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Often called the "People's Tree," this year's tree is an 85-foot blue spruce from the two million-acre Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. This is Arizona's first Capitol Christmas tree and at 125 years old, it is older than state itself.

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Bill Clinton on Thursday urged supporters of President Obama's health care plan to voice their support.

(CNN) – Former President Bill Clinton was on his toes - and on message - as he urged supporters of President Barack Obama's health care reform agenda to step up their efforts.

Speaking Thursday to a crowd of political activists at the annual Netroots Nation convention in Pittsburgh on Thursday, Clinton said a big victory on health care would have serious political implications.

"The president needs your help," Clinton said. "The minute the president signs this bill, his approval will go up. Within a year, when the good things begin to happen, and the bad things they're saying will happen don't happen, approval will explode."

The four-day convention for left-leaning bloggers, thinkers and activists is themed "This ain't no tea party." It's a not-so-subtle jab at recent conservative grassroots efforts against the White House's fiscal agenda.

"Everybody knows what happened in 1993 and 1994," Clinton said, referencing his own administration's failed attempts at health care reform. "One thing we know is that if you get out there and do not prevail the victors get to rewrite history."

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CNN: House Democrats: Panetta testified that CIA misled Congress
CIA Director Leon Panetta recently testified to Congress that the agency concealed information and misled lawmakers repeatedly since 2001, according to a letter from seven House Democrats to Panetta made public Wednesday.

AP: Tehran governor: new protests will be smashed
The governor of Tehran province is warning that security forces will "smash" any attempt at protests amid calls for new opposition marches Thursday. Supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi have called for new demonstrations in Tehran and several other cities, the first in more than a week after a heavy crackdown suppressed mass street protests over Iran's disputed June 12 election.

USA TODAY: Billions in aid go to areas that backed Obama in '08
Billions of dollars in federal aid delivered directly to the local level to help revive the economy have gone overwhelmingly to places that supported President Obama in last year's presidential election. That aid — about $17 billion — is the first piece of the administration's massive stimulus package that can be tracked locally. Much of it has followed a well-worn path to places that regularly collect a bigger share of federal grants and contracts, guided by formulas that have been in place for decades and leave little room for manipulation.

CNN: Baucus: Lawmakers $320 billion short for health care plan
After huddling Wednesday with Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee, Chairman Max Baucus told reporters that lawmakers still need to come up with $320 billion over the coming decade in taxes to pay for the health care plan.

Washington Post: Senate Democrats Still Seeking GOP Support; Balance of Power Not Changed Much By Supermajority
Senate Democrats spent their first full day holding 60 votes just as they have spent the previous 2 1/2 years without such a supermajority: scrambling to find Republican support for their key initiatives in order to choke off potential filibusters.

CNN: Obama plans nuclear summit
President Barack Obama revealed to G-8 colleagues at a dinner Wednesday that he's planning a nuclear security summit in Washington for next March, according to senior administration officials.

Washington Times: Bloated deficits endanger dollar's global status
Worries about burgeoning U.S. budget deficits are weighing on the dollar and undermining its status as the world's pre-eminent reserve currency.

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CNN: Rove deposed in US attorney probe
A House Judiciary Committee spokesman confirms that former Bush advisor Karl Rove was deposed by committee lawyers today. The spokesman declined to provide further detail.

CNN: House Majority Leader open to second stimulus bill
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday he would consider supporting a second economic stimulus bill, but said people need to give the package that passed in February more time to work.

Washington Post: Obama Stands to Be Judged on Economic Recovery
Nothing may be more important to public assessments of President Obama's leadership than the state of the economy, and at this point there are political warning lights flashing.

CNN: Congressional Dems eye health care funding options
Senate negotiators are searching for new ways to pay for an overhaul of the U.S. health insurance system after recent polls showed many Americans oppose funding it through taxes on employer-provided health insurance, a key senator said Tuesday.

CNN: Obama: U.S. not giving Israel green light to attack Iran
The United States is "absolutely not" giving Israel a green light to attack Iran, U.S. President Barack Obama told CNN Tuesday.

USA TODAY: Report: States aren't using stimulus funds as intended
Under pressure to spend stimulus money quickly, many states are using the federal funds for short-term projects and to fill budget gaps rather than spending on long-term improvements, according to a report by congressional investigators.

Washington Post: Pope Criticizes World Economic System, Urges Social Responsibility
Pope Benedict XVI criticized the international economic system yesterday and called for a new global structure based on social responsibility, concern for the dignity of the worker and a respect for ethics.

