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By John Gramlich, Stateline Staff Writer
ECONOMY & BUSINESS BEAT: In this year’s legislative session, Republican Governor Nikki Haley says, “We’ll make the unions understand full well that they are not needed, not wanted and not welcome in the state of South Carolina.”
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By Sebastian Kitchen, Montgomery Advertiser
The attorneys in a high-profile federal corruption case have selected a jury and are expected to begin opening arguments today in the retrial of VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor and five others.
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AL: Bentley calls for cuts to government, funding and reform for schools
By Brian Lyman, Montgomery Advertiser
Gov. Robert Bentley called Tuesday night for new economic development legislation and special tax credits for teachers, while promising to protect Public Safety, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Human Resources from potentially steep cuts in the state's General Fund.
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AL: Bentley calls for cuts to government, funding and reform for schools
By Brian Lyman, Montgomery Advertiser
Gov. Robert Bentley called Tuesday night for new economic development legislation and special tax credits for teachers, while promising to protect Public Safety, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Human Resources from potentially steep cuts in the state's General Fund.
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AZ: Arizona loses out on $1.9 billion
By Mar Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
Arizona has lost an estimated $1.9 billion over the last decade because it doesn't tax online sales, a study commissioned by the Arizona Retailers Association said.
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CA: Poll -- Optimism up in California
By Tim Mak, Politico
Two-thirds of Californians believe their personal financial situation in one of the hardest-hit states will improve over the next 12 months, a new report shows, a promising sign in the context of declining unemployment across the country.
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CA: If Silicon Valley costs a lot now, wait until the Facebook update
By Michael Cooper, The New York Times
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Imagine looking for a house in San Francisco or one of the nicer parts of Silicon Valley, which are already among the most expensive parts of the country. Now imagine having to bid against a legion of newly minted Facebook millionaires.
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CT: Malloy likely to keep plenty of state jobs vacant
By Keith M. Phaneuf, The Connecticut Mirror
Whatever new initiatives Gov. Dannel P. Malloy unveils Wednesday in his revised budget for the next fiscal year, he likely won't be asking for much extra staffing to carry them out.
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DE: AG Biden not yet ready to join foreclosure settlement
By The Associated Press, The News Journal (New Castle-Wilmington)
Delaware would receive about $40 million in a proposed settlement between the nation's attorneys general and five banks over alleged foreclosure abuses, but Attorney General Beau Biden told state lawmakers today that he's still not ready to sign on to it.
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DE: Business, media interests in dispute over 'secret court'
By Sean O'Sullivan, The News Journal (New Castle-Wilmington)
The decision by the Delaware Court of Chancery to establish what some see as a "secret court" for business has set up a showdown between the court, the national media and top business interests.
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FL: Legislators reject attempt to clarify state's regulation of slot machines
By Mary Ellen Klas, The Miami Herald
State gambling regulators are in a bind. They have indirectly authorized the expansion of gambling in the past six months as lawyers for parimutuels found holes in state laws and opened the door to slot machines at parimutuels across the state and table-game look-alikes at existing racinos.
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GA: Regulatory approval is expected for new reactors in Georgia
By Matthew L. Wald, The New York Times
WASHINGTON — For the first time in over three decades, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to decide to grant a license to build a nuclear reactor — a milestone for an industry whose long-hoped-for renaissance is smaller and later than anticipated.
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HI: Lawmakers consider more rigorous inspections of zip lines
By Treena Shapiro, The Associated Press, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Hawaii's tourism industry could be changed by a proposal discussed today that requires more strict inspections of zip lines, which allow riders strapped to a harness and a cable to glide above forest canopies.
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IA: Iowa House panel OKs 40 percent cut in commercial property taxes
By William Petroski, The Des Moines Register
An Iowa House committee approved a bill Wednesday night that would slash commercial property taxes by 40 percent over eight years, while providing hundreds of millions of dollars in state money to "backfill" lost property tax revenues to school districts, cities and counties.
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ID: Idaho biz, ag groups promote economic incentives
By John Miller, The Idaho Statesman (Boise)
Business and agricultural groups told House and Senate tax committees that restoring university research and development budgets, adding incentives for job creation and eliminating Idaho's $130 million personal property tax would all help boost Idaho's economy.
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ID: Under bill, Idaho would have to sell storage biz
By The Associated Press, The Idaho Statesman (Boise)
Idaho's endowment trust could soon be forced to sell a self-storage business in Boise that's ignited criticism that the state inappropriately meddled in the private sector.
