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Over the past decade, China has placed more and more restrictions on the lives of its citizens — tightening its hold over what people can do, read and say. When Bei Zhenying’s husband was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison for “smearing” the country’s political system, she was left to pick up the pieces of his life. She now believes that her husband was the writer behind one of the most mysterious blogs on the Chinese internet, which for 12 years had ridiculed the ruling Communist Party from within the country. Vivian Wang, a China correspondent for The Times, tells the story of the couple.

Persons: Bei, Vivian Wang Organizations: Communist Party, The Times Locations: China

Last week, India landed its spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 on the moon, becoming the first country to land such a craft near the south pole, where scientists believe vital reserves of water could be found frozen. The landing also revealed just how much the international space race has changed. Kenneth Chang, a science reporter for The Times, explains why a new set of players are dominating the space race and what is motivating their groundbreaking missions to the moon.

Persons: Kenneth Chang Organizations: The Times Locations: India

Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Amazon | Google Listen and follow ‘Hard Fork’Are New York City’s new rules for short-term rentals like Airbnb effectively a ban? And will they accomplish what proponents want them to? Then, The New York Times tech reporter Erin Griffith on Silicon Valley’s mad dash for GPUs. And finally, we take stock of the A.I. songs of the summer and discuss YouTube and Universal Music Group’s plan to make synthetic voices profitable.

Persons: Erin Griffith Organizations: Apple, Spotify, York, The New York Times, Silicon, YouTube, Universal

The mysterious crash of a private jet outside Moscow is believed to have killed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of the Wagner militia who led an armed rebellion against Moscow in June. Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The Times, explains what we’ve learned about the crash, and what a potential political assassination says about President Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Anton Troianovski, we’ve, Vladimir Putin’s Organizations: The Times Locations: Moscow, Vladimir Putin’s Russia

☆ Evacuation order lifted for wildfire near Salem, Oregon
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] The Liberty Fire, which prompted immediate evacuations, burns near Jory Hill Road and Liberty Road South in Salem, Oregon, U.S. August 23, 2023. Abigail Dollins/USA Today Network via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsAug 24 (Reuters) - The evacuation order for people living on the outskirts of the U.S. city of Salem due to the threat from a wildfire was lifted on Thursday. Deputies were going door to door to warn people of the fire and the Oregon State Fire Marshall was helping fight the fire by mobilizing fixed-wing tankers, an air attack platform and a helicopter. Salem is a city 180,000 people about 50 miles (80 km) south of Portland in the northwestern U.S. state of Oregon. The fire was south of the city limits, near the interface between densely populated areas and green space.

Persons: Abigail Dollins, Oregon State Fire Marshall, Salem, Daniel Trotta, Simon Cameron, Moore, Mark Potter Organizations: Liberty, USA, Network, REUTERS Acquire, Salem Fire Department, Marion County Sheriff, Oregon State Fire, Statesman, Thomson Locations: Jory, Salem , Oregon, U.S, Salem, Marion County, Oregon, Portland

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON/CHICAGO, Aug 24 (Reuters) - A highly mutated COVID variant called BA.2.86 has now been detected in Switzerland and South Africa in addition to Israel, Denmark, the U.S. and the U.K., according to a leading World Health Organization official. It has since been detected in other symptomatic patients, in routine airport screening, and in wastewater samples in a handful of countries. That the known cases are not linked suggests it is already circulating more widely, particularly given reduced surveillance worldwide, she said. There have been nine such cases detected as of Aug. 23 and the variant was also found in wastewater in Switzerland. Jha and others, including the European public health agency and COVAX, the global program for getting vaccines to the world's poorest, said COVID surveillance and defenses could be reactivated in the event of a major infection wave.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, Maria Van Kerkhove, Kerkhove, ”, Marion Koopmans, Nirav Shah, Van Kerkhove, Tyra Grove Krause, Ashish Jha, Jha, Jennifer Rigby, Julie Steenhuysen, Pratik Jain, Caroline Humer, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Health Organization, Omicron, WHO, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Pharmacy, Walgreens, Rite, Reuters, Statens Serum, White, Thomson Locations: Harlem, New York City, U.S, CHICAGO, Switzerland, South Africa, Israel, Denmark, COVID, Dutch, Danish, Bengaluru

☆ Wildfire forces evacuations near Salem, Oregon
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Liberty Fire, which prompted immediate evacuations, burns near Jory Hill Road and Liberty Road South in Salem, Oregon, U.S. August 23, 2023. The Oregon State Fire Marshall was helping fight the fire by mobilizing fixed-wing tankers, an air attack platform and a helicopter, it said on X. The fire had burned at least 10 acres (4 hectares), the Statesman Journal reported, citing the state fire marhsal. Salem is a city 180,000 people about 50 miles (80 km) south of Portland in the northwestern U.S. state of Oregon. The fire was south of the city limits, near the interface between densely populated areas and green space.

