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Weather
Hazards and Tropical Weather
Almanac
Macon Calendar
Local and StateNews
Russo-UKrainian War Updates
National News Roundup
COVID-19 News and Updates
Science and Technology
On This Day
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GENERAL OUTLOOK
Warm and dry temperatures will continue today, before a potent cold front arrives on Saturday, driving widespread rain and some afternoon thunder. Temperatures will remain elevated for March until Monday, when another round of rainfall will arrive, followed by cooler and drier conditions for the middle of next week.
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Local Weather
General Forecast Through Sunday Night
Franklin Area
Today
Sunny, with highs in the upper 70s. Light and variable winds early in the morning increasing to come out of the southwest 10 to 15 mph by midmorning. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.
Tonight
A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 5am. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper 50s. Winds out of the south 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of rain is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Saturday
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then a chance of showers after 3pm. Cloudy through midmorning, then gradual clearing, with highs in the mid 70s. Winds out of the southwest 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-to-upper 40s. Winds out of the southwest 10 to 15 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.
Sunday
A 20 percent chance of showers after 3pm. Sunny, with highs in the mid 70s.
Sunday Night
Showers likely, mainly after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the upper 40s. Chance of rain is 60%.
Highlands Plateau
Today
Sunny, with highs near 70.. Winds out of the southwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Tonight
A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 5am. Increasing clouds, with lows in the low-to-mid 50s. Windys out of the south 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of rain is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Saturday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 7am and 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with highs in the mid-to-upper 60s. Winds out of the southwest 15 to 20 mph increasing to 20 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph. Chance of rain is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers before 9pm. Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 40s. Winds out of the southwest 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
Sunday
A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 5pm. Sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 60s.
Sunday Night
Showers likely, mainly after 10pm. The rain could be heavy at times. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid 40s. Chance of rain is 60%.
Otto and South Central Macon County
Today
Sunny, with highs in the upper 70s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph early in the morning shifting to come out of the west by midmorning.
Tonight
A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 5am. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper 50s. Windy, with a south wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of rain is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Saturday
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 1pm and 3pm, then a chance of showers after 3pm. Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with highs in the low-to-mid 70s. Windy, with a west southwest wind 15 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of rain is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the upper 40s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Sunday
A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 5pm. Sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 70s.
Sunday Night
Showers likely, mainly after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 50. Chance of rain is 60%.
Nantahala Area
Today
Mostly sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 70s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tonight
A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 4am. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper 50s. Winds out of the south 10 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 25 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of rain is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Saturday
Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with highs near 70. Winds out of the southwest 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-to-upper 40s. Winds out of the southwest 10 to 20 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.
Sunday
A 20 percent chance of showers after 3pm. Sunny, with highs in the upper 60s.
Sunday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with lows around 50.
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Hazards and Tropical Weather
Areas of fog have developed across parts of the Piedmont and NC mountains this morning, some of which have been locally dense. Visibilities of one mile or less will be possible through mid- morning, especially across the SC and NC Piedmont where trends are being monitored for a Dense Fog Advisory.
Use caution if you encounter fog while driving. Slow down and leave extra distance ahead of you in case a sudden stop is needed. Use low beam headlights and allow extra time to reach your destination.
Latest US Drought Monitor Map for North Carolina.
Space Weather Mystery Farside Blast and Earth-Directed Storms Launch | Solar Storm Forecast: 14 March 2023
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Almanac
24 Hour Smoke Forecast
No known appreciable smoke field will be crossing Macon County today or tonight.
PM2.5 AQI is 55 (MODERATE) for most of the county, and the ridges and other higher elevations PM2.5 AQI is 55 (MODERATE)
Fire and Smoke Map
Local Air Monitor
Pollen levels are expected to be in the high range (11.6 out of 12) today with Jumiper, Oak, and Maple being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the medium range (7.2 out of 12).
Record Weather Events for March 24th
Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)
Highest Temperature 84°F in Highlands in 1929
Lowest Temperature 12°F in Highlands in 1915
Greatest One-Day Rain 4.35 inches in Highlands in 1617
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 2.0 inches in Highlands in 1983
Weather Extremes for Macon County for the month of March Data available from 1872
Highest Temperature 87°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 03-29-2020
Lowest Temperature -7°F in Highlands on 03-07-1899
Greatest Rainfall 6.61 inches in Highlands on 03-26-2021
Greatest Snowfall 25.5 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 03-13-1993
Record Weather Events for March 24th in North Carolina
Highest Temperature 96°F in Lumberton, Robeson County in 1907
Lowest Temperature 6°F in Grandfather Mountain, Avery County in 1971
Greatest Rainfall 4.35 inches in Highlands, Macon County in 1617
Greatest Snowfall 10.3 inches in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County in 1983
Weather Extremes for North Carolina for the month of March Data available from 1872
Highest Temperature 98°F in Belhaven, Beaufort County on 03-27-1921
Lowest Temperature -11°F in Mount Mitchell, Yancey County on 03-03-1980
Greatest Rainfall 10.10 inches in Lake Toxaway, Transylvania County on 03-04-1979
Greatest Snowfall 36.00 in Mount Mitchell, Yancey County on 03-13-1993
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Macon Calendar
(send your event to calendar@maconmedia.com)
Friends of the Macon County Public Library Sets Used Bookstore Half-price Sale March 31 and April 1
WHAT: Friends of the Macon County Public Library (FOL) Used Bookstore Half-Price Sale
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 31 and April 1, 2023
WHERE: Friends of the Macon County Public Library Used Bookstore, 115 Highlands Rd., Franklin
WHY: Raise money to support programs and events at the library
No events have been submitted for Macon Calendar.
