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☆ Judy Devlin Hashman, Record-Holding Badminton Champion, Dies at 88
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Judy Devlin Hashman, who won the all-England badminton singles championships 10 times, more than any other player, man or woman, died on Monday. Before badminton established a world championship or joined the Olympics, the All England Open Badminton Championships was the sport’s pinnacle. Hashman won the women’s singles title in that event for the first time in 1954 at age 18. Her 10 singles titles are the most for any player. She also won seven women’s doubles titles, six of them with her sister Susan Devlin, later known as Susan Peard.

Persons: Judy Devlin Hashman, Geoff Hashman, Hashman, Susan Devlin, Susan Peard, Judy Devlin, J, Frank Devlin, Grace, Steed, Devlin Organizations: England, Olympics, Badminton, Wimbledon Locations: Oxford, England, Winnipeg, Canada, Maryland

☆ A Baguette Is Baked in France
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Look, the French know how to make a great baguette, right? Can the French make a big baguette? An enormously long baguette that could feed a small town? French bakers in Suresnes, just west of Paris, made a 461-foot baguette on Sunday. The massive loaf successfully returned the title of world’s longest baguette to France, according to Guinness World Records, as it exceeded a 435-foot baguette made by (gasp) Italians in 2019.

Organizations: Guinness World Records Locations: Suresnes, Paris, France

☆ Pet Alligator Is Mistakenly Released Into the Wild, Owner Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WallyGator, the emotional support alligator who enjoyed a moment of fame last year when he was denied admittance to a Major League Baseball game, is back in the news. Wally’s owner, Joie Henney, said on social media that the alligator had been taken early in the morning of April 21 from a pen where he was being kept in Brunswick, Ga.Mr. Henney said on Monday that he had learned that Wally was taken by a person who had then dropped him in someone else’s yard, possibly to scare them. When the alligator was discovered, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources was called, and brought in a trapper, who caught and released the animal into a swamp where about 20 other alligators lived, Mr. Henney said. Mr. Henney, of Jonestown, Pa., said the trapper had told him that the chances of finding the alligator now were “slim to none,” but Mr. Henney was holding out hope and said he planned to search for WallyGator.

Persons: He’s, Joie Henney, Henney, Wally Organizations: Major League Baseball, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Locations: Brunswick, Jonestown, Pa

☆ A 2-Year-Old in Arizona Died When a Bounce House Blew Away. Can They Be Made Safer?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A 2-year-old boy was killed on Saturday when a bounce house in Casa Grande, Ariz., was picked up by a strong gust of wind and flew into a neighboring lot. The child was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Another child who had been in the bounce house was treated at a hospital with non-life-threatening injures. Whether called a bounce house, a bouncy castle or a moon bounce, those inflatable structures are a popular fixture at fairs and birthday parties. A 2022 University of Georgia study found 28 bounce house deaths worldwide since 2000 in wind-related incidents.

Organizations: of Georgia Locations: Casa Grande, Ariz, Spain, Australia

☆ Huw Edwards, a Top BBC Anchor, Resigns After 40 Years
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Huw Edwards, one of the BBC’s highest-profile anchors and who was suspended last year over allegations of paying for explicit images, resigned from the broadcaster on Monday. Mr. Edwards, 62, had led the BBC’s coverage of major national events, including the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. He started as a trainee in 1984, and by the end of his career he was the regular anchor of “BBC News at Ten.”He was suspended by the BBC in July after The Sun tabloid newspaper reported that an unnamed anchor from the broadcaster had paid a teenager $45,000 for sexually explicit images, starting when the person was 17. Mr. Edwards’s wife later publicly identified her husband as the anchor in the report. The age of consent in Britain is 16, but sharing or possessing indecent images of someone under 18 is a crime.

Persons: Huw Edwards, Edwards, Queen Elizabeth II, Edwards’s Organizations: BBC, Sun Locations: Britain

Two giant, shirtless men bow respectfully and then hurl themselves at each other in a violent pas de deux that ends with a victory in seconds. But the setting for this tussle on Saturday night was not Tokyo or Osaka, but the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. There, a boisterous, nearly full crowd got an in-person look at sumo wrestling, an ancient Japanese sport that is rarely seen stateside. Before the matches began, Melinda Wilkerson, who like most in the crowd was set to see sumo live for the first time, said she expected to see “some talented athletes.” Her husband, Brett, clarified: “Some big talented athletes.”

