Anchorage news

• Young votes for House health care bill, says it will improve

  04-05-2017 23:07 via ktoo.org
  
  Protesters gathered at the U.S. Capitol before a House vote on the GOP’s American Health Care Act on May 4, 2017. (Photo by Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media)
  A Republican bill to replace the Affordable Care Act squeaked through the U.S. House today, with help from Alaska Congressman Don Young.
  If the bill becomes law, Alaskans would lose the generous subsidies they have now for plans purchased on the individual market. Young said the bill will change before final passage, and he ha
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, May 4, 2017

  04-05-2017 22:46 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/05/2017-05-04-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  Congressman Don Young explains why he voted for the bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act,
  the Juneau Assembly spares the downtown pool and Mt. Jumbo Gym from budget cutting,
  the Alaska Dispatch News says its reporter in the statehouse was slapped by a senator, and
  a federal budget deal restores funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, which supports the Alaska State Council on the Arts.
  
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• 907Life: Cinco de Mayo, horse races, plus beer and yoga

  04-05-2017 22:46
  
  907Life.com’s Phil Crawford handpicked three events to attend during one eventful weekend in May.
  The first is Anchorage’s various Cinco de Mayo celebrations on Friday, May 5. Crawford pointed out the restaurant Tequila 61, which will be hosting an event with a carnival theme. According to the event’s Facebook page, there will be various special menus and a live DJ after 9 p.m.
  Crawford mentioned Anchorage’s Kentucky Derby party on May 7. It will be a Southern style dress
  
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• Graze to Raise: A 5k eat-a-thon for a good cause

  04-05-2017 22:44
  
  A leisurely 5k full of good eats for a good cause, the 2017 Graze to Raise fundraiser is on Friday, May 12. The event is also known as the Visitor Industry Charity Walk, and showcases the tourism industry’s commitment to Anchorage businesses.
  The event will feature food from many downtown Anchorage restaurants, highlighting the support those businesses have for the city’s community. Participants can raise money for a nonprofit of their choice, a few of them being the Girl S
  
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• Young votes for health care law overhaul

  04-05-2017 22:31
  
  FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – The Latest on efforts to overhaul the federal health care law (all times local):
  11:50 a.m.
  Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young has voted in support of a health care law rewrite, saying inaction to fix a broken health care system wasn’t an option.
  The Republican says he received commitments from the Trump administration and House leaders that provisions in the legislation would go toward addressing needs in Alaska, where high health care costs and insurance premiums a
  
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• House passes GOP health care bill

  04-05-2017 21:40 via ktoo.org
  
  The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 28. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)
  Updated at 2:39 p.m. ET
  The House voted Thursday to narrowly approve a Republican-drafted measure that would eliminate many of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act — the first step toward keeping one of President Trump’s campaign pledges and a victory for GOP lawmakers who have long railed against Obamacare, as the ACA is commonly known. The vote was 217-213.
  The measure moves to the Senate, where it
  
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• AST: Unalakleet man killed in four-wheeler crash

  04-05-2017 21:07
  
  A 24-year-old Unalakleet man was killed in an ATV crash, according to Alaska State Troopers.
  In an online dispatch, troopers wrote that they were notified of Kevin Bradley’s death at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday. The agency explained that Kevin Bradley was the passenger on a four-wheeler driven by 24-year-old Ransom Bradley III, also of Unalakleet. The ATV crashed down an embankment at Powers Creek, about 3 miles north of Unalakleet, the agency said.
  Ransom Bradley was not at the scene when t
  
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• House OKs GOP bill erasing much of Obama’s health care law, answering campaign pledge and sending measure to Senate

  04-05-2017 20:24
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the health care bill in the House (all times local):
  2:19 p.m.
  Relieved Republicans have pushed their prized health care bill through the House. The mostly party-line 217-213 vote advances a bill that addresses their longtime pledge to erase the 2010 Obama health care law.
  Thursday’s vote sends the measure to the Senate. Many senators consider the House bill too harsh and it’s expected to undergo substantial changes.
  The House measure collapsed i
  
