debt ceiling five times then sported the biggest entitlement expansion since the '60s. >> you see commercials, rick santorum is a big spender but never talked about how i voted for increase on appropriation bill, because i never did. i voted to cut appropriation bills. they never talked about me voting for a tax increase because i never did in 16 years in public life. i voted to reduce taxes. >> all the talk is about michigan and its primary next tuesday. romney spent more time talking about the tax plan and attempt to go undercut santorum's lead. >> what i'm going to do over the coming days is talking about how to make all three work together, our taxes to create more growth. our spending to make sure we balance the budget. and our long term obligations. >> the candidates released january fundraising figures today. mitt romney came in at 6.5 million in donations but is burning through cash faster than any other. santorum riding on a wave of momentum brought in fewer dollars but the new flesh of cash represents 67% of total funds raised. all pale in comparison to president obama, to reported almost 76 million in cash. >> what liberals don't get is that you cannot put a gun rack in a volt. >> newt gingerich was in oklahoma city on the eve of a forbes magazine cover story on the vegas casino billionaire and addressed critics who say he's attempt to go buy an election saying it's unfair that i've been treated unfair but it doesn't stop me. i might give 10 million-dollar or $100 million to gingrich. all four will be in as for a televised debate. santorum is inching in on the romney lead. real clear politics gives him a larger margin in as. arizonians complain they're not getting enough attention from the candidates. the primary is the same day as michigan with arizona being a winner take all state for the 29 delegates. it's thought second place would be a losing proposition. >> thank you. we're learning more about why the president reversed himself on supporting you don't see super pacs. the pro-obama action u.s. super pac raised $59,000 in january and almost all from one person. they spent more more than a quar million dollars last month. money isn't the only deciding factor. ed henry reports the president is trying to get a handle on the controversy over his contraception mandate and how it affects issues of faith. president obama tried to remain above the fray today declaring he's focused on push congress to pass the payroll tax cuts. >> instead of spending the coming months in phony political debates, i hope we spend time focusing on middle class americans. >> even as rick santorum seemed to question the president's faith by dredging up the debate over his former pastor. >> he went to reverend wright's church 20 years. you can question his theology but it's a christian church. >> today the reverend franklin graham repeated his insinuationses saying he's not sure the president is christian but assumed it to be true. >> islam has gotten a free pass. >> jay carney tried to steer clear of both attacks noting the president spoke about his faith. >> this president is focused on doing the things he believes the american people elected him to do. to take every measure and every action he can to grow the economy and create jobs. >> the controversy started saturday at a christian forum in ohio. >> it's about a phony ideal, a theology. not based on the bible, a different theology. >> the president himself used the fade phony religionosity after the political debates. >> we can benefit from turning to our creator, listening to him. avoiding phony religionosity. >> administration officials noted the president started with the phrase we, including himself in the warning, not attacking opponents. though later the president suggested republicans are wrong on taxes but alluding to the bible supporting his push to make the rich pay more. >> for me as a christian, will co unsides with jesus's teaching that from to whom much is given, much shall be required. >> officials tell us the president will give a speech on energy and gas prices thursday and treasury department will roll out a new corporate tax plan. >> ed henry. thank you. as ed mentioned president obama took a figurative victory lap today over the recently passed but not signed payroll tax cut extension. during the event he announced new initiatives to stimulate job creation in rural areas, including increased promotion of biobased products and more help for healthcare training. eurozone officials approved a $172 billion second bailout for the greek economy. that paves the way for greece to negotiate a debt buydown with private creditors. greek citizens face years of grueling austerity measures including job loss and pay cuts. >> the greek deal was good for wall street early own. the dow jones industrial average crossed the 13,000 thresh had hold but finished ahead 16. the nasdaq lost 3. some analysis about wall street and the greek deal from gerri willis. >> this is the second big bailout for greece and larger than the last. $172 billion and helps greece stay on their feet. no default and prevents the economic crisis from worsening. after 13 hours of talks the deal was announced by international monetary fund. european central bank and european commission. they were all smiles as they left. but for it to work, private investors have to be