Charlie Kirk’s Widow Weighs in on Whether Tyler Robinson’s Case Should be Televised

Ken Silva
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Charlie Kirk’s Widow Weighs in on Whether Tyler Robinson’s Case Should be Televised

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Both the prosecution and the defense in the Charlie Kirk assassination case want to prohibit cameras from the courtroom. Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, has something to say about that.

“There were cameras all over my husband when he was murdered. There have been cameras all over my friends and family, mourning. There have been cameras all over me, analyzing my every move, analyzing my every smile, my every tear,” she said in an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters.

“We deserve to have cameras in there.”

Kirk’s comments comes as some national media outlets are also pushing for transparency in the Kirk case, including Human Events and Court TV.

“In the absence of official courtroom footage, speculative secondary content (YouTube commentary, AI-generated reenactments, partisan edits) will fill the void. This would stand to increase, not decrease, prejudicial distortion,” the Human Events letter from last week says. “Live unedited coverage is the most reliable antidote to misinformation, allowing the public to see proceedings as they occur, not as filtered through third-party narratives.”

Court TV’s Julie Grant called for the judge to “let the cameras roll.”

Local media has joined the fray, too. In a motion to Judge Tony Graf on Thursday, Deseret News, KSL, KUTV, the Utah News Dispatch and the Utah Headliners Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists all asked to be heard on the matter before the judge makes a decision.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the attorneys for accused Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson want to ban cameras so that their client’s physical appearance is “no longer the subject of interest” in media coverage. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office has also requested cameras to be banned.

Judge Graf is expected to rule on the matter in January.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Hegseth Declines To Say Whether the US Is Planning To Bomb Venezuela

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Hegseth Declines To Say Whether the US Is Planning To Bomb Venezuela

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Saturday declined to comment on whether the US was planning to bomb Venezuela amid a major US military buildup in the Caribbean and frequent strikes on alleged drug boats in the waters of Latin America.

“Appreciate the question, but, of course, we would not share any amount of operational details about what may or may not happen,” Hegseth said in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when asked if the US was preparing to strike inside Venezuela.

The Miami Herald reported on Friday that the US has made a decision to attack military targets inside Venezuela as part of a campaign against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, whom the US seeks to oust. The report said that the US strikes could begin within a matter of “hours or days,” but President Trump claimed he was not considering bombing Venezuela.

The world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), transits the Strait of Gibraltar, October 1, 2025 (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Alyssa Joy)

When asked by reporters if he was planning strikes inside Venezuela, Trump said “no,” though he has previously suggested that the US may begin bombing alleged drug shipments inside the country “by land.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also serves as Trump’s national security advisor and has been leading the push toward regime change in Venezuela, also denied the Miami Herald report.

“Your ‘sources’ claiming to have ‘knowledge of the situation’ tricked you into writing a fake story,” Rubio wrote on X in response to the report.

For weeks, multiple media outlets have been reporting that the US is considering launching strikes in Venezuela, and the US has built up a force in the region that’s well beyond what is needed to bomb small, defenseless boats. US officials have also made clear that the real goal of the campaign is regime change in Venezuela, something Rubio has wanted for many years.

A US aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, is also being deployed to the Caribbean, and the US has begun to run weekly bomber flights near the coast of Venezuela. Much of the military action and the leaks to the media are part of a psychological campaign aimed at getting Maduro to voluntarily step down or someone in his inner circle to turn on him, but it’s unlikely that will happen.

Trump Considers Military Action to Stop Christian Genocide in Nigeria

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Trump Considers Military Action to Stop Christian Genocide in Nigeria

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump has directed the Department of War to prepare for possible action in Nigeria to target Islamic militants committing genocide against Christians.

“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” the president said on Truth Social. “I am hereby instructuring our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST.”

In response, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said, “Yes Sir. The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”

“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a country of particular concern [CPC] but that is the least of it,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

“When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like what is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 worldwide), something must be done. The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world.”

Trump made the decision after U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called on him to protect Christian Nigerians and introduced a bill to do the same last month.

“I am deeply gratified to President Trump for making this determination,” Cruz said in an emailed statement to The Center Square. “I have fought for years to counter the slaughter and persecution of Christians in Nigeria, and this year introduced legislation that will lock in the designation made today.”