Persons: Abigail Dollins, Oregon State Fire Marshall, Daniel Trotta, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Liberty, USA, Network, REUTERS Acquire, Marion County Sheriff, Oregon State Fire, Statesman Journal, Thomson Locations: Jory, Salem , Oregon, U.S, Oregon, Salem, Marion County, Portland

A marine heat wave is warming the waters off the coast of Florida, pushing temperature readings as high as 101 Fahrenheit and endangering a critical part of sea life: the coral reef. Catrin Einhorn, who covers biodiversity, climate and the environment for The Times, discusses the urgent quest to save coral and what it might mean for the world if it disappears.

Persons: Catrin Einhorn Organizations: The Times Locations: Florida

Ron DeSantis of Florida began the race for the Republican nomination with high expectations and a clear argument: that he was a political fighter with a solid record of conservative achievements in his state. Now, he appears to be in a downward spiral. Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The Times, explains why the DeSantis campaign is stumbling so badly.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Shane Goldmacher Organizations: Republican, The Times Locations: Florida

☆ Opinion: A powerful weapon for prosecutors is now in the hands of Fani Willis
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. In the US, prosecutors are given enormous power to apply the law as they see fit, choosing who to charge and what to charge them with. Evidence of their misdeeds can secure convictions and allow for strict sentences that otherwise couldn’t be imposed. Bill Bramhall/Tribune Content AgencyThe 97-page indictment unveiled by Willis last week cites a lot more evidence than could be arrayed against a sandwich served at lunch. “We are the chief law enforcement officers in each jurisdiction, with the weighty power to deprive others of their freedom,” Aronberg observed.

Persons: CNN — Caesar Enrico “ Rico ” Bandello, Caesar, ”, Edward G, Robinson, Rico, Rudolph Giuliani, Fani Willis, Willis, Giuliani, Donald Trump, Sol Wachtler, Bill Bramhall, Jennifer Rodgers, “, Trump, Ruby Freeman, Shaye Moss, Dave Aronberg, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Aronberg, Jack, Smith, ” Aronberg, Trump Walt Handelsman, James Antle III, ” Antle, ” Trump, Biden, Dean Obeidallah, Clay Jones, Tucker Carlson, Ron DeSantis, Lanhee Chen, Joe Biden, DeSantis, David Axelrod, Axelrod, Vivek Ramaswamy, Rich Lowry, “ Ramaswamy, … ”, Lowry, ” Carrie Sheffield, ” Lisa Benson, GoComics.com, ‘, Julian Zelizer, Jeff Zelevansky, Sandra Bullock, Leigh Anne Tuohy, Jill Filipovic, “ it’s, Michael Oher, Sean, Leigh Anne Tuohy —, … Oher, …, Facebook Filipovic, “ Oher, ” Bradley Cooper’s, ’ “, Leonard Bernstein —, Bradley Cooper, ’ —, David M, Perry, Bernstein, Felicia Montealegre, Carey Mulligan, Cooper, ‘ Maestro, ’, Joel Pett, Agency “, Celia Wexler, Joan Meyer, ” Wexler, Don’t, Ric Ward, Sigrid Fry, Alden Wicker, Jay Michaelson, Al Gore, Lauren Hersh, Rebecca Zipkin, David Andelman, Africa —, Michael Coren, Elsie Robinson, UC Berkeley Elsie Robinson, “ Robinson, Allison Gilbert, ” Gilbert, — Organizations: CNN, ”, New, Appeals, New York Daily News, Department, Electoral, Palm, Manhattan, Attorney, “, White House, of Justice, Trump, Agency, GOP, Republicans, Florida Gov, Republican, Fair, Politico, Hawaii, Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, NFL, Oher, Twitter, Netflix, Rican, ” Press, Marion County, Russia, Hearst, San Francisco Examiner, Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley, Google, Smithsonian Locations: Rico, Fulton County, Atlanta, county’s, Georgia, Coffee County, Palm Beach County , Florida, “, Milwaukee, Iowa, GoComics.com Maui, Maui, Delaware, Hawaii, Tennessee, Costa, Rican American, Marion, The Kansas, Revere, Africa

☆ A Kansas Newspaper Is Raided by Police. Will Judges Protect the Press? - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Gregory P. Magarian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Small-town newspapers are vanishing from the American landscape, crushed by economic pressures from online media and corporate consolidation. In some cases, governments have piled on, seeking to sink or undermine the papers that remain. Those papers should be able to rely on courts to protect them from government abuses. On Aug. 11, the police in that central Kansas town of 2,000 brazenly raided the office of the weekly Marion County Record and the home of its publisher. Mr. Meyer says Mr. Cody had threatened to sue the paper.