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• ‘Harry Potter’ will make Broadway jump in spring 2018

  04-05-2017 18:45
  
  NEW YORK (AP) – The stage play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” has become London’s theater event of the year. Now Broadway will shortly be under its spell, too.
  Producers said Thursday that the show will come to The Lyric Theatre in the spring of 2018, with an opening set for April. The play recently won nine Olivier Awards in London, including best new play.
  The Harry Potter work was written by Jack Thorne from a story by Thorne, J.K. Rowling and John Tiffany. It pic
  
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• US to seek social media details from certain visa applicants

  04-05-2017 18:34
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – The State Department wants to review social media, email addresses and phone numbers from some foreigners seeking U.S. visas. It’s part of the Trump administration’s enhanced screening of potential immigrants and visitors.
  The department is seeking public comment on the requirement. But it’s also requesting White House budget office approval so the plan can take effect for 180 days, beginning May 18.
  People would have to provide five years of social medi
  
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• Trump targeting IRS rule on churches

  04-05-2017 18:27
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on an executive order on an IRS rule on churches (all times local):
  12:19 p.m.
  President Donald Trump is signing an executive order that will further weaken enforcement of an IRS rule barring churches and tax-exempt groups from endorsing political candidates.
  Trump signed the order at a White House ceremony Thursday marking the National Day of Prayer.
  The executive order has disappointed some of Trump’s supporters who were hoping for a more sweeping measu
  
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• Community pleads with Mat-Su Borough Assembly for more school funding

  04-05-2017 18:16
  
  The Mat-Su Borough School district thought they had it bad with an $11 million gap before the board recently learned they could be looking at a $20 million deficit instead.
  The new potential gap is mainly due to the Senate’s proposed five percent cut to education, which translates to the loss of about $10 million more for the district. But they also asked the Mat-Su Borough Assembly for a six percent increase from last year’s funding, and the Assembly’s initial budget only gave
  
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• Alaska’s 24/7 earthquake monitors in jeopardy of being lost

  04-05-2017 17:23
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska might lose its 24/7 earthquake monitors due to budget cuts.
  The Juneau Empire reported (http://bit.ly/2qIActX ) Wednesday that as of March 1, more than 25 percent of the Alaska Regional Seismic Network has been offline.
  Since 2013, staff has decreased from 20 to 14 employees and funding from the state has decreased from $800,000 to a projected $588,000 next year.
  The University of Alaska has been in charge of monitoring earthquakes since 1987, and university fu
  
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• Troopers: Young girl missing for more than a month found safe

  04-05-2017 17:00
  
  (L) Charlie; (R) Raymond Martin. (Credit: Alaska State Troopers)
  Last updated at 7 a.m. on Thursday, May 4
  Alaska State Troopers say missing 4-year-old Charlie was found safe on Wednesday. They said she was located with the assistance of the Alaska U.S. Marshals Service Alaska Fugitive Task Force and the USMS Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force. Troopers did not say where she was found or the status of her father, Raymond Martin.
  No other details were immediately available.
  Original s
  
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• Federal budget deal maintains Alaska arts funding, state lawmakers OK arts restructuring

  04-05-2017 15:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The federal budget deal cut by Congress includes some good news for arts in Alaska.
  The compromise continues funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. The federal agency provides $800,000, about 30 percent, of the Alaska State Council on the Arts’ $2.8 million annual budget.
  Chairman Ben Brown said the deal means the council will continue to pass federal money on to Alaska art programs.
  “When the Office of Management and Budget released the so-called skinny budget a few months
  
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• Juneau writer explores sex, violence and salmon in new book

  04-05-2017 14:49 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Joe Karson writes short fiction and a blog that often focuses on politics and religion. (Photo courtesy of Joe Karson)
  Juneau writer Joe Karson has released a new book titled “19 Unicorns.” It’s a collection of 17 short stories and two novellas. Karson spoke with me about the collection on KTOO’s A Juneau Afternoon.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/05/04KARSON.mp3To get a feel for the book, the writer shared a description of one of the book’s novellas.
  &ld
  
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• Court docs: FBI translator who tracked ISIS terrorist married him

