The Boston Globe
A testament to hope
CHICAGO — Former president Barack Obama formally opened his presidential center in Chicago on Thursday with a call to defend democracy as three former presidents joined him on stage in an extraordinary event featuring politicians, A-list celebrities,...
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PLAID TIDINGS: SCOTS BRING PARTY TO BOSTON
Since they swaggered into town last week for the World Cup, they seem to be everywhere: kilt-clad throngs singing, chanting, and marching to the skirl of bagpipes. They even raised the roof at Fenway Park, no easy feat these days. They are the very...
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They fell in love in college. They married in his hospice room.
On April 15, exactly eight years after Robbie Fox and Kelli Peters met during their freshman year at Elon University in North Carolina, their closest relatives gathered in Boston for their wedding. The ceremony was intimate, with just seven people...
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FOR HIM, A DIPLOMA IN DETERMINATION
Until age 9, Deibyn Orozco lived in a silent world of his own. Born deaf in rural Guatemala, Orozco did not have anywhere that could help with his disability, much less teach him sign language. He communicated with his mother in rudimentary ways,...
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INSIDE A REVILED BEHEMOTH: SPLENDOR AND, MAYBE, HOMES?
The Boston Government Services Center, a bleak behemoth of stippled gray concrete, was probably a mistake. A stony fortress with studded ramparts rising 40 feet above Staniford Street, it imposes its will on the streetscape for blocks around. Since it...
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Pitch perfect fan fest
Beneath a thick blanket of humidity, thousands of soccer faithful poured into City Hall Plaza on Friday, turning the brick expanse into a sea of vibrant soccer jerseys, national flags, and a crescendo of soccer chants. With that energy, the crowd...
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With the fans here at last, the party is definitely on
World Cup fever finally arrived in Boston on Thursday in an early-morning burst of bagpipe music, colorful soccer jerseys, and kilts. Lot and lots of kilts. By midmorning, the area around Faneuil Hall Marketplace was packed with Scottish soccer fans...
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Enough work, time to play
After a brief outage a few weeks ago, the official FIFA countdown clock outside Faneuil Hall Marketplace is working again, ticking off the hours and minutes to the start of what has been, for Boston, a lessthan-smooth walkup to the world’s biggest...
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Reconfiguring special education
When Julian Whyte gets off the school bus in Mattapan to head home in his wheelchair, he waves goodbye to his friends. The 10-yearold can’t talk much, but he is a social butterfly, posing for selfies and flipping his baseball cap backward for...
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From menace to delicacy
The carolina skiff bounced across the chop in duxbury Bay as it approached a bright green buoy marking scott connor’s traps. if his catch from the day before was any indication, there was no need to guess what connor was about to haul up. This trap...
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NURTURING A NATURE TRAIL
Guides were released this week for a new hiking path, Boston Boundless Trail, that runs through the city and 13 surrounding communities. The walking trail network uses “green spaces, built environments, and walkable connections between them,” said...
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For Haitians, it’s much more than a game
In a dimly lit basement bar in Boston’s Back Bay last week, the song was belted out in Haitian Creole: “Grenadye, alaso!” The refrain loosely translates to “Grenadiers, charge,” and it’s a World Cup rallying cry for the Haitian national soccer team,...
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HISTORY REEMERGES
Standing atop the Bunker Hill battlefield in Charlestown, Joe Bagley held a small, smooth sliver of flint in his hand, slowly turning it over and over and tracing his finger along its thin, curved edge. “It’s crazy. This hasn’t seen the light of day...
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JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF KENDALL SQUARE
CAMBRIDGE — On a recent Thursday, I was in a wildly disorienting spot: several stories under — yes, under — the high-tech heart of Kendall Square, walking around what will be the country’s largest underground electrical substation. There, I decided to...
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For firefighter, A final salute
They formed a sea of blue under gray skies. Thousands of firefighters donned their navy dress uniforms on a cloudy Monday morning and poured into Boston’s South End, lining Washington Street ahead of a funeral Mass for their fallen brother, Robert T....
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CAPPING OFF A TUMULTUOUS TIME
MILFORD — Marcelo Gomes da Silva grabbed his red cap and gown Sunday morning and made that same drive, the one he’ll never forget. As the graduating senior steered his family’s silver Volkswagen Golf to Milford High School, he remembered the harrowing...
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ALL TEED UP AND READY TO GO
The T was first to go down. No, not the transit system. The central letter in Boston’s famed Citgo sign, which began its six-month, $8 million refurbishment and relocation on Friday. The 125,000-pound structure will be taken apart piece by piece,...