Persons: Marion, Kan, Laura Viar’s, Eric Meyer, Gideon Cody, Meyer, Cody Organizations: Marion County Record, Marion police, NPR, Kansas City Police Department, Mr Locations: Kansas

☆ Kansas Newspaper Is Talk of Town, and Not Just for Getting Raided
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Kevin Draper | More About Kevin Draper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One person said The Marion County Record covered two recent deaths insensitively. Another said a handful of articles focused needlessly on a simple paperwork error that led to tax credits getting rejected. A third thought an opinion column harped too harshly on the poor quality of children’s letters to Santa Claus. The authorities seized computers and phones, in what they said was an investigation into identity theft and computer crimes. Reporters and television cameras have descended upon the town to cover the raids, which were roundly condemned by news organizations and free press advocates.

Persons: Santa, Eric Meyer Organizations: Marion County Record, Marion County Locations: Marion, Santa Claus, Flint Hills, Kansas

kevin rooseAnd you’re listening to “Hard Fork.”casey newtonThis week on the show, Sam Bankman-Fried goes to jail. If you give me, like, 1 percent of the internet, that’s going to give me an aneurysm. And those three are actually going to get to live that out. So I actually think the classroom of the future looks remarkably like the classroom today, but you reverse what you’re doing in it. And I think that’s another piece, is we have to not be delusional about what has actually happened in education.

Persons: casey newton, Joe Rogan, kevin roose You’re, casey newton They’ve, kevin roose They’ve, who’s, kevin roose, Kevin Roose, ” casey newton, Casey Newton, Sam Bankman, Fried, what’s, Wharton, Ethan Malek, kevin roose Casey, I’ve, casey newton Guy’s, David Jaffe Bellini, David, ” david jaffe bellini, casey newton Hi, ’, he’s, david jaffe bellini, david jaffe bellini That’s, they’re, Sam’s, there’s, that’s, Casey, — casey newton, david jaffe bellini I’m, he’d, Caroline Ellison, Caroline Ellison’s, Caroline, She’s, we’ve, they’ve, Sam, He’s, I’m, haven’t, It’s, You’ve, There’s, you’re, Ryan Salem, hasn’t, Gary, Nishad, They’ve, SBF, casey newton Look, Harlem Globetrotters ’, it’s, Kevin, casey newton Oh, kevin roose David Jaffe Bellini, we’re, kevin roose It’s, “, casey newton Sure, Ethan Mollick Ethan, kevin roose Ethan Mollick, ” ethan mollick, ethan mollick, That’s, casey newton Tell, ChatGPT, ethan mollick —, you’ve, Steve Jobs, don’t, You’ll, ethan mollick Oh, casey newton Well, We’ve, kevin roose I’m, Ethan, casey newton It’s, they’d, you’ll, They’re, Ethan Mollick, casey newton —, should’ve, let’s, Cruise, casey newton That’s, — david jaffe bellini, kevin roose —, ”, Alex, casey newton Hey, casey newton Yes, Kyle Vogt, Franciscans, I’ll, kevin roose Totally, casey newton Yep, Uber, casey newton Right, Dirk, Kevin kevin roose, shouldn’t, — casey newton Yes, casey newton Don’t, Rachel Cohn, Davis, We’re, Jen Poyant, Caitlin Love, Sophia Lanman, Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Rowan Niemisto, Paula Shoeman, Tam, David McCraw, Nell Gallogly, Kate LoPresti, Jeffrey Miranda Organizations: Spotify, The New York Times, FTX, Conference, NFL, Google, “ New York Times, MDC, Republican, Alameda, Twitter, Harlem Globetrotters, Washington Generals, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Fork University, Caud Academy, they’re, TA, . University, University, Hard Fork, Wharton, DMs, San, San Francisco, Cruise, Department of Motor Vehicles, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Virginia Tech Transportation, YouTube Locations: New York, California, Bahamas, Alameda, FTX, autodelete, Caroline, Wharton, GPT, Kenya, America, San Francisco, Charlotte , North Carolina, Texas, North Beach, Cruise, Franciscans, robotaxis, AVs, Rhode Island, Zurich, Paris, Madrid, Swiss, Switzerland

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of death. When fires swept West Maui, Hawaii, many residents fled for their lives — but soon discovered they had nowhere to go. Thousands of structures, mostly homes, have been reduced to rubble. Husks of incinerated cars line the historic Front Street in Lahaina, while search crews nearby make their way painstakingly from house to house, looking for human remains. Ydriss Nora, a resident of Lahaina, recounts his experience fleeing the inferno and Mike Baker, the Seattle bureau chief for The Times, explains how an extraordinary set of circumstances turned the city into a death trap.