onboard. they're paying for t hedge funds and other greek and foreign banks are expected to take 53.5% losses. about $140 billion writeoff and deep are cuts were just agreed to a few months ago. they have to be convinced to go with the debt swap where greek bonds pay less for longer. it brings the debt to gdp ratio to just over 120% by 2020. a minimum target. the current ratio is 164%. the united states, just over 100%. the big question is where greece deliver on the promises made. tough measures could be needed. >> the greeks, it does not appear, like the austerity measures very much. >> no, you're right. riots in the streets, massive strikes, the public doesn't like the cuts. on top of this, parliamentary election ins april. before the ink was dry there was talk of renegotiations. one other thing, they're essentially under 24-hour surveillance from europe. they can't get a penny without the go-ahead from the bureaucrats in brussels. >> one more thing. the tragedy that has been greece has been a huge cloud over the market. today the dow crossed 13,000 for a little bit. it looks like wall street likes what's happening with all this? >> you bet. the dow hit the highest level in nearly four years today, though we closed under 13,000. so much focus has been on europe, analysting say staying above 13,000 will be a confidence indicator for small individual investors. stock mutual funds posted their biggest inflow in a year. >> thank you very much. the head man at the pentagon doesn't mince words. >> iran's military talks toughit about a possible fight. the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪ that's my world. i remember the day my doctor told me i have an irregular heartbeat, and that it put me at 5-times greater risk of a stroke. i was worried. i worried about my wife, and my family. bill has the mos common type of atrial fiillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem. he was taking warfarin, but i've put him on pradaxa instead. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mgs reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin without the need for regular blood tests. i sure was glad to hear that. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or bloodthinners, or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke ri. other side effects include indigestio stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk of stroke with pradaxa. >> in world headlines, afghan president karzai is asking pakistan to facilitate peace talks with the taliban. it follows a similar overture last week. officials in islamabad deny having ties to the taliban. the top commander of forces in afghanistan is calling the burning of korans and other muslim materials a mistake. it happened at the bagram military base, many books were removed from the library because they had extremist writings inside them and because detainees were exchanging messages writing in the books. a senior from the country say they may not wait to be attacked. it came during a busy day in the tense situation between iran and much of the world. jennifer griffin has the latest from the pentagon. >> just days after entering the mediterranean, two destroyers returned, leaving as suddenly as they arrived. despite the warships docked in syria, pentagon officials say they didn't make it that far. still a top iranian general is signaling iran would be willing to carry out a preemptive strike, a clear message to israel. quote, our strategy now is that if we feel our enemies want to endanger iran's national interest and decide to do that, we will act without waiting for their actions. the white house continued to press israel not to strike first. >> there's time and space for diplomacy to work for the effective sanctions to result in a change in behavior. >> china, india and japan agreed to cut down on the amount of oil they import by 10 to 20% but skeptics don't think it would stop zin the obama administration, james clapper, testified to the senate two weeks ago all existing sanctions had no affect on iran's behavior or policies in the nuclear field. >> pentagon officials warn of the limits of the military strike. collin call was the top advisors. >> one down side is there's very little benefit from the strike. u.s. officials suggested a strike buys you one, works maybe three years of delays. >> today in tehran, iranian officials denied requests by un inspector to interview scientists and barred them from visiting a military complex. it's the second time in three weeks inspectors have been sent away empty-handed. >> jennifer griffin, thank you. oil futures shot up today. near month crude increased $2.60 a barrel closing at 105.84. yemen voted to make the u.s. backed vice president the head of state. he will replace long time president, who is relink wishing power in exchange for blanket immunity from prosecution. in syria, food and water are returning low. this as the red cross asked for a daily two-hour cease-fire to send aide to the victims. world affairs contributor dominique is next door in beirut, lebanon. >> it was the heaviest barrage on the rebel's stronghold since government forces opened up the all out attack on the neighborhood of homs 18 days ago. activists saying some 250 shells and rockets rained down on opposition tuesday morning and claimed 30 were killed and 340 injured. the