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James West

@jamespwest.bsky.social
9.1K followers 304 following 117 posts

Executive Editor, Center for Investigative Reporting (Mother Jones, Reveal)

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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The quotes in this are totally bonkers. We sued OpenAI. Now, court documents are revealing what AI execs apparently knew and when—about the meaning and scale of their “astonishing theft" (their words), and what it would do to publishers. 👀
motherjones.com
AI exec: We may have pulled off “the largest theft of labor in human history.”
Documents from our lawsuit reveal how tech leaders talk when they think no one is listening.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Thrilled to join Patrick Healy (NYT), Kerry Eleveld, Levi Kalish (HuffPost), Lex McMenamin (Guardian US), Scott Shafer (KQED) & Christopher Wiggins (The Advocate) at #NLGJA2026 for "Beyond the Horserace: Covering the Real Stakes of the Midterms." Sat 9/12 in SF: Hope people say hi! PTsched.co/2PBeB
sched.co
NLGJA 2026 National Convention: Beyond the Horserace: Covering The Real...
View more about this event at NLGJA 2026 National Convention
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Meta just settled a landmark addiction case. It barely matters to a company already racing toward something else entirely, writes @annamerlan.bsky.social. The company describes its glasses' AI as "a helpful voice in your ear." NOT CREEPY AT ALL.
motherjones.com
Meta doesn't want to be a social media company anymore
Despite an $18 billion settlement to end a nationwide child endangerment lawsuit, the firm clearly no longer sees social media as its main product—or its future.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
"I started squealing," @resistanceschool.bsky.social told @sonelcutler.bsky.social about when she learned she'd won her fight against the Washington Post.
motherjones.com
Karen Attiah fought the Washington Post and won
Employers who fired their staff for posts about Charlie Kirk have lost a string of high-profile disputes.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
👀 Congressman Max Miller suggests he has dirt on his ex-father-in-law Senator Bernie Moreno in a rare interview with @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social after a custody hearing in Cleveland on Wednesday. WATCH:
youtube.com
Max Miller Just Suggested He Has Dirt on Bernie Moreno
“There are certain things that he would like me to remain quiet about.” A heated scene unfolded at the Cuyahoga County family court in Cleveland on Wednesday, as the key players in a bitter dispute…
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Fellow elder millennials assemble! Star of The O.C. Ben McKenzie has become an badass investigative journalist taking on crypto scams and he spoke to our @alletson.bsky.social about blowing the lid on the industry. (Did you know he has an economics degree?) LISTEN: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
The Cult and Corruption of Cryptocurrency
Podcast Episode · Reveal · August 26 · 31m
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Shirty 🍁 @whogivesashirt.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Someone on Reddit posted yesterday, “She always kept her politics quiet.” Uh, maybe quiet if you weren’t paying attention?
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I wrote about how, in fact, Dolly was very, VERY Mother Jones:
motherjones.com
Here's to Dolly: union member, vaccine hero, literacy giant, staunch gay ally.
Community-based philanthropy and fighting for the underdog defined the superstar’s legacy.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Corruption watch: A $500 million UAE stake. A $635 million meme coin windfall. @usschoma.bsky.social goes inside the financial conflicts swirling around this week's White House meeting.
motherjones.com
Trump's White House business shindig will be a cesspool of financial conflicts
He's welcoming leaders of crypto firms and prediction markets—industries he's deeply invested in—to discuss regulation.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
ICE SHOCK GLOVE BACKLASH: "I personally am sickened to learn our schools have been used as a test bed for a new law enforcement technology." @hurwitz.bsky.social on the globe beat found them being used in schools.
motherjones.com
Cops love ICE's new shock gloves. Parents want them out of schools.
Omaha requested 40 pairs of the gloves for just under $66,000 in 2025.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
@msjpauly.bsky.social exposes who's behind "Wolves in White Coats." [Narrator: Well-funded right-wing activists]
motherjones.com
The Trump admin launches a new angle of attack against trans healthcare
Federal officials referred over 150 healthcare organizations for investigation into allegations of fraud.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Okay Florida primary voters, only a few more hours to share this with your friends in line.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
This month we're launching a new series about MAHA in the Midterms with @thefern.org. First up: This Iowa Republican rails against agribusiness monopolies. He spent years working for Koch-funded projects. Who is Zach Lahn, really?
motherjones.com
Zach Lahn is MAHA’s great farm country hope. Is he the populist hero he claims to be?
