The Desert Sun
Desert golf memories include Hope, Palmer, Mickelson
The year was 1987 and the PGA Tour was headed to the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West for the first time as the host of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, as the desert tournament was called then. The players howled at Dye’s design of deep bunkers,...
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Lawsuit seeks to block city’s tallest building
Environmentalist have sued the city of Palm Springs over a condominium and hotel project proposed for near the convention center that would create the tallest building in the city if built. Supporters Alliance For Environmental Responsibility, a...
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‘Sunset’ spot in Palm Springs a hot addition to food scene
Upon approach to SoCal Sunset, the splashy new addition to Palm Springs’ restaurant scene on Palm Canyon Drive, the eye inevitably is drawn to the expansive patio that takes up much of the square footage. It’s an appealing spot to grab a drink at the...
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How much water is in 17 lakes, reservoirs in 2026
California’s lakes and reservoirs got a big boost from wet holiday storms. A week into 2026, all of the state’s 17 major reservoirs are brimming above their 30-year average after atmospheric rivers dumped heavy rain on much of the state starting the...
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Democrats face scrutiny over Israel-Gaza war
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker recently visited New Hampshire, where he met with activists and spoke at a town hall meeting, sparking speculation about a potential 2028 presidential run. The trip also underscored a political reality confronting Booker...
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Few homes rebuilt after LA wildfires
LOS ANGELES – One year after deadly wildfires destroyed the vibrant houses on Loma Alta Drive in Altadena, the smoky stench still lingers. On Jan. 7, 2025, the fires began that killed more than 30 people and scorched almost 58 square miles across...
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Maduro, wife plead not guilty in court
Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro pleaded “not guilty” in federal court on Jan. 5 on U.S. drug trafficking charges, days after he and his wife were captured by U.S. forces in a surprise attack on the oil-rich country. Maduro, dressed in prison...
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STARRY NIGHT
There’s one night every year when the desert shines a little brighter than Hollywood, and that’s because the brightest stars have left Los Angeles for the Palm Springs International Film Awards. The annual celebration of cinema took place Saturday,...
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GROWTH PUTS STRAIN ON GRID
Several Coachella Valley cities have seen their populations boom in recent decades. Indio’s jumped 81.5%, from 49,116 people to 89,137, from 2000 to 2020, while neighboring La Quinta saw a 58.5% jump over the same period, from 23,694 people to 37,558....
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Meet the Coachella Valley’s first babies of 2026
The Coachella Valley rang in the new year with its first baby of 2026 shortly after midnight. h Emilio Ibarra was born at 12:34 a.m. Thursday, Jan 1 at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, Desert Care Network announced on social media. He...
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MILESTONE AND MORE IN STORE FOR 2026
As a new year dawns, many Americans are reflecting on 2025, a year marked by historic events including the inauguration of a president, the appointment of the first American pope, and major pop culture moments like the release of “Wicked: For Good” and...
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Document offers path in troubled times
The Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary in 2026 is certain to be a time of national reflection. Americans tend to look to the Constitution to assess whether the nation is living up to its founding principles when navigating major social...
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Tick off these must-do experiences in new year
2025 is coming to a close, and that means New Year’s resolutions are right around the corner. Whether you’re a full- or part-time resident, or even just visiting, the Coachella Valley offers a host of worldclass experiences for all to enjoy. Make...
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New era, old memories
More than a decade after “The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies” took its final bow at the Plaza Theatre, and after a massive multi-year restoration project, the historic venue reopened Dec. 1 with a performance by Cynthia Erivo. h But as the theater...
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Ending 2025 in style
It’s almost time to bid 2025 adieu, and what better way to welcome in the new year than by celebrating in style in the Coachella Valley? A number of New Year’s Eve events are planned for Palm Springs and other desert cities, including a morning...
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‘DEEP CONNECTION’
The places Indigenous peoples call home have intertwined with their ways of life for millennia. Their stories, foodways and cultures relate directly to their homelands. Lands, waters, plants and animals, the creatures that inhabit the waters below and...
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Wildlife museum planned in Rancho Mirage
City officials in Rancho Mirage are weighing a proposal to develop a new wildlife-focused museum at the former site of the popular Chart House restaurant along Highway 111. h The project, currently referred to as the Global Wildlife Discovery Museum,...
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Working to preserve Native languages
I was hired at the University of Colorado Boulder in 1995 as a language professor. I relocated from Hawaii, where I had learned the Hawaiian language. When I arrived in Colorado, I decided I needed to learn about the Indigenous language of the Boulder...
