HORROR FOOTAGE: Seven people are unaccounted for as authorites investigate a massive fire and explosion at a fireworks facility in Yolo County, near Sacramento, Cal Fire says.
Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for public affairs Sean Parnell: . “Based on the success of the U.S. and Israeli military strikes, Iran is much further away from a nuclear weapon than they were before the President took bold action to fulfill his promise to the American people that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.”
The Civil Aviation Authority of Iran has closed the airspace over Western and Central Iran until at least Friday, canceling most international and domestic flights at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini and Mehrabad International Airports.
Following today’s rocket attacks from Gaza, the IDF warned residents of Gaza City’s Al-Tuffah, Al-Daraj, and Old City areas, to evacuate immediately.
SHOCKING: In Yehud, a bulldozer is tearing through kevraim dating back to the Bayis Sheini era — hundreds of ancient remains are being dumped like trash.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Wednesday evening that Sergeant Yaniv Michalovitch, 19, of Rechovot, was killed in action while fighting in the northern region of the Gaza Strip. He served in the 82nd Battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade.
The same clash that claimed Sergeant Michalovitch’s life also left two members of his battalion—one a tank commander and the other a fellow soldier—critically wounded.
In a separate encounter in the same area, a soldier from the elite Egoz Unit of the Commando Brigade also sustained life-threatening injuries during fighting.
All of the injured soldiers were swiftly transported to the hospital for urgent medical care, and their families have been informed.
Rechovot Mayor Matan Dil mourned the loss of the young soldier, saying, “The heart refuses to believe. A week after Rehovot lost its citizen, Staff Sergeant Ronel Ben-Moshe – yet more bitter news is knocking on our door. Yaniv left behind his parents and two brothers. I hug you, and together with all the residents of Rehovot, I feel your immense pain.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to murder Wednesday in the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in 2022 that stunned and terrified the campus and set off a nationwide search, which ended weeks later when he was arrested in Pennsylvania. Kohberger, who was a criminal justice graduate student at nearby Washington State University, admitted to the slayings before entering a formal guilty plea in a deal with prosecutors that will allow him to avoid the death penalty. He had ben set to go to trial in August. The small farming community of Moscow, in the northern Idaho panhandle, had not had a homicide in about five years when Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen were found dead at a rental home near campus on Nov. 13, 2022. Autopsies showed each of the four victims was stabbed multiple times and some had defensive wounds. Kohberger killed Mogen and Goncalves together and then ran into Kernodle, who was still awake, Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson said at the hearing Wednesday. He then stabbed Kernodle and her boyfriend, Chapin, who was still asleep, Thompson said. Family members became increasingly emotional as Idaho Fourth Judicial District Judge Steven Hippler explained each charge to Kohberger, naming each victim individually. Some cried into tissues, while other wiped tears with their hands. Kohberger remained impassive as he confirmed to the judge that he stabbed the four victims. As he pleaded guilty, some in the family section looked down and others craned to see him. Kohberger told the judge he understood the terms of the plea deal, which stipulates he will serve four life sentences and won’t be able to appeal. The judge set the official sentencing for July 23. Hippler said as the hearing began that he would not take into account public opinion when deciding whether to accept the agreement. “This court cannot require the prosecutor to seek the death penalty, nor would it be appropriate for this court to do that,” he said. “This court … cannot force the state to seek the death penalty.” Idaho killings seized the nation’s attention The killings grabbed headlines around the world and set off a nationwide hunt, including an elaborate effort to track down a white sedan spotted on surveillance cameras repeatedly driving by the rental home. Police said they used genetic genealogy to identify Kohberger as a possible suspect and accessed cellphone data to pinpoint his movements the night of the killings. At the time, Kohberger was a criminal justice graduate student at nearby Washington State University who had just completed his first semester and was a teaching assistant in the criminology program. Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, weeks later. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene. Online shopping records showed that Kohberger had purchased a military-style knife months earlier — as well as a sheath like the one found at the scene. Motive in killings remains unclear No motive has emerged for the killings, nor is it clear why the attacker spared two roommates who were in the home. There also was no indication he had a relationship with any of the victims, who all were friends and members of the university’s Greek system. Authorities have said cellphone data and surveillance video show that Kohberger […]
Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu paid a visit to the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) site in Ashkelon on Wednesday, accompanied by Energy Minister Eli Cohen, Minister David Amsalem, and Ashkelon Mayor Tomer Glam.
