Three northeast states to go to polls in mid-Feburary

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission announced assembly polls in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland on Friday, giving Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar the chance to join the exclusive club of long-serving chief ministers led by Jyoti Basu and for former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma to prove his relevance in Meghalaya politics.

While Tripura will vote on February 14, Meghalaya and Nagaland will poll together on February 23. The model code of conduct will apply in all three states as well as to the Union government with immediate effect.

Counting is scheduled in all the three states on February 28.

For the Congress, a win in Nagaland and Meghalaya would help to fill up its rather bare cupboard of recent electoral wins and assert its credentials as the only mainstream party with a pan-Indian presence.

The EC on Friday also announced by-polls to nine assembly seats spread across seven states. While polls to one assembly seat each in Mizoram, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh as well as to three assembly seats in West Bengal are scheduled for February 23, an assembly seat each in Assam, Bihar and Maharashtra will go to polls a day later on February 24.

Counting for the bypolls will also be held on February 28, the day when the Union budget is likely to be presented.

While the poll notification for Tripura will be issued on January 21, the notifications for Meghalaya and Nagaland shall be out on January 30.

The assembly polls and bypolls are to be completed by March 3.

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Biggest Thing in Universe Found—Defies Scientific Theory

Talk about a whopper—astronomers have discovered a structure in the universe so large that modern cosmological theory says it should not exist, a new study says. (Also see "Giant 'Blob' Is Largest Thing in Universe [2006].")

Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, an international team of researchers has discovered a record-breaking cluster of quasars—young active galaxies—stretching 4 billion light-years across.

"This discovery was very much a surprise, since it does break the cosmological record as the largest structure in the known universe," said study leader Roger Clowes, an astronomer at University of Central Lancashire in England.

For comparison, our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is just a hundred thousand light-years across, while the local supercluster of galaxies in which it's located, the Virgo Cluster, is only a hundred million light-years wide.

Giant Quasar a Head-Scratcher

Astronomers have known for years that quasars can form immense clusters that stretch to more than 700 million light-years across, said Clowes. But the epic size of this group of 73 quasars, sitting about 9 billion light-years away, has left them scratching their heads.

That's because current astrophysical models appear to show that the upper size limit for cosmic structures should be no more than 1.2 billion light years.

"So this represents a challenge to our current understanding and now creates a mystery—rather than solves one," Clowes said. (Also see "Dark Galaxies Discovered—May Be Cosmic 'Missing Links.'")

The titanic structure, known simply as the Large Quasar Group (LQG), also appears to break the rules of a widely accepted cosmological principle, which  says that the universe would look pretty much uniform when observed at the largest scales.

"It could mean that our mathematical description of the universe has been oversimplified-and that would represent a serious difficulty and a serious increase in complexity," Clowes said.

Decoding Early-Galaxy Evolution

Significant not only for its record-breaking size, the massive structure could possibly shed light on the evolution of galaxies like our own Milky Way. Quasars, which pump out powerful jets of energy, are among the brightest and most energetic objects from when the universe was still young. They represent an early, but brief, stage in the evolution of most galaxies. (See "Earliest Known Galaxies Spied in Deep Hubble Picture.")

One theory holds that this type of colossal collection of quasars may be precursors to galaxy superclusters in the modern universe—but the exact nature of their connection is still a mystery.

The discovery, a prime target for computer modeling, also needs to be mapped out more thoroughly with telescopes, said Gerard Williger, an astronomer at the University of Louisville in Kentucky not connected with the study.

"This structure is bigger than we expect based on the shockwaves formed in the universe after the big bang," said Williger.

"There is very likely some mechanism [that] is turning on quasars over a large scale like this—and in a short time—which could relate to some condition in the early universe."

Th quasar study was published this week in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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Poisoned Lottery Winner's Exhumation Approved

A judge has approved the exhumation of the Chicago lottery winner who died of cyanide poisoning.

Judge Susan Coleman of the Probate Division of the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois today approved the county medical examiner's request to exhume the body of Urooj Khan at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.