highest number of wounded in a single day. we can't verify the numbers nor the video put out but accounts indicate the ferocious intensecy. government forces are using 133-millimeter long range artillery shells against brick buildings. amid hideous living conditions for the people, the red cross is attempting to negotiate to cease-fire to allow humanitarian aide but security is a big issue. on friday, the international friends of syria group will meet in tunisia to see how corridors of aide could be opened up. the group said they'll find a way to bring about an end of the regime of assad. it's unclear if they'll arm the opposition. still ahead, will the republicans have a brokered convention in tampa? what about contested convention? we'll lay out all the possibilities. first, what rising gas prices are doing to small businesses. wake up! that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. chocolate lemonade ? susie's lemonade... the movie. or... we make it pink ! with these 4g lte tablets, you can do business at lightning-fast spes. we'll take all the strawberries, dave. you got it, kid. we have a winner. we're definitely gonna need another one. small sinesses that want to grow use 4g lte technology from verizon. i wonder how she does it. that's why she's the boss. because the small business with the best tecology rules. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 1-800-974-6006. >> the extra pennies you pay at the pump are felt across the country. higher gasoline prices mean lower profits and possible layoffs at many small businesses. mike tobin has the case of us a and affect. >> the food service industry can't cost ship when fuel i crosses. it costs more to get everything from the bread, meat, peppers in chicago but there's only so much a customer will pay for italian beef. >> we do everything we can. we try to be efficient and look at distribution of product to our stores or delivery. >> since they deliver there's a direct impact. higher parkways at the pump eats the profit and there's still a price ceiling on italian beef. >> it makes you think about job security. >> no one is ready to say it will get better. experts say the tipping point is $5 a gallon. people will drive and support the cost until it reaches that threshold. with the national average $3.57 per gallon of regular, chicago at $3.60. miami $3.74. new york city near $4 a gallon and the west coast crossed the $4 mark. >> the biggest cities, l.a., new york city, chicago, all may see stations selling over $5 a gallon. >> they don't like to say it but small businesses need to keep layoffs as an option in the face of crippling transportation costs. >> we consider all possibilities. as a family-owned company we don't want to ever impact our workforce or anything else but we try to be creative with how to solve the problem. >> the experts say $5 a gallon is off in the future but the possibility of a national average, according to gas buddy.com, a national average of $4 a gallon would happen by late april. >> thank you. speaking of commerce. a think tank says there's a lot going on between the white house and congress when the president needs help. jim angle looks at the practice of administrative earmarks. >> the report from the conservative heritage foundation says the obama administration used taxpayers dollars to persuade vulnerable lawmakers to vote for controversial proposes. >> there are 32 vulnerable house democrats who received significant federal grant money during the run-up. >> the amount of earmarks spiked during difficult votes then dropped, only to spike again during the dodd-frank and spiked the most before the vote on the healthcare bill. cap and trade was difficult for democrats because the president acknowledged it would cause energy price to say skyrocket. healthcare law is controversial today with a majority in polls continuing to oppose it. on the websites, lawmakers didn't advertise their votes but touted money they got for various local projects. >> as a way to counteract the negative sentiment these were attempts to make sure constituents knew they were bringing money home. >> the white house said nothing was amiss. >> the president's opposition to earmarks is well-known and i'm confidence the process is done on a merit-based -- in a merit-based way. >> president obama didn't invent it, president nixon used earmarks to win reelection. but president obama has vastly expanded the practice. >> earmarking under president obama increased by 126% and the actual number of administrative earmarks increased 54%. >> dramatic increases. 11 times more more than congress, which the white house did not explain. knows numbers are from the nonprofit service, not the heritage foundation. one indiana state lawmaker probably won't buy a lot of girl scout cookies this spring. the reason ahead in the grapevine. what's the deal with this picture of secretary of state hillary clinton? we know you dt until the end of the quarter to think about your money... ♪ that right now, you want to know where you are, and where you'd like to be. we know you'd like to see the same information your advisor does so you can get a deeper understanding of what's going on with your portfolio. we know all this because we asked you, and what we heard helped us create pnc wealth insight, a smarter way to work with your pnc advisor, so you can make better decisions and live achievement. 