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IL: Legislators want to extend lottery game helping AIDS fight
By Andrew Maloney, Chicago Sun-Times
Although dollars and cents have driven most of the conversation in Springfield this spring, two Illinois lawmakers say their push to extend an AIDs awareness lottery is a moral issue that is critical to funding the "front line" in the fight against the disease.
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IL: Plan to close IL facilities gets cool reception
By The Associated Press, Northwest Indiana Times (Munster)
Gov. Pat Quinn's push to overhaul care for people with mental illnesses and disabilities collided Tuesday with safety concerns, money worries and maybe a bit of wounded pride as lawmakers reviewed plans to close two state institutions.
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IN: Fines issued in State Fair tragedy
By Niki Kelly, The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne)
The Indiana Department of Labor on Wednesday faulted three entities for workplace violations related to the rigging system that collapsed at the Indiana State Fair in August, killing seven people.
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IN: Right-to-work fines put on hold by Ind. high court
By The Associated Press, Northwest Indiana Times (Munster)
The state Supreme Court placed on hold Wednesday all legislative fines against Democrats who boycotted the Indiana House during the right-to-work battle until it rules on whether it's legal for those fines to be deducted from their paychecks.
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LA: Super Bowl 2013 state promotion expenses should be shared, Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne says
By Ed Anderson, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne said Tuesday his office should not be singled out to pay the state's entire $6 million cost of promoting Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans next February. Dardenne said that "it should be a shared responsibility" by the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, which he oversees, the state Department of Economic Development and the state general fund.
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MA: Fees for closing accounts draw attention
By Todd Wallack, The Boston Globe
Upset about bank fees? Want to close your bank account? No problem, your bank says. Just one catch: There may be a fee for that. Many banks across the country, including several in Massachusetts, are charging customers if they close a checking or savings account within several months of opening it.
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MA: Mass. expected to join foreclosure abuse settlement
By Jenifer B. McKim, The Boston Globe
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is expected to sign on to a settlement brokered by attorneys general nationwide with five major US lenders over the banks' role in the country's foreclosure crisis, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions who wasn't authorized to discuss the deal publicly.
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MA: Manufacturing was bright spot in Mass. economy last year
By Erin Ailworth, The Boston Globe
The state's manufacturers were hiring last year, advertising more job openings than any other industry sector except health care, according to a study released yesterday by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute.
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MA: Hacker group -- BPD will pay for Occupy eviction
By O'Ryan Johnson, Boston Herald
The Internet vigilante group Anonymous refuses to give up on its stranglehold of the Boston police website and is likely to strike again in revenge for cops evicting Occupy campers from Dewey Square, a man who claims to be the unofficial spokesman for the hacker collective told the Herald yesterday.
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MA: No say for some who would be casinos' neighbors
By Mark Arsenault, The Boston Globe
WALPOLE, Mass. - Mike McCarthy lives close enough to a Gillette Stadium parking lot to smell the hibachi grills on game day. He does not mind Sunday tailgaters a few hundred feet from his house, but he draws the line at a billion-dollar casino. Though he lives closer than almost anyone to the proposed site of a Wynn Resorts casino, he will not be allowed to participate in a local referendum if the project makes it to a vote.
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MA: 6 New England towns picked for technical help
By The Associated Press, Tallahassee Democrat
Federal environmental officials have picked six New England communities to get technical help improving the local economy and environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it selected Simsbury, Conn., Burlington, Vt., and the Massachusetts communities of Fall River, Holyoke, Northampton and Roxbury. They are among 56 municipalities in 26 states to receive help.
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MD: Maryland joins nationwide mortgage settlement
By Hanah Cho, The Sun (Baltimore)
Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has agreed to join other states in a multibillion-dollar settlement with the nation's five largest mortgage servicers — a landmark agreement that would aid homeowners who were victims of shoddy and illegal foreclosure paperwork practices.
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MD: Disgraced collector pleads guilty to stealing historical documents
By Peter Hermann, Steve Kilar and Tricia Bishop, The Sun (Baltimore)
Barry H. Landau, the once-esteemed collector of presidential memorabilia, admitted in federal court Tuesday that he stole thousands of documents regarded as cultural treasures from historical societies and libraries in Baltimore and up the East Coast.
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ME: Report shows Maine job losses worst in nation per capita
By Matt Wickenheiser, Bangor Daily News
A new analysis by the Maine Center for Economic Policy suggests the state lost more jobs per capita in 2011 than every other state in the nation, shedding 7,200 jobs, but the Maine Department of Labor refuted those numbers, saying they're based on faulty federal data.
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ME: Group alleges industry influenced DEP's mercury recycling report
By Kevin Miller, Bangor Daily News
The Natural Resources Council of Maine is accusing Maine Department of Environmental Protection officials of allowing an industry group to have undue influence on a recent report that calls for a re-evaluation of hazardous waste recycling programs.