The CPC designation “is a critical step in holding accountable and changing the behavior of Nigerian officials who have facilitated and created an environment conducive to the outrages in Nigeria,” he added. “My legislation implements additional steps, including targeting those who implement blasphemy and sharia laws in Nigeria.”

Last month, Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025 to protect Christians and other religious minorities from persecution by Islamic militants. The bill, if signed into law, directs the federal government to impose sanctions on the Nigeria government and its officials “who facilitate Islamist jihadist violence and the imposition of blasphemy laws” against non-Muslim Nigerians.

“Nigerian Christians are being targeted and executed for their faith by Islamist terrorist groups and are being forced to submit to sharia law and blasphemy laws across Nigeria. It is long past time to impose real costs on the Nigerian officials who facilitate these activities,” Cruz said when introducing it.

In the first 220 days of this year, more than 7,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria, a new report published by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (InterSociety) states. Persecution of Christians escalated in 2009 after an Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram uprising. Since then, an estimated 189,000 civilians have been killed, 125,000 of whom were Christians, InterSociety, a Nigerian non-governmental organization, says.

By 2015, Boko Haram began self-identifying as ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province). ISWAP, Fulani fighters, soldiers with Operation Safe Haven, a joint military force, and other Islamic terrorist groups are targeting Christians for annihilation, according to multiple reports, The Center Square reported.

Under two laws, the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016, the president is required to review religious freedom in every country and make several designations based on the findings of “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.” Examples include torture, forced disappearances and murder, among others. The IRFA requires CPC designations; the Wolf Act requires non-state actors to receive similar designations as Entities of Particular Concern (EPC) and be added to a Special Watch List (SWL).

CPC and other designations are made by the secretary of State. Those currently on the CPC list are Burma, People’s Republic of China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Countries currently on the SWL are Algeria, Azerbaijan, the Central African Republic, Comoros and Vietnam.

Those on the EPCs are al Qa’ida affiliate Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS-Sahel (formerly known as ISIS-Greater Sahara), ISIS-West Africa, al Qa’ida affiliate Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, and the Taliban.

Under the Biden administration, a record number of illegal border crossers, at least 1.6 million, were reported illegally entering the country from four CPCs: China, Cuba, Nicaragua and Russia, The Center Square exclusively reported.

Trump directed the leaders of the House Appropriations Committee to immediately look into the slaughter of Nigerian Christians and report back to him.

Others are also calling on Trump to take similar action to protect Christians in Sudan who are also facing genocide.

Ranchers Decry Beef Imports from Argentina, Expert Says Good Start

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Ranchers Decry Beef Imports from Argentina, Expert Says Good Start

(, The Center Square) Consumers feeling the pang of high beef prices at the grocery store may see some relief from a plan to import beef from Argentina but it’s not likely to be much, according to an expert.

Marc Busch is an expert on international trade policy and law. He’s also the Karl F. Landegger Professor of International Business Diplomacy at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. 

Busch said the increase in beef prices is the result of a combination of factors, including the lowest U.S. beef cattle headcount since 1951.

“We have a shortage of domestic beef. We have higher input prices, not least because of the tariffs, on what it takes to grow a herd, and we have a Byzantine system of import quotas that don’t make a lot of sense and that keep trade from filling in where domestic production falls short,” he told The Center Square.

Ground beef prices were up 12.8% over the 12 months ending in August, according to the Labor Department. U.S. beef prices have increased by more than 50% since 2020, according to figures from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. From September 2020 to September 2025, the price per pound of ground beef increased by more than $2.20. Ground beef prices hit a record high of $6.32 a pound in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins recently noted that Americans consume about 12 million metric tons of beef. About 10 million comes from domestic producers, leaving a shortfall of about 2 million, she said. She said the imports from Argentina wouldn’t be limited.

“This is not a massive influx in the millions of tons I think that some have thought of beef from Argentina,” she told Fox Business in October. 

Busch said the imports could help, but not significantly. 

“No one is opening the floodgates to imports here, this is dilly dallying with existing quotas,” he told The Center Square. “So even if you were to give that quota to some other country, you run the risk that the pricing wouldn’t be viable to make a dent anytime soon. So Australia has way too much quota, but its beef is also way too expensive, and the Argentinians aren’t going to step in and suddenly answer the problem. It’s not going to happen because they’re too small with that quota, but it could make a slight difference in some markets at a certain price point.”

