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Morgan Polk

@morganpolk.bsky.social
141 followers 176 following 24 posts

education & labor policy for @newamerica.org @educationwork.newamerica.org. Thoughts here are my own.

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Reposted by Morgan Polk
Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Wearing @postguild.bsky.social red today. I was able to challenge my @washingtonpost.com firing — and win reinstatement plus back pay — all thanks to being a part of the @wbng.org Guild. Binding Arbitration is a part of our contract. This is why unions matter!!!
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Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 08/02/2025
it occurs to me that some of you may not have heard dolly parton singing "tracks of my tears" so let's rectify that www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu-5...
youtube.com
Dolly Parton - The Tracks Of My Tears
YouTube video by Asahu2009
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library gifted more than 332,000,000 books since it was first created 31 years ago.
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Imani Gandy @angryblacklady.blacksky.app · 25/08/2026
Dolly Parton and Patti LaBelle playing their acrylics. Two icons.
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Amadi Lovelace @amaditalks.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Remember that if you got the Moderna Covid vaccine, you have Dolly Parton to thank, she gave the largest individual contribution toward their research to make it possible.
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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 25/08/2026
Today’s Daily Cartoon, by Paul Noth.
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Anne Lutz Fernandez @lutzfernandez.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Those shock gloves for ICE? They are already being used in schools. See the thread above for more on the MAGA campaign to make school discipine more punitive.
wowt.com
Omaha Police addresses shock glove technology in schools
The Omaha Police Department spoke on the use of electric shock gloves, which school resource officers now carry.
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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
New working paper w/ Hanna Folsz In Jan 2025 Trump issued an executive order targeting corporate DEI programs. Many companies ended DEI fearing financial risk We find that firms that kept DEI performed just as well in financial markets, revenue, etc democracypolicylab.berkeley.edu/wp-content/u...
The Trump administration has used executive authority to influence the behavior of civil society organizations such as law firms, universities, and corporations.
Do corporations that resist executive orders perform worse financially? In January 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order directing federal
agencies to investigate and compel firms to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Some firms complied with the order, whereas other firms
resisted by reaffirming their DEI programs. We find that S&P 500 firms that
maintained their DEI programs performed just as well as compliant firms, both
in terms of stock market returns and revenue. The results are robust across various measures of maintaining DEI, including measures based on executives’ public
statements about DEI programs, interest group ratings, firm financial statements,
and shareholder rejections of anti-DEI resolutions. The results suggest that, at
least in some areas, firms can resist pressure from the executive branch with
minimal costs to financial performance.
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CNN @cnn.com · 13/08/2026
Video out of Northern Virginia shows a federal agent pointing a gun in a woman's face after claiming she tried to run him over. The encounter happened on Monday as Carolina Molina, a licensed counselor, said she was visiting immigration lawyers in Bailey's Crossroads. cnn.it/4gaCIn6
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Hamilton Nolan @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
A 3-year-long strike against Tesla in Sweden is over after the company *buys out all of the strikers.* The union calls Tesla "an entirely exceptional employer." Remarkable language in these statements. Elon Musk is truly a global villain. www.industriall-union.org/if-metall-en...
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 11/08/2026
Trans men used the bathroom they were required to use in Kansas under their new incredibly severe statewide bathroom ban. As a result, the police were called on them. They call themselves the Kansas Compliance Crew. Subscribe to support our journalism.
erininthemorning.com
Police Called on Trans Men Using Women's Restroom As Required By Kansas Law
“As a trans man, I have the immense privilege of blending in. But these laws force me to choose between safety and obeying the law.”
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Steffen Rayburn-Maarup @rayburnmaarup.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
I don't think people are ready for this kind of joke yet.
A town sign seen through a train window.
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Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
An initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play
The Campaign to Force Genital Exams on Girl Athletes Soon Washington State could require sex-verification tests for those playing sports in schools.
Portrait of Andrea González-Ramírez
By Andrea González-Ramírez, a senior writer for The Cut who covers systems of power. Those physicals, Maria explains, are usually perfunctory: “Like, Are you walking normally? Are you lightheaded? I have never had to take any clothes off. I’ve never felt uncomfortable or violated.” If IL26-638 were to pass and Maria were still in school, she says she would likely drop out of her team. (We’re withholding Maria’s real name to protect her privacy.) “I honestly don’t know if I would be able to do these tests,” she adds. “It would also make me question, If I do it, are all my teammates going to too? Or would I just play with the three or four girls who are willing to or have access to do it?”
