Colorado River Runs

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43 County Road 111, Bond, CO 80423-9603

The Colorado River Aqueduct, or CRA, is a 242 mi water conveyance in Southern California in the United States, operated by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California . The aqueduct impounds water from the Colorado River at Lake Havasu on the California-Arizona border west across the Mojave and Colorado deserts to the east side of the Santa Ana Mountains. It is one of the primary sources of drinking water for Southern California. Originally conceived by William Mulholland and designed by Chief Engineer Frank E. Weymouth of the MWD, it was the largest public works project in southern California during the Great Depression. The project employed 30,000 people over an eight-year period and as many as 10,000 at one time.The system is composed of two reservoirs, five pumping stations, 62 mi of canals, 92 mi of tunnels, and 84 mi of buried conduit and siphons. Average annual throughput is 1,200,000 acre⋅ft .
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Colorado River Runs Videos

Webinar: Nature's Value in the Colorado River Basin

Title:
Nature's Value in the Colorado River Basin

Date:
Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at 1 PM Pacific / 2 PM Mountain / 3 PM Central (Mexico City) / 4 PM Eastern

Abstract:
Economies need nature. Economic development and quality of life depend upon natural capital. Natural capital produces economically valuable tangible goods, such as food, water, timber and fish, as well as less tangible but still vitally important services, including flood risk reduction, drinking water filtration, recreation, and aesthetic value.
This is readily apparent in the spectacular Colorado River Basin. If the natural capital of the Colorado River Basin were appraised like a business, based on the value of the goods and services it provides, how much would it be worth? In 2014, Earth Economics completed a valuation of ecosystem services in the Colorado Basin with specific focus on water and water dependencies. Results show that ecosystems in the Colorado River Basin provide between $69.2 billion and $496.4 billion in economic benefits every year. These benefits extend well beyond the boundary of the basin, to the region and globe.
This presentation will summarize the methods and results of this study, and provide other examples of how ecosystem services valuation has been incorporated into traditional and non-traditional agency decision making tools, including benefit-cost analysis, damage assessment, and accounting.

Presenters:
Corinne Cooley has over a decade of software industry experience and a deep commitment to environmental sustainability. At Earth Economics, she leads software development efforts on the Ecosystem Valuation Toolkit, guiding strategy, specification, and development of a fully functional web-based product. She also served as lead and co-author for the largest regional ecosystem service valuation in United States history, Nature's Value in the Colorado River Basin. Prior to joining Earth Economics, she served a variety of roles at Expedia, including managing software launches in Southeast Asia and Latin America, coordinating multiple teams and reporting directly to Executive Management. During her time at Expedia, she served on the Seattle Greendrinks Board of Directors and volunteered for other sustainability focused organizations including Sightline Institute and Mountains to Sound Greenway. She received her BA in Physics-Astronomy with honors at Whitman College, with a stint at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand where she studied ultra-high energy neutrinos.

Rowan Schmidt grew up in New Zealand, completing his Bachelor of Science (biology) and Bachelor of Arts (philosophy) at the University of Auckland, with an exchange at Kyoto University in Japan. At Earth Economics, Rowan leads the 21st Century Utility program with the goal of expanding water utility funding mechanisms for watershed health. Areas of the program include: providing accurate valuation of drinking water watersheds to inform utility investment decisions; updating national accounting standards to recognize watersheds that provide and filter water; enhancing bond disclosure standards to include watershed and natural capital conditions; and adjusting water utility rate structures to support natural capital investments.

David Justice and the BLM Land Grab in Colorado

If I asked you 'who is David Justice?,' you might tell me about a guy who used to play for the Yankees and married Halle Berry. But there's another David Justice who has been in the news, and it's for very unique reasons.

Justice, a native of Montrose, Colorado, is a radio host who is running for public office. According to his personal website, he carries around a copy of the Constitution in his pocket and he claims he can recite it verbatim. Justice has taken a strong stance against national debt, calling for more transparency about federal and state dollars.

