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☆ Don't worry, Dua Lipa fans: 'Radical Optimism' isn't a flop — it's primed for slow-burn success
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Callie Ahlgrim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Dua Lipa released her third studio album, "Radical Optimism," on Friday. With its Euro-pop vibe, 11-track structure, and dance-forward conceit, "Radical Optimism" does recall its predecessor, but that's hardly a bad thing. Compare that to the trio of "Radical Optimism" singles: "Houdini," "Training Season," and "Illusion," all of which have the makings of a smash. "Radical Optimism" is primed for the same kind of slow-burn success, especially given its familiar shimmer of pop genius. Final Grade: 8.6/10Dua Lipa's "Radical Optimism" was released on May 3, 2024.

Persons: Lipa, Maria, —, who's bristled, who'd, I've, I'd, Kevin Parker, Danny L Harle, Caroline Polachek's, Parker, Houdini, they've Organizations: Service, Lipa, Warner Records, Press Locations: Lipa, singledom, untethered

☆ Who is Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s new leader and why does China dislike him?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

On Saturday, Lai, 64, the current vice president from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), won a widely watched election to become Taiwan’s next president. Confetti flies over crowds as Lai Ching-te speaks to supporters at a rally at the DPP's headquarters on January 13, 2024 in Taipei, Taiwan. It was 1994, less than a decade after the DPP first emerged from Taiwan’s democracy movement against the authoritarian rule of the Kuomintang (KMT). Louise Delmotte/AP‘Chill out’In the lead-up to the election, China made no secret of its desire to prevent a Lai victory. Hours after Lai declared victory, China dismissed the outcome of Taiwan’s elections, saying the DPP “does not represent mainstream public opinion” on the island.

Persons: CNN — Lai Ching, Lai, Taiwan’s, “, ” Lai, we’re, ”, Xi Jinping, ” “, –, Tsai Ing, Lai Ching, Annice Lyn, I’ve, Louise Delmotte, Hou Yu, Beijing’s, Tsai, Xi, Beijing, Hsiao Bi, Hsiao, ” Lai Ching, Ann Wang, ’ Lai, ” Yang Wei Organizations: CNN, Communist Party, Democratic Progressive Party, “, DPP, Kuomintang, KMT, Communist, ih, National Taiwan University, Reuters, Taiwan People’s Party, Taiwan Affairs Office Locations: Taiwan, China, Taiwan Strait, Beijing, Tainan, Taipei, United States, ”

☆ Best travel destinations to visit in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-01 | by ( Cnn Travel Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +32 min

cdwheatley/iStockphoto/Getty Images Angola: Beyond the capital city of Luanda, pictured, Angola has some jaw-droppingly spectacular scenery and cultural treats. David ChiaFF/Alamy Stock Photo Mérida, Mexico: Yucatán state's capital city showcases a blend of Mayan and colonial heritage. Pavel Tochinsky/The Image Bank RF/Getty Images Morocco: This North African country is home to nine UNESCO sites, including the historic city of Meknes, pictured. Panama City is also the only world capital with a tropical rainforest within its city limits. And a historic city forever entwined with the famed Camino de Santiago.