Khan, 46, died July 20, 2012, from what was initially believed to be natural causes. But a family member whose identity has yet to be revealed asked the medical examiner's office to re-examine the cause of death, which was subsequently determined to be cyanide poisoning.

The office did so by retesting fluid samples that had been taken from Khan's body, including tests for cyanide and strychnine.

In explaining the request for exhumation, Chief Medical Examiner Stephen Cina has said, "If or when this goes to court, it would be nice to have all the data possible."

The Chicago businessman had won a $1 million lottery jackpot -- before taxes -- the month before he died.

In Photos: Biggest Lotto Winners

In the latest legal twist, Khan's brother filed a petition Wednesday to a judge asking Citibank to release information about Khan's assets to "ultimately ensure" that [Khan's] minor daughter "receives her proper share." Khan reportedly did not have a will.

He left behind a widow, Shabana Ansari, 32, and a teenage daughter from his first marriage. Ansari and Khan reportedly married 12 years ago in India.

Authorities questioned Ansari in November and searched the home she shared with Khan. She and her attorney, Al Haroon Husain, say she had nothing to do with his death.

"It's sad that I lost my husband," she told ABC News. "I love him and I miss him. That's all I can say."

The siblings of the poisoned lottery winner have pursued legal action to protect their niece's share of her late father's estate. They also questioned whether he and Ansari were legally married, but Ansari's attorney said she has a marriage certificate from India that is valid in the United States.

ImTiaz Khan, 56, Khan's brother, and Meraj Khan, 37, their sister, had won a court order to freeze the lottery winnings after Ansari cashed the check.

Husain said Ansari cashed the lottery check after it was mailed to the home, which she did not request.

The lottery check, about $425,000 in cash, was issued July 19 by the Illinois Comptroller's Office, then mailed, according to Brad Hahn, spokesman for the Comptroller's Office. Hahn said it was cashed Aug. 15, nearly a month after Khan's death, but he did not know who cashed it.

The judge later approved Ansari's competing claim as an administrator of the estate.

"I don't care what they talk [sic]," Ansari told ABC News of what her in-laws are saying.

Ansari said she was married to Khan but declined to comment to ABC News about cashing the check after his death, although The Associated Press has reported that she denied removing any of the assets.

Meraj Khan filed in September to become the legal guardian of her niece. After the judge asked the 17-year old daughter with whom she wished to live, she chose her aunt and has been there since November, Husain said.

Neither sibling has petitioned to obtain a share of the dead man's estate, which is estimated to be $1.2 million in lottery winnings, real estate, Khan's laundry business and automobiles.

Neither the attorney for ImTiaz Khan nor the two siblings has responded to requests for comment.

A status hearing on the future of the estate is scheduled for Jan. 24, according to the AP.

ABC News' Alex Perez and Matthew Jaffe contributed to this report.

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Bibles used by King, Lincoln to be part of Obama’s second inauguration

Martin Luther King Jr. carried a black leather King James Bible on his journeys as a young pastor starting out in Montgomery, Ala. He turned to this “traveling Bible” for inspiration, his family says, as he fought for freedom and equality.

President Obama will put his hand over King’s well-worn Bible at his public swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 21, the holiday celebrating the birthday of the slain civil rights leader. King’s Bible will be stacked with the burgundy velvet and gilded Bible used by President Abraham Lincoln at his first inauguration.

Obama chose the Lincoln Bible for his inauguration in 2009, making him the first president to do so since it was initially used in 1861. President Harry S. Truman also used two Bibles, as did Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon.

The announcement about the Bibles, to be made publicly Thursday, is part of the slow unspooling of inaugural details that fascinates lovers of ceremonial Americana.

Presidential inaugurations have become more filled with rites, and such decisions are especially weighty now at a time when the White House is aware that Americans are struggling to come together.

King’s family said in a statement that he would be “deeply moved” to see Obama use the traveling Bible on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, “and we hope it can be a source of strength for the President as he begins his second term.”