He’s running for Iowa governor on promises to bust up Big Ag. But some farmers are questioning his authenticity.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Words like these get tossed off every day now: "If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them." But russchoma.bsky.social reports on another terrible dynamic with this one. Trump has a golf and villa project there, blessed by the Omani crown: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Trump's bombing threats have a golf course problem
His Oman resort sits just miles from the strait where he's promising to send in the US military.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
TOMORROW: Can Rep. Cory Mills survive FL's GOP primary despite stolen valor claims, a restraining order, and ethics + DOJ probes—all with Trump's endorsement intact? @garrisonhayes.bsky.social chats with the journo who broke open a lot of that @nlanard.bsky.social: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4pJ...
youtube.com
His Scandals Keep Piling Up. Can Cory Mills Still Win?
YouTube video by Mother Jones
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
A small group of Silicon Valley men keep failing upward into ever-greater wealth and power. Our new video breaks down the alternate reality they live in—welcome to Billionaire Math, reported by timothypmurphy.bsky.social and produced by Peter Berger: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVRc...
youtube.com
Billionaire Math Doesn't Add Up the Way Yours Does
► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/ Forget "girl math" and "boy math." America's running on billionaire math. They own yachts that have yachts. They leave Earth just to…
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Florida Rep. Cory Mills has Trump’s “complete and total” endorsement. He also has: 🚩 Accusations of stolen valor 🚩 A restraining order from an ex 🚩 A massive House Ethics investigation 🚩 More Now @nlanard.bsky.social reports that the scandal-plagued Republican might actually lose his primary.
motherjones.com
One of Congress’ most scandal-plagued Republicans may be about to lose his primary
Florida's Cory Mills has been accused of stolen valor, was subject to a restraining order, and is reportedly under investigation by the Justice Department. He also has Donald Trump's "Complete and…
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
A Missouri police chief said his officers have "grown really attached" to electric shock gloves. Now they're ICE's newest tool. Don't miss this behind-the-headlines look at the tech's development by @hurwitz.bsky.social
motherjones.com
The Orwellian Company Behind ICE’s New Electric Shock Gloves
“With a glove, there are no burn marks or scars.” That makes it hard for victims to sue.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Um this doesn't sound good. ICYMI by @hurwitz.bsky.social A regulator run by Trump's own appointee gave a bank charter green light to a crypto firm the Trump family itself controls—one that already paid Trump nearly $600 million from stablecoin and digital asset sales in 2025.
motherjones.com
The Trumps’ crypto project just got one step closer to becoming a bank
A regulatory charter for World Liberty Financial could be "the most brazen act of self-dealing our system has ever seen."
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Tim Murphy @timothypmurphy.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Let me tell you about the very rich www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVRc...
youtube.com
Billionaire Math Doesn't Add Up the Way Yours Does
YouTube video by Mother Jones
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Florida's rural Republicans are so angry about data center construction near their homes that the governor's race might be legit in play. Totally fascinating by @lauracmorel.bsky.social
motherjones.com
Could the GOP lose Florida over data centers?
"Party labels are less important when it comes to our homes and way of life."
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
His opener to voters: "I'm John Strand, patriot for Congress, the J6 hostage who went to prison on principle so that you don't have to." @smencimer.bsky.social has been tracking this underwear model for years. Now he wants Floridians' vote.
motherjones.com
The international underwear model who stormed the Capitol is now running for Congress
Florida's most crowded GOP primary has two Trump-pardoned felons. John Strand is one of them.