President Donald Trump recently told U.S. ranchers to lower prices. Cattle producers hit back.

“The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and its members cannot stand behind the President while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef in an attempt to influence prices,” NCBA CEO Colin Woodall said in a statement. “It is imperative that President Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins let the cattle markets work.”

Busch called it a politically smart move, but said beef imports from Argentina are unlikely to significantly affect prices at the grocery store for U.S. consumers. He said the dispute was a protectionist one to keepprices elevated. He also dismissed the NCBA’s concerns about Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Argentina, saying the country’s supply was safe and that any outbreak would trigger a ban on imports. And Busch also called out the NCBA’s worries about Brazilian beef being relabeled as from Argentina.

“The U.S. is on guard for transshipment of anything from anywhere through trade partners,” he noted, given the existing tariffs that have upended global trade.

The Center Square reached out to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association with questions submitted through a portal on the group’s website on Thursday and followed up by phone and email on Friday. The group’s media team did not respond.

Busch said the solution is to import more beef, but that’s politically fraught and unlikely to succeed anytime soon.

“If we had more liberalization of our market, then we might get closer faster, but it’s not in the cards. This is an incredibly politically powerful constituent, and their investment in protectionism is second to none. So the answer, which is staring us in the face, isn’t on the table, but instead, what you will see is rejigging at the margins and a lot of pressure from the president to lower prices, which smacks of market interference in a way that many Republicans in Congress are not going to endorse. It is in Congress that you’re also hearing the loudest opposition, to the point where the narrative is this is a sellout, even with an inconsequential redistributing of quota to Argentina.”

Ohio Mass Shooting Injures 9

Headline USA Editor
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Ohio Mass Shooting Injures 9

(Headline USA) Gunfire erupted early Sunday at a large rental home where teenagers had gathered for a birthday party that was promoted on social media, injuring nine people. The scene in northeastern Ohio was chaotic as some people fled and first responders performed life-saving measures, police said.

The mass shooting happened at around 12:15 a.m. in Bath Township, about 15 miles northwest of Akron.

At a Sunday morning news conference, Police Chief Vito Sinopoli said the seriousness of the victims’ injuries was not clear. It also was not immediately clear if all nine people were shot — one person’s leg injury may have been caused by a fall, he said.

Sinopoli said the large home had been rented out on Airbnb, which is not allowed under local zoning ordinances, and most of the people at the party were under 18. He said the victims may include a mix of juveniles and adults. Social media posts about the party drew a big crowd, he said.

It was not immediately known what sparked the shooting and how many people fired guns, he said. No arrests were announced.

“The Bath Township community experienced a tragic and senseless act of violence early this morning,” Sinopoli said.

Airbnb said in a statement Sunday that it prohibits “unauthorized and disruptive gatherings,” and it has suspended the property listing and removed the account of the person who rented the home. It said it has seen a 50% decrease in the rate of reported parties since 2020, when it put into effect a global party ban policy.

“We are heartbroken by this senseless act of gun violence, and our thoughts are with the injured victims and all those affected by it,” the company said, adding that it was cooperating with the police investigation.

Sinopoli said another shooting at an Airbnb rental home in town in 2017 wounded a person, who suffered a leg injury.

“It’s pretty much an indicator that no community is immune from violence, and this happened to be in Bath Township again unfortunately,” he said.

Sinopoli said he talked with the property owner about the shooting and discussed the town’s prohibition against short-term home rentals. He said home rentals are not a crime, only a zoning violation.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

FBI Arrests Mentally Ill Man for Threatening Rabbis, Imam and Others

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FBI Arrests Mentally Ill Man for Threatening Rabbis, Imam and Others

(Headline USA) Federal prosecutors have charged an Alabama man with making threatening calls and texts to multiple rabbis, an imam and others in the South, including telling one rabbi that “I want you to die.”

Jeremy Wayne Shoemaker of Needham, Alabama, was charged with making an Interstate Communications Threat. He was arrested earlier on related state charges of resisting arrest and possession of a pistol by a person forbidden to legally have a handgun.