“With the Inauguration less than two weeks away, we join Americans across the country in embracing this opportunity to celebrate how far we have come, honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. through service, and rededicate ourselves to the work ahead,” the statement added.

According to the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which organizes the swearing-in ceremony, King traveled with various books, including this Bible. “It was used for inspiration and preparing sermons and speeches, including during Dr. King’s time as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church” in Montgomery, the committee said in a statement.

Obama and Vice President Biden will be sworn in privately on Sunday, Jan. 20 — the date required by the Constitution. For that first ceremony, Obama will use the family Bible of his wife’s family. According to the inaugural committee, that Bible “was a gift from the First Lady’s father, Fraser Robinson III, to his mother, LaVaughn Delores Robinson, on Mother’s Day in 1958. Mrs. Robinson was the first African-American woman manager of a Moody Bible Institute’s bookstore.” That Bible was the only one Michelle Obama’s grandmother used after that, a committee statement said.

For both the private and then the Monday public ceremonies, Biden will be sworn in with a Bible that has been in his family since 1893: a five-inch-thick volume with a Celtic cross on the cover. He also used it for his swearings-in as a U.S. senator and in 2009 as vice president.

Some aspects of the inaugural ceremony have changed slightly over the decades. Having official prayers offered dates only to the 1930s, historians say. But presidents have used Bibles to be sworn in since George Washington, even though the Constitution does not require it. The Constitution also does not require the phrase “So help me God” at the end, but that has become standard, said Donald Ritchie, the historian of the U.S. Senate.

He also noted that the image of the president’s spouse holding the Bible dates only to Lady Bird Johnson doing so in 1965.

Chief justices of the Supreme Court now traditionally deliver the oath, but Ritchie said any federal official can do so.

Several non-Christian members of Congress have recently used other scriptures, including Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, in 2007. The Minnesota Democrat used a Koran owned by Thomas Jefferson.

Obama veered from tradition in one key aspect of the ceremony: He invited Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of slain civil rights figure Medgar Evers, to deliver the invocation prayer. It will be the first time a woman, and a layperson rather than clergy, has done so.

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US focused on Syria's chemical arms after Assad: Panetta

WASHINGTON: The United States is increasingly focused on how to secure Syria's chemical weapons if President Bashar al-Assad falls from power but is not considering sending ground troops into the war-torn country, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday.

While the US government has issued stern warnings to Damascus against resorting to such arms in its war with rebel forces, Panetta said that a more likely scenario might be a chaotic vacuum if Assad is toppled, with uncertainty over who controls the lethal weapons.

"I think the greater concern right now is what steps does the international community take to make sure that when Assad comes down, that there is a process and procedure to make sure we get our hands on securing those sites," Panetta told a news conference. "That I think is the greater challenge right now."

The US government was discussing the issue with Israel and other countries in the region, he said, but ruled out deploying American ground forces in a "hostile" setting.

"We're not talking about ground troops," Panetta added.

The US military's top officer, General Martin Dempsey, told the same news conference that if Assad chose to use his chemical stockpiles against opposition forces, it would be virtually impossible to stop him.

Preventing the launch of chemical weapons "would be almost unachievable... because you would have to have such clarity of intelligence, you know, persistent surveillance, you would have to actually see it before it happened," he said. "And that's unlikely, to be sure."

He said that clearly worded warnings to Assad from President Barack Obama have served as a deterrent.

Even if the regime chooses not to employ the weapons, the Obama administration worries that Islamist militants allied with rebel forces might gain control of some chemical sites.

Syria's chemical weapons stockpile, which dates back to the 1970s, is the biggest in the Middle East, but its precise scope remains unclear, according to analysts.

The country has hundreds of tons of various chemical agents, including sarin and VX nerve agents, as well as older blistering agents such as mustard gas, dispersed in dozens of manufacturing and storage sites, experts say.