CNN: Analysis: Is Palin the next GOP 'kingmaker'?
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin caught the political world by surprise when she announced that she will resign at the end of July. Her decision has not only rankled political pundits and observers in Alaska and across the country, it has, oddly enough, united Democrats and Republicans in confusion.

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CNN: Palin says she is not a quitter
Sarah Palin's not a quitter, she wants the public to know. "I am not a quitter. I am a fighter," Palin told CNN on Monday while on a family fishing trip, on the heels of her Friday bombshell announcement that she was resigning as Alaska's governor.

CNNMoney.com: Will Bernanke keep his job?
Obama will have to make a big decision: Whether to reappoint the Fed chair. Bernanke has detractors on the Hill. Right now at least, odds are he'll hang on.

CNN: South Carolina GOP votes to censure Sanford
After nearly four hours of deliberation and multiple rounds of balloting, the South Carolina Republican Party voted Monday night to censure Mark Sanford for secretly traveling overseas to visit his mistress — but stopped short of calling on the governor to resign.

Washington Times: EXCLUSIVE: Israel fears U.S. would foil Iran strike
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top deputies have not formally asked for U.S. aid or permission for possible military strikes on Iran's nuclear program, fearing the White House would not approve, two Israeli officials said.

Washington Post: The Post Begins Reviews of Events to Avoid Ethics Conflicts
The Washington Post initiated internal reviews yesterday to ensure that its business practices do not compromise its journalistic ethics when the newspaper organizes conferences or private events funded by sponsors.

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Anchorage Daily News: FBI says Palin isn't under investigation
The FBI is taking the unusual step of declaring Gov. Sarah Palin is not under investigation, as Palin herself left for Western Alaska and communicated to the world through her Twitter account.

CNN: Reality Check: Canada’s System
Canadians dispute Sen. Mitch McConnell's assertions about their government-run health-care system. Dana Bash takes a look.

CNN: Stimulus money needs to be spent faster, Dems say
A leading congressional Democrat and Republican both expressed disappointment Sunday with the pace of the government's economic stimulus program, but offered differing views on whether it was a good idea.

LA Times: Paying for healthcare overhaul may fall unevenly on states
Reporting from Washington - When Congress decides how to pay for President Obama's signature healthcare initiative, some of his strongest political bastions may be footing a heavy bill. And in a political irony, states that went for Obama's Republican rival, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, in 2008 are among those likely to benefit most from Democratic healthcare policies.

Washington Times: BREITBART: New York Times Barbie strikes again
What a shock that Maureen Dowd devoted her New York Times column Sunday to attack Sarah Palin. It did not so much criticize Alaska's governor for prematurely stepping down from her official duties as to finish off what sister snipers Katie Couric and Tina Fey began last fall. The assassination of Sarah Palin – by media.

Boston Globe: Municipal complaint? There’s an app for that
City officials will soon debut Boston’s first official iPhone application, which will allow residents to snap photos of neighborhood nuisances – nasty potholes, graffiti-stained walls, blown street lights – and e-mail them to City Hall to be fixed. City officials say the application, dubbed Citizen Connect, is the first of its kind in the nation. It was designed as an extension of the city’s 24-hour complaint hotline for the younger set, making the filing of complaints quicker and easier for iPhone users.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - Saying public service is near and dear to her heart, first lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday encouraged Americans to lend each other a hand.

Speaking to nearly 200 employees of the Corporation for National and Community Service, she told the story of how she left a job at a high-powered Chicago law firm to found the volunteer group Public Allies in 1993.

"I could have been some rich lawyer somewhere," she joked, "… writing a check here and there to the Obama campaign."

Public Allies was among first recipients of AmeriCorps grants, one of many programs overseen by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The acting CEO of the corporation, Nicola Goren, who introduced the first lady, praised the Obama administration for what she called "skyrocketing" volunteerism and the passage in April of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - First lady Michelle Obama turned her eyes to health and education during a trip Monday to a District of Columbia school.

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo one day early, she spoke about education and told the crowd to send "good thoughts" to those in Mexico who have been sickened with swine flu in recent weeks.

"At the time that we're celebrating Mexican culture and heritage, it is so important for us to think about some of the challenges that the folks in Mexico are facing right now," she told the crowd of about 200 students, faculty and guests from two public charter schools, Latin American Montessori Bilingual and Next Step.

She also highlighted the D.C. Scholars program, which grants White House internships to students from Washington-area public schools and encourages them to take advantage of their proximity to the nation's politics by engaging in public service.

Obama took several questions from the students, joking, "Make them very easy questions, because it's very nerve-wracking up here."