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
It will depress you! Sorry about that but it’s kind of my jam. I selected well-written books, some of them are even wryly funny at times — if you come from a culture with macabre humor. Still, the issue is big, complex, and scary. All the more reason for us to face it together.
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Morgan Polk @morganpolk.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
my apologies to anyone near my office who heard me scream reading this headline
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 28/07/2026
People who experienced persistent financial struggles were slower to process information and showed memory recall decline by middle age, a new study shows. Read more here: wapo.st/4vPWcmK
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Larry Levitt @larrylevitt.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
ACA enrollment has dropped in every state, except New Mexico. What's special about New Mexico? They are the only state to fully replace the extra federal premium subsidies that ended this year. www.kff.org/affordable-c...
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 16/06/2026
After Biden clamped down on the flow of illegal guns, Trump has referred fewer ATF trafficking charges for prosecution, eased up on irresponsible gun shops and shifted hundreds of ATF agents to immigration work.
propublica.org
“No One Is Watching”: How Trump Reversed Biden’s Crackdown on Gun Trafficking
After Biden clamped down on the flow of illegal guns, Trump has referred fewer ATF trafficking charges for prosecution, eased up on irresponsible gun shops and shifted hundreds of ATF agents to immigr...
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Economic Policy Institute @epi.org · 05/06/2026
Despite rising child labor violations, at least 13 state legislatures tried to roll back child labor standards this year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has undermined federal enforcement of child labor standards. More state lawmakers should take action to combat the child labor crisis.
epi.org
State lawmakers continued to weaken child labor protections in 2026: Efforts to strengthen protections have stalled
Many state lawmakers took encouraging steps in 2023 and 2024 to strengthen their child labor standards—in response to high-profile reporting of widespread child labor violations across the U.S. and si...
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 15/06/2026
Vaccines were once so uncontroversial that McDonald’s restaurants put the childhood immunization schedule on their tray liners. Now, as the U.S. government sows doubt, preventable diseases could come roaring back. (Published March)
propublica.org
How Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda Risks a Resurgence of Deadly Childhood Plagues
The health secretary is spreading doubts about vaccine safety and considering changes that could prompt manufacturers to flee the U.S. market. History has shown how plagues from the past can roar back...
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Working Families Party 🐺 @workingfamilies.org · 09/06/2026
Working people create our country’s wealth, clocking in day after day. Billionaires just take all the credit. Record profits should mean everyone’s life gets better. Not just the people at the top.
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Stone Cold Jane Austen @abbyhiggs.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
RIP Marjane Satrapi
Marjane Satrapi artwork from Persepolis showing you girl in hijab w “pink is not ded” on back. She is being grabbed by women in hijabs
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A Better Balance @abetterbalance.org · 14/05/2026
“I was trying to follow my doctor’s orders to the best I could. Amazon wasn’t allowing me to do that.” Thank you @@brycecovert.bsky.social for exposing Amazon’s disturbing pattern of illegally forcing pregnant workers like our client Jennifer off the job: www.thenation.com/article/soci...
thenation.com
“Nobody Heard Me at Amazon”
Pregnant workers at the mega-corporation say they endure unsafe conditions and are punished when they asked for accommodations.
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Politico @politico.com · 04/05/2026
BREAKING: The Supreme Court has temporarily restored mail-order access to the abortion drug mifepristone, after a federal appeals court curtailed access to the drug.
politico.com
Supreme Court restores abortion pill access — for now
Justice Samuel Alito froze an appeals court ruling that limited access to the drug.
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Liz Shuler @lizshuler.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
When working people peacefully come together, we can stand up to the wealthiest bosses and the most powerful politicians. Let’s build worker power across the country! Join America’s unions at a #MayDay event near you: www.mobilize.us/aflcio/?q=May%20Day
We fight for workers. May Day 2026 | AFL-CIO
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
It is true that it remains hostile to women and queer people, and Trump has ended some successful harassment training programs. But modern career and technical education isn't just about entering the trades. I've written about it newrepublic.com/article/2061...
newrepublic.com
The Unusual Working-Class Message That Turned a Deep-Red District Blue
Union machinist Taylor Rehmet defeated his Republican opponent in Fort Worth, Texas, with an uncommon policy platform.