But it remains unclear if the chemical weapons are mounted and ready to be launched on Scud missiles, if the chemical agents are maintained effectively, and whether the regime is able to replenish its chemical stocks.

Damascus has said it might use its chemical weapons if attacked by outsiders, although not against its own people.

Panetta's comments came as prospects for international diplomacy to halt the violence in Syria appeared bleak.

The regime blasted the UN-Arab League envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, a day before he was due to hold talks with US and Russian officials, accusing him of "flagrant bias."

The 21-month civil war has claimed more than 60,000 lives, according to the United Nations.

- AFP/jc

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Govt raises financial aid for rural housing

NEW DELHI: The Centre has increased the amount for construction of houses for rural poor from Rs 45,000 to Rs 70,000 in plains and Rs 75,000 for those in hilly and difficult areas.

The landless would get Rs 20,000 in place of the present Rs 10,000 for buying homestead land.

The hike in Indira Awas Yojana came after Cabinet members on Thursday prevailed upon finance minister P Chidambaram who wanted to restrict the proposal from rural development ministry to Rs 65,000 per unit and opposed the hike for buying homestead land.

The issue brought to the fore the difference between the two arms of UPA, with rural development minister Jairam Ramesh telling reporters that finance ministry was overruled by the Cabinet. "The Union Cabinet in its overall collective wisdom decided to increase the amount," he said.

Ramesh cited the agreement signed with Ekta Parishad that stopped marching tribals in Agra in October last year. The protestors were seeking land for the landless and the Centre agreed to bear 75% of the cost for buying homestead land in place of present 50%.

There was overwhelming support in the Cabinet for increase in IAY unit cost with Ghulam Nabi Azad, Harish Rawat and Pavan Bansal pitching on other aspects of the debate.

Water resources minister Rawat said Rs 75,000 was inadequate for IAY houses in the hills since land was scarce. He demanded that construction cost be decided according to the cost of land.

Members also complained that while the Centre was funding liberally, the states changed the names of schemes to suit their political ends. The ambulance-on-demand scheme was cited as an example — it has been renamed by states though it is a centrally funded scheme under NRHM.

Briefing reporters, Chidambaram urged states to furnish lists of beneficiaries to banks to enable them to avail loans up to Rs 20,000 at 4% interest. He said loans were not being availed despite the provision for IAY.

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How "Cheating" Slime Mold Escapes Death

Cheaters do prosper—at least if you're a slime mold, a new study says.

The slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, found in most warm parts of the world, has an unusual life cycle. Most of the time Dicytostelium cells are "happy" single cells that hang out and eat bacteria, according to study leader Lorenzo Santorelli of the University of Oxford, who conducted the research while at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine.

But sometimes, when food is scarce, different strains of Dictyostelium, including a mutated strain, form a mobile, multicellular organism called a "slug." This cluster then sprouts a stalk called a fruiting body, which produces spores that disperse into new slime molds. (Also see "Slime Has Memory but No Brain.")

For a slug to produce a stalk, however, nearly 20 percent of its cells must die—essentially sacrificing themselves to pass on their genes. (Get a genetics overview.) The remaining 80 percent live on and become spores.

Now, for the first time, Santorelli and colleagues have figured out the mechanism by which the mutated strain is able to survive in higher numbers than the others.

It suppresses normal cells from becoming spores, thereby forcing more of these cells to sacrifice themselves for the stalk and die. Meanwhile, more cells in the mutated strain become spores—and thus avoid dying as stalk cells. In other words, more than the "fair share" of cheater cells see another day.

Cheating Cells Surprisingly Healthy

To make the discovery, the team mixed the cheater strain with normal strains and observed that more cells in the cheater strain live on. (See "Smart Slime, Ovulating Strippers Among 2008 Ig Nobels.")

On one hand, this isn't all that surprising, Santorelli noted: "Cooperation is always under attack in any organism—trying to get something for [yourself], it's just nature."

But what is striking, he said, is that usually cheaters eventually cause the entire cooperative system to collapse. Not so in Dictyostelium—somehow it's evolved a way to keep everything running smoothly, said Santorelli, whose study was recently published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.

