Ranking Democrat on armed services committee says debate was alarming' and urges president to stand asideJoe Biden's position among congressional Democrats eroded further on Monday when an influential House committee member lent his voice to calls for him to end his presidential campaign following last month's spectacular debate failure.Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the armed services committee in the House of Representatives, issued the plea just hours after the president emphatically rejected calls for him to step aside in a letter to the party's congressional contingent. Continue reading...
This live blog is now closed. For more on this story, you can see full coverage here.Joe Biden is not alone in believing that all the talk of him dropping out is hurting the re-election efforts of Democrats nationwide.Ritchie Torres, a Democratic congressman from New York, said much of the same earlier today: Continue reading...
Error messages displayed on Facebook and X pages for South Dakota governor plagued by dog-killing admissionKristi Noem, the Republican governor of South Dakota who has been dogged by controversy since recounting how she chose to shoot dead a puppy and a goat, attracted new questions when it was noted that some of her official social media accounts appeared to have been deleted.On Monday, a link from Noem's official website led to an error message on Facebook, which said: This content isn't available right now. When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted." Continue reading...
Defense lawyers say jury was deadlocked on manslaughter count before judge abruptly declared mistrialJurors in the trial of Karen Read unanimously concluded she was not guilty of murder or of leaving the scene of a deadly accident - and were deadlocked on only the remaining manslaughter charge before the judge abruptly declared a mistrial, her defense team said Monday.The disclosure was made in a defense motion Monday seeking the judge's permission to question all 12 jurors after they learned of three who described their conclusions. They hope to show that for reasons of double jeopardy, the state of Massachusetts cannot retry her for murder. Continue reading...
President lashes out at elites' in party, saying on MSNBC's Morning Joe: Challenge me at the convention!'Joe Biden came out swinging on Monday against critics of his calamitous June debate performance, telling Democrats in an open letter and Americans in a pugnacious live TV interview he is staying in the presidential race - rejecting growing calls to concede that at 81 he is too ineffective to beat Donald Trump and should drop out in favour of a younger candidate.The president lashed out at elites in the party" in a live telephone interview with the MSNBC show Morning Joe, saying they were behind calls for him to quit. Continue reading...
The US president is still in denial about his ability to take on Donald Trump, but his party is notJoe Biden says only the Lord almighty" could make him quit his re-election bid. I am not going anywhere," he insisted in a surprise call to a morning talkshow on Monday, having warned party colleagues off further discussion in a letter. Anyone wanting him to step aside, he said, should challenge me at the convention" in August. Perhaps he would better understand the problem if he had watched his disastrous debate appearance. But if the president is still in denial, farfewer lawmakers, donors and supporters believe that his candidacy is sustainable amid mounting concern about his capabilities.Resilience is a virtue. Mr Biden has shown it in spades, and it has served him and his country well. Hisgrit and application helped to save the United States from a second Trump term, and to recover from the first. But knowing when to quit matters too. In 2020, Mr Biden described himself as the bridge" to anew generation of leaders. Stepping aside now wouldbe a belated act of dignity and wisdom. Clingingon as the Democrats head towards Novemberin a doomspiral of division and recrimination, leading to Donald Trump's return to theWhite House, would for ever tarnish his name. Continue reading...
Prosecutor's claim that role made actor keenly aware' of safety responsibilities is denied by judge at pre-trial hearingA New Mexico judge decided on Monday that the actor Alec Baldwin's role as co-producer is not relevant to the involuntary manslaughter trial over a fatal shooting on the set of the western film Rust.
Michigan governor has been named as potential replacement for president but calls discussion a distraction'The Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, said she would not run for the Democratic nomination for president this year even if Joe Biden cedes to growing pressure and steps aside.It's a distraction more than anything," Whitmer told the Associated Press, in an interview to promote her new memoir, True Gretch, which will be published on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Daniels says Trump supporters have inundated her with threats to rape and murder her daughter and other familyStormy Daniels' supporters have raised more than $1m meant to help her move to a safe house and repay legal fees after testifying in the criminal trial that led to Donald Trump's conviction on 34 felonies.The money comes from an online GoFundMe campaign started by a friend and former manager of the adult film actor, who recently appeared on MSNBC and described how supporters of Trump have bombarded her with social media harassment as he seeks a second presidency, including threats to rape and murder her daughter and other family. Continue reading...
