The Indianapolis Star
‘WILDLY BORING’
“Has anybody ever wondered what the internet looks like?” As Alex Carroll poses this question next to a row of cages inside the former Eastgate Mall in Indianapolis, he has to shout to be heard from a few feet away. A group consisting mostly of local...
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PRESERVING THE PAST
Stepping inside old City Hall at 202 N. Alabama St. is like stepping into a different era, one in which government buildings represented the grandest architecture. But the building has sat vacant for roughly a decade now and it shows. A musty smell...
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IN heritage will tee up at National Mall
Indiana is celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday with a round of mini-golf on the National Mall. Gov. Mike Braun and Indiana State Fair Commission Executive Director Ray Allison unveiled Indiana’s contribution to the Great American State Fair at a...
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‘A family is a family’
Rainbow-tinted joy mixed with anger and eye rolls as LGBTQ+ Hoosiers at the Indy Pride Parade expressed frustration with the governor’s recent decision to declare June “Nuclear Family Month” in Indiana.
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NO SILVER BULLET SOLUTION ON ROADS
At a June Indianapolis City-County Council committee meeting, residents pleaded with councilors to find a way to not raise vehicle taxes. “I’m 81 years old. I do not want to have to go back to work to pay taxes and to pay for my living, but that’s what...
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Native languages help capture magic of Indiana, U.S. landmarks
When I moved to Indiana in 2015, I spent an inordinate amount of time staring at the Wabash River, mesmerized by how it changed depending on where I stood. From my vantage point as I walked on a pedestrian bridge in Tippecanoe County, the body of water...
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Data center divides
Aplanned data center near Irvington took a step forward June 11 despite impassioned pleas by neighbors worried the development will harm the quality of life on the east side. ● Atlanta-based DC BLOX proposed to build a data center, a technology center...
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Indy-area sites eyed for LEAP discharge
After Lebanon Utilities scrapped plans to discharge treated wastewater into Eagle Creek Park last month, the company had to find another plan for where the water − several million gallons a day − will go. Lebanon Utilities has repeatedly declined to...
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Data center plan splits 2 east-side councilors
The Pennsy Trail, a former railroad, links the Irvington area’s industrial past to its increasingly walkable present. Heading east from the neighborhood’s core, the trail passes local restaurants and shops, then blocks of charming houses. After about a...
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Dems pick Bayh
Beau Bayh, the son and grandson of two popular Democratic senators, won over delegates at the Indiana State Democratic Convention on June 6 to become the party’s nominee for secretary of state. Bayh, 30, defeated fellow Democrat and ● veteran Blythe...
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Teen suspect had no earlier arrests
A 14-year-old boy with no criminal history is facing several charges, including murder, for the downtown Indianapolis shooting of recent Indiana University graduate Brett Scrogham. Scrogham, a graduate of Indiana University’s Kelley School of...
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IndyStar reporter among those honored with national award
The USA TODAY Network’s commitment to covering matters of constitutional importance is being recognized with a national award. ● The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication announced May 28 that a team of reporters, including...
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‘Be nosy... Be involved’
Aday after police arrested a 14-year-old boy on suspicion of murder, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Tanya Terry said parents should be held criminally liable if they fail to prevent their kids from committing violent crimes. “100%, I...
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Finkam: Marion County is ‘exporting its crime’
She felt her home shake, and Melissa Farmer didn’t know what was happening. The Carmel resident of more than two decades then discovered that an SUV had crashed into her house, breaking windows, taking out the deck and privacy fence and causing damage...
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Candidate argues posts nullify votes
A Donald Trump-backed state Senate candidate is still fighting to win a tight election by making an unusual legal claim that voters’ social media posts exposed that they voted illegally under an obscure state law. Republican Paula Copenhaver was one...
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TIMELESS TREASURES
Editor’s note: Antiques Roadshow requires that news media refers to guests by first name only. Apiece of IU’s basketball stadium floor signed by Bobby Knight. A chartreuse rocking chair designed by Eero Aarnio. A redwork quilt embroidered with the...
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Pence: Populist takeover puts Republican values at risk
Former Vice President Mike Pence accused the Trump administration of drifting further from traditional conservative principles and embracing a populist right movement that espouses big government, protectionism and isolationism on the world...
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‘Very strong’ El Niño possible by winter
Meteorologists expect El Niño conditions to begin in early summer this year, with some predictions that the meteorological phenomenon, which could bring unusually dry conditions, may be “very strong” by winter. The National Weather Service’s Climate...