Persons: Melinda Wilkerson, ”, Brett Organizations: Madison Locations: Tokyo, Osaka, New York City

☆ The Life of O.J. Simpson: A Timeline
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Simpson, who died on Wednesday at 76, lived a life that made him one of the most famous people in America, as well as, at various times, the most celebrated and most reviled. A Heisman Trophy winner when he played football at the University of Southern California, he reached superstar status as a running back with the Buffalo Bills. As a commercial pitchman and a Hollywood actor, he became a household name across much of America. But fame turned to infamy when he was charged in the 1994 double murder of his former wife and her friend. He was acquitted after a trial that riveted the nation.

Persons: O.J, Simpson Organizations: University of Southern, Buffalo Bills Locations: America, University of Southern California

☆ Track Will Be First Sport to Pay Olympic Gold Medalists
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Track and field will be the first sport to give direct cash payments for Olympic gold medals, the sport’s federation announced Wednesday. It took pride in being a competition where elite athletes battled for nothing more than the joy of representing their country. But the notion of amateurism at the Olympics has eroded over the last three decades, as professional athletes have been allowed to participate. Now World Athletics, the global governing body for track and field, will break new ground by making payments to competitors more straightforward: All individual gold medalists in the sport at the Paris Games this summer will receive $50,000. The federation said it would begin paying silver and bronze medalists lesser amounts in 2028.

Persons: Amateurism, ” Organizations: Paris Games

☆ Guns, Machetes and Illness: The Perils of Running the Length of Africa
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Going for a run can get a bit more difficult when it lasts for a year and is complicated by robbery, illness and men with machetes. Russ Cook, a 27-year-old Englishman, completed his south-to-north run across the continent of Africa on Sunday in Cape Angela, Tunisia. He had set off from Cape Agulhas, South Africa, on April 22, 2023. After his start in South Africa, he mostly skirted the west side of the country, sticking fairly close to the ocean. He said he chose the West African route primarily for safety reasons, although he nonetheless ran into dangerous situations.

Persons: Russ Cook Locations: Africa, Cape Angela, Tunisia, Cape Agulhas, South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Republic of Congo, Algeria, West

☆ The eclipse will affect solar power in states like California that are far outside the path of totality
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The solar eclipse on April 8 will affect solar power generation. The growth in solar power means the impact will be about three times higher than the 2017 eclipse. While the event will affect solar power generation, everyone's lights should still be on when they go back inside. Related storiesTo make up for the decrease in solar power, utilities will have to turn to other sources. A young woman looks through special eyewear to a solar eclipse a few years ago.

Persons: Barry Mather, Mather, Supapornpasupad, Igor Chekalin, It's Organizations: Service, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, of Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Reuters Locations: Texas, Maine, Oregon, South Carolina, California, Alaska, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, San Diego

☆ A Grim Tory Ad About London Crime Used New York Footage
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

It was a typical political attack ad. “London: a city steeped in history,” a narrator says, as grim string music plays. “But tonight its ancient streets bear witness to a different tale. They weren’t in London. They were in Penn Station in New York.

Persons: ” Locations: London, Penn, New York

☆ Chick-fil-A Modifies Its ‘No Antibiotic’ Policy
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A said on Monday that it would shift its policy that had barred serving chicken treated with any antibiotics and serve chicken treated only with animal antibiotics. The old policy was known as No Antibiotics Ever and barred the use of antibiotics used to treat people and animals. The new one, which is known as No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine, is expected to go into effect in the spring. The previous policy meant that no antibiotics of any kind were given to animals. The new approach bars the use of antibiotics used to treat people but does allow the use of animal antibiotics if the animal and those around it are sick.

☆ A Roman Head Is Unearthed, but Mysteries Remain
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When you dig in a country with as much history as Britain, sometimes you find something remarkable. Or, in a more recent case, it might be the marble head of a woman from the Roman era that disappeared at some point in the last 250 years. Sometimes, such a find comes with a mystery: How the heck did the woman make her way from Burghley House, a stately home near Peterborough, England, to a shallow grave 300 yards away? “Burghley has thrown up all sorts of discoveries over the years,” Jon Culverhouse, the house’s curator, said. “In cupboards, under stairs.”