He also says the following on his website: [I oppose] federal road closures; the holding of land and [I believe] the increase in the exercise of power in the State by the federal government must be turned around.

In this YouTube video from February of last year, Justice appears to discover that the Powderhouse Gulch Road, what he describes as an old mining road, was unceremoniously destroyed by the Federal Government. Justice says the road itself predates the state of Colorado.

Zoomed in video shots of the road show large piles of debris, concrete and rocks blocking the path. Justice organized a group of locals from nearby Pitkin to remove the debris and restore the road without permission of the Forest Rangers. Justice sent the mayor of Pitkin an email and asked for help with the project. At one point in a conversation, the attending forest ranger told him that the process to decide and close the road took five years.

Following a morning appearance on his radio show, Justice was met by the Bureau of Land Management, the FBI and US Marshals. The officials arrested Justice on suspicion that he tried to build a rod on BLM land after it was closed to the public. David will appear in court on Friday morning.
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Community Runs for Fallen Heroes

America's Run for the Fallen - Day 12, as the community of Parker, AZ, including the Colorado River Indian Tribes join the Run. Closing with a very special ceremony and a Gold Star Mom from Indiana that traveled, to be at her son’s mile marker. Thanks also to Patriot Guard Riders. The best community turn-out yet! Wow Arizona – great Welcome to America’s Run for the Fallen!

Chasing Bail | Fault Lines

Fault Lines examines the US bail bond industry, and investigates how money determines who goes free and who stays behind bars.

The number of Americans incarcerated before standing trial in a court of law—currently more than 750,000 inmates—has never been higher. On any given day, nearly 70 percent of the national jail population is awaiting judgement, locked up without being convicted of a crime.

The U.S. is one of only two countries in the world that allows private companies to bail people out of jail at a profit. Bail bond companies earn $2 billion annually by getting people out for a fee. The majority of the accused remain behind bars because they cannot afford to pay for their release.

Proponents of commercial bail say it provides a public service at zero cost to taxpayers. But what are the ultimate costs of the pay-for-freedom pretrial process?

Fault Lines travels to California, Maryland and New York to examine how money determines the fates of those awaiting trial by the criminal justice system.

Fault Lines is a weekly show that takes you beyond headlines and holds the powerful to account as we examine the US' role in the world.

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17 dead in 'horrific' high school shooting

Suspect Nikolas Cruz, 19, was taken into custody off campus after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Semi-truck plows into stopped traffic causing deadly highway pileup

A semi driver is facing homicide charges after four people were killed in a horrific, fiery crash involving 28 vehicles on a Colorado highway, officials said Friday.

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First Blind Kayaker Down the Entire Grand Canyon!

FIRST BLIND SOLO KAYAKER GOES DOWN ENTIRE LENGTH OF GRAND CANYON

August 29th, 2013

Disabled Navy veteran Lonnie Bedwell made history last week, becoming the first completely blind solo kayaker to go down the entire length of the Grand Canyon. He achieved this feat when he completed his trek down the Colorado River supported by Team River Runner on Wednesday, August 21. Bedwell, a Navy Veteran from Dugget, Indiana, was guided by three military veterans from Team River Runner who relied only on a system of voice commands to navigate him through the entire trip, including the large, difficult Class V rapids. The 16-day journey was made possible thanks to the help of numerous volunteers and fellow veterans, as well as a generous grant from Check-6 Inc., a service disabled veteran owned company that focuses on safety and training in the energy industry.

By kayaking the entire 226-mile length of the Grand Canyon in a solo kayak, Bedwell not only made history, but he also fulfilled a dream he has long shared with Team River Runner Executive Director, Joe Mornini. Running the Grand Canyon was a dream for Joe and me, and now that dream has become a reality. I hope that other disabled persons will be able to share this feeling with me one day and achieve their dreams as well, said Bedwell.