Trump's claim to know nothing' about radical rightwing plan recognizes it could sink his campaign, ex-Pence adviser saysDonald Trump's preposterous" efforts to disavow Project 2025, a rightwing blueprint for a radical takeover of the US government if the former president is re-elected in November, have been derided by former Republican figures.The Project 2025 plan includes calls for replacing civil servants with Trump loyalists, eliminating the education department, putting the justice department under the president's thumb and banning the abortion pill. Continue reading...
As Boeing's safety crisis intensifies, relatives of victims of the 2018 and 2019 crashes are still fighting for accountabilityPaul Kiernan struggles to talk about what happened on 10 March 2019. He walked his partner, Joanna Toole, to a taxi, put her bag in the back and kissed her goodbye. He told her he loved her, and asked her to let him know when she landed safely. The message never came.Toole's flight, Ethiopian Airlines 302, crashed minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa killing all 157 people on board. Continue reading...
With the US and Mexico falling flat at Copa America, Les Rouges have soaked up the Concacaf spotlight with a blend of star-power and full-throttle footballThe same country that finished on top of the qualifying table in Concacaf for the 2022 World Cup is the same one with a spot in the semi-finals of the 2024 Copa America. They're the only nation from North and Central America whose flame is still burning at this point in the tournament. It's not the US. It's not Mexico, either.It's Canada.This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. With Jonathan out in Germany enjoying Euro 2024, he's entrusted a series of guest writers to guide you through Copa America. He will return on 15 July to look back at both tournaments. Continue reading...
France may rediscover a taste for moderate social democracy - and find out that compromise is not a dirty wordFrance has dodged a bullet. We have no idea how the country will be governed in the coming months with a hung parliament without any natural majority. But at least we know who won't be in government for now, and that is an immense relief for millions of voters.If the first round of this snap parliamentary election was a referendum against liberal centrist President Emmanuel Macron, the second round was a referendum against Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN), just when power appeared within the grasp of the far-right party.Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre Continue reading...
US justice department says proposed deal is for company to pay fine of nearly $250m and invest $455m in improving safetyBoeing has agreed to plead guilty to a US criminal fraud charge stemming from the crashes of two 737 Max jetliners, angering the families of the hundreds of passengers killed who had wanted the case to go to trial.Federal prosecutors had found that the American aircraft manufacturer was in violation of a 2021 agreement struck after the crashes, which had protected it from prosecution for more than three years. Continue reading...
Crowds rejoice in Paris as New Popular Front pushes Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally, who led the first round of voting, into third place. Plus, is rising at 5am really the secret to happiness?
Satanic Temple objects to governor's push for more religion in schools and says members could act as student chaplainsDark messengers of satanism could soon be walking the hallways of Florida's public schools, and it's a consequence of hard-right governor Ron DeSantis's push for more religion in education.Members of the Satanic Temple say they are poised to act as volunteer chaplains under a state law that took effect this week opening campuses to additional counseling and support to students" from outside organizations. Continue reading...
Appeals court decision allows millions of borrowers to cut loan payments in half - but does not yet erase debt outrightA key piece of Biden's student loan forgiveness plan can move forward, a federal appellate court has ruled.The move allows millions of borrowers to see their loan payments cut in half, but stops short of outright erasing debts for now. Continue reading...