What's more, cheaters are usually weaker than cooperative individuals. But not in Dictyostelium cheaters, which appear to be quite healthy.

Santorelli wants to find out how the cheater strain is so successful. And, just maybe, the lowly slime mold could unravel the evolutionary and genetic basis for cooperation, he added.

"Slime mold is an amazing organism."

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Jodi Arias' Lies Detailed at Murder Trial

The jury in the Jodi Arias murder trial watched a television interview today in which Arias said "no jury will convict me" for killing her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander.

Arias also said she could never imagine commiting such a violent act as killing Alexander.

"I understand all the evidence is really compelling," she said in the interview. "In a nutshell, two people came in and killed Travis. I've never even shot a gun. That's heinous. I can't imagine slitting anyone's throat."

She went on to tell the interviewer, "No jury will convict me and you can mark my words on that... I am innocent."

Arias made the statements to the television show Inside Edition after she was indicted for murdering Alexander. Months later, she would confess to killing him in his Mesa, Ariz., home and say it was in self-defense.

Jodi Arias Trial: Watch Live

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Full Coverage

Photos of Key Players and Evidence in the Jodi Arias Murder Trial

The tape was played on the fifth day of testimony in Arias's trial, in which police allege that she carried out the murder with such brutal force that she stabbed Alexander 27 times, slashed his throat from ear to ear, and shot him in the head.

Arias, now 32, claims Alexander was a controlling and abusive "sexual deviant" who she was forced to kill in self-defense.

She could face the death penalty if convicted of Alexander's murder.

Jodi Arias Trial: Jurors See Photos of Bloody Handprint Watch Video

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Who Is the Alleged Killer? Watch Video

Jodi Arias Trial: Defense Claims Victim Was Sex Deviant Watch Video

The jury also watched as dozens of photos of blood-spattered walls, flooring, stained carpets and blood smeared sink were explained in detail by a forensic analyst from the Mesa police department, who noted that on many of the stains, water had been mixed with the blood and diluted it.

The prosecution alleges that Arias tried to wash away the evidence of the killing with water.

Prosecutors spent much of today and Wednesday using Arias' recorded statements and other testimony to prove that she lied about her relationship with Alexander, where she was when Alexander was killed, and even where she worked as a bartender.

The testimony today showed that Arias had lied to her new boyfriend Ryan Burns about working at a bar called Margaritaville in her hometown of Yreka, Calif.

"Is there any restaurant in Yreka called Margaritaville? Has there ever been?" prosecutor Juan Martinez asked Nathaniel Mendes, a former detective with the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office in California.

"No, sir," Mendes replied.

Mendes testified that Arias worked at a restaurant called Casa Ramos in Yreka, not a Margaritaville bar that she told Burns. Mendes also went over receipts showing that Arias rented a car the day before she killed Alexander, and noted that she went to a rental outfit 90 miles from her hometown despite two businesses that rented cars in Yreka.

Arias told friends and investigators that she rented a car to go on a road trip to visit Burns, in West Jordan, Utah, on June 3, 2008. She showed up to Burns' house a day late with cuts on her hands, but told Burns that she got lost driving and that the cuts were from broken glass at her Margaritaville bar tending job, according to Burn's testimony Wednesday.

The trail of receipts showed that Arias drove from California to Alexander's hometown of Mesa on Tuesday, June 4, 2008.

There, the pair had sex and took sexually graphic photos of one another, according to photographs and the opening statement of Arias' lawyer. Shortly after the tryst, Arias killed Alexander, both sides agree.

Burns testified that Arias never mentioned going to Alexander's house when she arrived at his home in Utah. He said he did not know that Arias and Alexander were still sexually involved, and that she told him they had broken up.

When she arrived at his home, just 24 hours after killing Alexander, she seemed "normal," he said. The pair kissed and cuddled, and went out with Burns' friends, where she laughed and made conversation.