During his time there, Netanyahu inspected the EAPC energy complex, received an in-depth update from EAPC CEO Amit Shaked, and engaged in discussions with both senior company officials and employees, as well as top figures in Israel’s energy industry.
Netanyahu took the opportunity to publicly commend workers in the energy field for their dedication and contributions, particularly highlighting their efforts during Operation Rising Lion.
The Prime Minister remarked: “We are going to increase and strengthen Israel’s energy capability. We have a very considerable capability. Expected revenues from gas in the coming decade will be almost NIS 300 billion. You will recall that there were arguments about this: ‘This will destroy the Israeli economy.’ This did not destroy the Israeli economy. It is building the Israeli economy, together with other energy horizons and installations that we are building, only part of which you will hear about later.”
He went on to declare: “I am telling you – there will be no more Hamas. There will be no more Hamastan. We are not going back to that. It’s over. We will free all of our hostages.”
Anticipating criticism, Netanyahu added: “‘Really, how can one say this? These objectives are contradictory!’ What nonsense. They go together. We will complete this together, contrary to what is being said. We will eliminate Hamas down to its very foundations.”
He emphasized the strategic moment Israel is in, saying, “Our opportunities are enormous. We are not going to miss them or lose them. We will not miss these opportunities.”
Pointing to shifting global dynamics, he said, “One power declines – another rises. Yes, I know that somebody else thought that his power would rise, but things have changed a little. The rising power is the State of Israel, and this has not been without effort. There is a huge opportunity here, both to defeat our enemies and ensure our economic, national, international and energy future.”
Looking ahead, Netanyahu spoke of a broader vision: “We will link Asia, the entire Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula, with its immense energy resources, to the West. This will happen, with the help of G-d, our friends who are here with us and you. We have much to do to ensure prosperity beyond that which we can describe. I thank you. You provided all Israel, and every factory and infrastructure in Israel with the necessary energy. And when there was damage, you took action, made repairs and we continued together. We will continue together. Together we will get it done and together we will succeed.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
The IDF reported that two Hamas operatives, Musab Yaser Abdallah Jilban and Abd al-Latif Musa Hajjaj Barbah, were killed in a targeted strike carried out by the Israeli Air Force under the guidance of the ISA and the 188th Brigade in Khan Yunis.
These two terrorists were responsible for the deaths of seven Israeli soldiers: Lieutenant Matan Shai Yashinovski, Staff Sergeant Alon Davidov, Staff Sergeant Ronel Ben-Moshe, Staff Sergeant Niv Radia, Sergeant Ronen Shapiro, Sergeant Shahar Manoav, and Sergeant Maayan Baruch Pearlstein. The soldiers were killed during an operation in Khan Yunis on June 24, 2025.
In its statement, the IDF emphasized its commitment to ongoing counterterrorism efforts in Gaza, saying it “will continue to operate against the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.”
On the day after the deadly incident, military journalist Doron Kadosh released early findings from the probe into what happened. The report revealed that the explosive device involved was not planted on the Puma armored vehicle beforehand, but was instead hurled inside by a terrorist during the attack.
The attack occurred amid active combat by the 188th Brigade in the Khan Yunis area. Prior to the fatal explosion, a fighter jet had been dispatched to strike a target in close proximity to Israeli forces. Around the same time, another platoon in the unit was targeted with RPGs and an explosive device, leaving one soldier seriously injured and another with minor wounds.
Standard operating procedures dictate that when an airstrike is imminent nearby, soldiers must seek cover inside armored vehicles to shield themselves from shrapnel and flying debris caused by the blast. In accordance with this protocol, seven soldiers temporarily entered the Puma APC as they awaited the strike.