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[ alarm blaring ] where the cost to repair your home, replace what's inside, and stay somewhere else if you need to are covered. because you never know what lies around the corner. to learn more, visit libertymutual.com today. >> now fresh pickings from the grapevine. leon panetta joked during a town hall meeting with troops he wants a combat badge for testifying before congress. quote, i've been in hearings the last three days, expletive. i think i should get some kind of award for going through that crap. he served in the house of representatives for 16 years. douglas egan tweeted, man up, leon. >> secretary of state hillary clinton apparently did not get the white shirt memo for the g20 summit family photo in mexico. clinton instead wore a lime green shirt alongside 30 other representatives all sporting white. an indiana state lawmaker will not support a resolution celebrating the 100th anniversary of the girl scouts because he believessettes a radicalized organization that supports abortion. >> the fact that first lady michelle obama he says should give lawmakers pause. the girl scouts is addressing what it calls misinformation on the internet saying the group lease leaves sex and reproduction questions to parents. >> tax breaks for hair trimmers. the stimulus to allow critical hair expense or stash act, would offer a $250 tax break for mustache maintenance. he group says it requires pricey products and stimulate the economy. they're environmentally friendly because they save water. the group announced a 1 million mustache march from the capital to the white house but the date is april 1, april fools day, so draw your own conclusion. >> we told you how contentious things are getting in the republican presidential sweep stakes raiding the issue if any of the final four candidates will clinch of nomination before they get to tampa. >> it's been decades since a truly brokered convention occurred, most notable, 1940 when a man who had been a delegate at the democratic convention emerged is a republican nominee. 2012, the primary process, talk of a congestion in which no one candidate arrived with enough delegates to win is bubbling. >> it's not probable but it's possible. >> mitt romney loads with 123 delegates followed by rick santorum, newt gingerich and ron paul. not all delegates are set in stone and represent less than 10 % of the total. >> once somebody begins to win most of the contests and delegates, i think there gets to be a national momentum as people say he's doing the best job of convincing me i'm for him. >> a poll shows 67% of republicans would rather see the race wrapped up early by a current contender then go into august without a consensus. >> when you have a brokered convention you're going to have raw emotions on display for four days on national tv. this is not ideal. >> in that same poll, 29% hoped none of the four current candidates gets enough delegates to lock up the nomination preconvention. instead favoring the option of picking someone else. frequently mentioned noncandidate, mitch daniels, says in that scenario, count him out. >> i would not be interested. i would be interested in, did we get to that point, i would be interested in finding someone who could present a winning alternative. >> in am of concerned republicans, including congressman thad mccotter worry primary voters feel insulted if after they cast their votes, someone new comes on. more on this with the panel. former international monetary fund chief dominic strauss-kahn is held by french police after several hours of questioning. police are investigating a suspected hotel prostitution ring. strauss-kahn's attorneys insist he did not know the ladies were prostitutes. he has newly admitted to attending sex parties in several cities across the world. he was i accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid and the charges were dropped. fundraising numbers and other developments when the fox all-stars join me in a moment. i look at her, and i just want to give her everything. yeah, you -- you know, everything can cost upwards of...[ whistles ] i did not want to think about that. relax, relax, relax. look at me, look at me. three words, dad -- e-trade financial consultants. so i can just go talk to 'em? just walk right in and talk to 'em. dude, those guys are pros. they'll hook you up with a solid plan. they'll -- wa-- wa-- wait a minute. bobby? bobby! what are you doing, man? i'm speed dating! [ male announcer ] get investing advice for your family at e-trade. >> i think a tea party would find it interesting rick santorum streeted raise the debt ceiling five times without compensating reductions and spending. the fact he continues to defend earmarks including his $500,000 earmark to the pittsburgh zoo for an exhibit. i don't think that's consistent with the principles of conservatism. i voted for smaller government. lower taxes. less regulation. the things that we need desperately and i provided leadership. in a very important area. >> rick santorum and mitt romney the two leaders nationally and in the two states they were in today. michigan and arizona. let's look at the polls in arizona. ppp poll has romney up 3 points now. another poll today has him up 4 points to the real