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A joyous day at a different Harvard
CAMBRIDGE — With a mix of nostalgic quips and political barbs, comedian Conan O’brien delivered Harvard’s 375th commencement address on Thursday, urging graduates to demonstrate humility and empathy in their lives while mocking the Trump administration...
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‘I just don’t feel it here in New England’
MEDFORD — On a recent balmy Sunday evening, the bright spring sun accentuated the grass of Hickey Park, where soccer players of different generations and varying skill levels came together to enjoy a pickup game. Each of the players, who were mostly...
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Taking a harder look at the new Copley Square
The new Copley Square, to officially open on Wednesday with a mayoral ribbon-cutting, has its moments. Wandering in from the corner of Boylston and Clarendon Streets is pure delight: A footpath angles away from the urban grid into a leafy glade cast in...
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Reseeding a piece of N.E.’S past
BENSON, Vt. — On a warm spring morning last week, amid tall grass dotted with dandelions gone to seed, rows of gangly young trees with freshly unfurled leaves stretched as far as the eye could see. These are American elms, saplings of the magnificent...
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Firefighter remembered as ‘heart of the firehouse’
The day after a veteran Boston firefighter died after falling from a third-story window during a three-alarm blaze in Dorchester, his crew and friends remembered him as “the heart of the firehouse” who devoted his life to helping others. Robert...
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Fit for a fairy tale
Like many high school seniors, Jailene Acosta spent hours dreaming about her prom, scrolling through glossy Instagram photos of glittery gowns and flashy limos. “I wanted everything to be perfect,” said Acosta, a 18-year-old from Roxbury. “But I knew...
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PLAYING FOR KEEPS IN THE SEAPORT
How many boozy adult playgrounds can one neighborhood take? In the Seaport, the question is gaining urgency as yet another “competitive socializing” venue opens. You could spend an entire day doing a Seaport crawl — except instead of bars, you’d...
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Keeping the coneheads coming
I’m standing on Newbury Street in the blazing sun, waiting in line with everyone else. The object of our desire is just ahead, being handed through the window of a food truck called Snacksbox, parked on the side of the road. I am here, we are here,...
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A next-level clash in quiet Sudbury
Special town meetings are held across Massachusetts to address a variety of urgent issues: a spiraling fiscal crisis, zoning changes to lure in a lucrative business development, or a timesensitive land acquisition or school construction project. Then...
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Residents yank welcome mat for new neighbors: data centers
LOWELL — The Markley Group data center looms over Jake Fortes’s backyard like a nosy neighbor. Back in the day, a spaghetti factory stood here. Today an ominous black cube of corrugated concrete towers about four stories high. Alongside it is a...
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Teens, city work to save job program
Rachel Mejia has to raise her voice to be heard over the din of children running into St. Stephen’s cafeteria in the South End. The 17-year-old works with local kids a few days each week after school — helping with homework, being a buddy during...
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Refreshing a piece of history with eyes on the present
As she approached the Omni Mount Washington Resort & Spa for the first time, Tonya Grine felt goosebumps. Like generations before her, she was taken aback by the imposing building all in white, with the fire-engine-red roof. “It’s unlike anything I...
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Uprooted but undaunted
LOWELL — Dayanire Méndez’s home daycare center on Wachusett Street was bustling with toddlers last Tuesday when, around 3:30 p.m., she felt an intense heat start to spread. She turned to her kitchen window and saw “too much fire.” Her backyard shed was...
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Struggling delivery drivers wary of tighter moped rules
sometimes, the toehold to the American dream looks like this: a row of guys in the heart of upper-crust boston packing fried chicken onto the back of their mopeds in the rain. In the back bay, it was a fairly typical and rather miserable spring...
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Gunman attacks motorists
CAMBRIDGE — A man armed with what authorities described as an “assault-style rifle” opened fire along memorial Drive on monday afternoon, randomly shooting at cars and wounding two drivers, sending panicked motorists fleeing from their vehicles, and...
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It’s full steam ahead for this maga jester
SOMERVILLE — It’s like Ac/dc always said: “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll.” The April sun was finally breaking through, but rob Potylo had been in a basement recording studio for the better part of a week. As a sound engineer...
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Hacky sack? Really? Teens again get kick out of playing.
On a recent day, Bill Silva was walking down the hallway at East Bridgewater Junior/ Senior High School, where he is the principal, when he came across a group of students doing something shocking: playing hacky sack. “I said, ‘What are you doing?’...
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Squarely in Copley’s corner
Iwas prepared to rag on the new Copley Square Park. In my youth, I spent some time lolling about on the lawn that filled the square, before the city’s recently completed, $19 million renovation. I have fond memories of being among the carefree crowds...