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MI: Surplus surprises Michigan, but is it safe to spend again?
By Monica Davey, The New York Times
Over most of the past decade, budget deliberations in Michigan have taken on a glum and familiar monotony: What do we cut now? But the state that experienced an economic downturn earlier, deeper and longer than most of the rest of the country has made an unlikely discovery as its officials closed out its latest financial books: Michigan has a $457 million surplus.
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MI: Avoid 'right-to-work' fight for now
By Staff, Lansing State Journal
Michigan's Legislature should follow the lead of Gov. Rick Snyder and avoid staging an ugly confrontation over right-to-work legislation.
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MT: Oil boom prompts more troopers for eastern Montana
By The Associated Press, Great Falls Tribune
Montana's Highway Patrol is boosting the number of troopers assigned to the eastern part of the state to handle growing law enforcement demands created by the region's oil boom.
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NC: State unemployment system under review
By David Ranii, The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The $2.7 billion debt that North Carolina has incurred to pay unemployment benefits in the wake of the recession has led the N.C. Chamber of Commerce to commission a comprehensive study of the state's unemployment system.
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NC: Medical lab company adding 500 jobs near NC HQ
By The Associated Press, The Winston-Salem Journal
A laboratory company that carries out and analyzes medical tests for doctors and hospitals will add 500 jobs at its North Carolina headquarters in the next five years.
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ND: Continue to look forward, plan
By Staff, The Bismarck Tribune
North Dakotans should pay attention to Vision 2020, a statewide planning process about to get under way. The past teaches us that the policies and legislation resulting from the plan will affect the state well beyond the 20-year objective. Those speaking now will help shape the state's future.
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ND: North Dakota pumps record 153 million barrels of oil in 2011
By James MacPherson, The Associated Press, The Forum (Fargo)
North Dakota oil drillers produced a record 152.9 million barrels of crude in 2011, up more than 35 percent and nearly 40 million more barrels than the previous record set a year earlier, the state Industrial Commission said Wednesday.
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NE: Still losing at casinos?
By Staff, Lincoln Journal Star
If Sen. Paul Schumacher wanted to stir discussion about the possibility of casino gambling in Nebraska, the bill he introduced this year ought to do just that.
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NJ: Gender gap in N.J. women's pay deserves attention
By Staff, The Star-Ledger (Newark)
It's no secret that women are paid less than men for doing similar work. And any college grad who thought her higher degrees shielded her from the inequities in the salary structure, think again. The more education you have — and the older you are — the wider the pay gap with male counterparts.
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NJ: Bill would add $1 billion to NJ tax break fund
By Hugh R. Morley, The Record of Bergen County
A new bill introduced in Trenton would add $1 billion to the tax credits available for the corporate incentive program that rewarded Panasonic and Goya Foods for staying in New Jersey.
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NY: Push to avert foreclosures hits court logjam
By William Glaberson, The New York Times
New York has been among the most aggressive states in trying to protect homeowners from foreclosure, granting new legal protections and turning courts across the state into teeming negotiation centers working to keep people in their homes.
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NY: Medicaid shift creates state jobs
By Jimmy Vielkind, Times Union (Albany)
The state Department of Health plans to hire up to 1,200 workers — many to be located in the Capital Region — over the next six years as it takes over the Medicaid program from counties, an official testified at a budget hearing Wednesday.
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NY: Seeds planted for farm reform
By Rick Karlin, Times Union (Albany)
A coalition of environmentalists and small farmers launched a phone and email campaign Wednesday urging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to push for big reforms in the federal Farm Bill, which is coming up for a vote in Washington this year.
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NY: Report -- Student debt could be next economic bomb
By James Goodman, Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester)
Student debt is looming as a national problem that could have repercussions reminiscent of the mortgage crisis, says a new report by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. The study, released Tuesday and based on a nationwide survey of 860 bankruptcy lawyers, said that bankruptcy attorneys nationwide are seeing at the ground level "what feels too much like what they saw before the foreclosure crisis crashed onto the national scene."
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NY: Any way you slice it, state's fine takes a bite
By Rick Karlin, Times Union (Albany)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo likes to say that New York is "Open for Business," and has laid out a welcome mat for entrepreneurs. But the Empire State still has a way to go if Christian King's experience is any indication. King is still shaking his head at the $5,500 fine he's facing for failing to provide enough polo shirts to employees in his pizza shops.