Persons: “ Burghley, ” Jon Culverhouse, “ Organizations: Burghley House Locations: Britain, Burghley, Peterborough, England

☆ Dallas Seavey Overcomes Moose-Gutting Penalty to Win Iditarod
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Dallas Seavey won his record sixth Iditarod sled dog race on Tuesday, despite an eventful race that included a penalty for failing to properly gut a moose. Seavey was cruising in the race last week near Skwentna, Alaska, when his dog team became entangled with a moose. Sledders in the race are permitted to carry firearms and Seavey used his to shoot and kill the moose. The ethics of the Iditarod race require that when a large animal like a moose or caribou is killed during the competition, its meat must be taken and distributed. So the sledder involved in the accident must stop and gut the animal.

Persons: Dallas Seavey, Seavey Locations: Skwentna , Alaska

☆ Thieves Stole a Formula 1 Driver’s Ferrari. It Turned Up 28 Years Later.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

As a driver on the glamorous, jet-setting Formula One circuit, naturally the Austrian Gerhard Berger drove some serious iron, even away from the track: a red Ferrari 512M Testarossa. So it was very likely with some dismay that he watched his car unexpectedly drive away with someone else behind the wheel. Berger jumped in the path of the car, according to reports at the time, but had to leap out of the way as it zoomed off. He then gamely gave chase in a friend’s Volkswagen Golf, which went about as well as you would have expected it to. The Ferrari was gone.

Persons: Austrian Gerhard Berger, Berger, gamely, Ferrari Organizations: Ferrari, San Marino, San Marino Grand Prix Locations: Austrian, San Marino Grand, Imola, Italy

☆ Microsoft Word’s Subtle Typeface Change Affected Millions. Did You Notice?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When you read — a book, a traffic sign, a billboard, this article — how much do you really notice the letters? But even if you don’t really notice them, you might sense it if something has subtly changed. That’s a feeling some people have had in recent weeks when they turn on their Microsoft Word programs. After 17 years of Calibri as Word’s default typeface, many users suddenly found themselves typing in a new typeface called Aptos. Letters are letters, but for designers and typography fans, they matter a lot.

Persons: ”, Jon Friedman Organizations: Microsoft

Maybe it’s AT&T, which went down for many users on Thursday. The short answer: You need a Wi-Fi connection. Call on Wi-FiFirst, be sure that Wi-Fi calling is turned on in your phone’s settings. iPhone users can turn on Wi-Fi calling by going to Settings, and then activating Wi-Fi calling under the Cellular settings page. Android users can turn on Wi-Fi calling within the Phone app.

Persons: you’re

☆ The BT Tower, a Once-Futuristic London Landmark, Will Become a Hotel
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London and the London Eye are all important landmarks in Britain’s capital. But after another staple of the city’s skyline, the BT Tower, was sold to an American group on Wednesday, plans are afoot to turn it into a hotel: one that rises 581 feet (177 meters) above the ground. “We will take our time to carefully develop proposals that respect the London landmark’s rich history and open the building for everyone to enjoy,” Tyler Morse, the chief executive of MCR Hotels, which bought the tower, said in a statement. The sale price was 275 million pounds ($346 million), the seller, BT Group, said in a statement. MCR owns several notable hotels, including the TWA Hotel, which occupies the Eero Saarinen-designed former TWA terminal at Kennedy Airport, and the High Line Hotel in New York City, which was formerly a dormitory for the General Theological Seminary.

Persons: ” Tyler Morse, MCR, Eero Saarinen Organizations: BT, MCR, BT Group, TWA, Kennedy Airport, General Theological Seminary Locations: Paul’s, London, Britain’s, New York City

☆ BAFTA Award winners list
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Christopher Nolan-directed award season favorite led the nominees with 13 nods this year and won seven awards, including director, lead actor and the coveted best film award. “Poor Things” was the other stand-out winner of the ceremony with five wins, including Emma Stone’s award for lead actress. “The Holdovers” star Da’Vine Joy Randolph continues to dominate the supporting actress category through this award season cycle. Thanking her co-star Paul Giamatti while accepting her BAFTA, Randolph said, “Gosh, I cry every time I say your name. See below for a full list of BAFTA nominees and winners.