clear politics average of all recent arizona polls has romney up about 7 points. in michigan, santorum up 4 points in the rasmussen poll. the real clear politics average has it very close, 33.5 to 32%. there you see the other two candidates. with that, let's bring in our panel. steve hayes, mara lieasson and david drucker. >> david, they're going back and forth. mitt romney has sharpened his attack on rick santorum. and he's obviously spending a lot of money attacking rick santorum on spending. >> the debate tomorrow night will be crucial in terms of how mitt romney makes his argument directly in a national forum. i think if you're mitt romney and you're going after rick santorum, this is the fertile ground. it's not the same as going after newt gingerich where you had personal ethical things. it was a better matchup and stark, obvious attack that made sense. but there is ground to hit santorum on, that's that despite the fact that you can't argue he's been a conservative republican for the balance of his public life, elected and a few years after. he did support a lot of government spending and earmarks and the sorts of things that were in favor when he was in office. including under a republican president but have fallen out of favor under republicans lately and the tea party. it's a smart attack l it work? we're going to find out. the polls have started to shift as the race tightened but will it be enough. >> mara, romney's best friend is ron paul. his new ad, take a listen. >> fiscal conservative? really? santorum voted to raise the debt ceiling five times, double the sides of the department of education and supported the biggest entitlement expansion since the 60's. not groovy. >> mitt romney wishes he could run that ad but he doesn't have to because ron paul is making it for him. as david pointed out there's not a lot of other arguments. this is it. this is all they've got against rick santorum. they can't argue on social issues or say he's too conservative, even though he might be. you can't hit him from the left. but ron paul is helping romney, as long as he's splitting the anti-romney vote with rick santorum he's a barrier. the fact that he's repeating the romney talking points and perhaps more credible on this issue than anyone else because i don't know that he's ever voted for a spending bill, that's helping romney. i think that what we are seeing is the beginning of the end of the santorum surge. polls are tightening, this is after romney spent a tremendous amount of money. >> i don't necessarily agree. it's too early to see we're seeing the end of santorum surge despite the fact he's criticized, he's got staying power that i think newt gingerich and herman cain and michelle michele bachmann and others didn't have. we're likely looking at a long process that we'll talk about after the commercial. the interesting thing about the ron paul ad is where is plays. michigan, ron paul is not playing in primary states and he's a didn't third. i don't know if he thinks he's going to pick up delegates and he's making the last minute play but it seems like an appendage of the romney campaign. >> no one has talked at this table, any panel, about why that is. >> i think it's very clear. >> ron paul will get a job in the romney cabinet. >> you have to understand ron paul has been in congress many years and has criticized republicans when it was not in fashion, about how you talk about you're to lower spending and you're not. he's hitting first newt gingerich and now rick santorum. >> he could clearly attack mitt romney if he wanted to. >> i'm saying i think he gets pleasure after going after fellow republicans he served with in congress. >> there's a -- at this point it's an open partnership. jesse betten talked about the extent to which they're cooperating with the romney campaign. >> where is the reason? >> if mitt romney, if this in fact goes as long as i think, through june, maybe to the convention and mitt romney is short delegates, say he doesn't get 1144, ron paul will be steadily accumulating delegates in caucus states and elsewhere that may be enough to put romney over the top or have impact. at least to give ron paul a speaking spot at the convention. >> on the campaign trail, newt gingerich is attacking mitt romney, still going back to the previous comments, talking about -- >> i am not for a safety net as a final solution, it tends to become a spider's web. it catches people at the bottom and sticks them there. i would like to create a springboard where our goal is to give every american a chance to pursue happiness and get out of poverty, no help them survive in poverty. >> talking about mitt romney's line about safety net, if there are problems, he'll fix them. the casino magnet to backs the newt gingerich super pac said he may give newt gingerich $100 million. the told forbes magazine, when asked about the criticism he's trying to buy the election forking in, he says those people are either jealous or professional critics. they trash other people. i might give 10 million or $100 million to gingrich. >> well, there you have it. you know, the free speech means free spending and he doesn't like being criticized and he's been a loyal friend to gingrich. you know, i don't think he's going to give $100 million to him, but this also really shows the importance of the super