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Category: News
November 19, 2025
News
UK

Farage’s Reform Party Scores Key Defections in London.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Two Westminster City Councillors defected from the Conservatives (Tories) to Nigel Farage’s Reform Party, with one joining the populist leader’s foreign policy team.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Councillors Laila Cunningham and Alan Mendoza, alongside Nigel Farage and Westminster Labour Council Leader Adam Hug.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Westminster, London, in recent days.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Britain today is in abject crisis. At home and abroad, our leaders seem determined to chart a course of national and international decline.” – Alan Mendoza

🎯IMPACT: Reform anticipates a “massive surge” in councillors, with predictions of gains in London boroughs and increased political competition.

IN FULL

Alan Mendoza, a Conservative (Tory) member of Westminster City Council in London and a co-founder of the Henry Jackson Society think tank, has defected to Nigel Farage’s Reform Party and will advise Farage on foreign policy and geopolitics. Mendoza stated, “Britain today is in abject crisis. At home and abroad, our leaders seem determined to chart a course of national and international decline.”

He added, “The British people deserve better than this. And in Reform UK we finally have a party who will put our interests first, and ensure that our tomorrow is better than our today.” Mendoza won his municipal government seat in the 2022 local elections and has served on Westminster’s audit and performance committee and budget scrutiny task group. Westminster Council runs a key London borough, centered around the Palace of Westminster, which is home to the Houses of Parliament.

Farage welcomed Mendoza, emphasizing his “intricate understanding of foreign policy and experience in global affairs” as an asset to his party. “I look forward to working closely with him as we continue to shape our policy platform in the months and years ahead,” he added.

Councillor Laila Cunningham also defected to Reform, citing frustration with the Conservatives, who governed Britain largely from the center-left from 2010 to mid-2024. “I am tired of defending failure,” Cunningham said, predicting a “massive surge” in Reform councillors in London at the upcoming municipal elections in May.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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November 19, 2025
Immigration
News

Trump Deports Dozens of Ukrainian Criminals, Kiev Says ‘A Use Will Be Found for Them.’

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Dozens of Ukrainian criminals have been deported by the Trump administration and returned to Ukraine via Poland.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service, and Ukrainian nationals.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The deportations were confirmed this week, with deportees reentering Ukraine through the Shehyni checkpoint on the Polish border.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Today, 50 citizens were returned from the United States through the Shehyni checkpoint on the border with Poland. They were documented with the appropriate papers confirming their Ukrainian citizenship or documents for their return.” – Andrii Demchenko, Ukrainian State Border Guard Service spokesman.

🎯IMPACT: The deportations underscore the Trump administration’s commitment to deporting foreign lawbreakers even if they come from conflict zones.

IN FULL

Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service has confirmed that 50 Ukrainian citizens deported from the United States have arrived back in the country through the Shehyni crossing on the border with Poland. Officials said the deportees carried either documents verifying their Ukrainian citizenship or other paperwork permitting their return.

The Ukrainian embassy in Washington, D.C., previously noted that an estimated 80 Ukrainian nationals had been issued final deportation orders due to violations of U.S. law. Notably, Ukraine has recently taken a more cooperative stance toward U.S. deportation efforts. The shift is believed to be linked to Kiev’s efforts to maintain U.S. support amid its ongoing war with Russia. One unnamed adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky was quoted as saying, “The U.S. can deport as many citizens as it wants and… a use will be found for them.”

Among those deported was 41-year-old Roman Surovtsev, who legally immigrated to the U.S. as a child but later served a prison sentence for burglary. His lawyers argue that he and others have been denied the opportunity to present claims of fear regarding their removal, claiming the process is “unlawful.”

Andrii Demchenko, spokesman for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, confirmed the group’s return, stating: “Today, 50 citizens were returned from the United States through the Shehyni checkpoint… They were documented with the appropriate papers confirming their Ukrainian citizenship or documents for their return.”

The removals come amid a sweeping expansion of U.S. immigration enforcement. Since the start of the year, U.S. authorities have carried out more than 515,000 deportations and are on pace to reach 600,000 by year’s end, which would set a new record. Analysts also report that the U.S. foreign-born population has fallen by an estimated 2.2 million, with both deportations and voluntary departures contributing to the decline.