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
It's truly scary how much the Trump administration is surveilling unions, NGOs, and any groups it thinks it can accuse of being part of some kind of antifa conspiracy. By @hurwitz.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Documents reveal the federal government’s vast Minnesota surveillance dragnet
After Alex Pretti was murdered, Trump's DHS didn't investigate his killer—but spent months spying on Minnesota unions, churches, and bike shops instead.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Watch the gears turn in real time.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 14/08/2026
“He’s just on a grab!” Watch the penny drop in real time: Joe Rogan expresses outrage at President Donald Trump’s latest scheme, offering early access to his Truth Social posts at a STEEP cost, which some allege amounts to insider trading.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Yikes: A voter suppression law disabled voters fought is back, just as Texas heads into a marquee Senate race. @juliametraux.bsky.social always on the look out:
motherjones.com
A Trump judge called mail-in ballots a threat to democracy
The new ruling revived cruel aspects of Texas' voter suppression law.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
A reporter with "the technical chops of an 11th grader" asked AI to help build a killer drone. It said yes. Watch what happens next. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
AI helped me build a killer drone
I asked AI chatbots to help me build an autonomous attack drone. They said yes.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
New from @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social Sooo: Max Miller swore he had video and a witness. Weeks later his lawyers wrote that his girlfriend "was in fact not likely present." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Legal filings allege Rep. Max Miller made “false statements” to an Ohio court
The Republican is accused of misrepresenting evidence to get a civil protection order against his ex-wife Emily Moreno.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Well this is dark. Lawyer Joseph McBride is flooding the world with AI-slop memes to fight the pretrial detention of accused rapists Andrew and Tristan Tate. @annamerlan.bsky.social pulled up his legal resumé and it's 👀
motherjones.com
The Tate brothers’ lawyer is on an aggressive, AI-riddled quest to win their release
Joseph McBride's strident defense of the accused rapists includes a flood of faked propaganda images.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
We've been FLOCK-TRACKING: A watchdog says Flock's new fixes still ask "thousands of police departments to police themselves,." alexjn.bsky.social asks what could go wrong?
motherjones.com
Flock's answer to its surveillance scandals: trust us
The company is limiting access to its 120,000 license plate readers, but critics say the changes are largely optional and self-enforced.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
@abbyvesoulis.bsky.social broke this open and continues to:
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Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
NEW: Legal filings say Rep. Max Miller made “false statements” to a court in order to get a Civil Protection Order against his ex-wife in Feb. Miller told the court he had an eyewitness refuting that he assaulted Moreno. Then his lawyers recanted the evidence. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Legal filings allege Rep. Max Miller made “false statements” to an Ohio court
The Republican is accused of misrepresenting evidence to get a civil protection order against his ex-wife Emily Moreno.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
HUGE: @revealnews.org just won THREE national Edward R. Murrow Awards. Three. For a nonprofit newsroom doing hard-won investigative audio like no one else, that is an absurd/joyful haul. Here's what won (THREADED BELOW). www.rtdna.org/2026-nationa...
rtdna.org
2026 National Edward R. Murrow Award Winners - Radio Television Digital News Association
HOME
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Kiera Butler @kieraevebutler.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
This is genuinely a very funny tweet from Doug Wilson. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
NEW: No engineering degree. No lab. Just a garage, 11 months, and a chatbot that kept saying yes. We asked AI to help build an autonomous killer drone. It agreed. A new investigative collaboration with @thebulletin.org's reporter Matt Smith. Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8o2...
youtube.com
I asked AI to make a killer drone, it said yes.
YouTube video by Mother Jones
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Michael Mechanic @michaelmechanic.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
My friend @kieraevebutler.bsky.social went to Moscow, Idaho, to meet the pastor behind this Calvinist Christian nationalist "kirker" movement (no relation to Charlie Kirk) that's become very influential in our government, especially our military, and explains a lot of the misogyny we're seeing.
motherjones.com
Pete Hegseth dreams of holy war. Meet his spiritual adviser.
Doug Wilson preaches iron discipline and male dominance. One of his disciples runs the Pentagon.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
DOGE promised savings. Instead: a hobbled IRS, a dismantled USAID, and a shuttered consumer watchdog that at one time returned $26b to Americans. One estimate: IRS layoffs will cost $600b in lost revenues over 10 years. @michaelmechanic.bsky.social does the math: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Elon Musk’s DOGE promised savings, but it's cost us a fortune
A new report from the Government Accountability Office misses the point entirely.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Front-runners quit, a campaign manager was fired, the eventual winner re-entered late and eked out a razor-thin win. What can a race like this actually tell us? @alexjn.bsky.social dove in: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
A DSA candidate lost a messy race for Wisconsin governor
There may be fewer clear takeaways in Francesca Hong's Democratic primary defeat than other key progressive matchups.