  04-05-2017 07:23
  
  DETROIT — Love can make you do strange things. Court documents tell the story of an FBI translator who went rogue and married a terrorist who was part of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
  He’s known in Syria by the name Abu Talha al-Almani. In his native Germany, he’s known as Denis Cuspert or the rapper “Deso Dogg.”
  But in this country, he’s Individual A — a recruiter for ISIS.
  Calls for more attacks — which included threats against Pres
  
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• All 2500 pets were adopted– except this dog

  04-05-2017 06:29
  
  For four months, Eastwood was waiting for his chance to find a forever home.
  The 70-pound red-coated Labrador retriever mix was found abandoned on the side of a road in December. He has a deformity in his leg, and veterinarians consider him a “special needs dog.”
  Luckily, the sweet 1-year-old pup got a second chance at Little Traverse Bay Humane Society, a no-kill shelter in Harbor Springs, Michigan. He was evaluated by a specialist, who believes the dog was born with the leg defect.
  
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• Airport live fire exercise sends plumes of smoke over Anchorage

  04-05-2017 06:12
  
  Massive plumes of smoke from the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport could be seen all over town Wednesday– it’s only a training exercise for the Airport Fire Department.
  Firefighters filled a pit with 250 gallons of fuel then lit it on fire, creating a towering funnel of black smoke that drifted across the runways.
  “It’s a small fire. If we had a real aircraft incident we’d have much more fuel and fire to deal with, so it’s fairly small,” said H
  
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• Alaska Dispatch News reporter says he was slapped by Wasilla lawmaker

  04-05-2017 05:12 via ktoo.org
  
  Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, speaks during a Senate Floor Session on Feb. 6, 2017. ADN reporter Nat Herz says Wilson slapped him. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  An Alaska Dispatch News reporter told Juneau police he was slapped Tuesday inside the Alaska Capitol by a state senator during an encounter regarding a recent story.
  ADN political reporter Nathaniel Herz said the exchange between him and freshman Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, occurred Tuesday afternoon in the main stairwell of
  
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• High school girl has perfect response to online body-shamers

  04-05-2017 04:30
  
  It was supposed to be the best night of her life — senior prom — but when Madison Haulter returned from the dance Saturday she was greeted with a flood of negative comments that nearly ruined her perfect evening.
  The senior at Pike High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, posted photos of herself dazzling in a pink sequin dress with her boyfriend Tre Booker.
  Haulter just wanted to mark the occasion, but soon the photos she shared on Twitter went viral and the online bullies followed.
  &l
  
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• DeeDee Jonrowe testifies in Sockeye trial; state rests

  04-05-2017 04:20
  
  Iditarod icon DeeDee Jonrowe took the stand Wednesday in the Sockeye fire trial. Hers was among the 55 homes lost in the more than 7000-acre blaze.
  “My house was reduced to three inches of ash and an eight-foot hole,” Jonrowe told the jury.
  Jonrowe was one of five sockeye fire victims called to the stand on the ninth day of the trial against Greg Imig and Amy DeWitt, the couple accused of starting the fire from an unattended burn pit.
  Each victim testified about the first moment
  
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• Years of budget cuts hamper monitoring of Alaska earthquakes, including Monday’s

  04-05-2017 04:17 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska seismologists say continuing budget cuts are affecting their ability to quickly detect and pinpoint earthquakes.
  Helena Buurman of the Alaska Earthquake Center testified on Saturday before the House Finance Committee’s subcommittee on the University of Alaska’s budget.
  Buurman said they have a fundamental government responsibility to protect lives and property. But she said four years of state budget cuts have affected their ability to maintain their seismic monitoring networ
  
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• Community comes together to replace stolen bikes

  04-05-2017 04:12
  
  An after-school program that aims to give seventh-grade girls confidence on a bicycle had a setback this week when someone stole five bikes from a portable classroom at Steller School. By the end of the day Wednesday, all the bikes had been replaced– thanks to donations by the community.
  “It’s amazing how people have responded,” said Lael Wilcox, co-founder of the program called G.R.I.T., Girls Riding Into Tomorrow.
  When word got out about the thefts, people wanted to kno
  