Court's troubling rulings on presidential immunity and regulatory power make it clear that change is an ethical essentialOn 1 July 2024, the US supreme court, after an unconscionable half-year delay that it laughably described as expedited" treatment, handed down Trump v United States, the immunity ruling placing American presidents above the law by deeming the president a branch of government ... unlike anyone else." The court's delay guaranteed that Donald Trump would face the electorate in 2024 without first confronting a jury of his peers instructed to decide, and thus inform voters, whether he was guilty of trying to overthrow the 2020 election.Famously, the Irish immigrant Thomas Paine advocated that we revolt against the Crown to form an independent country and frame a constitution to prevent the rise of a dictator who, laying hold of popular disquietudes, may collect together the desperate and the discontented ... [and] sweep away the liberties of the continent like a deluge". To that end, Paine asked: Where ... is the King of America?" And he replied: In America THE LAW IS KING. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other."Laurence H Tribe is the Carl M Loeb University professor and professor of constitutional law at Harvard Law School Continue reading...
America's Sweethearts is a disturbing show on many levels, but the resilience of its women is impressiveI expected to watch America's Sweethearts, the Netflix documentary on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (DCC" to initiates) with horrified fascination, but not admiration.There's plenty to horrify. For starters, the damage wreaked by routines, including jumping in the air then landing on the ground in the splits", as a recent veteran recovering from hip and foot operations explains. Some girls' backs and necks are messed up - a lot of girls get surgery," says another. And abysmal pay - even the multimillionaire team-owner, Charlotte Jones, accepts they're not paid a lot" - reportedly as little as $400 a game. Many cheerleaders work tough care and service jobs on top of a punishing schedule of kicks and smiles, while the average NFL player's annual salary is about $2.8m. Continue reading...
Dozens charged with conspiracy in South River Forest but court filing says state is obstructing attorney visitsThe state of Georgia has dragged its feet for months on allowing defense attorneys to visit the forest where a criminal conspiracy allegedly operated in opposition to the Cop City" police training center, according to a motion filed this week and the Guardian's reporting.In his motion filed in Fulton county superior court, attorney Xavier de Janon is seeking to dismiss all charges related to the South River Forest, located south-east of Atlanta - for his client and for dozens of others. The forest's importance to the case is underlined by the fact that the indictment mentions the word, forest", 310 times in its 109 pages, according to the motion. Continue reading...
Democrats will be impotent messengers on democracy as long as they remain beholden to the feudal culture this crisis has exposedIt was 17 years ago that Joe Biden - having just launched a second, hopeless bid for the presidency, his first having been toppled, 20 years earlier, by his habit of talking nonsense - infamously offered Barack Obama a compliment he thought magnanimous: You got the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," he told the New York Observer. I mean, that's a storybook, man." It was the political gaffe as art form - at once a casually, shockingly ugly assessment of Black leaders and candidates like Jesse Jackson and Shirley Chisholm and a condescending slight against the party's fastest rising star, who was more than merely articulate". His many failures aside, Obama won that primary, and the presidency, on his extraordinary gifts as a communicator.On Friday, Obama tried, rather wanly, to put those gifts to use on the behalf of his friend and former rival one more time. Bad debate nights happen," he posted on X after the debacle the night before. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself." It was more than a bad debate night", though, as all who tuned in saw for themselves. After months of speculation and argument about his condition and in what could be the final, gutting irony of his political career, Biden proved unprecedentedly and perhaps fatally inarticulate. Since he took office, Biden and his backers have labored mightily to convince the American people he's well enough not only to take on the duties of the presidency but to save American democracy. As it stands today, it's doubtful he can even save himself. Continue reading...
European leaders turn eyes to president as they meet next week and as concerns build for US, their unpredictable ally'As European leaders and top defense officials from 31 Nato countries descend on Washington next week, all eyes will be focused firmly on Joe Biden, whose faltering performance at last month's debate has added to concerns about the country that some Europeans already described as their unpredictable ally".The US president has hoped that his leadership at the summit will rescue his campaign against Donald Trump amid concerns about his age and mental acuity. In a primetime interview on US television this week, he said: And who's gonna be able to hold Nato together like me?... We're gonna have, I guess a good way to judge me, is you're gonna have now the Nato conference here in the United States next week. Come listen. See what they say." Continue reading...