The inquiry determined that during this brief window, a terrorist managed to rapidly approach and climb the armored vehicle. Within moments, he dropped an explosive directly into the APC while the soldiers were still inside. The initial conclusion of the investigation is that the soldiers were killed almost immediately when the device detonated.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Police are warning of a sophisticated ATM scam preying on elderly New Yorkers, after at least nine reported thefts on the Upper East Side left seniors more than $70,000 poorer in recent weeks. Authorities say a trio of suspects — two men and a woman — were caught on surveillance cameras during three of the incidents, which occurred between May 8 and June 26 at branches of Chase Bank, Bank of America, Capital One, and Citibank. Among the hardest hit was an 86-year-old woman who lost nearly $24,000 from her account around 11:30 a.m. on June 19 at the Chase branch on York Avenue near East 79th Street. That same location was hit at least three times, police said. In another brazen pair of thefts on May 14, scammers at the same York Avenue branch drained $20,000 from a 90-year-old woman and $3,000 from an 83-year-old woman within the span of an hour, according to police. The suspects typically distracted victims as they withdrew money, sometimes pretending to offer help at the ATM before stealing their cards. On June 2, one scammer struck up a conversation with a 71-year-old man at a Chase Bank on East 90th Street near Third Avenue around 11 a.m. and managed to steal his card unnoticed. Minutes later, the thief met up with an accomplice at another Chase branch in East Harlem and attempted to withdraw $5,500. The victim discovered the theft about an hour later, after noticing his card missing and over $6,000 in unauthorized charges on his account, police said. No injuries were reported among the victims, but authorities warned that more thieves could be involved in the pattern. The NYPD reports that grand larceny — which includes credit card theft — is on the rise in the Upper East Side’s 19th Precinct, with more than 750 cases reported so far this year, an increase of 5.2% from last year. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
An electrical substation fire that shut down Heathrow Airport, canceling more than 1,300 flights, was caused by a preventable technical fault identified almost seven years earlier, a report found Wednesday. Europe’s busiest air hub shut for about 18 hours in March after a fire knocked out one of the three electrical substations that supply Heathrow with power. More than 270,000 passengers had journeys disrupted. Counterterrorism police initially led the investigation into the fire, which came as authorities across Europe girded against sabotage backed by Russia. Though authorities quickly ruled out vandalism or sabotage, the fire’s huge impact raised concern about the resilience of Britain’s energy system to accidents, natural disasters or attacks. The government ordered an investigation into “any wider lessons to be learned on energy resilience for critical national infrastructure.” The report by the National Energy System Operator said that an “elevated moisture reading” had been found in oil samples at the substation in west London in July 2018, but action wasn’t taken to replace electrical insulators known as bushings. It said that the March 20 blaze was caused by a “catastrophic failure” in one of the transformers, “most likely caused by moisture entering the bushing causing a short circuit” that ignited the oil. The report also said Heathrow underestimated the likelihood of losing one of its three power sources, and as a result, “its internal electrical distribution network was not designed or configured to take advantage of having multiple supply points to provide quick recovery following such a loss.” Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said that the findings were “deeply concerning.” He said that energy industry regulator Ofgem had opened an investigation into whether the substation’s operator, National Grid Electricity Transmission, had breached its license conditions. National Grid said that Britain has “one of the most reliable networks in the world, and events of this nature are rare. National Grid has a comprehensive asset inspection and maintenance program in place, and we have taken further action since the fire.” (AP)
Rev. Al Sharpton is publicly urging Andrew Cuomo to withdraw from the New York City mayoral race, saying that stepping aside would serve the city’s needs more effectively.
“I think, in the best interest of the legacy of Andrew Cuomo, that he ought to let them have the one-on-one race,” Sharpton said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“He can endorse one or the other, and let them have a battle over what is best for New York.”
Sharpton noted that he had already contacted Cuomo’s team in an attempt to convince him to step down from the race.
A spokesperson for Cuomo responded that they’re weighing their next steps carefully, keeping New Yorkers’ best interests in mind.