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EarthFest arrives
Students give a presentation during an Earth Day event in April 2022 at The Orchard School in Indianapolis. For much of the country, this year’s Earth Day festivities, tethered to the unofficial national holiday in April, have come and gone....
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Growing around grief
MUNCIE, IN — A Facebook post changed Suzanne Swierc’s life. Last fall, Ball State University fired her after she made a post that both offered prayers for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s soul and criticized the “violence, fear and hatred he...
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Where will IN data centers get energy?
Large load data centers like the ones Meta, Google and Microsoft are building across Indiana pose challenges for utilities. They use a massive amount of electricity around the clock. And one data center’s energy requirement can rival that of an entire...
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Dream come true
It’s been 21 years, 11 months and 15 days since Paul Van Thomme’s Indy 500 dream died. That was the day his father died, the man who had instilled this crazy, intense love of racing in his son. The two had plotted for decades to ● one day maybe, just...
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More property tax changes could be coming to state
As Brian Schmutzler knocked on about 4,500 doors in the Senate district where he easily defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Linda Rogers, he heard some residual frustration about redistricting, which had resurged in the national news lately. But once...
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Keystone buys downtown Sheraton with plans to turn it into Renaissance
There will be more development activity just off Monument Circle in the heart of downtown Indianapolis, as a key hotel property changes hands. Keystone Group has acquired the downtown Sheraton hotel with plans to rebrand and integrate the building...
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Smith wins APSE’s feature photo award
IndyStar’s Grace Smith won the APSE’s feature photo category in the B classification and finished third in action photo, and Gregg Doyel took home second in columns and sixth in explanatory to lead the sports department’s 13 top 10s, the most in the...
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Man of many faces
Will Behrends, Indy 500 Borg-Warner trophy sculptor The Borg-Warner trophy is 110 pounds of shining sterling silver adorned with 112 faces, all but one of them winning drivers of the Indy 500. Many are grinning. Some are wearing goggles and helmets....
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GREEN RACING
If the thought of eco-friendly motorsports might raise a few eyebrows, sports sustainability experts say that at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, these programs aren’t just buzzwords. From biofuels to soybean tires, composting and carbon offsets,...
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Outliers or lessons? Wins by 2 incumbents may be neither
State Sen. Spencer Deery’s kids warned him not to post the picture of him zipping around town on an electric scooter. They joked that the nerd factor would cause him to lose votes. Joke’s on them: More than a week after his contested primary election...
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‘When you put in the work, there’s a reward’
Allison Melangton fell asleep on the stairs as she listened to both conversations. Melangton had overheard the crying, but couldn’t tell what was going on. She peered out of her parents’ window and noticed them consoling their friends on the front...
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As data centers eye state, Hoosiers’ concerns grow
As Indiana cities see more data centers express interest in setting down roots in the state, local communities and environmental activists are expressing concern about the potential for the new facilities to create local health hazards. Many have...
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Longtime Walmart worker killed in hit-and-run during walk to job
As soon as Annie Torres’ family learned that she hadn’t shown up for work two days in a row, they knew something was wrong. Torres — affectionately known as “Ms. Annie” by many of her coworkers — hadn’t been a no-call, no-show in the 121⁄2 years she...
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Meet Marc Ray, IndyStar’s new high school sports reporter
My name is Marc Ray, and I was born and raised in Houston. I’m the oldest of five siblings and a proud first-generation college graduate. After graduating from Aldine MacArthur High School in 2018, I earned my bachelor’s degree from the University of...
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One special squirrel
Hummel Park, which straddles White Lick Creek near Plainfield, has a unique denizen frolicking in its woods and meadows. A rare piebald squirrel calls ● the 205-acre park in Guilford Township home. There is plenty of space there for the freckly white,...
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Pup ‘cuts’ the ribbon on new animal shelter
Six-month-old Sully was ready. The yellow bandanna wrapped around the red-furred puppy’s neck declared “adopt me” inside a heart. But the dog treat connecting two red ribbons set the stage. As Sully chewed through the treat, the pup “cut” the ribbon,...
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Quest for ‘adventure’ led to historic role as yellow shirt in 1976
Mimi DeMore has never been a woman to back away from a challenge, turn away a new opportunity or to let any timeworn, gender stereotypes stop her from that palpably contagious sense of adventure that consumes her. DeMore is 74 now, and she has lived...
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PLAN B
For the past 11 years, Sweet Helicopters, a FortWayne based company, has operated as the official high-end Indianapolis 500 charter service, offering the most luxurious way to travel to and from the track high above the traffic fray. On race day,...