Persons: CNN — “ Oppenheimer ”, Christopher Nolan, Nolan, ”, Emma Stone’s, “, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Paul Giamatti, Randolph, “ Gosh, Jonathan Glazer, Barbie, Maestro ”, Martin Scorsese, Tom Cruise, Michael J, Fox, Prince William, Catherine , Princess of Wales, King Charles ., “ Oppenheimer ”, Napoleon ” “, Wonka, Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer, Melinda Sue Gordon, Andrew Haigh, Justine Triet, Alexander Payne, ” Bradley Cooper, “ Maestro ” Christopher Nolan, Cord Jefferson, ” –, “ Oppenheimer, Tony McNamara, Arthur Harari, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, “ Barbie ” David Hemingson, Josh Singer, “ Maestro ” Celine Song, Barry Keoghan, Saltburn ” Bradley Cooper, “ Maestro ” Cillian Murphy, “ Oppenheimer ” –, Colman Domingo, “ Rustin ” Paul Giamatti, ” Teo Yoo, Emma Stone, Carey Mulligan, “ Maestro ” Emma Stone, Fantasia Barrino, Margot Robbie, “ Barbie ” Sandra Hüller, Vivian Oparah, Dominic Sessa, Jacob Elordi, Saltburn, Paul Mescal, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr, Ryan Gosling, “ Barbie, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Claire Foy, Danielle Brooks, Emily Blunt, Rosamund Pike, Sandra Hüller, Robbie Robertson, Ludwig Göransson, Jerskin Fendrix, ” Anthony Willis, “ Saltburn ” Daniel Pemberton, Jacqueline Durran, “ Barbie ” Jacqueline West, Dave Crossman, Janty Yates, “ Napoleon ” Ellen Mirojnick, Holly Waddington, Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer, Jack Fisk, Adam Willis, Ruth De Jong, Claire Kaufman, Shona Heath, James Price, Zsuzsa, Chris Oddy, Joanna Maria Kuś, Katarzyna Sikora, Jonathan Bullock, Charmaine Chan, Ian Comley, Jay Cooper, Theo Bialek, Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams, Neil Corbould, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland, Alex Wuttke, Henry Badgett, Charley Henley, Ewen Martin, “ Napoleon, Tim, Simon Hughes, Dean Koonjul, Jane Paton, Hair Kay Georgiou, Thomas Nellen, Sian Grigg, Kay Georgiou, Kazu Hiro, Lori McCoy, Bell, “ Maestro ” Jana Carboni, Francesco Pegoretti, Satinder Chumber, Julia Vernon, “ Napoleon ” Luisa Abel, Jaime Leigh McIntosh, Jason Hamer, Ahou, Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier, Josh Weston, Laurent Sénéchal, Thelma Schoonmaker, Jennifer Lame, Yorgos Mavropsaridis, ” Paul Watts, Rodrigo Prieto, Matthew Libatique, Maestro ” Hoyte van, Robbie Ryan, Kahleen Crawford, Susan Shopmaker, Isabella Odoffin, Ellen Lewis, Rene Haynes, Angelo Bonanni, Tony Lamberti, Andy Nelson, Lee Orloff, Bernard Weiser, “ Ferrari ” Richard King, Steve Morrow, Tom Ozanich, Jason Ruder, Dean Zupancic, Maestro ” Chris Burdon, James H, Mather, Chris Munro, Mark Taylor, Willie Burton, Richard King, Kevin O’Connell, Gary A, Rizzo, Johnnie Burn, ” “ Gorka, Phoebe Dynevor Ayo, Jacob Elordi Mia Mckenna, Bruce –, Sophie Wilde Organizations: CNN, Royal Festival Hall, Universal, BAFTA, Screen, Netflix, BBC, “ Society, Fox, Universal Pictures, Searchlight, “ Guardians, “ Locations: London, England, British, “

☆ Kelvin Kiptum, Marathon World Record-Holder, Is Dead at 24
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Kelvin Kiptum, who shattered the world record in the men’s marathon last year, finishing tantalizingly close to the mythical and once unfathomable two-hour barrier, died in a car crash on Sunday in Kaptagat in western Kenya. His death was announced by Athletics Kenya, the governing body for track and field in that country. Kiptum, who was driving, veered off the road into a ditch and then hit a large tree, the authorities said. After some good performances in half marathons, Kiptum broke through in his first marathon in Valencia, Spain, in 2022, with a winning time of 2:01:53. At the London Marathon in 2023, he crushed the field to win in 2:01:25, the second-fastest time in history, 16 seconds short of the world record of 2:01:09 held by Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya.