pacs and individual wealthy donors. mitt romney is relying on a small group to keep his campaign going but that's one of the most significant features of the campaign. >> david, what about the bounceback possibility for gingrich. i'm done ruling gingrich out. until we get to the end and there's a winner and loser, i won't take him for granted. we will know more after super tuesday and you get the southern states voting. if he gains traction there, he's still in the ballgame. if he can't, we might start to look at this as a race he's in but not a major factor but i've been wrong already twice. i'm not to be wrong three times. >> before the break, let's show the numbers, mitt romney in january, 2012, he raised $6.5 million. he spent $18.7 million. a lot of that antigingrich ads. cash on hand, you see a little bit more than $7.5 million. santorum in january raised $4.5 million, spent 3.3, cash on hand 1.4. there you get a sense of the money game. next up, will one of the candidates secure the nomination before the convention? we'll discuss it next. 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the "u.s.a. today" poll, is the g.o.p. presidential campaign hurting the party? not hurting 57%. next, republican nomination better for the candidate to win during the primary, 66% in this poll said that. and 29% said let the convention pick. it's been decades since there was a truly brokered convention. notable, 1940 when wendell will can i emerged as the republican nominee. he was a democratic delegate in 1932. what is a brokered convention, contested convention, and why is it being talked about? >> this race is going longer than people expected and mitt romney is having trouble sewing this up. a brokered convention is when somebody brokers a deal. we don't have brokers anymore. three go into the back rooms and smoke cigars. it could be contested meaning somebody doesn't show up in tampa with the delegates. if they come without that number he has to convince somebody else to release their delegates to him. there could be multiple ballots, an extraordinary spectacle. there's plenty of time between the end of the primaries and the convention for that kind of horse trading to go on. it doesn't have to happen on the convention floor. >> let's say brokered is likely out of the question. contested maybe more of a chance but, still, not probable. >> i would say it's still unlikely. probably you could say very unlikely. the idea another candidate would get in, it's possible. theoretically but the problem is there's no other candidate. everybody who has been talked about said i'm not interested and you have to believe they're not interested. there are two reasons this contest will go on a long time and could result in a contested convention, momentum and proportionality. momentum doesn't last, doesn't mean anything so one will win one week and two weeks later they lose. every time we thought someone was building momentum, the reverse happened. the way republicans conduct this race is different from the past. these contests coming up from this point forward are going to be with the exception of arizona, march on, are going to be giving -- allocating delegates on a proportional bases so there's no incentive, as long as a candidate with buy a plane ticket to the next state there's no incentive to get out before the convention. >> steve makes good points. i would add if we get to a contested convention republicans would be in a world of trouble. you would have the whole summer with no real campaign building up and getting ready to take on the president and hit the president. the convention is scheduled for late august, early september. >> traditionally a rehabilitation moment where an angry party could take their nominee and say, look how great this person is, and isn't he the best person to run against the president. >> right, no news generally happens, per se, so why not have it near labor day to pivot and head into the the homestretch all guns blazing. if you don't have a candidate until the convention they have no time to build the campaign to hit the president and the president will get a pass until september in terms of being attacked in a real fashion every day. it's going to be horrible for republicans that are interested in winning the white house. >> let me disagree with that. if there were -- if one of these other republicans who indicated they don't want to run, jeb bush or mitch daniels, if one of those candidates were to sweep in at a convention and emerge as a nominee, and if you are one of the of the 50, 65% of republicans not happy with this field, i think you would get pushback from some republicans and conservatives who would say it would be a messy process but if we end up with a better candidate than the ones we've watched. >> all those voters, you'll dis all those voters. >> the voters who voted in all those states. >> that's really a slap in the face. >> look at -- >> relief delegates. i'm talking about putting together a campaign that can function. they should start in march and -- >> they're not going to start in march no matter what. if you look at the exit polls, people who cast ballots would change -- >> you snuck that in under the wire. we'll talk about this again. stay tuned for a dramatic reading from the senate floor. 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