Persons: you’d, Tengguo Wu, Gabriele Thielmann, Turkey's, Gary Ennis, Matevz, Bill Bachman, Christian Kober, Gonzalo Azumendi, David ChiaFF, Pavel Tochinsky, Terry Kelly, Raul Rodriguez, iStock, Anton Petrus, –, — Karla Cripps Turkey’s, — Barry Neild, Mana Kaasik, — Maureen O’Hare, — Maggie Hiufu Wong, Deb Snelson, Glen Arbor, Marnie Hunter, — Forrest Brown, — Forrest Brown Angola Cristo, Eric Lafforgue, it’s, King, Eric Carr, John’s, Saint John, New Brunswick —, —, Tuul, Bruno Morandi, — Julia Buckley, Groenewald, Alamy, — Lilit Marcus, Alexander the Great, Philip II of Macedon, — JB, Bogdan Lazar, — Tamara Hardingham, Gill, Hercules, Francesca, Lazarus, ”, David Casanova, Megan Sequeira Casanova, “, Kuka y Naranjo, medina, Gordon Sinclair, Yvette Cardozo, — FB, Pierce Ingram, Stefan Tomic, Fujairah, who’ve, Samarkand —, It’s Organizations: CNN, United, CNN Travel, Getty Images, Town, Getty, Northwest, Saint, New Brunswick Tourism, UNESCO, Heritage, Alamy, Parque Nacional Volcán Barú, Galicia, Tercera Orden, Parque, Bank, Wakulla Springs, Texas, United Arab Emirates, AP, Rock, of Culture, Estonian National Museum, — Maggie Hiufu Wong Northwest Michigan, Bear, Farm, Riders, Lubango, — BN Saint John, Canada Tourists, St, Saint John City Market, Historic, Saint John Arts Centre, Carnegie, Carnegie Library, — KC, Korea, Folk, Netflix, South Korea, Adriatic, Nacional Glaciares, Australian Sea Lions, Panama, Spain Santiago de, Spain Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, Islas, Camino, Mexico People, YouTube, US State Department, Morocco, Regis Hotels, Resorts, — FB Texas, Travel Texas, Krause, Gruene, Fujairah, Icefjord, FS, Tuul, ” Locations: United States, Sumba, Indonesia Sumba, Indonesia, Bali, Getty Images Tartu, Estonia, Tartu —, European, Tainan, Taiwan, Northwest Michigan, Traverse City, Lake Michigan, iStockphoto, Western Balkans, Culebra , Puerto Rico, Flamenco, Culebra, cdwheatley, Angola, Luanda, , New Brunswick, Fundy, New Brunswick, New Brunswick Tourism South Korea, Korea Albania, Albania, Chile, mauritius, Western Australia, Greece, Macedonia, American, Panama, Spain, Camino, Santiago, St, John's, Mexico, Parque Hidalgo, Morocco, Meknes, Florida, Spicewood, Anton, Greenland, Denmark, AP Uzbekistan, Bukhara, Indonesian, Sumela, Turkey's, — Barry Neild Tartu, Estonia Tartu, of Culture Tartu, Tartu, “, Baltics, — Maureen O’Hare Tainan, Taiwan Tainan, Taipei, — Maggie Hiufu Wong Northwest, Lake, Traverse, Leland, Glen, perusing, Balkans, Slovenia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, transdinarica.com, —, Puerto Rico, It’s, — Forrest Brown Angola, Lubango, Barra, Cabo Ledo, — BN Saint John , New Brunswick, Canada, Hopewell, Newfoundland, Saint, Canada’s, Korea Andong, South Korea, Sanga, Korea, Seoul, Busan, Andong, Albania Albania, Berat, Montenegro, Vlorë, Gjirokastër, — Julia Buckley Chile, Atacama, Patagonia, Coral Coast, Geraldton, — Lilit Marcus Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece's, Hemis, Athens, Vergina, Veria, Naousa, Greece’s, Thrace, Philippi, Kavala, Panama . Panama City, Gill Galicia, Spain Santiago, Spain Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Galicia’s, Santiago de Compostela, Cabo, Fisterra, Galicia —, Singapore, John’s, Paseo, Montejo, Mérida, Yucatán, getaways, there’s, Marrakech, Rabat, Fes, Resorts Morocco, Wakulla, Ginnie, Fredericksburg, Texas, Marble Falls, Meanderers, New Braunfels, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Wadi, Nuuk, Ilulissat, West, FS Uzbekistan, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, China, India, Khiva, Uzbek, Sentob, Tashkent

☆ Opinion: Where the war goes from here
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. The war plays out on everyone’s screens, forcing people to confront cruelty and killing and to fear what comes next. “Hamas’ mission is, by definition, to end Israel, not to seek to establish a self-governed Palestinian state that peacefully coexists alongside the Jewish state. “An Israeli normalization deal with Saudi Arabia — the location of the two holiest sites in Islam — would be hugely symbolic and have real security benefits for Israel,” wrote Peter Bergen. “After all, almost exactly half a century ago, during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, two Arab states, Egypt and Syria, attacked Israel.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Jonathan Glover, Frida Ghitis, “, Ghitis, Amy Klein, goer Gal Katz, Gal Katz, that’s, ’ ” Katz, ” “, Yulie Ben Ami, ” Ben Ami, Stephanie Griffith, ’, … ”, Israel, Janine Zacharia, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Ilan Troen's, Deborah, Shlomi Mathias, Ilan Troen S, Ilan Troen, Symon Petliura’s banditim, Troen, Deborah Mathias, Yahya Hassouna, Omar Ghraieb, Carrie Cordero, ” Cordero, Islam —, Peter Bergen, Jason Greenblatt, Trump, Fatah, Rachel Fish, ’ ” Fish, Kara Alaimo, McCarthy Drew Sheneman, Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan, Julian Zelizer, Jordan, John Boehner, James Antle III, McCarthy’s gavel, John Avlon, Clay Jones, Sallie Krawcheck, Sado, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Joe Biden, “ Kennedy, ” Bergen, Kennedy, Jack Ohman, Jill Filipovic, Gavin Newsom’s, Sarah Gundle, Bob Saget’s, isn’t, Sara Stewart, Julia Ormond’s, Keldy Ortiz, Dr, Lara Freidenfelds, … Simone Biles Simone Biles, Yves Herman, Simone Biles, Amy Bass, ” Bass, “ Biles, Biles Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Ben, Gurion University, Brandeis University, Getty, “ Hamas, Foreign Intelligence, Israel, Twitter, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Harvard University, Higher, Republicans, House Republicans, GOP, Federal Reserve, RFK Jr, Democratic, White, Republican, Biden, Trump, Democrat, Agency Locations: British, Rwanda, Bosnia, Israel, Gaza, New York, America, “, Kippur, Kibbutz Holit, Derazhne, Rovno, Rivne, Poland, Ukraine, Europe, Gaza City, AFP, Palestinian, Saudi Arabia, Israeli, Islam, Egypt, Syria, Iran, Victoria Sado, Antwerp, Tokyo, Belgium