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JOY TO THE WORLD
TOP: 8-month-old Jaxson Lopez of Cathedral City smiles while meeting Santa Claus for the first time alongside his 5-year-old brother Greyson during a gingerbread lane celebration at Old Town Artisan Studios in La Quinta on Dec. 20. RIGHT: 6-year-old...
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Top view, top dollar
Luxury golf courses deserve to be surrounded by luxury homes. But few homes in the Coachella Valley or across the country can measure up to a property now back on the market at Bighorn Golf Club in south Palm Desert. h Originally built and owned by...
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Nonprofit strained by surge of Marines leaving PSP
A local nonprofit is struggling to transport Marines from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms base to the Palm Springs International Airport following a surge in demand for its services. 29-PSP has been driving Marines from the...
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States take up conservation goals terminated by Trump
WASHINGTON – With a snappy title and a laudable goal, “30 by 30” was a landmark plan hatched to help save at least 30% of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030. Alongside this multinational push, the United States had its own trailblazing version of...
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Controversial horse park in rural desert gets the OK
The eastern Coachella Valley community of Thermal is now poised to be home to a massive — but controversial — new equestrian sports center surrounded by hundreds of homes, stores and other amenities after the Riverside County Board of Supervisors gave...
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Judge rules city can force sale of land
A few years after the City of Indian Wells began its efforts to force the sale of land near the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for future affordable housing, a judge has initially ruled in the city’s favor. The city decided to use the power of eminent...
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Police arrest son in Reiners’ deaths
Police have arrested Nick Reiner, the son of actor-director Rob Reiner and his film producer wife, Michele Singer Reiner, following the deaths of the couple. Nick Reiner, a 32-year-old screenwriter, was taken into custody on Dec. 14, and is being held...
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Cooler inflation won’t offset cost concerns
WASHINGTON – Even if overall inflation slows next year as the U.S. Federal Reserve anticipates, President Donald Trump will still face political headwinds over the cost of living with home mortgage rates expected to remain comparatively high,...
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Feeling grounded, atop a horse
Eva Alvarez sits atop her horse, Goldie, without a saddle. She feels that it’s the best way to connect with the animal, comparing it to how babies are put on their mother’s bare skin when they’re first born. h She leads Goldie around the arena at her...
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Grubhub reveals most ordered foods of 2025
An assortment of foods and other items were featured on Grubhub’s 2025 Delivered Report, including tinned fish and matcha: Legumes: Chicken nuggets and strips:
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HONORING A LEGEND
Desert Sun sports reporter Larry Bohannan was honored Tuesday during media day for The American Express golf tournament, played every year in La Quinta in January. Citing his dedication to this tournament, which includes writing two books on the event,...
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Residents fight new homes they say could hurt wildlife
A group of Palm Springs homeowners have banded together in an attempt to stop a 98-home development they say is proposed in a critical wildlife corridor. The homeowners worry the development may impede wildlife access to the Tahquitz Creek Channel,...
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Coachella, Palm Springs kickstart holiday season
Two Coachella Valley communities brought neighbors together this past weekend to kickstart the holiday season — desert style. On Friday, Dec. 5, Coachella lit up as locals lined Sixth Street to cheer on the participants in the 2025 Coachella Enchanted...
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Teen writes her own take on classic Christmas tale
‘Twas a few weeks before Christmas when all through Morongo Valley, an imaginative teen was causing a stir in the local literary world. h On a recent Sunday, stockings and festive lights were hung up in a desert home with care in hopes that many...
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The story behind the beloved Big Josh statue
Locals and tourists driving along Twentynine Palms Highway toward Joshua Tree National Park have likely noticed a towering 20-foot cowboy statue known as Big Josh. He stands guard over The Station, a former 1949 Richfield gas station that has been...
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AI could worsen school inequalities
Today’s teachers find themselves thrust into a difficult position with generative AI. New tools are coming online at a blistering pace and being adopted just as quickly, whether they’re personalized tutors and study buddies for students or lesson plan...
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City wants to draw new spas and hotels
Desert Hot Springs is giving tax breaks to new hotels and spas to encourage development — and, the city hopes, ultimately double its tourism revenues by drawing new businesses. h The city is known for its mineral spring water spas and has long wanted...
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ERIVO ENCHANTS
In 1936, actress Greta Garbo attended the Plaza Theatre’s opening night for the world premiere of her film “Camille” and reportedly slipped into the back after the lights dimmed. The evening established an iconic identity for the downtown Palm Springs...