Mornini, who co-founded Team River Runner, a chapter of Disabled Sports USA, in 2004 and currently serves as its Executive Director, praised the team effort that engendered this historic achievement and which continues to serve as the ethos of his organization. No one goes down the Grand Canyon on the river and leaves the same way they entered. Lonnie's three warrior guides, and the entire group of veterans and volunteers, formed a bond that enabled healing and empowerment for all, and a truly historic achievement as a team.

Joe Mornini has opened the doors for warriors who were wounded to find life again on the water. He is a man of singular vision and energy who saw a need and focused his sites on helping wounded veterans get back in the game, said Brian Bru Brurud, the founder of Check-6, Inc. Congratulations to Lonnie and Team River Runner on a job very well done!

ABOUT TEAM RIVER RUNNER
Team River Runner (TRR) was established in August 2004 by kayakers in the Washington, DC area. Overseen by a Board of Directors, and with 10 employees, TRR remains primarily a volunteer-based organization, supported by grants, and corporate and individual donations. Initially established to help active duty military personnel wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, TRR now serves veterans of all eras at over 40 chapters throughout the United States. For more information, visit teamriverrunner.org

ABOUT CHECK-6, INC.
Founded in 2007, Check-6 (checksix.com) is a disabled veteran run organization that brings lessons learned from aviation and the military to other high-risk industries, including oil & gas, mining, and industrial power generation. Check-6 applies the best practices of aircraft carrier operations, commercial aviation, nuclear and space operations to help reduce human error, increasing efficiency in the process. The company has grown from a handful of dedicated people in 2007 to more than 300 working around the world today.

La Plata, Missouri USA - Virtual Railfan LIVE

This is a live stream of La Plata, Missouri, USA, for people who enjoy watching trains.

Actual start date: May 19, 2017

The 360º camera is sponsored by Duane & Curt Lundgren in memory of their hometown Great Northern Railroad

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La Plata, MO, in Northern Missouri, is located on BNSF Railway's Marceline Subdivision at milepost 312.7, part of their Southern Transcon, the former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) mainline between Chicago and Los Angeles.

Amtrak’s Southwest Chief passenger train stops here twice a day; the eastbound train #4 in the morning and the westbound train #3 in the evening.

The typical BNSF freight train volume is between 50 and 70 trains per 24 hours. There are 2 cameras available.

There is an ATCS layout available, as well as a radio feed for the western part of the BNSF Marceline Sub, listening to AAR road channel 30, 160.560 (also includes Norfolk Southern's Kansas City District, on road channel 22, 160.440):

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James Bond Jr - # 41 There But For Ms. Fortune 1/3

James Bond Jr Playlist:

Ms Fortune attempt to kidnap IQ and hold him for ransom for Q's ice formula so that she can use it to freeze Colorado River to shut down most of the United States' power supply. But her plan goes awfully wrong when she mistaken Trevor for IQ and kidnap him instead.

James and his friends head to Las Vegas to rescue Trevor from the clutches of Ms. Fortune.

James Bond Jr - # 41 There But For Ms. Fortune 3/3

See Why the Mysterious Mountain Lion Is the ‘Bigfoot’ of Big Cats | Short Film Showcase

Much like the legendary Bigfoot or Yeti, the elusive mountain lion has also acquired its own mythical status.
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The secretive and solitary nature of this species makes them notoriously difficult to study and understand. Although there is much we still do not know about the secretive lives of mountain lions, innovative research techniques and technology have allowed biologists to get a glimpse into the behavior, diet, and ecology of these mysterious big cats.

In this short film by Ben Masters, get up close with Texas’ largest apex predator as biologists from the Borderlands Research Institute track, capture, and collar cougars in the Davis Mountains of West Texas.