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DANGER ABOARD SHIP
The cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak pulled into port in Praia, Cape Verde, on Wednesday so that health workers could evacuate two patients with the virus and one suspected of infection. The ship then departed with about 150 people on...
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Parents want answers about kids’ timeouts
Kevin Waldron, a spirited 5-year-old from Bedford with a speech delay, had begun spiraling into a panic at home after making silly mistakes like spilling a drink. “I’m sorry,” he told his mom, Kaitlyn Williams. “Don’t put me in timeout.” His parents...
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A final salute, 251 years later
Revolutionary reenactors held a solemn ceremony recently to symbolically restore 12 Groton Minutemen to the land from which they came. The soldiers died at the Battle of Bunker Hill and were buried in a mass grave by the British. Historian Don Black...
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For fans, a season of discontent
It’s feeling like a tough spring for deflated Boston sports fans. As the Celtics faltered in the fourth quarter of their Game 7 in the NBA playoffs Saturday night, T-shirt vendors were already packing up for the season outside TD Garden. In a few...
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Where the water goes
DEER ISLAND — If you did dishes last week in Somerville or Cambridge or Boston, I was standing with what you washed down your sink. I had traveled to the massive waste water treatment plant for most of Metro Boston to learn what happens, exactly, to...
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Revisionist history
Faneuil Hall Marketplace landlord J. Safra Real Estate is doing some long-awaited renovations, including fixing the stones in the marketplace’s courtyard. Above, a view of Quincy Market from Chatham Street.
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‘The future of my family depends on this’
As the Supreme Court‘s conservative majority appeared sympathetic to the Trump administration’s efforts to revoke humanitarian protections for Haitians and Syrians, dozens of Massachusetts advocates rallied in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to show...
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A TICK TIME BOMB
As higher temperatures creep back across Massachusetts, so do ticks — tiny, resilient pests that carry an outsized public health threat. This month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data showing that rates of emergency department...
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Mother told officers she strangled children, police say
WELLESLEY — The woman was distraught, arriving unexpectedly at her aunt’s house in southern Vermont with a bloody gash and a chilling revelation: she had killed her two young children in their Wellesley home before attempting suicide. Janette...
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Gala descends into confusion
washington — i didn’t know it was gunfire at first. as i finished my salad course, i heard a loud noise to my left. seconds later — with plates and glasses crashing and chairs scraping the floor — i saw guests at nearby tables dropping to the ground....
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Response to nude performance is revealing
the museum of fine arts posted photos on Instagram thursday of a partially nude performance artist walking through its galleries, and the reaction among the museum’s 500,000 followers was, well, not indifference. “Wtf is this nonsense?” wrote one...
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Long COVID also taking toll on kids
The field trip was supposed to be fun. A few weeks ago, 16-year-old Kaylee Joaquim woke up early to tour the University of massachusetts dartmouth campus with her high school classmates — the kind of outing she hadn’t attended in a long time. But...
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A forgotten blast, a painful reminder
On the morning of April 22, 1976, Edmund narine briskly climbed the steps of the suffolk County Courthouse. he was in his late 30s, physically fit, and working days while taking night classes as he tried to build a steady life in Boston after leaving...
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A story you’ll love! Just pennies per word!
scituate — On the day after his 90th birthday, mat Brown was sitting on his deck enjoying a cigar, a warm afternoon, and some adulation he thought was long past him. Across from him were two gen Xers who have been on a quest the last few years to...
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MILES AND SMILES
runners dream of days like these. A cool breeze at their backs and some cozy springtime sunshine poking through the clouds set the stage for lasting memories — and history — to be made Monday at the 130th Boston Marathon. records were smashed, signs...
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a Banner day for Boston
sunday was no day of rest for the Boston sports fan. The celtics and Bruins kicked off their playoff run with games at the Garden and in Buffalo. The sox had their uber-ace on the mound at Fenway. And, oh, there’s that little race that was about to...
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College commencement becomes a celebrity series
When northeastern university announced on Instagram that pop star Hilary Duff would be its commencement speaker, the news was met with instant chatter: “epic,” “amazing,” and “childhood dream come true” were among the comments on the video post...
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Continuing fears about ICE put early education at risk
Ellis Early Learning opened in 1885 as a haven for South End children who hawked newspapers and shined shoes on the street. The school has endured as a boston institution, serving as a national model for early childhood education. but now, as Ellis...
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Trying to crack an oyster conundrum
LITTLE BAY, n.h. — Around new England, oysters are dying at alarming rates during the winter months. now, scientists in new hampshire are trying to figure out why, as the future of the region’s youngest and smallest oyster industry hangs in the...