Full story

CNN: Obama to pull combat troops from Iraq in 2010
President Barack Obama told Congressional leaders Thursday he’s planning to pull all combat troops out of Iraq by August 2010, which falls short of his campaign promise of bringing all combat forces home within 16 months, according to three Congressional officials familiar with the meeting.

NYT: U.S. Is Said to Agree to Raise Stake in Citigroup
The Treasury Department reached a deal late Thursday to take a stake of 30 to 40 percent in Citigroup as part of a third bailout of the embattled bank, according to several people close to the deal.

CNN: Dem blasts Obama's budget
Mississippi Democratic Rep. Gene Taylor blasted the budget outline President Obama submitted to Capitol Hill today, saying “I don’t like it…change is not running up even bigger deficits that George Bush did.”

Politico: Class warfare returns to Washington
President Barack Obama has spent months recasting Democratic goals on climate change and health care reform from liberal-leaning moral imperatives to hard-core economic necessities.

CNN: Steele to CPAC: The Republican party is just fine
Capping off a day of conservative soul-searching, strategizing and navel-gazing at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele announced Thursday that the Grand Old Party is “alive and well.”

Washington Times: Obama's intelligence pick linked to Saudi Arabia
The Obama administration on Thursday named as chairman of the National Intelligence Council a veteran former diplomat who heads a think tank that has received major financing from Saudi Arabia.

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CNN: Obama seeks tax hike, higher Medicare payments
President Obama will ask wealthy Americans to deal with a tax increase and pay higher Medicare premiums to help fund a $634 billion health care "reserve fund" aimed at reforming the system, according to senior administration officials familiar with the budget being unveiled Thursday.

Washington Times: Outlook grim for budget's costly initiatives
A new report reveals how difficult it will be for President Obama to increase spending on health care, energy and education while cutting the deficit in half. Based on budget scenarios outlined by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, federal budget deficits will average $870 billion for the next 10 years, according to a new analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

View the CBO’s report here.

CNNMoney: Treasury unveils 'stress test' for banks
The Obama administration unveiled plans aimed at assessing the health of the nation's leading lenders Wednesday, particularly banks' ability to withstand more dire economic conditions.

CNN: Obama to ask Congress for $200 billion for war spending
President Barack Obama will ask Congress for more than $200 billion to fund U.S. war efforts for the next year and a half, according to defense officials.

CNN: CIA chief sees no place for coercive interrogation techniques
CIA Chief Leon Panetta said Wednesday he cannot envision any circumstance in which he would consider asking President Barack Obama for permission to use a coercive interrogation technique on a terrorist detainee.

Washington Post: CIA Adds Economy To Threat Updates
The daily White House intelligence report that catalogs the top security threats to the nation has a grim new addition, reflecting the realities of the age: a daily update on the global financial crisis and its cascading effects on the stability of countries through the world.

CNN: House passes $410 billion FY09 spending bill
The House of Representatives passed a $410 billion spending bill Wednesday to keep the federal government operating for the remainder of fiscal year 2009, which ends September 30.

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Education Secretary Arne Duncan visits with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, Tuesday.

ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) - Education Secretary Arne Duncan told students and educators at a Virginia high school Tuesday that he'll fight to put $20 billion in education construction funding back into the $838 billion economic stimulus package, as President Barack Obama wants.

Wakefield High School in Arlington was scheduled to be renovated next year, but that project has been pushed back at least until 2013, due in part to lack of funding, school officials said.

During his visit to an advanced placement study group in government and economics, Duncan asked students about building conditions.

"It's pretty bad," a student responded. One student said the temperature in a classroom had reached 96 degrees.

Duncan responded by giving an impromptu student civics lesson, detailing recent Capitol Hill wrangling over education funding.

"This week, there's obviously lots of debate between - a conference between - the House and Senate," he told the students. "A chance to get a huge amount of money to help our construction projects. There's a chance of no money. So, we're working really, really hard to make sure the right thing happens."

Full story

Some people will cross the Potomac River via water taxi on Inauguration Day.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - While nearly all maritime activity on the Potomac River will be halted on Inauguration Day, a handful of Mall-goers will sail from Virginia to Washington on water taxis.

Working closely with the United States Coast Guard, the Potomac Riverboat Company, based in Alexandria, Virginia, plans to ferry up to 3,200 passengers from across the frigid Potomac on seven climate-controlled boats.

The service is partially a response to the closure of all bridges from Virginia to D.C. on Inauguration Day, a measure that prompted an uproar among Virginia residents.

According to maritime authorities in charge of the region, PRC is the only company being allowed to taxi across the river on the 20th.