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Ordonez brings home Ventura on sacrifice fly

7/10/99: Rey Ordonez drives in Robin Ventura with a soft sacrifice fly to right field, extending the Mets' lead to 4-2 in the 4th

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The American League consists of the following teams: Baltimore Orioles; Boston Red Sox; Chicago White Sox; Cleveland Indians; Detroit Tigers; Houston Astros; Kansas City Royals; Los Angeles Angels ; Minnesota Twins; New York Yankees; Oakland Athletics; Seattle Mariners; Tampa Bay Rays; Texas Rangers; and Toronto Blue Jays. The National League, originally founded in 1876, consists of the following teams: Arizona Diamondbacks; Atlanta Braves; Chicago Cubs; Cincinnati Reds; Colorado Rockies; Los Angeles Dodgers; Miami Marlins; Milwaukee Brewers; New York Mets; Philadelphia Phillies; Pittsburgh Pirates; San Diego Padres; San Francisco Giants; St. Louis Cardinals; and Washington Nationals.

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Disabled Navy veteran makes history supported and guided by Team River Runner

Texas Grassroots Unite AGAINST Prop 6

A coalition of Texas grassroots organizations have united to inform the public of the disastrous effects the proposed State Water Bonds - Proposition 6 - will have on the long term future of rural and urban Texas communities.

Representatives from 6 organizations spoke just outside the Lower Colorado River Authority's (LCRA) headquarters on October 14th and promised to continue working together against the passage of Prop. 6.

Participating organizations included:
- S.O.S. Alliance
- Travis County Green Party
- Texans for Accountable Government
- Neighbors for Neighbors
- Hays County Constitutional Republicans
- Texas Drought Project

FINALLY! AMTK 152 at Moffat Tunnel (22AUG2016)

Amtrak 152, AMTK 47 (Train 6 - California Zephyr® - San Francisco to Chicago) passing over the Fraser River and entering the Moffat Tunnel at Winter Park, Colorado. The 6.2 mile Moffat Tunnel was opened in 1928 replacing the Rollins Pass as the preferred route between Denver, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah.
I paid the price for this shot: I waited in the freezing cold pouring rain for a very long time until I was literally soaked to the bone before the rain stopped and the Zephyr finally passed through running hours late.

Hikers Lost For Six Days In Grand Canyon

Lisa and I were married on March 31, 2001. We had talked it over the months preceding our wedding day and decided to backpack the Grand Canyon on our honeymoon for five days. We bought our permit through the National Park Service and the trip was on.

We trained for three months, walking everyday and building up our stamina. We made a hike in the Ocala National Forest with Brian and Brett, Lisa's sons and my future stepsons. We planned our supplies carefully and read up on survival techniques and familiarized ourselves with the different trails because we would be hiking into remote areas where rescue would be extremely difficult if not impossible. The weeks leading up to our departure we assembled all our gear and supplies, made the reservations for our lodging, for our rental car to drive from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon and arranged our flights to Phoenix.

We were married on Saturday, March 31, 2001 at the Isle Of Pines South Beach Park, a quaint outdoor casual wedding, with friends and family and departed the following Tuesday, April 3, 2001. Lisa's sons would stay with their dad, while we were in the Grand Canyon. My son's, James and Ricky were living on their own, James, 22, in Brandon, Florida and Ricky, 23, in Cherry Point with the USMC.

We arrived at Bright Angle Lodge at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon that afternoon and took a brief practice hike down Bright Angel Trail. Wednesday we took a longer hike down Bright Angel Trail, and then explored the top of the South Rim for the rest of the day. Thursday was the first day of our backpacking trip and we wanted to adjust as much as we could to the seven thousand foot altitude of the South Rim. We ate well Wednesday night, checked our equipment one more time, made taxi reservations to South Kaibab Trailhead for the following morning and hit the sack early.

We woke at 5:00 AM, cleaned up, gathered our personal belongings and moved them to the rental car, had a light breakfast, checked out of our room and waited for our cab.

We arrived at the South Kaibab Trailhead at 6:30 AM. Lisa's backpack weighed in at sixty five pounds and mine weighed in at eighty five pounds. Carrying six days of food and supplies was not a light load. We would be lost to society and one with nature for the next six days. The trip began.

We started down South Kaibab trail Thursday and climbed out five days later exiting from Bright Angel Trail. We traveled thirty four miles of switchbacks, trails, crossing streams and hiked from the South Rim to the North Rim and back. We camped at Phantom Ranch, Cottonwood Springs and Indian Gardens.

