Zuck Testifies at Social Media Trial, Potomac Sewage Disaster, Deadly CA Avalanche： AM Update 2⧸19
Episode Stats
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Summary
Mark Zuckerberg testifies in a major trial that could fundamentally alter how social media companies operate. President Trump hosts a Black History Month event at the White House. A toxic mess in the Potomac River leads to an even messier blame game in Washington, and after hours of treacherous rescue efforts, nine missing skiers presumed dead in a California avalanche. All that and more coming up in a moment on your AM Update.
Transcript
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Getting your kids to school safely is important to you.
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I'm Emily Jashinski, host of After Party and the Megyn Kelly Wrap-Up Show on SiriusXM channel 111.
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies in a major trial that could fundamentally alter how social media companies operate.
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We thank God for the strength and courage and grit and devotion of Black Americans.
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President Trump hosts a Black History Month event at the White House.
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President Trump and the federal government are standing by to step in.
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A toxic mess in the Potomac River leading to an even messier blame game in Washington.
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And after hours of treacherous rescue efforts, nine missing skiers presumed dead in a California avalanche.
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All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appearing in a Los Angeles court yesterday morning,
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testifying in a high-stakes legal battle that could fundamentally change how social media companies operate.
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At stake, whether platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat designed their products to be addictive to children,
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The case brought by a 19-year-old from Chico, California, identified only by her initials, KGM,
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who alleges negligence and negligent failure to warn.
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It is the first case of its kind to reach a jury trial,
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with thousands more potentially coming depending on the outcome.
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Legal analysts comparing the moment to the big tobacco trials of the 90s,
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which ultimately forced cigarette companies to pay billions and overhaul product marketing,
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preventing advertising that appeals to children.
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During questioning, Zuckerberg dodging a question about the addictive nature of social media.
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Attorney for KGM Mark Lanier asking if people are likely to use something more if it's addictive.
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Lanier questioning Zuckerberg about age limits on the platform.
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Users are required to be at least 13 years old to sign up for Facebook and Instagram.
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Zuckerberg testifying that some people lie about their age when signing up.
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Zuckerberg saying that the company works to remove all accounts operated by kids under 13.
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Lanier also questioning Zuckerberg about his preparation for his testimony and other public
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Lanier pointing to an internal document advising him to appear, quote,
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authentic, direct, human, insightful, and real.
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Zuckerberg replying that he is not coached, then saying, quote,
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I think I'm actually well known to be sort of bad at this.
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TikTok and Snapchat parent company Snap reaching undisclosed settlements with KGM in January,
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The trial is expected to last several more weeks.
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plaintiffs are seeking changes to the app's designs to prevent future harms to children.
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President Trump yesterday hosting a White House event celebrating Black History Month.
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The East Room, crowded with many of the president's prominent black supporters.
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Black support for Mr. Trump nearly doubling between the 2020 and 2024 election,
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The president honoring the contribution of black Americans throughout the nation's history.
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But we thank God for the strength and courage and grit and devotion of black Americans who have
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helped make America the most powerful country in the history of the world.
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Nearly 10,000 African Americans fought for the Patriot cause in the Revolutionary War.
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10,000, and it's actually a number even, I've heard even higher than that,
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And every generation since, from the Buffalo soldiers to the Tuskegee airmen,
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black Americans have stepped forward to defend the flag and to defend our country,
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And you've never really been given the recognition that you should get for that.
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President Trump touting key wins for the black community under his administration.
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More Americans are working today than at any time in American history.
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So we have more Americans right now working than at any time.
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And you know, when I say this stuff, I get the fake news back there.
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And since I took office, African American employment has increased by 182,000,
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Nearly half a million black Americans have rejoined the labor force since we took office.
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Mr. Trump inviting seven attendees on stage to speak, including Dr. Ben Carson,
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HUD Secretary Scott Turner, and D.C. resident Forlicia Cook, who lost her grandson to gun violence.
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Cook delivering this passionate defense of Mr. Trump.
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One thing I like about him, he keeps it real just like grandma.
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Because he allowed his people to come to my house to interview me to talk about the murder of my grandson.
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It seemed like nobody cared and nobody heard me.
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Then they invited me twice before Congress to testify for the beautiful bill that's going to change crime in the district.
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If you kill somebody, you take a life, you do life.
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And if we need National Guard, and which we did years ago, he brought it on.
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I don't want to hear nothing you got to say about that racist stuff.
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And don't be looking at me on the news hating on me because I'm standing up for somebody that deserves to be standing up for.
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The president largely sticking to the script in the event, his remarks including guests lasting about 50 minutes,
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and including this shout out to rapper Nicki Minaj, who was not in attendance.
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You know, more importantly, frankly, she gets it.
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Coming up, hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage spilling into the Potomac, leading to a toxic political battle.
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Nine skiers presumed dead in an avalanche near Lake Tahoe.
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A major sewage spill, believed to potentially be the largest in U.S. history,
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involving millions of gallons of stinky wastewater pouring into the Potomac River,
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now fueling a political storm in the nation's capital region.
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A collapse in the Potomac Interceptor sewer line,
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running along the Clara Barton Parkway in Montgomery County, Maryland,
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triggering an uncontrolled overflow of wastewater into the Potomac River.