Persons: Ydriss Nora, Mike Baker Organizations: The Times Locations: West Maui, Hawaii, Lahaina, Seattle

A plea deal struck between the Department of Justice and Hunter Biden was supposed to bring his years of legal troubles to an end. Instead, that deal has unraveled and a special counsel has been named to take over the case. Michael Schmidt, a Washington correspondent for The Times, explains why that turn of events is increasingly pitting the interests of Hunter Biden against those of President Biden.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Michael Schmidt, Biden Organizations: Department of Justice, The Times Locations: Washington

☆ Authorities to Return Materials Seized From Kansas Newspaper
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Shannon Najmabadi | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/authorities-to-return-materials-seized-from-kansas-newspaper-marion-county-record-7176b702

Persons: Dow Jones Organizations: marion Locations: kansas

☆ Publisher of raided Kansas newspaper ‘vindicated’ by prosecutor’s decision to return seized items after backlash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Raids on news organizations, big or small, are exceedingly rare in the US and the Friday seizure of computers, cell phones, and other material from the Marion County Record generated enormous backlash. “RSF welcomes the withdrawal of the search warrant and the return of the Marion County Record’s property, but we still need answers as to how this happened. It’s “still up in the air,” Meyer told Tapper, in response to a question about whether the outlet will file a lawsuit. “A smaller newspaper might be easily intimidated by this,” Meyer told Tapper. “If it weren’t for the outpouring of support we got on this,” Meyer told McMaster, “we’d probably be out of business by now.”

Persons: Eric Meyer, KSHB, Jessica McMaster, —, ” Meyer, “, ”, Joel Ensey, Clayton Weimers, ” Weimers, “ RSF, Jake Tapper, Meyer, It’s “, Tapper, McMaster, “ we’d Organizations: CNN, Marion County, Wednesday, Press Locations: Marion, Marion County, Kansas

☆ Why Are People Still Pressing Flowers? It’s a Form of Storytelling.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Margaret Roach | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

My compulsion to garden vividly and expressively comes from Grandma Marion, who always made room for masses of marigolds and zinnias that echoed the colors of the Fiestaware on her pantry shelves. But she also handed down an appreciation for dried, pressed plants, which have a special kind of enduring beauty, faded though they may be. Two of what she called her “pressed-flower pictures” — pieces of her beloved garden arranged artfully on fabric under glass — hang in my upstairs hall. Lately, I’ve begun to feel that these mementos of a long-ago spring are trying to tell me something. So it’s no surprise that I feel a kinship with modern-day plant pressers like Linda P. J. Lipsen, the author of a new how-to guide, “Pressed Plants: Making a Herbarium.”

Persons: Grandma Marion, I’ve, it’s, Linda P, Lipsen, ”

The Marion County Record, a newspaper in Kansas that the police raided last week, is getting its equipment back from local law enforcement, the county’s top prosecutor said on Wednesday. Joel Ensey, the Marion County attorney, said in a statement that there was insufficient evidence to justify the search of The Marion County Record and seizure of its journalists’ equipment. “As a result, I have submitted a proposed order asking the court to release the evidence seized,” he said. “I have asked local law enforcement to return the material seized to the owners of the property.”The police and county sheriff’s deputies raided the newspaper’s office, the home of its owner and editor and the home of a city councilwoman on Friday — collecting computers, cellphones and other materials. It is extremely rare for law enforcement authorities in the United States to search and seize the tools to produce journalism.