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‘Our best days are yet to come’
What state Sen. Andrea Hunley lacks in money relative to her current and prospective competition for mayor of Indianapolis, she made up for in energy Friday night. “In this campaign,” she told the 400 people on the second floor of Tinker House, where...
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IN Senate leader a target after ouster of GOP incumbents
A glaring takeaway from President Donald Trump’s takedown of uncooperative Indiana Republicans on May 5 is that the redistricting battle is far from over. The next frontiers: the leadership position of Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, on whom...
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5 major Indy infrastructure projects slated for this year
About $280 million in road and infrastructure improvements are in the pipeline as the city’s Department of Public Works kicks off a busy summer construction season. Before 2026 comes to a close, DPW plans to improve 48 lane miles of streets, 15...
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‘The voters have spoken’
Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray wasn’t on the ballot on May 5, but he had a lot at stake. His caucus’ campaign arm spent millions trying, and mostly failing, to defend their incumbents against the bloodbath brought upon them by...
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Races show power of Trump’s support
President Donald Trump tested the strength of his endorsement in eight Indiana Senate races, and he basically aced it. The ● candidates he endorsed in his revenge plot to oust Republican incumbents who voted against mid-decade redistricting nearly all...
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ELECTION DAY
Voters head to the polls early in the morning for primary Election Day at Holliday Park in Indianapolis on Tuesday, May 5. Go to indystar.com for election results, analysis, photo galleries, video and more.
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IN Democrats running for office in record numbers
There was a feeling among Democrats in Indiana that the 2022 abortion ban would surely spark an emotional reaction large enough to move the needle on their superminority status in state government. Or that President Donald Trump making a ballot...
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Inside the Indiana race pitting Trump against Pence
Sen. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo, never thought he’d see the day he’d be accused of being liberal. Yet that was the brief takeaway Westfield resident Shirley Freck had from the onslaught of TV ads attacking this incumbent who bucked President Donald Trump on...
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VOTER GUIDE Not your typical midterm primary
Marion County races Contested Statehouse races Congressional races
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A cheaper commute?
As the average price for a gallon of gasoline in the Indianapolis metro area climbs to nearly $5, some commuters are utilizing cheaper, and in their eyes, more convenient, methods of traveling to and from work. Broad Ripple resident ● Hannah Gage, 26,...
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Meet Indy’s Olympic marathon hopeful
One of America’s top athletes spends downtime walking around Broad Ripple, stopping at Monon Coffee or for tacos, sitting at outdoor patios with her 3year-old Foxhound. She once dreamed of becoming a concert violinist or working for the State...
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Indy mall’s future up in the air
Built in 1974, Washington Square Mall used to be a shopping mecca that would draw Hoosiers from around the state. More than 50 years later, the center is struggling to attract even its neighbors, prompting the question of what its future holds. As...
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DATA CENTER DELAY
If there’s one topic that can compel multiple people to shout an expletive into a microphone in a church sanctuary, it’s data centers. ● Company executives from Atlanta-based DC BLOX, the latest developer looking to build a data center campus in...
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Doors open to faith, service at new east side landmark
At the crossroads of America, a new symbol of American religious life has risen. The new Gurdwara Sikh Satsang of Indianapolis — the largest place of worship for the oldest Sikh congregation in Indiana — opened amid celebration, spring festivities and...
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Could a Democrat unseat Spartz in midterm election?
From the beginning, U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz had pledged to serve no more than three terms in office. ● It’s been one of the core issues on her campaign website since she first ran for the 5th Congressional District in 2020. ● “Politics was never...
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THE RISE AND FALL OF INDY'S PROTEST KING
John Scott Johnson rose to the top of Indiana’s protest movement. Then came allegations of ‘cult-like’ manipulation and planned drone attacks. He denies it all.
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‘Like a baseball bat to the face’
When he first read it, Jesse Rice thought the Feb. 19 letter from the U.S. Small Business Administration was a mistake. The piece of paper demanded that Black Circle Brewing Company, the northside music venue he owns, pay more than $175,000 to the...
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Group unveils its recommendations for Broad Ripple, beautification
Momentum is building in Broad Ripple to find ways to move the village forward and adjust to the changing demographics and demand in the neighborhood over the next 15 years. After months of public meetings, surveys and feedback, a Broad Ripple...
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New regulations for data centers proposed
Indianapolis leaders are proposing new regulations on data centers that would address common concerns like noise levels and energy use, but stop well short of the temporary bans on new facilities passed in nearly a dozen other Indiana counties. The...
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Dem primary pits insider against change candidate
Democratic Party leaders have lined up behind 40-year-law enforcement veteran Kelvis Williams for Marion County sheriff, including outgoing sheriff Kerry Forestal and his predecessor. Williams has raised over 10 times more money than his lone...