☆ Opinion: In Israel, Hamas killed my daughter in a pogrom. In Ukraine, my grandmother died in one, too
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Anna Lee | Opinion S. Ilan Troen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

We thought that the most extensive pogrom — the Holocaust — would mark the end of the terrible record of violence against Jews, just because they are Jews. Courtesy Ilan TroenThose two years were some of the most significant in the multi-millennial history of the Jewish people. Her death in the spring of 1919 came during a stretch of time when 150,000 Jews were murdered. Ilan Troen's daughter and son-in-law, Deborah and Shlomi Mathias, who were murdered in their home in Kibbutz Holit on the Gaza border in the opening hours of the Hamas pogrom on Saturday. Hamas and other antisemites do not have the power to terminate what was initiated on this land more than 3,000 years ago.

Persons: Ilan Troen, Israel’s Ben, Stoll, “, CNN — “, ”, Zissel Malcah, Yoel Halevy, Symon Petliura’s banditim, Ilan Troen's, Deborah, Shlomi Mathias, Deborah Mathias Organizations: Modern, Israel’s, Gurion University, Israel, Brandeis University, CNN, Nazi Locations: “ Israel, Palestine, Europe, Russian, Western Europe, Zion, Israel, North Africa, American, Derazhne, Rovno, Rivne, Poland, Ukraine, Kibbutz Holit, Gaza, Russia

☆ Ankara blast: Terror attack injures 2 outside Turkish Interior minister building
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Gul Tuysuz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Istanbul CNN —Two terrorists carried out a bomb attack in front of Turkey’s Interior Ministry building in the Turkish capital Ankara ahead of the opening of parliament on Sunday, authorities said. Two police officers suffered non life-threatening injuries in the attack, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a statement on X, previously known as Twitter. The attackers arrived in a light commercial vehicle in front of the building’s entrance at about 9:30 a.m. local time, Yerlikaya. The apparent guard tower in front of the entrance to the building was slightly damaged in the blast. Police officers inspect the area after an explosion near the Turkish Parliament and Interior Ministry in Ankara on Sunday.

Persons: Ali Yerlikaya, CNN Turk, Osmancan, Yilmaz Tunc, Turkey’s, ” Tunc, Cagla Gurdogan, Adem Altan Organizations: Istanbul CNN —, Turkey’s, Ministry, Twitter, Reuters, Police, CNN, Turkish, Interior Ministry, Anadolu Agency, Turkish Police Special Forces, Getty Locations: Istanbul, Turkish, Ankara, AFP, Turkey, Syria

☆ Tupac, Cocaine, Murder: Henchmen Brothers, Hip-Hop's Forgotten Moguls
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( David Kushner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +39 min

Mario called Tupac. All he could do was listen to her cry as he explained that he didn't know when he'd be back. He didn't speak Spanish, didn't know a soul in Mexico, and had no clue where he would be sent. Mario didn't ask why, and the guy didn't inquire about Mario's predicament. "It's all good, man," Mario told Jimmy.