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OH: Casino rules move forward
By David Eggert, The Columbus Dispatch
A wide-ranging update of Ohio gambling rules won approval yesterday from a legislative committee, though fights lie ahead over addiction funding and forcing counties to spend casino-tax revenue on public safety.
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OH: Analaysts like green light for 'data highway' upgrade
By TIm Feran, The Columbus Dispatch
Gov. John Kasich's plan to "open the faucet" on the state's broadband access is drawing praise and a little caution — but most analysts agree that Ohio's economy will benefit from the move to higher network speeds for business and research institutions.
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OH: Kasich -- Education will lead to new jobs
By Laura A. Bischoff, Dayton Daily News
STEUBENVILLE — Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Tuesday said that jobs in manufacturing, logistics and other industries are moving back, but the state needs to revamp public education and align work force training to match job openings.
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PA: Pennsylvania set to allow local taxes on shale gas
By Sabrina Tavernise, The New York Times
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Senate on Tuesday passed legislation that would authorize a tax on the shale gas industry and set uniform standards for development, changes that critics said would leave many municipalities with little control over the use of their land. Approval in the House was expected on Wednesday.
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SC: Lawmakers might block Savannah port suit
By Sammy Fretwell, The State (Columbia)
South Carolina will hurt its chances of stopping Savannah's hotly disputed harbor dredging project if state legislators prevent citizens from suing accused polluters, lawmakers were told Wednesday.
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SC: Group releasing second report on SC cruise impact
By Bruce Smith, The Associated Press, Spartanburg Herald-Journal
A preservation group is releasing a new study that addresses cruises in South Carolina, a contentious issue that has spawned a lawsuit headed for the state Supreme Court.
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SD: SD panel gives green light to digital billboards
By The Associated Press, Rapid City Journal
South Dakota residents fighting to protect an unobstructed view of their Western Black Hills expressed worry Wednesday that towering electronic billboards considered crucial by local business will scar the landscape along a picturesque portion of Interstate 90.
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TN: Tennessee is close to evicting Occupy Nashville
By Chas Sisk, The Tennessean (Nashville)
Tennessee lawmakers moved toward removing the Occupy Nashville encampment from the state Capitol with a pair of votes Tuesday in which they also amped up the threat of jail time.
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US: States negotiate $26 billion deal for homeowners
By Nelson D. Schwartz and Shaila Dewan, The New York Times
After months of painstaking talks, government authorities and five of the nation's biggest banks have agreed to a $26 billion settlement that could provide relief to nearly two million current and former American homeowners harmed by the bursting of the housing bubble, state and federal officials said.
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US: States with highest foreclosure rates among bank deal holdouts
By Staff, Bloomberg Businessweek
California, New York, Nevada, Florida and Massachusetts are among the states that haven't signed off on a settlement with banks over foreclosure abuses, according to state officials and two people familiar with the talks. The holdouts include some with the highest rates of foreclosures.
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US: Oil and gas boom lifts U.S. economy
By Russell Gold, The Wall Street Journal
NAMPA, Idaho — The staccato of nail guns echoes across a cavernous building here as workers piece together manufactured houses with easy-to-clean linoleum floors and rugged interiors for muddy oil-field workers.
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UT: Utah state leaders to study '22 Olympic bid
By Jennifer Dobner, The Daily Herald (Provo)
Utah officials on Wednesday announced the formation of an exploratory committee to consider whether the state should pursue a bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
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UT: Billboard protection bill zooms through first test
By Robert Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune
Despite weeks of negotiations, billboard companies that want to swap out old, printed billboards with new electronic signs remain at an impasse with Utah cities that want to be able to limit the displays in residential neighborhoods.
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VA: Amazon in talks with Virginia about tax deal, lawmaker says
By Julian Walker, The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk)
As retailers from around the state lobbied lawmakers to end a sales tax loophole for online merchants, a state senator said one of the biggest beneficiaries, Amazon.com, is in talks with state officials about a tax deal.
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VT: Link in doubt between Vermont Yankee, radioactive fish
By Terri Hallenbeck, Burlington Free Press
Fish in the Connecticut River near the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant are no more radioactive than fish far across the state, according to recent study results from the state Health Department.
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WI: State can't afford GAAP accounting yet
By Staff, The Post-Crescent (Appleton)
This is a story about two kinds of accounting. One kind uses "generally accepted accounting principles" and is the kind used by publically traded companies. The other is the kind the state uses and is called "cash accounting."
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WV: State senator pushes for right-to-work legislation
By Jared Hunt, Charleston Daily Mail
Saying it is the first thing major companies look for in locating new businesses, state Sen. Karen Facemyer took to the Senate floor Monday to try to garner support for her bill to make West Virginia a "right-to-work" state.
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