Together we began a journey that is still going on to this day. The experiences of joy, wonderment and hardship that we shared on this trip as a newly married couple created a bond between us that is unbreakable and has helped us through lifes trials and tribulations, through personal tragedy and personal triumph. It brought us to the face of god and made us realize what really matters in life minus the distractions that we are all surrounded by. The experience continues to this day to remind us of the importance of family and friends and the richness of our lives, not measured by financial wealth, but by our relationships with our families and friends and how we treat the people around us.

In 2008 we lost our son James. He was twenty eight years old when he left us. Then in March 2009 we lost our thirty year old son, Ricky. Ricky served proudly in the USMC and was a veteran of Iraq. Ricky is survived by his wife Dorothy and our grandaughter Lauren.

When we feel our spirits dampening, we remember the lessons that we learned in the Grand Canyon and before long, a smile touches our faces with a joyful tear in our eye and life continues on down that beautiful trail.

The pictures of this slideshow do not begin to do justice to the beauty and the majesty of the Grand Canyon. You must experience it personally by seeing it for yourself. Only then can you comprehend the magnificence of this natural wonder located here in the United States of America.

Governor Hickenlooper Signs Clean Energy Bill in Centennial Park, Pagosa Springs Colorado

About 75 people gathered under and around a big white tent in Pagosa Springs' Centennial Park on Friday May 30, to witness a somewhat historic event, as Colorado governor John Hickenlooper publicly applied his signature to HB14-1222... to the applause of the gathered crowd.

A handful of video crews were present to document the ceremony, and we had a chance to hear briefly from elected officials — State Representative Mike MacLachlan, County Commissioner Clifford Lucero, Pagosa's mayor Don Volger, and of course Gov. Hickenlooper — and from Pagosa Verde founder Jerry Smith. Hickenlooper referred to his own experiences, as a young man, opening the first brewpub in Colorado, and predicted that a future geothermal electricity generation project was going to brand Pagosa as a place where things are done differently, a place of innovation, and where it's an outdoor, sustainable quality of life. (Obvious emphasis on the word sustainable.)

No one, speaking during the ceremony, explained exactly what the law would accomplish or how it would encourage private investment in geothermal energy projects, but I had a chance to speak with Jerry Smith a couple of days later and get an overview of how funding might unfold for a proposed $16 million electric generation plant, based on Pagosa's geothermal resource.

One of the primary problems with development of new geothermal industries in Pagosa Springs — whether they be greenhouses or electric generating plants — concerns the existing water rights owned by local spas. Pagosa was originally settled, back in the 1880s, within easy walking distance of the therapeutic mineral baths which, some claimed, were helpful in treating numerous and sundry medical conditions. The town currently has three private businesses that charge admission to use the healing waters — or that allow free soaking for their motel customers.

The geothermal water is considered a public resource — owned by the people of Colorado — but these three businesses have been granted legal right to use the hot water in their baths before returning it to the San Juan River. Additionally, the Town of Pagosa Springs owns two wells that are used in a municipal heating utility. The utility, developed in the 1980s, serves about 30 businesses, homes and schools in the center of downtown — and also supplies water to the Springs Resort for its private soaking pools, under a geothermal lease. Unfortunately, the underground utility has been suffering financially from ongoing maintenance issues, and from a lack of customers.

Any further development of the public geothermal resource would need to respect these existing uses, which is why it has been crucial to determine the extent and volume of the underground resource before committing to, for example, a $16 million electric generating project.

Pagosa Verde principal Jerry Smith gave me a quick rundown on HB14-1222 and how it might play into the development of a proposed geothermal electric generating plant. The state of Colorado had approved a law, a decade ago, that was supposed to open up funding opportunities for the development of alternative energy projects — wind, solar, geothermal — by allowing the state and federal government to underwrite bonds for private alternative energy companies. HB14-1222, which was pushed through the legislature this year by Representative MacLachlan and Senators Ellen Roberts and Gail Schwartz, amended that earlier law to make the funding process more attractive to the bond purchasers.