Persons: Mario Rosemond, Rosemond, Jimmy, Mario, Akon, Sean Kingston, Gucci Mane, Jimmy Rosemond —, Lowell, Lodi Mack, Fletcher, Tupac Shakur, Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Jimmy Rosemond, Saul Goodman, Tommy Davis, Mario stammered, It's, Jimmy Jr, Andrea, Constantin, Johnny Nunez, Rikers, —, Slick, Russell Simmons, Benny Medina, Lyor Cohen, Chris Lighty, Mona Scott, Mark Sparks, Shoop, Paul Bergen, Bryce Wilson, Wilson, Mohammed, Tef, Stewart, Little Shawn, Puff Daddy, Pac, Freddie Moore, Moore, Al Pereira, would've, Jimmy wasn't, They'd, didn't, Jimmy didn't, —, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Wyclef Jean, Garland, Cyrus, THONY BELIZAIRE, Mariah Carey, LL, Missy Elliott, Cent, Tef Stewart, Jimmy Rosemond Jr, Jimmy Sr, Khalil Abdullah, Jimmy Iovine, determinedly, DJ Skee, Mario couldn't, Mario chuckles, he'd, GummyBone, Mario didn't, I'm, freckling, he's, isn't, I've, Jim Brown, Michael K, Williams, Donald Trump, Arturo Holmes, Scott Olson, Trump, Brown, James Rosemond Jr, David Kushner Organizations: FBI, Entertainment, Justice Department, Bronx ., Quad Studios, AP, grandad, Wall, Black Panthers, Junior Mafia, Hollywood, Haiti, Management, Apollo, Lowell, Racing, Interscope Records, Interscope, Feds, Department of Motor Vehicles, DMV, Colombian, York Post, Drug, Administration, NFL, Trump, Stone, Atari Locations: Mexico, Haiti, Brooklyn, Bronx, Cuernavaca, Spanish, Rahway , New Jersey, Port, New York City, Vanderveer Estates, East Flatbush, Rikers, Islam, Miami Beach, New York, New Jersey, East Coast, West Coast, Plainfield , New Jersey, Brandy, Los Angeles, Czar's, Harlem, LA, California, Beverly Hills, San, Tijuana, Mexico City, Colombian, San Diego, Manhattan

☆ Canada's Arop goes from back to front to take 800m gold
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUDAPEST, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Canada's Marco Arop foxed his rivals with a radical change of tactics and then poured on the pace to win a brilliant 800 metres World Championship gold on Saturday. Arop, the bronze medallist last year, kept his foot down to win comfortably in 1:44.24. Now it's going to be hard to beat a gold medal - I'll just have to repeat it, I guess." "Before the race my coach told me I could race to win or race for a medal. I said I wanted to win," said Pattison, who was the second-slowest coming into the nine-man final field.

Persons: Marco Arop foxed, Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Ben Pattison, Britain's, Adrian Ben, Arop, Eugene I, Pattison, Josh Kerr, Mitch Phillips, Pritha Sarkar, Ken Ferris Organizations: Thomson Locations: BUDAPEST, Sudan, Eugene

☆ Opinion | Winners and Losers of the First Republican Debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +22 min

Welcome to Opinion’s commentary for the first Republican presidential primary candidate debate, held in Milwaukee on Wednesday night. Gail Collins: She seemed generally reasonable and wow, when the debate turned to education and she actually brought up reading. If there’s any life left in the old G.O.P., Haley gave it hope. Perhaps more important, in taking on the glib and callow Ramaswamy on Ukraine, she showed anger and dominance, essential qualities in a Republican debate. Any debate that doesn’t feature Chris Christie at the front of the highlight reel is a bad night for Christie.

Persons: Jamelle, Nikki Haley, Haley, Gail Collins, Matthew Continetti, G.O.P, Michelle Cottle, —, Trump —, Ramaswamy, suburbanites, Ross Douthat, David French, Reagan, Michelle Goldberg, callow Ramaswamy, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Katherine Mangu, Christie, “ Trump, “ Donald Trump, Daniel McCarthy, Vivek, Bret Stephens, Mike Pence’s, Mike Pence, Pence, Mike, Vivek ”, Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump, ”, he’ll, Jesus, Ramaswamy —, ChatGPT —, you’ve, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, He’s, Joe Biden, Martha MacCallum, Ron DeSantis, Hunter Biden, DeSantis, Donald Trump, MAGA, pander, smartly, Sharp, Biden, refighting, Ron, Hutchinson, clearheaded, Still, Scott, Tim Scott, Meh, ” Daniel McCarthy, Pleasant, Donald Trump’s, wasn’t, I’d, Ramaswamy’s, callow, I’m, insufferable, Preening, Doug Burgum, Achilles, Burgum, he’s, Asa Hutchinson, Trump’s, Asa Hutchinson didn’t, didn’t Organizations: Republican, Republican Party, Trump, Ramaswamy, Pence, Pious, Trump Republicans, MSNBC, Fox, Department of Justice, United Nations, Energy, Department of Education, Republicans Locations: Milwaukee, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ukraine, America, Mexico, Florida, Covid, China, MAGA, Arkansas