“Everyone is entitled to their own political opinion — we understand President Trump supports Eric Adams, and do not believe socialism is the answer,” said campaign rep Rich Azzopardi. “Most New Yorkers are not Trumpers, and most New Yorkers are not socialists — the majority lies in the middle.”
Sharpton’s remarks came just 24 hours after the full results of the Democratic primary were released, showing that socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani beat Cuomo by a double-digit margin—12 percentage points—after only three rounds in the ranked-choice process.
Just days before that, Sharpton had welcomed Mamdani to his National Action Network headquarters, providing the candidate with a platform to appeal directly to Black voters. During the visit, Sharpton appeared to support some of Mamdani’s policy ideas, including a proposal to freeze rent.
While Sharpton stopped short of giving Mamdani an official endorsement, his public statements appeared to give the candidate a significant boost.
Although Cuomo has wavered on whether he would stay in the race, his name will still appear on the ballot this November as an independent candidate. He’ll be listed alongside Mamdani, Republican contender Curtis Sliwa, and two other independents, Eric Adams and Jim Walden.
{Matzav.com}
Before she became the acting president of Columbia University, Claire Shipman wrote a private text urging the dismissal of Shoshana Shendelman, a Jewish member of the university’s board of trustees who is the most active pro-Israel member on the board. She also wrote that the university urgently needs to somehow “get somebody from the Middle East or who is Arab on our board.” The texts were quoted in a letter sent by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce to Shipman, asking her to clarify the messages that “appear to downplay and even mock the pervasive culture of antisemitism on Columbia’s campus.” “These exchanges raise the question of why you appeared to be in favor of removing one of the board’s most outspoken Jewish advocates at a time when Columbia students were facing a shocking level of fear and hostility,” the letter to Shipman, written by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), chairman of the committee, and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), stated. Regarding her text about needing “an Arab member on the board,” the letter states that the message “raises troubling questions regarding Columbia’s priorities just months after the October 7th attack, which was the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.” “Were Columbia to … appoint someone to the board specifically because of their national origin, it would implicate Title VI concerns.” The letter quoted another text in which Shipman referred to congressional oversight on antisemitism efforts as “Capitol Hill nonsense.” Walberg and Stefanik wrote that Shipman’s message is “disturbing given Congress’s role in conducting oversight to ensure universities are fulfilling their obligations to protect Jewish students.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
Hamas on Wednesday issued a ten-day ultimatum to a Gaza militia leader accused of working with Israeli security forces, warning he would be tried in absentia if he failed to surrender. Yasser Abu Shabab, 32, from the southern Gaza city of Rafah, is facing a series of allegations, including treason, espionage, and leading an armed rebellion. According to Hamas officials, Abu Shabab commands weapons reportedly supplied by Israel and heads a group they consider a direct threat to Gaza’s stability. “The announcement is a clear message to any party thinking about fomenting division within the resistance,” Hamas said. Abu Shabab leads the Popular Forces, a militia that portrays itself as a civilian defense group distributing aid and protecting local residents. The Popular Forces rejected Hamas’ accusations in comments to Israeli media outlet Ynet, claiming Hamas itself should be on trial for serving the interests of Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood — organizations the militia described as working against the Palestinian people. Once a petty criminal who was jailed on drug and theft charges, Abu Shabab escaped Hamas custody during an Israeli airstrike on a security facility. He has since reinvented himself as a militia commander, though critics say his Popular Forces operate more like a criminal syndicate. International and Palestinian observers have documented the group’s alleged collaboration with Israeli forces in areas bordering the Kerem Shalom crossing. Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, has repeatedly accused Abu Shabab of leading a network of Israeli collaborators intent on undermining Hamas’ control of the enclave. Further controversy surrounds Abu Shabab’s involvement in looting humanitarian aid, an allegation that appeared in a leaked United Nations memo. His own family publicly distanced itself from him in May, acknowledging under community pressure that he had assisted Israeli security services. Social media footage circulating in Gaza shows Abu Shabab’s fighters manning improvised checkpoints while wearing military gear marked “Anti-Terror Service,” a name which has no formal recognition. The U.S.