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
1/ Our amazing lawyers on why we have must force AI companies to transparent about how they train their models and why we've filed an amicus brief in xAI v. Bonta. Gift link 🎁 www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
sfchronicle.com
Elon Musk is suing California over an AI law. Here’s why transparency matters
OPINION: We cannot allow “compelled speech” arguments to dilute the value of truthful facts about tech we rely on for critical aspects of our lives. The health of our democracy depends on it.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Contaminated lettuce, hantavirus on a cruise ship, Legionnaires' back in big cities, and Fauci held in contempt. It's been a helluva 2026 for American public health. New on this week's @revealnews.org "More To The Story": www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Fauci, RFK Jr., and the latest in American health
Epidemiologist Jessica Malaty Rivera breaks down the public health breakdowns
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
This is a fantastic interview of the guy roiling the left rn, Hasan Piker, by @garrisonhayes.bsky.social. One of my favorite parts is Garrison challenging Hasan on race. It's a frank, wide-ranging interview. I hope you can watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoCq...
youtube.com
Hasan Piker: The Left's Biggest Problem—or Its Best Shot?
YouTube video by Mother Jones
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Do the Epstein files prove that "pizza" is a code word for pedophilia or is it just pizza? @jamespwest.bsky.social took a very very deep dive www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
I analyzed 1,500 "pizza" mentions in the Epstein files. Here's what I found.
Forget the Pizzagate codes. The real, dark story is hiding in plain sight.
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Jeremy Schulman @jeremyschulman.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Incredible piece that will surely put an end to the conspiracy theories once and for all
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Tucker, Rogan, Boebert—they're all talking about how the Epstein files are the new Pizzagate. So I pulled every one of the 1,500 "pizza" mentions and reviewed them all. Here's what Pizzagate gets wrong—and what it's making you miss. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
I analyzed 1,500 "pizza" mentions in the Epstein files. Here's what I found.
Forget the Pizzagate codes. The real, dark story is hiding in plain sight.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
A real joy to work with former Mother Jones editor Douglas Foster on this remembrance—and corrective—in which he revisits his own 1987 MJ cover story, peels back the curtain, and reveals Jackson as the far-sighted visionary he truly was. A lovely read: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Jesse Jackson told me why he really ran for president
He insisted it wasn’t a vanity project. History proved him right.
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Jeremy Schulman @jeremyschulman.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
weird.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 25/02/2026
The "Oval Office." That's the nickname Jeffrey Epstein had for the most functionally critical room in his Manhattan townhouse. It's where Epstein's "girls" kept their purses and prepped for Little St. James; packages for Woody Allen's wife were assembled. @jamespwest.bsky.social investigates.
motherjones.com
Inside Epstein's very own "Oval Office": Power, peacocking, and printer toner.
Epstein and his coterie had a self-aggrandizing nickname for a private office inside his Manhattan lair.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
I kept seeing “Oval Office” mentioned in the Epstein Files and wondered he it was literally talking about a new lamp for the real Oval Office. Turns out Epstein had his own ops hub he dubbed “the Oval Office”. I went down the rabbit hole. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Inside Epstein's very own "Oval Office": Power, peacocking, and printer toner.
Epstein and his coterie had a self-aggrandizing nickname for a private office inside his Manhattan lair.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
The newly unearthed connections in this are 👀 The Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
New details from Epstein files reveal Lutnick had years-long business tie with sex offender
The commerce secretary apparently still hasn't come clean on his connection with Epstein.
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Now that's a lede From @nlanard.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202...


Over the past few months, I have spoken to over a dozen people who know Rep. Cory Mills. Nearly everyone, I found, dislikes him. Some outright despise him: “repulsive and vile,” “schmuck,” “little bitch.” Others were more formal. “I have no use for people with no honor,” an Idaho firearms instructor who worked with Mills in the Middle East told me. The most blunt was a veteran who once reported to Mills in the Army. He told me of the congressman from Florida: “I wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire.”
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