An FBI agent wrote in court documents that Shoemaker made a series of menacing calls and texts to rabbis in Alabama and Louisiana, an imam in Georgia, a church in North Carolina and others. Multiple firearms were later found in the man’s home, along with a suitcase full of ammunition and papers listing the names, addresses and phone numbers of religious leaders and other prominent figures, authorities said.

The agent wrote that Shoemaker told authorities that the communications were not a threat of actual violence but “an effort to intimidate or engage in psychological warfare.” Court documents also suggest the man has a diagnosed mental illness. His grandmother told the FBI agent that he had refused to take his medication for the illness, the agent wrote. The name of the diagnosis was redacted in public court documents.

 

An FBI agent’s affidavit filed with federal court documents said that Shoemaker came to the attention of federal authorities after leaving threatening voice messages, including one earlier this month for a rabbi in Mountain Brook, Alabama.

“I want you to die because you want the death of us,” Shoemaker said in one of the calls. “You want the West to die off.”

The agent wrote that Shoemaker sent text messages to an Islamic center in Louisiana in 2024, including one stating that the “jews and you musIimeens have declared war on us again, and we are going to defend ourselves.” Another to a Georgia imam this year said he knew where the imam lived and warned for him to watch his back.

Shoemaker told the FBI agent that he did not intend any violence and the calls and texts were an attempt at intimidation.

“Shoemaker claimed his statements were satire, not a legitimate threat, rebuttal, and mocking them,” the agent wrote.

A search of Shoemaker’s home found multiple firearms, a body armor carrier, and numerous boxes of ammunition.

Needham is a small town in southwest Alabama located about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Mississippi-Alabama border. Shoemaker is being held in the Choctaw County Jail.

Sara Jones, FBI special agent in charge, said multiple law enforcement agencies acted “within hours of learning of a threat to a member of the Jewish community.”

“This is a prime example of law enforcement working together to crush violent crime and protect the American people,” Jones said in a statement Friday.

Ernest C. McCorquodale, III, a defense lawyer representing Shoemaker in the state charges, declined to comment when reached earlier this week.

The Clarke County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that a man was taken into custody by a multi-agency force after the FBI and other law enforcement offices were “notified of credible threats of violence made against multiple synagogues throughout Alabama and surrounding states.” A photo posted by the sheriff’s department shows a semi-automatic rifle, shotgun, handgun and piles of ammunition taken from the home.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

FBI Director Fires Aviation Official after Taking Heat for Gallivanting Around the Country

Ken Silva
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FBI Director Fires Aviation Official after Taking Heat for Gallivanting Around the Country

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) FBI Director Kashyap Patel has been taking criticism online for using an FBI Gulfstream jet to fly around the country for personal reasons, including hockey games, UFC fights and visits to his girlfriend in Tennessee.

Patel is continuing to fly for private reasons amidst the government shutdown, traveling to see his girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, at a wrestling match in Pennsylvania last week—drawing public ire as a result.

In response to the backlash, Patel has fired Steven Palmer, a 27-year veteran who oversaw FBI aviation, according to a Saturday article from Bloomberg. Given that Patel’s trips are publicly documented, it’s unclear why Palmer took the blame, Bloomberg added, citing three people familiar with the matter.

“Palmer was told he needed to immediately resign or be fired, which the individuals said was at least partially connected to Patel’s fury over the negative media cycle on his personal travel,” Bloomberg reported.

“The people familiar with the matter said they were baffled as to why Patel might’ve blamed Palmer for the travel details.”

Patel has also moved to prevent FBI jets from being tracked by websites such as FlightAware, according to former agent Kyle Seraphin.

FBI spokesman Ben Williamson attempted to downplay his boss’s use of the FBI jet, posting on Twitter/X that Patel is forced to use a government plane even when flying for personal reasons. Williamson also said Patel pays a reimbursement in advance for his flights, as per government rules.

However, Patel is only required to pay the equivalent of commercial fare for his flights. The cost of operating FBI jets is exponentially more than that. For example, a Government Accountability Office report found in 2013 that then-Attorney General Eric Holder paid $420.90 for a flight that cost the taxpayers $15,894.