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‘IT’S SPECIAL’
When they bought an old, three-story barn in downtown Westfield and started clearing out hay, animal droppings and bicycle parts, Bob and Michelle Beauchamp had no idea they were helping spark the city’s redevelopment. They didn’t know the barn would...
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Republicans look to flip swing district seat as Ford runs for Congress
A lot of people didn’t think J.D. Ford would ever win in Indiana’s Senate District 29, which stretches from Marion County’s west side to up into Boone County and Carmel. Nearly eight years later Ford, who made history by defeating a conservative...
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Indy could have earlier youth curfew this summer
Teens and kids in Indianapolis will likely face a stricter curfew again this summer. Indianapolis City-County Council members on April 15 advanced a new curfew for children 17 and younger that would be two hours earlier than the statewide curfew. If...
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Indy’s prima ballerina pirouettes to restaurateur
Her father’s dream was never a secret and, somewhere along the way, it became Yoshiko Kamikusa’s dream, too. From the time she was old enough to feel that fire, that passion, as she performed ballet, she understood what it was like to want something so...
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Plan to redevelop old City Hall dies
It’s back to the drawing board for one of Indianapolis’ most ambitious and elusive downtown redevelopment projects. TWG Development’s $248 million plan to redevelop old City Hall is dead, Department of Metropolitan Development Director Megan Vukusich...
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Blockade of strait brings more threats
President Donald Trump on April 13 said a blockade on Iran’s ports and coastlines went into effect and that leaders from the Middle Eastern country called to facilitate another round of negotiations after peace talks fell apart over the weekend. “I...
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Indiana steel industry must go clean, studies say
Indiana’s steel industry is an economic powerhouse for the state, but a series of recent reports say its future may be in jeopardy if it doesn’t move to cleaner forms of production. Three large steel mills in Indiana’s northwest corner are among the...
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HAVOC AT THE VA
More than one year after President Donald Trump’s administration sought to reduce the federal workforce, the Indianapolis hospital that provides care to veterans has lost a higher percentage of medical staff than most other Veterans Affairs facilities,...
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WRTV buyer McCoy doubles down, says mass layoffs will not mean less local news
After dismissing most of the WRTV newsroom staff, Circle City Broadcasting President and CEO DuJuan McCoy is doubling down on his promise that his purchase of the station will ultimately add more local news to Indianapolis. McCoy appeared on the...
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Man, IMPD officer exchange gunfire at apartments
Jade Jackson and Christine Tannous A man was found by police in critical condition Wednesday night, April 8, after exchanging gunfire with at least one Indianapolis police officer. What’s unclear is whether he was injured during the gunfire. It was...
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Braun suspends state tax on gas amid war with Iran
Hoosiers will soon be paying a lower price at the pump after Gov. Mike Braun announced he would temporarily suspend the state’s gas usage tax, after the conflict in Iran caused prices to surge. Braun signed an emergency declaration on April 8, calling...
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UConn’s Hurley cries foul and leans into the chaos
UConn basketball coach Dan Hurley cannot believe the whistle he’s getting during the 2026 NCAA title game against Michigan. Are game officials James Breeding, Jeffrey Anderson and Kipp Kissinger calling a bad game? Don’t know, and that’s not what I’m...
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Some wonder if president’s endorsement will affect primary
“I would like to address the elephant in the room,” Alexandra Wilson said while introducing herself at a March 25 candidate forum at the Vigo County Public Library. “I am not a convicted felon.” In an unusual Indiana state Senate race where President...
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In living color
CBS color analyst Bill Raftery comes to the 2026 Final Four in Indianapolis fresh off another Bill Raftery moment, another timeless call of a timeless basketball moment. This was the East Region championship game March 29, Duke leading UConn, and Duke...
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CLEAR AS MUD
The problem began at bath time. Brittney Hobbs was adding water to the tub for her 8year-old son Kru last November to warm up the bath in their Lapel home. Kru had been playing with his toys as the water cooled and slowly drained from the tub. Hobbs...
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Report: Braun’s PAC will target redistricting opponents
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun is reportedly pumping money into efforts to oust Indiana Republican state senators who went against President Trump’s desires to redraw the state’s congressional maps ahead of the 2026 election. Braun plans to endorse...
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‘IT’S TERRIBLE’
Kenyatta McCoy has a specific gripe with the blocks-long road construction project that’s been bottlenecking Fountain Square for the last three months. The 37-year-old DoorDash and rideshare driver has watched reviews of his service on the apps drop...
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