Here are the meanings of the least-found words that were used in (mostly) recent Times articles. Works by Agatha Christie, Robert Louis Stevenson and P. G. Wodehouse all featured tontine members plotting to kill one another in hope of a big payoff. — Dog Ziggity: New Jersey’s Own Hot Dogs (Sept. 24, 2013)And a bonus: arrant — total or extreme:It constitutes a dismissal of eager and innocent articulateness. And as such, it is an arrant and thoughtless injustice that must be stopped. — Opinion: A Language Test That Stigmatizes Black Children (Oct. 7, 2022)The list of the week’s easiest words:

Persons: tantara, orotund, Lorde, tontine, Agatha Christie, Robert Louis Stevenson, G, Wodehouse, today’s, Melmoth ’, Gatsby, Tom, Daisy Buchanan, Ross Douthat, —, Umberto, monocracy, Sarkozy, ” — Sarkozy, viand Organizations: Umberto Eco, Socialists, Drinks Locations: New York, Prague, Texas

☆ A Champion Swimmer Returns, Slowly but Determinedly, to Competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Jenny Vrentas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

During the eight months Caeleb Dressel spent not swimming, he was surprised by the things he came to miss. Some were simple, like blowing bubbles in the water or the feel of his toes on the grip tape of the starting blocks. But he also missed the chlorine — a swimmer’s nemesis — and the dry skin that comes with hours spent in the pool. But last June, he abruptly withdrew from the world championships because of an undisclosed health issue and disappeared from the sport and the spotlight. His best finish in four events was third place in the 50-meter butterfly, not good enough to qualify for the upcoming world championships.

Persons: Caeleb Dressel, —, ” Dressel, Dressel, hadn’t Organizations: U.S, Tokyo Olympics

☆ Manchester City Bends the Story to Its Will
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The writers of “Ted Lasso,” the acclaimed, sugar-sweet Apple TV comedy, never particularly worried about being hidebound by reality. At the end of “Ted Lasso” — in all other aspects a determinedly romantic and uplifting show, an unabashed underdog story of empowerment and personal growth and the overwhelming power of nice — Manchester City still wins the Premier League. Even in fiction, City cannot be dislodged. City is not the villain, not really, in the Lasso Cinematic Universe. That role goes, instead, to a combination of conventional thinking and West Ham.

Persons: “ Ted Lasso, ”, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, West Ham, Ted Lasso ” —, Pep Guardiola Organizations: Apple, Premier League, Manchester City, West Ham Locations: American, West

☆ Work, Love, Dignity and Play: 10 Key Harry Belafonte Songs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jon Pareles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Music was the springboard for Harry Belafonte’s lifework: a career that leveraged cultural recognition toward political goals, and that recognized artistic achievements as both pleasures in themselves and symbols to wield. But Belafonte arrived with a voice that could be a tender pop croon or a bluesy near-shout. Like many folk revivalists, Belafonte dug into the folk song archives at the Library of Congress, and he chose songs with full awareness of their historical implications and heritage. He was pointed in his selections, insisting on the dignity of the African diaspora. He sang work songs, love songs, spirituals, blues, calypsos and, as early as the 1960s, African music.

☆ Tapped to head new hard-right government, Netanyahu pledges Israeli unity
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ronen ZvulunJERUSALEM, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received an official mandate on Sunday to form a new government and pledged that he would seek national consensus after an election in which Jewish far-rightists surged, drawing concern at home and abroad. Tasking Netanyahu with building the next coalition, President Isaac Herzog noted that Israel's longest-serving premier had received enough recommendations from like-minded parties to secure 64 of parliament's 120 seats. Dismissing what he called "fear-mongering" about the health of Israel's democracy, Netanyahu said the country would continue to be a "beacon" for the region. Herzog noted Netanyahu's trial but said it posed no legal obstacle to him serving as prime minister again. But he looks likely to finalise the talks this week, having launched them semi-formally right after the Nov. 1 election.

☆ 50 Years Ago, Stevie Wonder Heard the Future
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In 1972 — half a century ago — Stevie Wonder reinvented the sound of pop by embracing all he could accomplish on his own. He released two albums that year: “Music of My Mind” in March and then, less than eight months later, on Oct. 27, the even more confident and far-reaching “Talking Book.” “Talking Book” was a breakthrough on multiple fronts. Wonder had given signs on earlier albums, particularly his self-produced “Where I’m Coming From” (1971), that he would not just be writing love songs. In their test run — a three-day weekend working together in the studio — Wonder wrote 17 songs. From 1972-74, with Wonder writing the songs and Cecil and Margouleff programming the sounds, they would make four landmark albums: “Music of My Mind,” “Talking Book,” “Innervisions” and “Fulfillingness’ First Finale.”

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