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The Interceptor, operated by the D.C. Water Utility Company,
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typically carrying up to 60 million gallons of wastewater daily from Virginia and Maryland
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to Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant on the banks of the Potomac in D.C.,
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As of February 6th, approximately 243 million gallons of dirty water
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flowing into the river as a result of the pipe break, reports the New York Times.
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Days after the break, weeks of below-freezing temperatures complicating repair efforts.
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D.C. Water implementing an emergency bypass system in late January,
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USA Today reporting no overflow has gone into the Potomac since January 29th,
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the most recent occurring on February 10th, according to The Times.
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Officials saying emergency repairs are likely to take four to six weeks,
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with additional work continuing for up to nine months.
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In the meantime, environmental testing detecting high levels of bacteria,
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While the drinking water has not been affected,
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officials warning the public and pets to avoid contact with the water.
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D.C. Water pinning the cause of the pipe failure on aging infrastructure,
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noting the Interceptor is more than 60 years old and had already been flagged for upgrades.
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The disaster going largely unreported in mainstream media.
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There is a massive ecological disaster unfolding in the Potomac River as a result of the gross mismanagement
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of local Democrat leaders, particularly Governor Wes Moore of Maryland.
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While state and local authorities have failed to request needed emergency help,
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leadership to turn the river in the heart of Washington into a disaster zone.
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Mr. Trump, following up in another post on Tuesday, quote,
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who are responsible for the massive sewage spill in the Potomac River,
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If they can't do the job, they have to call me and ask politely to get it fixed.
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Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat and frequent Trump critic,
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In fact, the federal government has had responsibility for that for the past century.
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And now we were actually some of the first folks to respond.
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Our Department of the Environment was already on the ground testing water sewage,
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testing the water quality, making sure that our people were safe.
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I love the fact that the president of the United States is finally realizing that this was his job,
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and he hasn't been doing it for the past month.
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So I say, listen, we'd welcome you to help to address the remaining 1%.
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It hasn't been complete while we've been doing your job.
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Meanwhile, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin offering a more technical view of who is running what aspects of the cleanup.
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In a Tuesday ex-post, Zeldin writing that D.C. Water is leading the cleanup and remediation efforts,
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At no point in the lead-up to today had D.C. Water or the state of Maryland requested EPA to take over their responsibilities,
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and EPA has continued to offer its full support to state and local leaders from the onset.
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Yesterday, Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt urging local leaders to formally request government assistance.
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The next step in this process is for any of the three local jurisdictions involved,
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whether that's the Commonwealth of Virginia, the state of Maryland and Governor Moore,
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or the District of Columbia to step forward and to ask the federal government for help.
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President Trump and the federal government are standing by to step in,
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but of course we need the state and local jurisdictions to make that formal request.
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That's part of the legal process to move forward.
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Last night, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser officially requesting a presidential emergency disaster declaration.
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Mayor Bowser requesting that President Trump, among other actions,
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direct FEMA to establish interagency coordination among federal agencies, affected states, and D.C.
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She was also asking for additional federal technical and testing support to expand water quality monitoring,
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and for full federal reimbursement of cleanup costs.
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Nine backcountry skiers presumed dead following a Tuesday morning avalanche near Castle Peak,
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outside Lake Tahoe in California, with eight bodies located so far.
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The slide hitting around 11.30 a.m. as a guided expedition was returning to the trailhead on the final day of a three-day trip.
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Fifteen people were on the outing, six survivors activating emergency equipment,
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but brutal weather slowed rescuers for hours, crews finally reaching them more than 12 hours later.
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Nevada County Sheriff Shannon Moon yesterday with details on the skiers.
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Of the 15 that were on this guided trip, they were nine women and six men.
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So the survivors, ranging in ages from 30 to 55 years of age,
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eight of the additional, nine additional skiers have been located deceased.
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We are still looking for one of the members at this time.
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Due to the ongoing challenges of the weather, the avalanche conditions,
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the effort remains ongoing, as well as our search for the remaining skier.
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Of the two that were injured, one individual was stabilized last night and released.
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I've been told both subjects are non-life-threatening injuries.
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The survivors, including five guests and one guide.
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Sheriff Moon describing the difficult search and rescue effort.
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We had two different teams deploying, roughly 50 skilled folks deploying into the scene,
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both from the south side and from the north side, trying to come in to this area.
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Extreme weather conditions, I would say, is an understatement.
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Lots of snow, gale force winds, winds making it impossible to see.
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So it was very much a slow and steady pace, going with snowcats, skiers going up into the area,
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which is still considered a very high danger for avalanche.
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The skiers staying in remote cabins during the three-day trip.
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Officials issuing an avalanche warning early Tuesday morning.
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It is unclear if the skiers ignored the warning before heading back to the trailhead.
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Sheriff Moon saying an investigation is ongoing.
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The deceased skiers located through emergency beacons.
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The bodies have not yet been recovered, according to Nevada County Sheriff Captain Russell Green,
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who added that recovery efforts would begin when conditions improved.
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Catch the Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel 111 at noon east
00:17:12.240
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