, I would immediately document it (just like I would for any student doing the same thing)…and he would just be putting himself in a position for me to file a conduct report." The university said in a statement to National Review Tuesday that it would be reviewing the situation and that "Transylvania, like nearly every campus, is composed of those holding the full range of viewpoints.""There are two things that, as a university, we are not able to discuss: our students (without their permission) and personnel matters," the statement said. "In response to posts on social media and other websites over the Labor Day weekend, we reiterate that point. A review of the situation will be conducted expeditiously by the appropriate university officials."Tompkins later issued an apology for his comments in a statement: "I want to apologize for my mistake in singling out a student and any misunderstandings that arose from that.""One of my favorite things about working at a liberal arts institution is that our community has diverse perspectives," he continued. "All students, faculty and staff are able to engage in civil discourse with those whose views may be different from their own, and to learn about those views in an academic setting. I value and support these conversations with students, and I know that students value these conversations with their peers as well."Crankshaw had also accused Sandmann and his attorney of using their platforms to promote the QAnon conspiracy theory and criticized the teen for defending Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old who allegedly shot and killed two people in Kenosha, Wis. while trying to defend local businesses from looters. "Having experienced the incredibly high standards Transy requires for admission and then holds its students to, this seems like a slap in the face. I hope some time in a real classroom changes him, but his twitter and public persona suggest otherwise," he concluded.Crankshaw defended his comments in a statement to National Review, saying, "The views I expressed on my Facebook page are my personal views that I shared on my personal time. I have a First Amendment right to express them just as Nick Sandmann has a First Amendment right to express his.""I will continue to express my views on my personal time," he added.ACLU Kentucky's deputy director Amber Duke defended Crankshaw's right to post his views on his personal accounts."These were personal views expressed on personal time on a personal Facebook account. The views in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the ACLU of Kentucky," Duke said. "As a stalwart defender of the First Amendment, the ACLU of Kentucky respects its employees' freedom to express themselves on their own time."Sandmann sued multiple major news outlets for defamation after he and his Covington Catholic High School classmates were portrayed as racist aggressors who harassed Nathan Phillips, an elderly Native American man, near the Lincoln Memorial on January 18 of last year. Video of the incident shows Phillips loudly beating a drum while a smirking 16-year-old Sandmann stood inches away.Though media reports said the students, who were attending the annual anti-abortion March for Life and wore "Make America Great Again" caps, initiated the confrontation, longer footage of the incident later revealed that Phillips approached Sandmann.
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| New Jersey earthquake? 3.1-magnitude quake shakes people awake early Wednesday Posted: 09 Sep 2020 08:23 AM PDT  A 3.1 magnitude earthquake was confirmed to have struck in central New Jersey early Wednesday, jolting people awake.
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| Soldiers Have Ideas for the Army on How to Improve the Future Robotic Combat Vehicle Posted: 09 Sep 2020 01:17 PM PDT  Soldiers at Fort Carson want improvements added to the Army's Robotic Combat Vehicle prototypes.
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