Republicans, including Sen. Chuck Grassley, frequently railed against former FBI Director Chris Wray’s use of the FBI jet, but have been silent on Patel’s use.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Rock Bottom: Buttigieg Rebukes Identity Politics After Kamala Snub

Luis Cornelio
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Rock Bottom: Buttigieg Rebukes Identity Politics After Kamala Snub

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is done with identity politics, despite using his sexual orientation to propel himself to the national stage in 2020.  

Buttigieg made clear he wanted the Democratic Party to abandon identity politics in a Friday interview with the All-In Podcast, directly addressing Kamala Harris’s own admission that she dismissed him as a potential running mate in 2024 because he is gay. 

“Let’s just say, I would love for identity to play a less central role in the politics of our country and the politics of my party,” Buttigieg said. “And not just because I might’ve been passed over for an opportunity, but just because I think it has really dominated so many people’s thinking in a way that makes it harder for us to build a message across identities.” 

Expanding on his answer, Buttigieg said that identity politics has hindered the Democratic Party’s ability to “get through.” 

He added, “I don’t think it makes sense to pretend that identity doesn’t matter. I don’t think it makes sense to pretend to be colorblind. I also don’t think it makes sense to allow that to explain everything, which is one of the habits that’s formed, I think definitely on my party’s far left, that made it harder for us to get through.” 

Buttigieg’s message follows the Democratic Party’s failure to secure major elections after embracing identity politics both in 2016 and 2024, nominating two women — Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris — and losing both elections. 

Both Clinton and Harris used their gender and race (in Harris’s case) as tools to propel themselves to the national stage. Both efforts failed miserably. 

Buttigieg, a gay man and former South Bend mayor, touted his sexual orientation to position himself as the future of the Democratic Party amid his failed presidential bid in 2020. 

At the Democratic National Convention, for instance, Buttigieg highlighted his experience as a gay man serving in the military. 

“Just over 10 years ago, I joined the military, where firing me because of who I am wasn’t just possible, it was policy. Now in 2020, it’s unlawful in America to fire somebody because of who they are or who they love,” he said. 

Buttigieg later doubled down on his identity as he was nominated to serve as Transportation Secretary under the Biden administration.

Brennan Gets Physical with Ex-Intel Officer Questioning His Russia Letter

Luis Cornelio
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Brennan Gets Physical with Ex-Intel Officer Questioning His Russia Letter

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Embattled former CIA Director John Brennan became confrontational with a former intelligence officer after being called out for signing the infamous 2020 letter claiming the Hunter Biden laptop was part of a Russian disinformation campaign. 

Video of the exchange was shared on X by Thomas Speciale, a former officer in the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, who pressed Brennan at a Thursday conference at George Mason University about the letter. 

“You misrepresented that!” Brennan shouted, poking his finger at Speciale’s chest. “We never said it was disinformation, we said it was Russian influence operations, which is what they do. … There’s a big difference.” 

Speciale confronted him with his own words, prompting Brennan to jab his finger at least ten times before he walked away. 

The debunked letter was signed by more than 50 former intelligence officials and cast doubt on the Biden laptop story. 

At the time, the laptop confirmed that then-former Vice President Joe Biden lied to the public about his involvement in his son’s foreign business dealings. 

Brennan and his allies claimed the laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” Despite having no evidence, they suggested that the “Russian government played a significant role in this case.” 

The letter prompted Big Tech companies to censor the New York Post story ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Several social media executives later admitted they regretted shutting down the bombshell story that was ultimately vindicated as accurate. 

Speciale also confronted Brennan over recently declassified emails showing he pushed to rush the intelligence assessment after the 2016 election, alleging Russia meddled to boost then-Republican candidate Donald Trump. 

That assessment helped pave the way for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which fueled years of false claims tying Trump to Russia during his first term. 

Explosion at Harvard Medical School Appears to Have Been Intentional

Headline USA Editor
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Explosion at Harvard Medical School Appears to Have Been Intentional

(Headline USA) There was an explosion early Saturday at Harvard Medical School that appears to have been intentional, but no one was injured, authorities said.

A university police officer who responded to a fire alarm tried to stop two unidentified people who ran from the Goldenson Building before going to where the alert was triggered, university police said in a statement.

The Boston Fire Department determined that the explosion was intentional and officers did not find additional devices in a sweep of the building, police said.

Police released grainy photos of two people wearing face coverings and what looked like sweatshirts.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

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