The Indiana Fever guard has had an impressive first season as a professional. But her old college rival Angel Reese has been consistently excellentBelieve it or not, the WNBA's most hyped season is halfway finished. The league's 12 teams are around the midway mark of their 40-game schedules, and the W has storylines galore.The Las Vegas Aces are gunning for a third consecutive WNBA title behind two-time MVP and defensive player of the year A'ja Wilson, but they find themselves outranked in the standings by the likes of the New York Liberty and Connecticut Sun. Diana Taurasi, 20 years after entering the league in 2004, continues to be an engine in the Phoenix Mercury backcourt. And then, of course, there are the rookies. Continue reading...
Murdoch's Tubi is a sign we've reached peak streaming. Despite all the choice, I still can't find something to watchEvery month, some combination of the following probably shows up on your bank statement: Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Now, Hayu. Each of these streaming platforms offers viewers access to a particular library of films and TV shows, and keeping up with them feels impossible. If you want to watch the latest season of The Bear, for example, you'll need to introduce Disney+ (4.99 with ads, 7.99 standard, 10.99 premium) to your roster. That is, the roster that already includes Netflix (4.99/10.99/17.99), which you just reinstated in order to watch the new episodes of Bridgerton. In fact, if you invested in all of the streaming apps at once, in a few months' time you would probably find that you could have afforded a luxury minibreak for the same amount of money you had spent to sit inside and watch the telly.Managing these streaming services feels increasingly like a complicated juggling act, and it seems as if new streamers are constantly coming to the table. This month, Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corporation launched Tubi, a free and ad-supported streaming app. The marketing materials say it will feature, among other shows, the Twilight films (that is, the same Twilight films that used to be on Netflix until the licensing agreement ran out) and Happy Gilmore. The selling point is that Tubi is free, funded by ads for all, in a streaming landscape where you're paying at least a fiver a month for each service. But even though Tubi doesn't charge, I can't say I welcome its arrival.Lauren O'Neill is a culture writer Continue reading...
Some claim bringing Ukraine into Nato would deter Russia from ever invading the country again. That is wishful thinkingAt last year's Nato summit, the United States focused on improving Ukraine's self-defense capabilities rather than addressing the country's potential membership in Nato. At Nato's upcoming summit in July, some are pushing for Nato to bring Ukraine significantly closer toward membership, such as by defining an accession process for Kyiv or inviting the country to join that process. Any such step would be unwise.Nato's Article 5 is widely considered to bind members of the alliance - in practice the United States above all - to go to war to repel an attack against any member. If Ukraine were to join Nato after the current war, the US and its allies would be understood to be making a commitment to fight Russian forces over Ukraine, should Russia invade again. Reflecting a broad political consensus, Joe Biden has ruled out the direct use of US military force since the start of Russia's deplorable full-scale invasion two years ago. As the administration recognizes, the security and prosperity of the United States are not implicated in the current war to the degree that would warrant direct US military intervention. Indeed, both the US president and former president Donald Trump have warned that the conflict could escalate into World War III". For the same reason that the United States should not go to war against Russia over Ukraine today, it should not make a commitment to go to war against Russia over Ukraine in the future. Continue reading...
Interning for an A-lister's production company, I thought I had made it - but three years later I was back in cold, wet LondonWhen I was young, I dreamed of making it in Hollywood and working in the movies. Enthralled by the showbiz industry, I wanted to become a big-time producer and see my name in the credits on the silver screen. And I got there, kind of. I made the 5,500-mile journey from London to Los Angeles, attending UCLA, interning at the production company of a bona fide A-list celebrity and ultimately securing sponsorship for a work visa. I had been plucked out of obscurity and given my shot, and the timing couldn't have been better, I thought, landing shortly after Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction had a seismic impact on the popularity of auteur-led, independent films.But my dream was short-lived and, just three years later, I was back in cold, wet London. While I had anticipated the obligatory tea-making, endless script-reading and punishing hours that test an assistant's mettle for the job, even the promise of one day hobnobbing on the red carpet with movie stars was insufficiently compelling to justify the toxic culture that was so much a part of the industry at the time. Continue reading...
by Chris Stein in Washington and Callum Jones in Phil on (#6P1R6)
President hits trail in Pennsylvania as virtual lawmaker meeting with Hakeem Jeffries shows growing party doubtJoe Biden insisted he was the person to reunite America in a second term in the White House and was up for the job" as he hit the trail in Pennsylvania on Sunday - but the number of high-profile Democrats doubting his position as the presumptive party nominee only grew amid a campaign in crisis.Pressure on the US president increased even further following his poor debate performance against Donald Trump last month and an underwhelming ABC interview last week, as a group of Democratic representatives met online with House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday. Continue reading...