Driving much of the acceleration is Border Czar Tom Homan, who has called for increasing daily arrests to 7,000. The administration has also moved to expand detention capacity and staffing, arguing that significantly greater resources are needed to sustain the current level of removals.

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November 19, 2025
News
UK

Prince Harry’s U.S. Popularity Plummets to New Low.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Prince Harry’s U.S. popularity rating has dropped 14 points in 2025, reaching its lowest level according to YouGov Ratings. His wife Meghan’s popularity is even lower.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, King Charles III, Sophie Chandauka, and the Sentebale charity board.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Data collected in the U.S. in 2025.

🎯IMPACT: Harry’s popularity in the U.S. is at its lowest since 2020, while Meghan’s has shown signs of recovery.

IN FULL

YouGov polling in Q3 2025 shows Prince Harry’s U.S. net approval rating has fallen to +17, a 14-point drop since early in the year when it stood at +31. Only 38 percent of Americans say they like him, while 21 percent say they dislike him, his weakest recorded support since YouGov began tracking his popularity in October 2020. By contrast, Meghan Markle has rebounded somewhat: after an earlier 18-point crash this year, her net approval has now improved slightly to +15—although this is still far below her husband.

Harry’s recent public appearances add further context to his shifting profile. In September, he met with King Charles III in Britain, their first encounter since the king’s cancer diagnosis, amid reports of tension. A spokesman for Harry attacked “sources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation.”

He also stepped down from the board of Sentebale, the charity he co-founded in memory of his late mother, Princess Diana, following a dispute with Sophie Chandauka, who chairs it. Meanwhile, he continues his legal fight with the British government over securing police protection during visits to Britain, complaining, “I asked [the King] to step out of the way and let the experts do their jobs.”

On the media front, Harry and Meghan’s long-running production deal with Netflix is reportedly ending. Their reported $100 million contract, signed in 2020, will expire in September 2025, and sources say it will not be renewed. The decision appears tied to the weak performance of their recent shows, including Meghan’s With Love, Meghan, which failed to crack Netflix’s top 300 and was extensively mocked on social media, and Harry’s documentary Polo, which also drew modest viewership. According to insiders, “things have just run their course.”

In addition, Harry remains under scrutiny over his past drug use in the U.S., which he detailed in his 2023 memoir Spare. He admitted to using cocaine, cannabis, and psychedelics. Court documents released in a legal battle over his U.S. immigration status remain heavily redacted, and it is not clear whether he formally reported his drug use on his visa forms.

Image by eNCA.

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November 18, 2025
Crime

Woman Set Ablaze on Chicago Train in Late-Night Attack.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: A 26-year-old woman was set on fire while riding a Chicago CTA Blue Line train, leaving her in critical condition.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The victim, an unnamed 26-year-old woman, and a suspect believed to be a 45-year-old man who fled the scene.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The attack occurred at 9:25 PM on the CTA Blue Line as the train approached the Clark and Lake stop in Chicago’s Loop.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Just seeing her lying on the ground and she was kind of hyperventilating and in a lot of pain,” a witness said, adding: “You could tell she was in really bad shape.”

🎯IMPACT: The victim remains hospitalized with severe burns, and police are searching for the suspect. The motive remains unclear.

IN FULL

A woman is fighting for her life after being set on fire aboard a Chicago CTA Blue Line train last night. The incident, involving a 26-year-old woman and a 45-year-old male assailant, occurred after 9:00 PM on Monday evening as the train approached the Clark and Lake stop in the Loop area, according to the Chicago Police Department (CPD).

The victim was doused in an unknown liquid before being set alight. She managed to stumble onto the platform, where bystanders extinguished the flames. The woman was rushed to Chicago’s Stronger Hospital with severe burns to her body and face and remains in critical condition.

Witnesses described the scene as harrowing. “Just seeing her lying on the ground and she was kind of hyperventilating and in a lot of pain,” one witness said. Another stated, “I saw a lady that was laying on the ground, and they were trying to give her CPR.” Both stressed the victim’s dire condition.

The suspect, described only as a 45-year-old man, fled the scene and remains at large. Police believe a verbal altercation between the victim and the suspect preceded the attack. Video footage of the incident has surfaced online, and the CTA Blue Line was halted, resuming operations at 1:30 AM.

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November 18, 2025
News

Why Did Rep. Clay Higgins Vote Against Releasing the Epstein Files?