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Morgan Polk @morganpolk.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
because the cruelty is the point
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Education & Work @educationwork.newamerica.org · 13/04/2026
Caregiving college students are juggling school, work, family—and often unaffordable or unsafe housing. 🔓 Today, our #HigherEd team released new data that shows how expanding emergency aid, improving cost-of-attendance calculations, and strengthening data collection can help.
newamerica.org
No Place to Land: Housing Insecurity Among Caregiving College Students
Trellis and New America survey on housing insecurity for caregiving students produces some of the only data available directly examining how this population experiences housing insecurity and offers o...
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Sara Partridge, PhD @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Join @americanprogress.bsky.social .social for a discussion about the federal and state policy outlook for community colleges next Wed, April 15th. Panelists will discuss affordability, workforce alignment, & apprenticeship legislation. Register here ⬇️ www.americanprogress.org/events/feder...
americanprogress.org
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Morgan Polk @morganpolk.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
(virtually) stop by to hear about federal and state policy updates & how community colleges are responding so they can continue meeting the needs of learners in their regions. Thank you to @americanprogress.bsky.social for hosting!
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Don’t ask me how it’s going.
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Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
New from me: by the end of the week, the war in Iran will likely have cost $25 billion, with Trump poised to ask for $200 billion more Below is a writeup, but the meat of it is this table, which shows what an equal amount of funding could cover domestically www.americanprogress.org/article/by-t...
What the cost of the Iran war could cover if used differently
Select services and how many more people they could support with funding equivalent to what is being spent on Iran war

Table with 6 columns and 6 rows.
People covered by Medicaid for a year	Children receiving free school lunch for a school year	People housed in Section 8 for a year	Children covered for year of child care	Adults with free tuition at community college for a two-year associate degree
$25 billion
Estimated likely cost of war as of March 26, 2026
3,106,000	29,614,000	3,147,000	1,780,000	2,865,000
$200 billion
Reported likely request for additional war funding
24,850,000	Every child in the United States, with >$170B left over	Every eligible person, with >$60B left over	14,237,000	22,917,000
One 30,000-pound bomb	625	5,925	625	350	575
One Tomahawk missile	275	2,600	275	150	250
One THAAD missile	1,575	15,050	1,600	900	1,450
One Patriot interceptor	500	4,850	525	300	475
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Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
$1 billion could give 120,000 people free tuition for a two-year Associate’s Degree, or it could provide free child care for a year for $71,000 kids. That’s the cost of this war every single day.
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AFL-CIO @aflcio.org · 05/03/2026
Change is brewing at Starbucks! Congrats to the Starbucks @sbworkersunited.org baristas at Banksville Plaza on winning their union - the 21st Starbucks in Pittsburgh to unionize. America’s unions stand in solidarity with baristas across the country as they fight for a fair contract. ✊
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 03/03/2026
Tillis to Noem: "A 14 month old dog is basically a teenager in dog years. You decided to kill that dog bc you hadn't invested the appropriate training, then you have the audacity to write a book & say it's a leadership lesson! ... Those are bad decisions not unlike what happened in Minneapolis"
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Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Per The Economist/YouGov, half of Americans support ABOLISHING ICE. Literally, "abolishing." yougov.com/en-us/articl...
uld you support or oppose abolishing ICE? (%)

Somewhat or strongly supportNot sureSomewhat or strongly oppose
U.S. adult citizens
39
Party ID
Democrats
14
Independents
35
Republicans
68
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Prof Dynarski @dynarski.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Next time you hear anyone say they shouldn’t “have to tip” show them this schedule of the tipped hourly minimum by state $2.63 Arkansas $4.35 Iowa $3.63 Maryland $3.27 NH $2.83 PA $2.33 WI $2.13 AL GA IN KS KY LA MS NC NE SC TX TN UT VA WY www.dol.gov/agencies/whd...
dol.gov
Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees
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Nicole Foy @nicolefoy.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
I’m in Senate Judiciary today, where DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is expected to answer oversight questions related to immigration enforcement tactics, the arrests of U.S. citizens, children in detention centers, terrorism threats + more
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Liz Shuler @lizshuler.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Our @sbworkersunited.org baristas at corporate stores are asking customers to #DeleteTheApp to show you stand with workers, not billion-dollar corporations. Deleting the Starbucks app sends a message: there's no business as usual while union-busting.
action.fightforaunion.org
I DELETED THE STARBUCKS APP
#DeleteTheApp to show Starbucks that you stand with baristas, not billion-dollar companies.