"Because the taxi service provided us with a security plan that we examined and deemed adequate to provide good security, I granted them a waiver to operate at an increased security level," National Capitol Region Port Captain Brian Kelley says.

"The taxis are going to operate on a strict schedule and a strict route."

Full story

 

CNN: Aide: Obama to hold first national security meeting
President-elect Barack Obama will hold the first meeting of his national security team on Monday in Chicago, according to a transition aide for the incoming administration.

AP: Illinois lawmakers to focus on ousting governor
Republicans and Democrats alike are calling for Illinois lawmakers to begin impeachment proceedings against Gov. Rod Blagojevich, saying the step is necessary to restore public confidence in state government....Legislators were to meet Monday afternoon for the first time since Blagojevich was arrested last week on charges he shook down businesses seeking state deals and tried to profit from his power to choose a replacement for President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. The session's focus was supposed to be about considering a special election, but impeachment is likely to be the chief topic of conversation.

Chicago Sun-Times: Tapes have potential witnesses speaking out
When it comes to coming clean, nothing is as motivating as a wiretap. Last week's revelation that Gov. Blagojevich was secretly recorded in his campaign office and on his home phone has prompted more than a dozen potential witnesses in recent days to come forward. They've been calling investigators and defense lawyers to talk about deals or discussions they've had with Blagojevich.

NY Times: 2 Sides of a Troubled Governor, Sinking Deeper
Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich is a polished speaker who can win over elderly women at luncheons in southern Illinois with his earnest attention and eloquently recite historical anecdotes from the lives of the leaders he says he most admires — Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Robert F. Kennedy, Alexander Hamilton, Ronald Reagan.

CNN: McCain: I can't promise to support Palin for president
Sen. John McCain said Sunday he would not necessarily support his former running mate if she chose to run for president. Speaking to ABC's "This Week," McCain was asked whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin could count on his support.

Washington Post: Executive Pay Limits May Prove Toothless
Congress wanted to guarantee that the $700 billion financial bailout would limit the eye-popping pay of Wall Street executives, so lawmakers included a mechanism for reviewing executive compensation and penalizing firms that break the rules. But at the last minute, the Bush administration insisted on a one-sentence change to the provision, congressional aides said.

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Washington Times: Records show McCain more bipartisan
Sen. John McCain's record of working with Democrats easily outstrips Sen. Barack Obama's efforts with Republicans, according to an analysis by The Washington Times of their legislative records.

CNN: Rove: Some McCain ads don't pass '100 percent truth' test
Former Bush adviser Karl Rove suggested Sunday that John McCain had gone “one step too far” in some of his recent ads attacking Barack Obama.

CNN: Preston on Politics: Memorabilia helps preserve convention history
The fireworks over Denver and balloon drop in St. Paul are distant memories of the 2008 presidential conventions, but Harry Rubenstein and Larry Bird hope the handful of Democratic and Republican delegates who pledged to help preserve history keep their word.

Click here to watch the video.

AP: Poll: Public opposes increased presidential power
Americans strongly oppose giving the president more power at the expense of Congress or the courts, even to enhance national security or the economy, according to a new poll.

CNN Radio: The political race, the NASCAR race, and the fundraising race
The checkered flag is seven weeks away and Sen. McCain was in New Hampshire, possibly appealing to voters in the south with a pit-stop at a NASCAR race. Meanwhile, Sen. Obama stays ahead in the fundraising race. CNN Radio’s Bob Costantini has today’s radio ticker.

WSJ: Palin's Project List Totals $453 Million
Last week, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain said his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, hadn't sought earmarks or special-interest spending from Congress, presenting her as a fiscal conservative. But state records show Gov. Palin has asked U.S. taxpayers to fund $453 million in specific Alaska projects over the past two years.

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* Sen. John McCain holds a Road to Victory Rally in Jacksonville, Florida.

* Gov. Sarah Palin holds a Road to Victory Rally in Golden, Colorado.

* Sen. Barack Obama holds a Change We Need Event in Grand Junction, Colorado.

* Sen. Joe Biden holds two rallies in Michigan.

AP: Obama mocks McCain as computer illiterate
John McCain is mocked as an out-of-touch, out-of-date computer illiterate in a television commercial out Friday from Barack Obama as the Democrat begins his sharpest barrage yet on McCain's long Washington career.

AP: Palin administration may fight subpoenas in court
Gov. Sarah Palin's administration is threatening to block any subpoenas by the Alaska Legislature as it investigates whether she abused her authority in trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper.

CNN: McCain, Obama find common ground on national service
Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama showed Thursday night that they have more common ground than differences when it comes to making national service a priority in their presidential administrations.