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) voted against a bill to release Justice Department files on deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein—the only member of the House of Representatives to do so.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Rep. Clay Higgins, President Donald J. Trump, Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), and other House lawmakers.

📍WHEN & WHERE: November 18, 2025, in the House of Representatives.

💬KEY QUOTE: “It abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America,” Higgins said of the vote.

🎯IMPACT: The bill is likely to pass in the Senate, with Higgins warning it will impact victims and privacy standards in criminal investigations.

IN FULL

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) was the sole dissenting voice in the vote on releasing the “Epstein Files” on Tuesday, casting the only “no” vote on a House bill requiring the Department of Justice (DOJ) to disclose files related to Jeffrey Epstein. On X, Higgins voiced his worries about the bill, saying that it “abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America.”

“As written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people—witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc.,” he explained, warning: “If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt.”

Nevertheless, the bill enjoyed broad backing in the House, passing with 427 yes votes, among them 216 from Republicans. The push followed President Donald J. Trump’s call on Truth Social for Republicans to support it.

Even in opposition, Higgins signaled openness to changes, adding, “If the Senate amends the bill to properly address privacy of victims and other Americans, who are named but not criminally implicated, then I will vote for that bill when it comes back to the House.”

Under Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-SD) guidance, the Senate could take up the bill shortly, possibly approving it via unanimous consent.

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November 18, 2025
News
UK

A Million Brits Have Fled the UK in Recent Years.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: A record number of Britons left the United Kingdom in the year the incumbent Labour Party government was elected, driven by fears over tax hikes.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: British nationals, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor (Treasury Secretary) Rachel Reeves, and other officials.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The exodus occurred in the year ending December 2024, across the United Kingdom.

💬KEY QUOTE: “This was entirely predictable: when you tax something, you get less of it, and now people are voting with their feet.” – Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith

🎯IMPACT: The exodus contributed to a significant drop in net immigration, although gross immigration remained incredibly high.

IN FULL

A newly revised report from the British Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that a record 257,000 British citizens left the United Kingdom in the year to December 2024, more than triple the provisional estimate of 77,000. Between 2021 and 2024, around 992,000 British nationals emigrated, nearly three times previous projections. The ONS said the dramatic revision follows a shift from air passenger survey-based estimates to data drawn from National Insurance registrations.

The surge in departures coincides with rising concern over the tax policies of the ruling Labour Party, which returned to office after 14 years in opposition in July 2024. After the government abolished the “non-dom” tax regime in April 2024 and replaced it with a residence-based system, foreign income and assets came within the scope of British inheritance and income taxes, prompting high-net-worth foreign residents to leave.

Further tax increases are anticipated in the upcoming Budget, including higher National Insurance (Social Security) contributions. A possible so-called “exit tax” on people attempting to escape Labour has also been leaked to the press, likely motivating more people considering emigration to accelerate their plans.

Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith described the trend as an “economic exodus,” saying people are “voting with their feet” in response to Labour’s policies. “This was entirely predictable: when you tax something, you get less of it, and now people are voting with their feet,” Griffith said.

The revised ONS figures show that net immigration, which peaked at 944,000 in the year to March 2023, has fallen largely due to British nationals leaving, although it still remains at historically high levels.

Separate assessments of global wealth flows suggest the United Kingdom is among the hardest-hit countries for millionaire departures, with forecasts projecting the loss of more than 16,000 high-net-worth individuals in 2025. Analysts say heavy inheritance and capital gains taxes have pushed wealthy residents toward lower-tax destinations, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United States, and parts of southern Europe. London has been particularly affected. Recent private wealth analyses estimate the capital has lost more than 11,000 millionaires in the past year, causing it to drop out of the world’s five richest cities.

Image by Steve Lynes.

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November 18, 2025
News
UK

Oxford Union Brands Israel Bigger Threat Than Iran.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Oxford Union, Britain’s most prestigious debating society, voted that Israel is a greater threat to regional security in the Middle East than Iran.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, Executive Director of UN Watch Hillel Neuer, and the Oxford Union.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The vote took place on November 13.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Israel acts above the law and does not respect UN resolutions.” – Mohammad Shtayyeh.

🎯IMPACT: The vote comes amid rising levels of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment in Britain, linked in part to large-scale Islamic immigration.