Back in January 2014, the Town of Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County created a joint Geothermal Water and Power Authority to help fund the creation of a new electric generating plant somewhere in the downtown area. As I understand the process (from bits of information picked up from various public meetings) electricity generating is typically carried out by heating water into steam — using coal or natural gas as the heat source. The violently expanding steam is used to drive turbines, which in turn create an AC current.

If the water comes into the plant at, say, 50 degrees, its temperature must be increased by about 160 degrees in order to create steam. Those additional thermal units result from burned coal or natural gas. If, however, the water comes into the plant at, say, 140 degrees, then much less coal or natural gas is required to reach the boiling point. Theoretically, then, a geothermal heated water source will make an electric generating plant more profitable to operate.

But there's one particular part of the process that can pose a problem. The electricity — once generated — needs an extensive grid of power lines to carry the product to the customers. Here in America, the power lines are generally owned by private companies and rural co-ops. Without access to the power lines, a $16 million generating plant is essentially worthless.

El Chapo's drug tunnels, explained

How El Chapo dug his way to the top of the drug trade.

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Throughout his career as a drug trafficker, tunnels have been the common theme in El Chapo’s story. When he gained control of a major drug trafficking corridor in the late 1980s, Joaquin Guzman Loera — then known as “el Rapido”— was the first to create super tunnels for transporting drugs across the border.

At the time, a crackdown by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) meant Colombian cocaine was in decline and the Mexican narcotrafficker saw an opportunity. By using tunnels to facilitate fast transport, El Chapo leveraged his role as a trafficker to claim new responsibilities as a cultivator and distributor of drugs.

Over the next twenty years, he learned how to use his drug tunnels in ways nobody had ever imagined and his success became dependent on his subterranean inclinations. Although his masterful use of tunnels led him to a maximum security jail cell at Altiplano prison, it would be tunnels that also led him back out again.

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Colorado Experience: Speer & the City

The turn of the 20th century sparked a massive migration to American cities, leading to an increase in pollution, crime and disease. Inspired by the beautiful modern urban aesthetic displayed in Chicago's World Fair in 1893, a City Beautiful Movement began to spread throughout the country. Denver's Mayor, Robert Speer, sought to beautify the city's buildings, parks and community areas while simultaneously constructing a controversial legacy.

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Pirates win the NL East in 1991

9/22/91: Doug Drabek fans Charlie Hayes to earn the complete-game win, giving the NL East title to the Pirates

About Major League Baseball: Major League Baseball (MLB) is the most historic professional sports league in the United States and consists of 30 member clubs in the U.S. and Canada, representing the highest level of professional baseball. Led by Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., MLB currently features record levels of labor peace, competitive balance and industry revenues, as well as the most comprehensive drug-testing program in American professional sports. MLB remains committed to making an impact in the communities of the U.S., Canada and throughout the world, perpetuating the sport’s larger role in society and permeating every facet of baseball’s business, marketing and community relations endeavors. With the continued success of MLB Advanced Media and MLB Network, MLB continues to find innovative ways for its fans to enjoy America’s National Pastime and a truly global game.

The American League consists of the following teams: Baltimore Orioles; Boston Red Sox; Chicago White Sox; Cleveland Indians; Detroit Tigers; Houston Astros; Kansas City Royals; Los Angeles Angels ; Minnesota Twins; New York Yankees; Oakland Athletics; Seattle Mariners; Tampa Bay Rays; Texas Rangers; and Toronto Blue Jays. The National League, originally founded in 1876, consists of the following teams: Arizona Diamondbacks; Atlanta Braves; Chicago Cubs; Cincinnati Reds; Colorado Rockies; Los Angeles Dodgers; Miami Marlins; Milwaukee Brewers; New York Mets; Philadelphia Phillies; Pittsburgh Pirates; San Diego Padres; San Francisco Giants; St. Louis Cardinals; and Washington Nationals.

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