USA TODAY: Palin 'governed from the center,' went after big oil
Weeks after taking office as Alaska's governor in December 2006, Sarah Palin vetoed a bill that sought to ban benefits for the same-sex partners of state workers. It was unconstitutional, she said.

CNN Radio: Candidates come together, Palin answers tough questions
Joining together to remember America's darkest day. And Sarah Palin faces a media inquisitor! Bob Costantini has today's CNN Radio Political Ticker.

Washington Post: Palin Links Iraq to Sept. 11 In Talk to Troops in Alaska
Gov. Sarah Palin linked the war in Iraq with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, telling an Iraq-bound brigade of soldiers that included her son that they would "defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans."

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* Sen. John McCain appears on “The View” and “The Rachel Ray Show.”

* Gov. Sarah Palin’s first conversation with a national reporter since her selection continues Friday when she meets again with ABC’s Charlie Gibson.

* Sen. Barack Obama is on the trail in New Hampshire, holding a morning discussion on tax relief in Dover and a 6pm Change We Need event in Concord.

* Sen. Joe Biden has no public events.

Bloomberg: Obama, McCain Put Politics Aside to Mark Sept. 11 Anniversary
Barack Obama and John McCain will put their presidential ambitions on hold today to make an unprecedented joint appearance at a commemoration marking the seventh anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

NYT: Squad of G.O.P. Aides Prepares Palin for Interviews
Two weeks ago, People magazine was granted an exclusive interview with Senator John McCain’s new running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, who spoke about motherhood and career, life in Alaska and the historic nature of her candidacy.

USA TODAY: Palin's town used to bill victims for rape kits
In 2000, Alaska lawmakers learned that rural police agencies had been billing rape victims or their insurance companies $500 to $1,200 for the costs of the forensic medical examinations used to gather evidence. They quickly passed a law prohibiting the practice.

AP: Coverage guarantee can hit young the hardest
Barack Obama's campaign promise should prove irresistible to the millions of uninsured: guaranteed access to affordable health coverage, regardless of illness or condition.

NYT: Palin’s Pipeline Is Years From Being a Reality
When Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska took center stage at the Republican convention last week, she sought to burnish her executive credentials by telling how she had engineered the deal that jump-started a long-delayed gas pipeline project.

Politico: Palin team stocked with Bush veterans
With Sarah Palin facing unrelenting press scrutiny and enjoying off-the-charts excitement from voters, John McCain’s campaign is quickly moving to augment her staff and put in place an infrastructure that can address the unexpected wave of interest.

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* Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama are at Ground Zero for a ceremony to mark the 7th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Both candidates later speak at the Service Nation Summit Presidential Candidates Forum at Columbia University. Earlier in the day, Sen. Obama has a working lunch with Former President Bill Clinton.

* Gov. Sarah Palin attends her son Track’s deployment ceremony near Fairbanks, Alaska.

* Sen. Joe Biden holds a discussion with First Responders in Parma, Ohio.

Chicago Sun-Times: Biden isn't afraid of Palin
Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden assured a crowd of donors in Lincoln Park Tuesday night that he would handle himself just fine in his debate with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

CNN: McCain ahead in national polls; Obama up in electoral votes
Sen. John McCain has inched ahead of Sen. Barack Obama in national polls, but the Democratic candidate holds a steady lead in the most recent Electoral College estimates.

Financial Times: Five swing states could hold key to the Oval Office
They said that a contest between Barack Obama and John McCain could redraw the electoral map in the US. However, as polling day draws closer and the campaigns reveal their priorities in where they spend their money and locate field offices, all of a sudden 2008 is starting to look like 2004.

CNN Radio: Open political warfare as troops are withdrawn and Truth Squads deployed
Iraq becomes a campaign issue again, Obama’s not worried about the Palin factor, and remember Ron Paul? Bob Costantini has more in today's CNN Radio Political Ticker.

CNN: Fact Check: McCain-lobbyist connections
Republicans say Sen. John McCain and his vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, are mavericks. But in a new ad, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign says not so fast - they're no maverick reformers.

USA TODAY: McCain raises cash while limited to public funds
Republican John McCain is asking donors to give far in excess of what they can contribute to him directly, even as he is limited to taking only public funds for the fall campaign.

AP: No questions, please; Palin sticks to her script
John McCain took a risk in picking little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a running mate, but now the campaign's playing it safer. She's sticking to a greatest hits version of her convention speech on the campaign trail and steering clear of questions until she's comfortable enough for a hand-picked interviewer later this week.
 

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