Persons: Kelvin Kiptum, Gervais Hakizimana, Hakizimana, Sharon Kosgei, Kiptum, Eliud Kipchoge Organizations: Athletics Kenya, London Marathon Locations: Kaptagat, Kenya, Valencia, Spain

☆ What is a typical degree of cognitive ability for a person in their 80s?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Mira Cheng | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

How we change as we ageA decline in cognitive abilities is a normal part of healthy aging, said Dr. Emily Rogalski, Rosalind Franklin Professor of Neurology at the University of Chicago. A diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment is made clinically when cognitive difficulties become frequent and fall outside what is considered normal aging. “There’s not a whole lot of good evidence that there’s anything special about age 80 that leads to a drop-off” in cognitive abilities, Mather said. And they use cognitive tests, such as the Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE) or Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA), to assess performance in different cognitive areas. Although population-level data associates aging with cognitive decline, the actual manifestation of aging is very diverse on an individual level, Rogalski said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Trump, Nikki Haley, Nancy Pelosi, Emily Rogalski, Rosalind Franklin, ”, Molly Mather, “, Angela Roberts, Roberts, “ There’s, Mather, MMSE, We’re, ” Mather, Nir Barzilai, Rogalski, “ We’ve, superagers, Barzilai, “ It’s, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, ” Roberts Organizations: CNN, House, Republican, NBC, Neurology, University of Chicago, UCSF, Aging, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, National Institute, Western University, Institute for Aging Research, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, American Federation for Aging Research, Trump, Biden, Get CNN, CNN Health, ” Locations: Mexico, Egypt, Montreal

☆ How to Fake Your Way Through the Super Bowl
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I … don’t really understand this Super Bowl thing. You don’t understand the Super Bowl? The seasonal culmination of a sport woven deep within the rich tapestry of a mighty country? You’ve come to the right place to find out all about this year’s Super Bowl with no tears or embarrassment. The Super Bowl is the final game of the season of the National Football League, the mammoth league with the $100 billion television contract and teams that are each worth $5 billion or more.

Persons: We’ve Organizations: National Football League, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, CBS Locations: United States, Las Vegas

☆ Tortured Poets’ or Poets? Taylor Swift Meets the Apostrophe Police.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When Taylor Swift announced at the Grammys that the title of her new album would be “The Tortured Poets Department,” what was your reaction? Her first new album in more than a year. I can’t wait!”Maybe it was: “Ho-hum. “I ruined this album release for my students by making it a lesson on apostrophe usage,” Erin Weinberg, an instructor in the department of English, theater, film and media at the University of Manitoba, wrote on X. (Others opined via Reddit, TikTok and elsewhere.)

Persons: Taylor Swift, “, Shostakovich, ” Erin Weinberg Organizations: Poets Department, University of Manitoba Locations: Reddit

☆ Former Canada Prime Minister's hedge fund pushes Kohl's to sell itself: Reuters
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Then Prime Minister Stephen Harper addresses supporters after he lost the federal election in Calgary, Alberta, October 19, 2015. An activist hedge fund chaired by former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is pushing U.S. department store operator Kohl's to sell itself, according to people familiar with the matter. Kohl's rejected acquisition offers worth as much as $64 per share in 2022, when it also came under pressure from several activist shareholders to explore a sale. Kohl's was not available for comment and Vision One did not respond to requests for comment. The development makes Kohl's the second U.S. department store operator to come under investor pressure to sell itself in as many months.

Persons: Stephen Harper, Kohl's, Harper, Carl Icahn protégé Courtney Mather, Macy's Organizations: Canadian, Vision, Management Partners, Arkhouse Management, Brigade Capital Management Locations: Calgary , Alberta, Kohl's, U.S

☆ A Stunningly Well-Preserved 600-Year-Old Gauntlet Is Found in Switzerland
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With a hearty whoop he tosses aside his prized gauntlets at the blacksmith shop. As he rushes off to a celebratory feast, they sit out of sight in a dark corner. Not too long after, a fire breaks out, the shop is destroyed and the gauntlets are lost for more than 600 years. Demolition work near Kyburg Castle, northeast of Zurich, threatened a site that was known to be the location of a medieval town. “We knew that all the archaeological remains in the ground would be destroyed during this construction work,” said Lorena Burkhardt, the excavation leader.

Persons: “, ”, Lorena Burkhardt Locations: Swiss, Kyburg, Zurich

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