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Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
You know what they’re going to store in those warehouses? People
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
ICE has now spent over half a BILLION dollars just on purchasing warehouses around the country to convert into detention camps. If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
ajc.com
ICE to begin detaining immigrants inside Social Circle warehouse in April
Homeland Security plans to build warehouse detention facilities in other cities being met with opposition.
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Kathleen Clark @kathleenclark.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
‘One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." … She offered me $2600 to self-deport. I refused. I wanted to talk to my attorney. They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
…
25. This Cibola jail was horrible. It was cramped. I was chained up again.
The officers mocked
me and called me their enemy. They laughed at me. I was kept at the jail for what felt like around three hours. I wasn't given an explanation for why I was there.
26. Security
guards then put me on a bus. I think it was around January 27.
No one said
anything about where I was going. I was handcuffed. It felt like the middle of the night. It was freezing cold in the bus because the driver had the AC on. We had no jackets. The bus eventually took me back to El Paso in the carly morning of Tuesday, January 27th.
27. I was put in a cold cell where I had to sleep on the bare cement floor. Around 10 in the morning my cellmate asked to speak to an ICE officer. Three officers came into the cell so I had a chance to speak to them too. One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." She told me that if I fought my case, I would spend two to three more months here in El Paso. She offered me $2600 to self-deport. I refused. I wanted to talk to my attorney. They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota. If I hadn't managed to talk to my attorney who told me a while back that I was ordered released. I might have given up at this point and signed the self-deportation forms because the conditions were so unbearable.
…
30. When I was taken back to the detention center from the airport, after missing the flight, I overheard an ICE officer saying in English, "the judge in Minnesota wants this one back." I was put in a cold jail cell again until early next morning (January 28). But again no one had told me directly that a judge had ordered my release
…
32. When I arrived in Minneapolis, I was handed off to ICE
… I had to sign lots of papers saying that I wasn't going to be a part of any "groups." I didn't know what they meant by "groups." They never told me why I was detained
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Senator Bernie Sanders @sanders.senate.gov · 05/02/2026
Congratulations to @uaw.org workers at Volkwagen’s Chattanooga plant on their historic tentative agreement. This life-changing first contract shows what is possible when workers stand up to demand their fair share.
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 04/02/2026
INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
lizzie johnson
@lizziejohnsonnn
·
49m
I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I'm devastated.
Quote
lizzie johnson
@lizziejohnsonnn
·
Jan 25
Waking up without power, heat, or running water. (Again.) 

But the work here in Kyiv continues. Warming up in the car, writing in pencil — pen ink freezes — by headlamp.
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Rodger Sherman @rodger.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
again we do not really do a good job of explaining how wealthy people like Jeff Bezos are his net worth is $253.2 billion. so he could take one million dollars, and just light it on fire and then do it again tomorrow and again the day after that and then do it every day for 693 years and 8 months
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Zach Everson @zacheverson.com · 12/01/2026
🚨 In Nov., Trump's Labor Dept. lowered the minimum wage for foreign farmworkers. A month later, Trump's winery filed to hire 36 foreign, temporary workers. The rate? Almost $2/hour less than in 2025. 1/ me, for @forbes.com
forbes.com
Trump Vineyard Seeks To Hire Foreign Workers At Lower Wages
Records show the Trump Organization has requested over 2,000 foreign workers since 2008. Its latest request seeks a $13.90 hourly wage—the lowest the winery has offered since 2021.
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Cara Jackson @carajackson.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
“The one thing that gave me comfort was, like, statistically, it’s practically impossible for this to ever happen to me again,” Ms. Weissman said. “And clearly, we’re getting to a point where no one can say that anymore.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/u...
nytimes.com
2 Students at Brown Witnessed School Shootings as Children
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
I got this useful bon mot from a middle school teacher recently. In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?” And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
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Morgan Polk @morganpolk.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
because the government is not reopen yet. The Senate's vote on Sunday was "procedural" (a step towards passing said deal, not actually passing said deal).
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@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Like clockwork, we are back to the Republican framing that government assistance is okay if its farmer bailouts and tax cuts for the wealthy & big corporations but hell no for people who need help with healthcare, food or housing.
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