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• Pilot was ‘doing what he loved’ before plane crash

  04-05-2017 04:02
  
  The pilot and sole occupant in a Cessna 208B operated by Grant Aviation who died in a plane crash south of Chignik Monday evening has been identified as 54-year-old Gabriele Cianetti, of Anchorage.
  Cianetti had been flying in Alaska for five years, half of which he spent flying for Grant Aviation, says company president Bruce McGlasson. He said Cianetti was based out of King Salmon, where he was well-liked by his coworkers.
  “We shut down the station yesterday and we have counselors going o
  
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• Army releases photographer’s last photo of blast that killed her

  04-05-2017 03:49
  
  A mortar tube accidentally explodes July 2, 2013, during an Afghan National Army (ANA) live-fire training exercise in Laghman Province, Afghanistan. The accident killed U.S. Army Spc. Hilda I. Clayton and four ANA soldiers. (Credit: U.S. ARMY Spc. Hilda I. Clayton)A mortar tube accidentally explodes July 2, 2013, during an Afghan National Army (ANA) live-fire training exercise in Laghman Province, Afghanistan. The accident killed U.S. Army Spc. Hilda I. Clayton and four ANA soldiers. (This phot
  
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• Update: Assembly spares downtown pool, Douglas gym from budget cut list

  04-05-2017 03:32 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Update | 6:42 p.m.
  At its finance committee meeting this evening, the Juneau Assembly removed the Augustus Brown Swimming Pool and Mt. Jumbo Gym from a list of possible cuts.
  The vote was 6-3 to spare the pool and 8-1 to spare the gym.
  Original story | 5:32 p.m.
  Students from Juneau-Douglas High School use the pool for an athletics program on Wednesday. (Photo by Jacob Resneck/KTOO)
  Cost cutting efforts at the City and Borough of Juneau continue as the Juneau Assembly mulls closing the downtown
  
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• Juneau Assembly eyes closing downtown pool, Douglas gym

  04-05-2017 03:32 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Students from Juneau-Douglas High School use the pool for an athletics program on Wednesday. (Photo by Jacob Resneck/KTOO)
  Cost cutting efforts at the City and Borough of Juneau continue as the Juneau Assembly mulls closing the downtown pool and a gymnasium in Douglas.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/05/170503FACILITIES-PKG.mp3Both are on the list of Parks and Recreation facilities facing closure. That’s because the Assembly is trying to fill a $1.9 million deficit without
  
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• Study asks why species bounced back – or didn’t – after Exxon Valdez

  04-05-2017 03:31 via ktoo.org
  
  A sea otter in Resurrection Bay. (Photo by Heather Bryant)
  When the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound in 1989, the immediate effects were pretty obvious. Researchers estimate that hundreds of thousands of sea birds and thousands of sea otters died within months, among other impacts.
  But in the years that followed, some populations bounced back quickly, while others may never recover. Now, nearly three decades later, scientists are starting to und
  
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• Rep. Eastman: Some women ‘glad’ to be pregnant for Medicaid-funded travel for abortions

  04-05-2017 03:21 via ktoo.org
  
  Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, spoke during a House floor session in March. He said this week that some women are “glad” to receive Medicaid-funded travel for abortions. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  State Rep. David Eastman said some Alaskans are glad to become pregnant, so that they can have a Medicaid-funded trip to Anchorage or Seattle to have an abortion. Eastman didn’t provide evidence for this, but said he had been told this by friends and acquaintances.
  Eastman said&nb
  
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• Twin Lakes fire was latest in a string of intentional — but unconnected — fires

  04-05-2017 02:58 via ktoo.org
  
  The remains of the playground at Twin Lakes steam after a fire was mostly extinguished on Monday, April 24. (Photo by Quinton Chandler/KTOO)
  In what could only be described as an ironic and tragic coincidence, last week’s playground fire at Twin Lakes happened on the very first day of a statewide conference in Juneau of Alaska fire and arson investigators.
  Juneau Fire Marshal Dan Jager organized the conference that drew 40 students from the North Slope Borough to Ketchikan. Half a dozen in
  