-affiliated Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has categorically denied any links to Abu Shabab’s men, clarifying that it does not coordinate with any armed Palestinian group. Several humanitarian organizations have accused the Popular Forces of seizing aid trucks and extorting payments from merchants, allegedly with Israeli troops looking on. Hamas has formally classified the group as hostile, even releasing video of its fighters targeting Popular Forces members with improvised explosive devices. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Two serious traffic accidents occurred on Wednesday evening in Chareidi neighborhoods, one in the Romema neighborhood of Jerusalem, where a child was killed, and the second in the Ramat Beit Shemesh Daled neighborhood of Beit Shemesh, where a girl was critically injured. The accident in Jerusalem occurred at the intersection of Petah Tikva and Zichron Yaakov streets in the Romema neighborhood of the city. The boy was critically injured and was pronounced dead minutes later. MDA emergency medics Mordechai Musai, Baruch Eliyahu Hoffman, and Eli Raymond reported, “When we arrived at the scene of the accident, there was a lot of commotion. We saw the cyclist, a child about 5 years old, lying unconscious after being hit by a car. We immediately performed medical examinations and noticed that he had no pulse and was not breathing and was suffering from a very serious head injury. We started performing advanced resuscitation operations, including compressions and respirations, and evacuated him to the hospital while continuing resuscitation operations. His condition is defined as critical.” As if the tragedy isn’t tragic enough, the boy was identified as Yisrael Ben-Tzion Goldstein, z’l, whose mother, Shoshana Goldstein, a’h, was nifteres several years ago at the age of 34 after giving birth to twin girls. Tragically, the twins didn’t make it either. Her husband, HaRav Moshe Goldstein, a talmid of HaGaon HaRav Moshe Shternbuch, was left alone with four orphaned children. The levaya is scheduled for Wednesday evening at 9:30 p.m. at Shamgar, and the kevurah will take place at Har Hamenuchos. The accident in Beit Shemesh occurred on Yitzhak Nafcha Street in the Ramat Beit Shemesh D-4 neighborhood. Hatzalah volunteers Shmuel Arieli and Shuki Mana said about the accident in Beit Shemesh: “When we arrived at the scene, we saw a 4-year-old girl lying on the road, without a pulse or breathing, with a multi-system injury after being hit by a car while riding a Bimbo. Together with paramedics and additional medics from MDA and Hatzala, we immediately started performing advanced resuscitation operations on her, and she was evacuated by an MDA intensive care unit in critical condition, during continued resuscitation efforts, to the trauma room at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem.” The public is requested to daven for the refuah of Avigail bat Sarah b’toch sha’r cholei Yisael. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Ye, the U.S. rapper formerly known as Kanye West, was recently stripped of an Australian visa after he released his single “Heil Hitler,” a government minister said on Wednesday. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke revealed Ye has been traveling for years to Australia, where his wife of three years, Bianca Censori, was born. Her family live in Melbourne. Burke said “Heil Hitler,” released in May, promoted Nazism. The song has been criticized as an antisemitic tribute to German dictator Adolf Hitler. “He’s been coming to Australia for a long time. He’s got family here. And he’s made a lot of offensive comments that my officials looked at again once he released the ’Heil Hitler’ song and he no longer has a valid visa in Australia,” Burke told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry,” Burke added. Ye’s representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Australia’s Migration Act sets security and character requirements for non-citizens to enter the country. Australia’s largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, have seen a spate of antisemitic attacks since the war between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7, 2023. (AP)
Jeff Bezos, the executive chair and founder of Amazon, recently cashed out nearly $737 million worth of company stock in a transaction disclosed through a regulatory filing.
The filing, submitted after Tuesday’s market close, reveals that Bezos sold approximately 3.3 million shares totaling $736.7 million. The sales were executed under a 10b5-1 trading plan that Bezos put in place in March.