Persons: Joel Ensey, ”, “ Organizations: Marion County Locations: Marion, Kansas, Marion County, United States

☆ What science got wrong about Ötzi the murdered iceman
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Ötzi the Iceman, whose frozen remains were found in a gully high in the Tyrolean Alps by hikers in 1991, is perhaps the world’s most closely studied corpse. Each year, thousands visit his mummy contained in a special cold cell at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy. South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Dario FrassonThe genome also appeared to rule out a previously proposed genetic affinity between Ötzi and present-day Sardinians. An expert humidifies Ötzi's mummy at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology . South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Marion LafoglerIt’s not the first time a chapter in Ötzi’s fascinating story has gotten a rewrite, Pilø said.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Albert Zink, Zink, “, Marco Samadelli, Gregor Staschitz Zink’s, Johannes Krause, Max Planck, ” Krause, Ötzi, it’s, Lars Holger Pilø, ” Pilø, Pilø, ” Zink, Dario Frasson, Turkey —, Marion Lafogler It’s Organizations: CNN, South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Genomics, Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, Max, Max Planck Institute Locations: Tyrolean, Bolzano, Italy, “, Farmers, Tyrol, archaeogenetics, Leipzig, Germany, Europe, Norway, Italian, Turkey, Ötzi, South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology .

☆ Uzbekistan says contaminated Indian cough syrup was on market due to bribery
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Three of the defendants (an Indian and two Uzbekistan nationals) are executives of Quramax Medical, a company that sold medicines produced by India’s Marion Biotech, in Uzbekistan. Pratar, who spoke in court, denied the charges but admitted to handing over the sum to officials through an intermediary as a "token of appreciation". Officials have not said why 45 deaths had remained unreported since last year. State prosecutors also said on Wednesday that Quramax had imported Marion Biotech medicines at an inflated price via two Singapore-based intermediary companies, which prompted tax evasion charges. Reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Singh Raghvendra Pratar, Saidkarim Akilov, Quramax, Mukhammadsharif, Olzhas Auyezov, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Quramax, India's Marion Biotech, Central, India’s Marion Biotech, Marion Biotech, Thomson Locations: Uzbekistan, Tashkent, TASHKENT, India, Singapore

In a region of Africa where authoritarianism has been rising, Niger seemed to be on a different path of democracy and partnership with the United States. Declan Walsh, chief Africa correspondent for The Times, explains how a military coup has now put all of that in jeopardy and why Niger’s allies still think it’s possible to reverse that coup.

Persons: Declan Walsh Organizations: The Times Locations: Africa, Niger, United States

☆ Joann Meyer, Longtime Editor of a Besieged Newspaper, Dies at 98
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Clay Risen | More About Clay Risen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Joann Meyer, who spent nearly 60 years as a reporter, columnist, editor and associate publisher at The Marion County Record in Kansas, died on Saturday at her home, a day after the police searched the newspaper’s offices. She was 98. Her son, Eric Meyer, the newspaper’s publisher, confirmed the death. The newspaper, which said it had received the document from an anonymous source, verified the information, but Mr. Meyer decided not to publish an article about it. Nevertheless, on Friday morning a judge issued a warrant permitting the police to search the Meyer residence and the newspaper’s offices for evidence of identity theft and the “illegal use of a computer.”

Persons: Joann Meyer, Eric Meyer, —, Meyer Organizations: Marion County Record Locations: Marion, Kansas

☆ Kansas Paper Warns Police Not to Review Information on Seized Devices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Katie Robertson | More About Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A lawyer for The Marion County Record, a Kansas newspaper that was raided by the police late last week, demanded that the town’s Police Department not review any information on the devices it seized until a court hearing could be scheduled. The lawyer, Bernard J. Rhodes, said in a letter to Marion’s police chief, Gideon Cody, that he was offering the department “an opportunity to mitigate my client’s damages from the illegal searches.”On Friday, the police and county sheriff’s deputies raided the newspaper’s office, the home of its owner and editor, and the home of a city councilwoman. They collected computers, cellphones and other materials. The searches were part of investigation into how a document containing information about a local restaurateur found its way to and was handled by The Record — and whether the restaurant owner’s privacy was violated in the process. A search warrant issued by a judge on Friday morning cited potential violations of laws involving identity theft and the illegal use of a computer.

Persons: Bernard J, Rhodes, Gideon Cody, ” Organizations: Marion County, town’s Police Department Locations: Kansas

Last week, wildfires broke out on the Hawaiian island of Maui that became the deadliest in the United States in over a century. The town of Lahaina, once the royal capital of the kingdom of Hawaii, was one of the places hit hardest — its historic center was decimated, including Waiola Church, the oldest on the island and a cherished meeting place. Today, the minister of Waiola Church, Anela Rosa, explains what it means to lose Lahaina and what it will take to rebuild it.

Persons: Anela Rosa Organizations: Waiola Locations: Maui, United States, Lahaina, Hawaii

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