As some Democrats question Biden's acuity, a primarily Black church in a crucial state embraces him on SundayLess than 48 hours after declaring only the Lord almighty" could persuade him to exit the US presidential race, Joe Biden described his reliance on faith in good times and tough times" at a predominantly Black church in north-west Philadelphia.Times are certainly tough for the president right now. But in the Mount Airy church of God in Christ on Sunday morning, you could be forgiven for not noticing. Biden was greeted by rapturous applause, and departed to chants of four more years". Continue reading...
South Carolina senator says evaluations should be part of presidential nominee process to ensure they're capable'South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham added his voice on Sunday to a chorus calling for cognitive and physical evaluations for Joe Biden - but also called for the same for Donald Trump and others.The Republican lawmaker recommended such tests for all future presidential nominees as well as those who may take over from a president or a nominee. Continue reading...
While the president insists he will remain in the election race, the vice-president's poll numbers have improved and her speeches have become more assertiveThe ideal understudy is talented but inconspicuous, prepared at all times to step into the top role and yet content to never do so.In New Orleans, at the 30th annual Essence Festival of Culture, gone was the Kamala Harris of the drab brown, chair-matching suit and the halting, technical commentary about American policy needs. That was the Harris who spoke here in 2019, then a Democratic presidential primary contender trailed by fewer than 10 reporters. Continue reading...
More than a dozen fires have been burning across California as millions of people swelter during a heatwave. Footage from Santa Ynez valley shows a huge fire developing in the mountains and a destroyed home in Mariposa county. The heatwave is expected to further dry out landscapes, adding to the threat of an active wildfire season in the months ahead
Decades after Nancy Valverde was first arrested for wearing masculine clothing, the city of Los Angeles finally honored her with its first public monument to a lesbianFrom the age of 17, Nancy Valverde was repeatedly arrested by the Los Angeles police department for wearing masculine clothing. By the time she died, at age 92, the city had named a square in her honor, its first public monument to a lesbian.Valverde, a proud Chicana butch lesbian, had refused to conform to social norms, even in the 1940s and 50s, when the city's racist and homophobic police force frequently arrested people under anti-masquerading" laws that criminalized them for wearing clothes officers judged to be unsuited to their gender. Continue reading...
If the vote is close, swing states will matter less than a few hundred thousand voters in the middle of the countryFor Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the road to the White House runs through battleground states clustered along the Great Lakes, and in the fast-growing sun belt" of the south. But if the election turns out to be extremely close, the two candidates' fortunes may hinge on a few hundred thousand voters clustered in a single congressional district in the middle of the country.This lesser-known front can be found in Nebraska, one of only two states in the country, along with Maine, that allocate a portion of their electoral votes by congressional district, rather than giving all of them to the winner of the state. Continue reading...
A Boston jury was unable to reach a verdict in the death of police officer John O'Keefe - now the city is readying for another trialIn the days since a jury failed to reach a verdict on charges against Karen Read, a 44-year-old financial analyst, there's been no shortage of her name in the headlines.She's been seen getting cozy with her married defense lawyer. The lead investigator has been relieved of duty for sending crude texts about her and searching her phone for nude photos. Police have said they are investigating a dead turtle left outside the family home of a blogger, aptly named Turtleboy. Continue reading...
Polling shows critical group unenthused about Biden and Trump - and moved by economy over abortionThe independent voter is the elusive prize in any election. This year, Democrats are hoping that widespread support for abortion rights will draw in women who might have previously shied away from the party.But polling shows that independent female voters, a critical group for any candidate, are particularly unenthused about the prospect of choosing between the same two guys who ran for election last time. Now, with some Democrats publicly mulling replacing Joe Biden in the wake of his catastrophic debate performance and Kamala Harris emerging as a possible heir apparent, a key question is whether a Harris-topped ticket would provide them with some much-needed excitement. Continue reading...