Following the transaction, Bezos still holds around 905 million shares in the tech behemoth. Last year, he parted with close to $5 billion worth of Amazon stock.
Bezos, 61, tied the knot with journalist Lauren Sanchez during a lavish celebration in Venice on Friday evening, drawing attention from celebrities and media alike.
According to Forbes, Bezos currently holds the position of the fourth-wealthiest individual globally, with an estimated fortune of $234.4 billion.
Bezos has a history of utilizing 10b5-1 trading plans to sell shares. In 2023 alone, he sold off 75 million shares, reaping $13.6 billion from those sales.
Data compiled by Bloomberg shows that since 2002, Bezos has sold a cumulative $44 billion in Amazon shares.
{Matzav.com}
An analysis finds that a critical group of U.S. employers would face a direct cost of $82.3 billion from President Donald Trump’s current tariff plans, a sum that could be potentially managed through price hikes, layoffs, hiring freezes or lower profit margins. The analysis by the JPMorganChase Institute is among the first to measure the direct costs created by the import taxes on businesses with $10 million to $1 billion in annual revenue, a category that includes roughly a third of private-sector U.S. workers. These companies are more dependent than other businesses on imports from China, India and Thailand — and the retail and wholesale sectors would be especially vulnerable to the import taxes being levied by the Republican president. The findings show clear trade-offs from Trump’s import taxes, contradicting his claims that foreign manufacturers would absorb the costs of the tariffs instead of U.S. companies that rely on imports. While the tariffs launched under Trump have yet to boost overall inflation, large companies such as Amazon, Costco, Walmart and Williams-Sonoma delayed the potential reckoning by building up their inventories before the taxes could be imposed. The analysis comes just ahead of the July 9 deadline by Trump to formally set the tariff rates on goods from dozens of countries. Trump imposed that deadline after the financial markets panicked in response to his April tariff announcements, prompting him to instead schedule a 90-day negotiating period when most imports faced a 10% baseline tariff. China, Mexico and Canada face higher rates, and there are separate 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Had the initial April 2 tariffs stayed in place, the companies in the JPMorganChase Institute analysis would have faced additional direct costs of $187.6 billion. Under the current rates, the $82.3 billion would be equivalent on average to $2,080 per employee, or 3.1% of the average annual payroll. Those averages include firms that don’t import goods and those that do. Asked Tuesday how trade talks are faring, Trump said simply: “Everything’s going well.” The president has indicated he will set tariff rates given the logistical challenge of negotiating with so many nations. As the 90-day period comes to a close, only the United Kingdom has signed a trade framework with the Trump administration. Trump announced Wednesday he has reached a deal with Vietnam, with details to follow. India has signaled it is close to agreeing on a trade framework. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that more inflation could surface. The investment bank Goldman Sachs said in a report that it expects companies to pass along 60% of their tariff costs onto consumers. The Atlanta Federal Reserve has used its survey of businesses’ inflation expectations to say that companies could on average pass along roughly half their costs from a 10% tariff or a 25% tariff without reducing consumer demand. The JPMorganChase Institute findings suggest that the tariffs could cause some domestic manufacturers to strengthen their roles as suppliers of goods. But it noted that companies need to plan for a range of possible outcomes and that wholesalers and retailers already operate on such low profit margins that they might need to spread the tariffs costs to their customers. The outlook for tariffs remains highly uncertain. Trump had stopped negotiations with Canada, only to restart them after the […]
Sparks of a Nation began as a WhatsApp Status—sharing powerful stories, uplifting messages, and sparks of Yiddishkeit. *Now, we’re bringing that same inspiration to your Shabbos with Sparks of a Nation: Shabbos Edition—a beautifully curated, bi-weekly print magazine.* Each issue is designed to uplift and enrich your Shabbos, featuring heartwarming stories, Torah insights, stunning visuals, and meaningful content the whole family can enjoy—all in a format you can hold, savor, and share. Read more: https://sparksofanation.com/sparks/introducing-sparks-of-a-nation-shabbos-edition-now-at-your-doorstep/
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