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• Local reporter claims lawmaker slapped him

  04-05-2017 02:53
  
  Concerns have been raised in the Alaska Senate over the conduct of freshman legislator David Wilson (R-Wasilla) after a reporter with the Alaska Dispatch News filed a police report claiming Wilson slapped him across the face.
  The Alaska Dispatch News reports it happened Tuesday afternoon in the main stairwell of the capitol building after political reporter Nathaniel Herz approached Wilson about a story Herz published Sunday.
  The article raised eyebrows about whether Wilson may have introduced a
  
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• Conoco gives up stake in North Slope project seen as precursor to gas line

  04-05-2017 02:48 via ktoo.org
  
  Construction on Exxon Mobil’s Point Thomson field in December 2015. (Photo courtesy of Exxon Mobil/MSI Communications)
  ConocoPhillips has confirmed it’s giving up its small stake in the Point Thomson field on the North Slope.
  The move has some observers wondering if it’s a bad sign for the state’s effort to build a massive natural gas line.
  Point Thomson is one of the state’s newest oil and gas projects. It’s about 60 miles east of Prudhoe Bay and started prod
  
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• FBI Director Comey says he is ‘mildly nauseous’ about potential impact on election

  04-05-2017 02:39 via ktoo.org
  
  FBI Director James Comey discusses the impact of technology on the work of law enforcement at a Brookings Institution event on Oct. 16, 2014. (Creative Commons photo courtesy Brookings Institution)
  FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday defended his decision to tell Congress in October that he was revisiting the bureau’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.
  Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Comey said he believed revisiting the investigation just before the ele
  
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• Students sue to be allowed to display pro-abortion rights sign

  04-05-2017 02:20
  
  Students in Indiana are going to court to be able to hang a pro-abortion rights sign in school. (Credit: ACLU of Indiana)
  CARMEL, Ind. — Students at a suburban Indiana high school who were told they couldn’t hang a pro-abortion rights sign in the cafeteria are turning to the courts, arguing that another student group was allowed to put up an anti-abortion sign last year.
  Administrators at Carmel High School say student groups may post signs only if they advertise group meetings. Lawy
  
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• Beware unexpected Google Docs, the latest phishing scam

  04-05-2017 01:31
  
  Be careful when opening emails claiming to include links to a Google Document shared by people you know —they might be part of a phishing scam that spread quickly across the internet Wednesday.
  Staff at multiple media outlets, including CBS News and KTVA, reported receiving the emails, which look nearly identical to the actual ones Google Drive sends when a person shares a document.
  It is not clear if any accounts belonging to government officials were compromised, but information tec
  
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• Brad Pitt opens up on divorce, drinking

  04-05-2017 01:21
  
  Brad Pitt got honest and personal in a revealing new interview with GQ.
  The actor talked to the magazine about his recent divorce and his relationship with his children; he also alluded to a possible drinking problem and said that he recently quit alcohol.
  Pitt told GQ Style that the past half year has been a “weird” time for him and that things have been tough for his children since their family was “ripped apart.” Pitt’s ex, Angelina Jolie, filed for divorce in Se
  
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• North Korea confirms U.S. professor detained

  04-05-2017 00:58
  
  SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has confirmed the detention of an American citizen for alleged acts of hostility aimed at overthrowing the country.
  The Korean Central News Agency says officials “intercepted” Kim Sang-Duk at Pyongyang International Airport on April 22.
  Wednesday’s KCNA dispatch says authorities were detaining Kim and are conducting a detailed investigation into his alleged crime.
  It says Kim was invited to Pyongyang University of Science and Technology to
  
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• Crews battling small wildfire at Hatcher Pass

  04-05-2017 00:42
  
  The Department of Natural Resources says fire crews are battling a small one-acre wildfire at Hatcher Pass.
  Willow Fire was the first to respond to the blaze, which officials say is 30 percent active.
  DNR is sending up a chopper to get a better look and is expected to share more information shortly.
   
  The post Crews battling small wildfire at Hatcher Pass appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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