IN FULL

The Oxford Union, Britain‘s most prestigious debating society, has voted by a wide margin to endorse a motion that Israel represents a greater threat to regional stability than Iran. The debate featured former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who argued in favor of the motion and described Israel as “an expansionist colonial state that has been established by colonial powers.” He called it a “pariah state” that “should be stopped.”

Shtayyeh told the society that “Israel acts above the law and does not respect UN resolutions,” accusing it of operating “a colonial regime… based on apartheid against the Palestinian people.” He cited what he called “brutal occupation, crimes and genocide,” and said Israel was “dragging the region into repeated conflicts… causing misery, genocide.” He also claimed that some Israeli lawmakers envision borders stretching “from the Nile to the Euphrates,” concluding: “We all should say that Israel is the biggest cause of destabilisation in the region.”

Opposing the motion, Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, said the proposition amounted to an “inversion of reality.” He argued that “regional stability is measured by who starts wars, not by who stops them,” noting that Iran, not Israel, arms militant proxies in several Arab countries.

Neuer insisted that “Arab states quietly depend on Israel for their own survival,” pointing to Iran’s recent direct attack on Israel with “170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles.” He highlighted that Sunni Arab states assisted in intercepting the projectiles, saying this represented a real-world verdict on the question of regional stability: “You don’t intercept missiles heading towards a threat to regional stability, you intercept missiles from one.”

Sources close to the event confirmed that the motion passed decisively, continuing a trend of contentious Israel-related votes at the institution. Last year, members backed the claim that “Israel is an apartheid state responsible for genocide” by 278 votes to 59.

The vote comes during a period of turbulence for the Oxford Union, a prestigious debating society founded in 1823 and known for hosting global political figures. In recent months, the group’s president-elect, George Abaraonye, was ousted after messages surfaced in which he appeared to celebrate the assassination of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk, whom he had previously debated.

In the leaked messages, Abaraonye allegedly wrote, “Charlie Kirk got shot, let’s f**king go,” and “Charlie Kirk got shot loool.” He was removed following a vote of no confidence.

A rise in anti-Semitic incidents has also strained the broader political climate in Britain. In early October, police identified the suspect in a deadly Yom Kippur synagogue attack in Greater Manchester as Jihad al-Shamie, a Syrian immigrant granted British citizenship. The attack left two people dead and several others injured.

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November 18, 2025
News
UK

Migrant Restaurant Owner Charged in Terror Plot To Kill Jews.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: A restaurant owner in England is accused of planning a gun attack targeting Jews.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Walid Saadaoui, a 38-year-old Tunisian national, co-defendant Amar Hussain, 52, and Saadaoui’s brother, Bilel Saadaoui, 36.

📍WHEN & WHERE: An attack was allegedly plotted between December 2023 and May 2024. Saadaoui owned a restaurant in Great Yarmouth before moving to Wigan.

🎯IMPACT: Police intervention reportedly prevented a potential mass casualty event. All defendants are denying the charges.

IN FULL

A Tunisian immigrant restaurant owner, Walid Saadaoui, is on trial at Preston Crown Court in England, accused of plotting a mass shooting targeting Jews. Prosecutors claim he intended to cause “untold harm.” Saadaoui, who denies preparing acts of terrorism, told jurors he arrived in the United Kingdom in 2012, worked in Clacton-on-Sea, and later bought the Albatross restaurant in Great Yarmouth in 2018. “I wanted to progress in life. I wanted to be my own boss,” he said, describing the restaurant as a thriving venue that hosted weddings and birthday parties.

Prosecutors allege that Saadaoui, his brother Bilel, and co-defendant Amar Hussain unknowingly disclosed details of their planned attack to an undercover officer. Saadaoui and Hussain both deny preparing acts of terrorism, while Bilel is accused of failing to disclose information about the alleged plot. Saadaoui is scheduled to give further evidence later this week.

The trial unfolds amid intensifying concerns about the safety and security of Jews in Britain. Jewish organisations have reported rising levels of anti-Semitic incidents in recent years, with community surveys showing that a growing number of British Jews feel less safe in public spaces. Tensions have been especially high following the fatal attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester, carried out by a Syrian migrant, Jihad al-Shamie, during Yom Kippur. Two worshippers were killed in that attack. Authorities later confirmed that al-Shamie had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. It also emerged that al-Shamie had been on bail in a rape investigation at the time of the attack, raising further questions about risk assessment and monitoring.