The New Maga Deal full of errors and omissions from former Trump adviser convicted of contempt of CongressIn a book due to be published a day before his release from prison this month, the former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro praises Donald Trump's Maga movement - and claims to list errors and omissions that led to his four-month sentence for criminal contempt of Congress, for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House January 6 committee.But Navarro makes striking errors and omissions of his own, including jarringly misidentifying Ashli Babbitt - the Trump supporter shot dead at the US Capitol who became a martyr to many on the far right - as a US marine corps veteran. Continue reading...
Actor to face court more than two years after death of cinematographer Halyna HutchinsAlec Baldwin is heading to trial on Tuesday on involuntary manslaughter charges in a case that will be closely watched by the entertainment industry, the news media, tabloids and legal experts.It has been a long road to trial since the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot during production of the movie Rust on 21 October 2021, a rare deadly tragedy on set. Prosecutors in Santa Fe will have to overcome numerous hurdles to convince a jury of Baldwin's criminal negligence in the complex and unusual case, but criminal law scholars say the 66-year-old actor's previous comments could come back to haunt him. Continue reading...
The nurse's case shows the dangers of believing that women like her could not possibly commit murderWhy do so many people still think Lucy Letby is innocent? It's worth asking, because last week yet another blow was dealt to the theory. In a retrial of one of the charges against her, Letby was found to have attempted to murder another newborn baby, and handed a 15th life sentence.In the past 10 months, we have heard less about Letby: reporting has been restricted while the trial was going on. In the meantime, she has all but exhausted the appeals process; her second application was denied. In a ruling published last Tuesday, appeal court judges said none of her legal challenges was arguable, and that the criteria for fresh evidence had not been met.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...
As voters decide in the second round of elections today, the far right's shock success last week has left many asking what the future holds for the republicIn the past week, since Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) stormed into its daunting lead in the first round of the French parliamentary elections, a menacing graffito has appeared in my neighbourhood inParis, on a busy street corner between the boulangerieand the wine shop. Written in black, in a clear and steady hand, it reads Les nerfs sont tendus, lesFachos seront pendus" - Nerves are being stretched, the fascists will be hung".As France has advanced towards the runoff second round of the elections, life has been quietly humming along in the quartier - Euro football matches in the cafes, shopping and commuting have all been as normal. But the graffito has always been there, an ominous backdrop to everyday life, a sinister threat and a warning about the tensions in France right now.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...
Not one senior party figure originally thought he had a prayer of leading them back into government in a single parliament, but now he bestrides a transformed political landscapeDavid Lammy likes to tell a story about sitting at his kitchen table with Sir Keir Starmer shortly after Labour's cataclysmic defeat at the 2019 election. Having ascertained that the other man intended to run for leader, Mr Lammy cautioned him that hauling Labour out of the abyss and back into contention for power would be a 10-year project". No,"came the sharp response from Sir Keir. I'm going to do it in five."Was he truly convinced that he had it in him to pull off what everyone else regarded as mission impossible? Or did he have to tell himself this because he knew he'd probably only get one crack at Number 10? As it turns out, he's taken his party from its most abject defeat since 1935 to a landslide victory, and pulled off that remarkable feat in a bit under five years, to become the 58th prime minister in our history and only the fourth Labour one to secure a parliamentary majority. Continue reading...
Manuel Ugarte scored the winning penalty as ten-man Uruguay eliminated Brazil after a horrible game in Las VegasThere's a lovely pre-match embrace between Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa and Brazil winger Raphinha, who worked together so thrillingly at Leeds United.With Vini Junior suspended, the only number 7 on the pitch is Uruguay's Nicolas de la Cruzm," writes Peter Oh. And there's no 77 in sight to slot in for a Vegas-style 777. For what it's worth, Araujo's 20 beats Brazil in blackjack." Continue reading...
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