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HONORING WORLD AIDS DAY
People take photos of a scale model of the Palm Springs AIDS Memorial, “Well of Love,” during a groundbreaking event Dec. 1, which is World AIDS Day. The memorial will be installed in Downtown Park and is expected to be completed in spring 2026.
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Feeling festive? Check out these SoCal holiday lights displays
A historic mission that’ll transform into a festive scene. A botanical garden illuminated by lights. These are just some of the Christmas lights and holiday displays Southern Californians can enjoy in the coming weeks with family and friends. Here’s a...
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REMEMBERING THOSE LOST
Jeff Bosacki took a trip to Europe in 1987, treating it as one last hurrah — he expected to die soon from his HIV diagnosis. However, it led him to something worth fighting for. When he returned to the United States, he went to Washington, D.C., when...
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CV Rescue Mission answers holiday call
Scott Wolf saw something at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission this year that he never wanted to see. h “We have a dry food pantry that we use to store the food that we distribute in our weekly food boxes that we give out,” said Wolf, director of...
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‘I wish this country supported artists’
Being an artist is not viewed as a real job. It’s a sentiment I’ve heard time and again, one that echoes across studios, rehearsal halls and kitchen tables – a quiet frustration that the labor of making art rarely earns the legitimacy or security...
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING
There is no print edition of the paper today, but you can find today’s puzzles, comics, national news and sports here in the eNewspaper.
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We prospected for gold in California’s past and present
Ankle-deep in a stream, James W. Marshall bent over and grabbed a shiny object that caught his eye. He placed it on a rock and began striking it with another. The shiny material pounded flat, which told him nearly everything he needed to know. h He had...
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Injured people sue city over holiday parade crash
Fifteen people injured last year when a police officer lost control of his motorcycle have sued the City of Palm Springs, its police department, the officer and others involved, according to a law firm. The collision happened during the Festival of...
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Drawing car lovers, of all ages
Rain couldn’t stop old and new car enthusiasts from converging in the parking lot of the Palm Springs Convention Center for the start of McCormick’s Classic Car Auction. h Whether they were looking for their first car or their 100th, auto lovers came...
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‘What it means to serve with honor and heart’
When Natalina Garritano was 11 years old, a bomb exploded near her home in Cosenza, a small town in Southern Italy. She would likely have died if an American soldier had not seen her arm sticking out from the rubble and pulled her to safety. The year...
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HONORING THOSE WHO’VE SERVED
TOP: Army Vietnam Veteran Wynn Jordan, 73, of Desert Hot Springs takes a moment to reflect among the American flags in the 20th anniversary Fields of Valor display at Patriot Park in Cathedral City on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Jordan was drafted in August...
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Week 11
Looking ahead to Tuesday night’s rankings, Oregon is assured of climbing at least one spot and inching closer to an at-large berth. The Ducks, Texas A&M and BYU lead Saturday’s biggest winners and losers:
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‘A game changer for our community’
Some said it would never happen, but after around 14 years, the CV Link bicycle and pedestrian path finally held a grand opening Friday afternoon in Palm Springs. At an event packed with cyclists, who attended to participate in the inaugural bike...
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A LOOMING ‘NIGHTMARE’?
Palm Springs International Airport is not on the list of 40 airports facing a new federal mandate to reduce flight traffic due to the government shutdown. h But Palm Springs is still being impacted: Many of the airports it has frequent connections to...
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Silicon Valley ‘warlord’ gets Pentagon’s attention
NEW YORK – “I’m a warlord now, (expletive)!” Steven Simoni, wearing a $4,000 Celine track suit unzipped to reveal a bare chest and a silver chain, was holding court at a recent film premiere in the East Village of Manhattan, joking with a reporter...
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Pelosi was a leader from the ‘old school’
WASHINGTON − Nearly four decades after she arrived in the nation’s capital, Nancy Pelosi is ready to head home. “Dear San Francisco,” she began in a soft-focus video showing scenes of her adopted city, posted on social media. “I want you, my fellow...
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How the new maps will reshape valley districts
Come 2026, many Coachella Valley residents will find themselves in new congressional districts after voters approved Proposition 50. Results are still being tallied and won't be official for weeks as late-arriving mail ballots come in. But the measure...
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‘The lies told in this case only deepened the tragedy’
Jake Haro was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Monday for killing his infant son, Emmanuel Haro, who went missing in August and whose remains have yet to be found. Jake Haro and Emmanuel’s mother, Rebecca Haro, were accused of murdering the...