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NECK BRACED
spring really feels like it’s here at last, and it’s time for the swan Boats, as workers Jack Paget (left) and dan Paget put together the famed tourist attraction this week at the Public Garden.
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Tremors from volatile ICE arrest, deportation still shake Chelsea family
CHELSEA — Kenia Guerrero and her three children used to perk up with joy when they came home from a long day to find her husband’s work truck parked in their driveway. not anymore. now it’s an impulsive, fleeting joy, followed by the sad, sinking...
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Tainted wells, tortuous response
Westminster — in 2022, when this small town discovered hundreds of private wells had been contaminated with toxic “forever chemicals,” massachusetts environmental officials were quick to identify the likely offenders and the fix. They ordered the local...
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Driven down by rising prices
soaring gas prices — and inflation in general — are straining the lives of many Massachusetts residents, forcing them to make tough choices on things they might have previously taken for granted, such as visiting a relative, buying a bouquet of flowers...
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West Point’s loss turns out to be Red Sox’ win
Connelly Early, red sox rookie, was 8 years old when a family trip to upstate New York offered glimpses into his twin passions and potential life paths. The Earlys are baseball people, which inspired the visit from their native Virginia: connelly’s...
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Animal lovers’ pet programs make difference in hard times
Ymanini Lacourt wouldn’t know what she would do without her dog Mizzo, a small Chihuahua-mix with an adorable underbite. But after losing her job during the pandemic, Lacourt has been working part time for less than $20 an hour, not nearly enough to...
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‘refuse to stop’: a creed for marathon, life
severe hot flashes. Testosterone deficiency. Anemia. Type-2 diabetes. michael holick has long battled many side effects as part of his cancer treatments. They won’t stop the 80-year-old doctor from running his third consecutive Boston marathon this...
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Justices grill both sides of debate over rights of those born in US Citizenship at crossroads
WASHINGTON — A majority of the supreme court appeared skeptical of President Trump’s efforts to limit birthright citizenship during arguments wednesday. key conservative justices raised doubts about the constitutionality of the president’s executive...
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COMMUNITIES FIGHT BACK
Two dozen men in parkas huddled against the frigid wind in tight, almost meditative circles around metal tables strewn with playing cards, cash, and cigarettes. every few minutes, one of the men slapped money on the table, and shouting would erupt, as...
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CHINATOWN’S HIDDEN CASINOS
as the rain pelted down in thick sheets one day last spring, filling the narrow alleyways of Boston’s Chinatown with shin-high water, natalie Truong cautiously approached a four-story brownstone on harrison Avenue. Wearing rubber boots and clutching...
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Pakistan says it will host talks between US, Iran
ISLAMABAD — pakistan announced sunday it will soon host talks between the united states and iran, though there was no immediate word from Washington or Tehran and it was unclear whether discussions on the monthlong war would be direct or...
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Lexington is latest to wield budget ax
Lexington has long been held up as a gold standard for public education, with wellfunded schools and students who have among the highest test scores in massachusetts. But like many other school districts in the state, Lexington is confronting an acute...
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All good cheer for Cup dry run
FOXBOROUGH — Brazilians call soccer o jogo bonito — “the beautiful game,” and on a crowded train to a world cup exhibition match at Gillette stadium Thursday afternoon, the phrase rang true. Voices rose in Portuguese and French, children bent over card...
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Still that sweet taste of success in Vt. woods
FAIRFIELD, VT. — in faded photographs hung on the sugarhouse wall, a young couple collect sap from galvanized steel buckets while horses pull a sleigh through snow-covered woods — the storybook image of maple sugaring in new England. While the horses...
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READY FOR THEIR CLOSE-UP
isabella Stewart Gardner began a tradition more than a century ago by growing bright orange nasturtiums for her April birthday and transforming her courtyard into a celebration of spring. on tuesday, even as a snowfall dappled the region, the fenway...
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Fatal tarmac collision closes Laguardia
new york — “stop, Truck 1, stop!” The desperate call from an air traffic controller late sunday night came seconds before the first fatal collision at Laguardia Airport in exactly 34 years. The call came too late. Two pilots were killed and dozens...
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Takedowns and rising up
HOLLISTON — That saturday started before sunrise for East Boston high school’s fledgling wrestling team, a scrappy band of nine teenagers who boarded a bus and headed west into the suburbs, chasing a shot at the state tournament. They strode into the...
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Pressed for cuts, officials count the cost of zoos, libraries, rinks
The finances of massachusetts cities and towns have gotten so bad that one community can no longer afford to keep lacey the Amur leopard and other animals of the Capron Park Zoo in Attleboro. Faced with rising costs and limited revenue, Attleboro is...
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