Prosecutors have also played recorded phone conversations between detectives and Arias in the weeks after Alexander's body was found. She can be heard lying multiple times to investigators as they ask about the last time she spoke with Alexander and her trip to Utah.

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Football: Swansea stun Chelsea in fresh League Cup shock

LONDON: Swansea produced the second surprise English League Cup semi-final first leg result after defeating Chelsea 2-0 at the European champions' Stamford Bridge ground on Wednesday.

Though not as great an upset as fourth-tier Bradford City's 3-1 defeat of Premier League Aston Villa on Tuesday, Swansea's victory over their top flight rivals was still a surprise.

Both Swansea goals in a backs-to-the-wall effort came as a result of two errors by Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

In-form Spanish striker Michu, signed for just £2 million from La Liga side Rayo Vallecano, scored his 16th goal of the season in the 39th minute with a curling shot from the edge of the box after Ivanovic miscontrolled the ball.

Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez brought Frank Lampard and Demba Ba off the bench in search of an equaliser but none came.

And in stoppage time, shortly after Ba had had a penalty appeal turned down on his home debut, Swansea's Danny Graham scored for the fourth match in a row after another Ivanovic mistake.

Now Welsh side Swansea will look to seal the tie in the second leg at the Liberty Stadium on January 23, with the prospect of an improbable final against Bradford in their sights.

"We've had some historic results already this season but to win here is very special," Swansea manager Michael Laudrup told Sky Sports.

"We had to defend a lot, they had a lot of possession but to be honest they only had three good chances all night," the Denmark great added.

"They gave us two goals but you have to score them. It was a marvellous fight, we are a team that always try to play but when you play the European champions away you have to change.

"There is still a mountain to climb, Chelsea have so much quality. We will have to play with the same intensity, they can still win and can score three or four goals against us."

- AFP/jc

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Maoist tactic during Latehar gunbattle evokes memories of acclaimed Bosnian war film

NEW DELHI: In an action reminiscent of a scene from Oscar-winning Bosnian war film "No Man's Land", Naxalites in Latehar district of Jharkhand put the body of a critically injured and incapacitated jawan over a landmine following a fierce battle between the Maoists and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Monday morning. On Tuesday evening, security forces along with local villagers found the jawan's body deep in Karmatiya jungles. However, as soon as the body was picked up, the mine exploded, killing three villagers and blasting the jawan to smithereens.

The death toll of forces in the encounter has now risen to 10, including a jawan from Jharkhand Jaguars. However, a senior CRPF official, alluding to the landmine blast, put the figures rather tragically. "We can confirm the death of 10 jawans. However, we have found only nine bodies so far," he told TOI.

The film No Man's Land had ended with an injured Bosnian soldier lying on the mine while still alive with no hope of rescue. Bosnian Serbs had put his body over a landmine while he was unconscious.

Sources said, in all probability the jawan bled to death while lying on the mine adding that even if he had gained consciousness and tried to move, he would have died. Following the blasts, the forces retreated on Tuesday night and the combing operation was restarted with reinforcements on Wednesday.

On the trail of senior CPI (Maoist) leader Arvindji, around 300 soldiers from CRPF and Jharkhand Jaguars were combing Karmatiya forests when they were ambushed by a contingent of around 200 Maoists — led by a woman — who were firing at them from hill top. The forces had taken the only narrow path that cut through the jungle and then opened into a plain with hills surrounding it. That the Maoists were in Army fatigues confounded matters. About 600 Maoists are suspected to be hiding in the jungles moving between Bihar and Jharkhand.

The government, however, is not perturbed by the deaths as the operation is part of a "fight-to-finish" war to flush out Maoists from Latehar and Chhattisgarh's Sukma districts. "Maoists have been considerably weakened as is evident from constantly decreasing incidents of Naxal violence (from 2,258 in 2009 to 1,412 in 2012). This is the season (before the onset of monsoons) to strike and we want to considerably weaken them through continuous offensive," said a home ministry official.

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