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Honoring the departed
TOP AND RIGHT: The Sunnylands Center & Gardens in Rancho Mirage held several days of events to mark Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, Nov. 1-2. Above, traditional decorations on display as the events concluded Sunday, Nov. 2. At right, Morgan...
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What new superintendent Funchess plans to change
When Marcus Funchess became Palm Springs Unified School District’s superintendent on July 1, he promised to start by listening. Four months and more than 200 conversations later, he’s sharing what the community told him in his 100-day report. The...
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See which restaurants were closed, downgraded, investigated this week
Armando’s Dakota Bar & Grill, 73-260 El Paseo, Palm Desert Major violation: h
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NEXT-LEVEL DEDICATION
The proof of Max Ellinger’s Costco fandom is his only tattoo, inked on his right arm. It’s the Kirkland Signature logo – the Costco house brand for everything from rotisserie chicken to laundry detergent. Ellinger got it in 2019 after a friend...
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Coachella mayor arrested on multiple felony charges
Coachella Mayor Steven A. Hernandez was arrested this week on felony charges of conflict of interest and perjury, according to jail records and a city spokesperson. Hernandez, 42, was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on Tuesday, Oct....
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Growing future conservationists
O—n Monday morning at The Living Desert and Gardens, a group of students from Desert Mirage High School in Thermal leaned in close to feed a black rhino named Jaali and perhaps unknowingly, their own curiosity about conservation careers. h For many of...
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FIND food bank braces for surge
With CalFresh benefits delayed in November due to the ongoing government shutdown, FIND Food Bank expects a surge in demand and is requesting National Guard assistance to ensure Coachella Valley residents do not go hungry. The federal government has...
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‘I FEEL SO LUCKY’
The nearby tennis courts where she played were destroyed when Russia drones, bombs and missiles first began tearing apart Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv in 2022. Explosions were heard throughout the city, which plunged into chaos, with air raid sirens...
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Queens of the desert
There’s at least one drag show happening in the Coachella Valley on any given day of the high season. But in Washington, President Donald Trump has made it clear he doesn’t want drag at one of the nation’s most prestigious venues. In February, Trump...
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Birds bounce back
When I started bird-watching as a teenager, a few years after the first Earth Day in 1970, several species that once thrived in my region were nowhere to be found. Some, like the passenger pigeon, were extinct. Others had retreated to more remote, wild...
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Horse park plan wins an early OK
A large and controversial development is in the works with aims to further cement the far eastern Coachella Valley community of Thermal as a west coast hub for the sport of horse jumping and the enthusiasts who often center their lives around it. On...
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Community gathers to celebrate life, legacy of philanthropic giant
TOP: Scenes from the celebration of life for Harold Matzner at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert on Oct. 21. Just three days before his beloved Dodgers were set to begin their 2025 World Series run, family and friends of the late die-hard fan Harold...
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‘A vibrant new destination’
As Cotino — the Disney-branded development that will feature hundreds of homes and a swimmable lagoon in Rancho Mirage — continues to rise, project officials announced this week the first round of tenants at its town center expected to open next year....
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Gated community plan draws pushback
A developer is eyeing just over eight acres of undeveloped land in Palm Springs’ Racquet Club area as the possible future site of a mix of market-rate single-family homes and townhomes and affordably-priced apartments. h The Cathedral City-based...
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‘IT’S ABOUT DEMOCRACY’
In the Coachella Valley and across California, thousands showed up to the “No Kings” rallies to send a message of resistance to President Donald Trump and his actions. h And in California, attendees also spoke of a way people can take direct action to...
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VOTERS SPEAK ON PROP 50
California voters are already casting ballots in what is likely the most important contest of 2025, one that will play a substantial role in deciding which party controls the U.S. House for the last two years of President Donald Trump’s time in...
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More Californians are buying electric cars
More Californians are ditching the gas pump and going electric, with zero-emission vehicles making up more than 29% of new car sales in the three months ending in September — a record high. California motorists purchased 124,755 zero-emission vehicles...
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Tribal gas station coming near casino
The Agua Caliente Tribe of Cahuilla Indians is further expanding its gas station business in the western Coachella Valley with a new Agua Caliente Fuel station near the tribe’s casino in Cathedral City. h It will join the existing station in Rancho...
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Trump Cabinet blames protests for shutdown
Two of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet secretaries said Democrats are keeping the government closed for the sake of “No Kings” mass protests scheduled for Oct. 18. The comments, made on the same Fox Business show on Oct. 13, echoed congressional...
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