Concerns have been further heightened by recent policing decisions, including restrictions placed on Israeli Jewish soccer fans attending certain matches in areas with large numbers of Muslims due to security fears. National and local officials have warned that no British city should become a “no-go area” for Jews.

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November 18, 2025
Crime
Immigration

Border Patrol Confirms Mexican Cartels on the Run Following Trump’s Military Deployment.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Major cartel-controlled smuggling corridors have been disrupted or shut down following a military-reinforcement directive along the U.S. southern border.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, National Guard units, and President Donald J. Trump.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Over the past six weeks in key sectors of Texas, Arizona, and California.

💬KEY QUOTE: “The cartels are on their heels, and they don’t know how to adapt to this level of pressure.” – Senior CBP official

🎯IMPACT: Cartel mobility has been severely reduced, with significant drops in smuggling activity and narcotics trafficking.

IN FULL

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says President Donald J. Trump‘s deployment of U.S military assets to assist efforts to crack down on the flow of illicit drugs across the southern border is already bearing fruit. According to the agency, cartel-controlled smuggling corridors—some active for more than a decade—have been either entirely shut down or at least disrupted. The change in cartel position comes after the Trump administration launched a military reinforcement directive, known as Operation Sovereign Shield, six weeks ago.

Operation Sovereign Shield authorized the deployment of over 7,000 National Guard personnel, 24-hour-a-day aerial drone surveillance zones, rapid-response military patrol teams, and mobile checkpoints at known cartel transit routes. The initiative has led to a 72 percent reduction in cartel foot traffic in the Del Rio sector, a 64 percent collapse in vehicle smuggling activity around Yuma, and a 56 percent drop in narcotics seizures as cartels struggle to transport products, according to internal CBP documents.

“We’re seeing corridors that have been active since the Obama years go completely black,” said a senior CBP official. Persistent drone coverage has been instrumental, eliminating smugglers’ ability to operate under the cover of darkness or weather. National Guard units have forced traffickers into bottlenecks, disrupting long-standing routes and increasing the cost of illegal passage.

Since the operation began, six major stash houses tied to the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels have been raided, over 1,200 illegal immigrants intercepted, and cartel scout towers along the Rio Grande abandoned. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials report intercepted communications showing cartel panic, with some leaders calling the U.S. side “unworkable.”

President Trump called the results a “historic turning point” and stated, “For the first time in years, the cartels are losing—not winning. And we’re not stopping until the entire border is secure.”

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November 18, 2025
Immigration
Politics

Trump Rule May Limit Immigrants’ Use of Public Benefits.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposed a new regulation expanding the public charge policy, potentially limiting immigrants’ use of public benefits.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), migrants, and the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The proposed regulation was released this week and will be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Rescission would restore broader discretion to evaluate all pertinent facts and align with long-standing policy that aliens in the United States should be self-reliant and government benefits should not incentivize immigration,” the proposal states.

🎯IMPACT: The rule may discourage immigrants from accessing public benefits.

IN FULL

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed a regulation that would expand the public charge policy, potentially limiting immigrants’ access to public benefits. The suggested changes mean that programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Medicare could be considered when determining an immigrant’s eligibility for legal status, including green cards.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unveiled the proposal, which will be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday. It seeks to rescind the Joe Biden-era public charge rule and broaden the scope of public benefits that immigration officers may evaluate, extending it to include health or social services used by applicants.

“Rescission would restore broader discretion to evaluate all pertinent facts and align with long-standing policy that aliens in the United States should be self-reliant and government benefits should not incentivize immigration,” the proposal outlines. However, immigration advocates criticized the move, with Adriana Cadenas, executive director of the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition, complaining that it “deters lawfully present immigrants and U.S. citizens from seeking health care and help they need and qualify for under federal law.”

The regulation follows debates over immigrants’ access to social safety net programs. While immigrants without legal status are already technically barred from accessing programs like SNAP or Medicaid, Congress has recently imposed additional restrictions on legal immigrants. Some state-funded benefits may also now be considered in immigration reviews under the new rule.

During his first term, President Donald J. Trump expanded the definition of public charge, making it more difficult for immigrants to obtain permanent status if they used certain public benefits. The Biden government later reversed this policy in 2022, narrowing the scope of benefits considered. The latest proposal, however, signals a return to a broader approach.

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