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Local and State News
• The Uncomfortable Truth About Why Buying Furniture Is So Miserable [The Assembly NC]
• NC Auditor Beth Wood pleads guilty to hit-and-run charge [Raleigh News and Observer]
• After 13 years, Medicaid expansion passes the state legislature [WRAL-TV (video)]
• Pactiv Evergreen fined this week as NCDEQ meets with Canton mill over closure issues [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]
• Attorney General’s Office Had ‘Great Concerns’ Mission-HCA Deal Was Rigged ‘From the Beginning’ [Asheville Watchdog]
Proposed State Budget for 2023-2025 [Download PDF]
• Macon County Board of Commissioners March 2023 Regular Meeting [Macon Media]
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National and World News Roundup
‘Our Banking System Is Sound and Resilient:’ Fed Announces a 0.25% Rate Rise | WSJ
• CNBC Daily Open: Jerome Powell flipped the script [CNBC]
• Book ban attempts hit record high in 2022, library org says [AP News]
TikTok CEO Shou Zi testifies in US Congress hearing on data privacy | DW News
• TikTok Fight Rocks U.S.-China Relations [WSJ (video and audio)] [WSJ (article archive)]
• Key takeaways: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies to US Congress [Al Jazeera]
• Violent French pension protests erupt as 1M demonstrate [AP News]
• Israel passes law shielding Netanyahu from being removed amid protests over judicial changes [CNN]
• Candida auris: What is the deadly fungus sweeping through US hospitals? [BBC News]
• Rioter charged in Pelosi laptop theft sentenced to prison [AP News]
• Man targeted by January 6 conspiracists demands retraction from Fox News and Tucker Carlson over ‘lies’ [CNN]
Washington Today (3-23-23): TikTok CEO tells Congress video app is 'not an agent of China' | C-SPAN RADIO
Global National: March 23, 2023 | How MPs reacted to Han Dong's resignation from Liberal caucus
Nightly News Full Broadcast (March 23rd)
PBS NewsHour full episode, (March 23, 2022
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COVID-19 News and Updates
Here is a section on COVID-19. It includes local, regional, state, national, and global items.
COVID-19 Numbers for Macon County:
• WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard [World Health Organization]
In United States of America, from 3 January 2020 to 6:06pm CET, 21 March 2023, there have been 102,544,598 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 1,114,970 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 10 February 2023, a total of 662,514,513 vaccine doses have been administered.
Globally, as of 6:06pm CET, 21 March 2023, there have been 761,071,826 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6,879,677 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 19 March 2023, a total of 13,244,177,602 vaccine doses have been administered.
• White House disbanding its covid-19 team in May [Washington Post]
• In Utero SARS‐CoV‐2 Exposure Linked to Higher Risk of Neurodevelopmental Disorders [Harvard Medical School]
• COVID left some with damaged immune response, study finds [CBS News]
• Wuhan Market Samples Contained Covid and Animal Mixtures, Report Says [New York Times]
• Can an Addiction Drug Treat Long Covid? [Rolling Stone]
The state of COVID in the U.S. three years into pandemic | PBS NewsHour
• TWiV 993: COVID-19 drives autoimmunity [Microbe TV]
• TWiV 992: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin [Microbe TV]
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Science and Technology News Roundup
• TikTok CEO fails to convince Congress that the app is not a “weapon” for China [ARS TECHNICA]
• Scientists Finally Manipulate Quantum Light, Fulfilling Einstein's 107-Year-Old Dream [Popular Mechanics (via Yahoo! News)]
• Beethoven's DNA: Scientists have sequenced Beethoven's genome from locks of his hair, revealing clues to the composer's health and family history [https://archive.is/MnCmb ]
• Jack Dorsey's fintech company Block is being accused of facilitating criminal activity [Quartz]
• Hong Kong Education University approves use of ChatGPT in coursework despite bans by two other schools [Hong Kong Free Press]
• Z-Library returns, aims to avoid seizures by giving each user a secret URL [ARS TECHNICA]
Evergreen Links
• Red Dead Online player bids farewell to Google Stadia save by releasing horse they named after their departed daughter [Games Radar]
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History 69 - Twilight of the Æsir
Hardcore History: AddendumEP24 Manifesting the Muse with Rick | Dan Carlin
• Neal Stephenson’s Lamina1 drops white paper on building the open metaverse [Venture Beat] [PDF of White paper]
• Yes, the Great Books Make Us Better People [New York Times]
How Do We Know What We Know? Philosophy of Science | Fraser Cain
Podcasts and Long Form Videos (History, Culture, Science, Space, Technology and Current Events)
Anything covering educational, entertainment, history, current events, and technology topics
The Level1 Show March 24 2023: ChatGPT Is My Copilot | Level1 Techs
Uncomplicate Cancellation - DTNS 4483 | Daily Tech News
Hacking The Simulation | Isaac Arthur
What If Black Holes ARE Dark Energy? | PBS Space Time
Inside Britain's Top Secret Codebreaking Organisation That Cracked Enigma | Station X | Timeline
Linux Action News 285 | Jupiter Broadcasting
Astronomers Discover New Comet That Will Reach Us October 2024 | Sabine Hossenfelder
New evidence of ACTIVE volcanoes on Venus?! - Night Sky News March 2023 Dr. Becky
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Special Section: The Russo-Ukrainian War
(sharing of a particular source is not an endorsement)
• Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 23 [Institute for the Study of War] [PDF for March 23rd]
• Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 394 [Al Jazeera]
• Russo-Ukrainian War. Day 393: Zelenskyy visits Bakhmut, Kharkiv [Euromaiden Press]
• Ukraine updates: Medvedev says Putin arrest would be 'war' [DW News]
• Poland joins EU’s ammunition procurement initiative [TVP World]
• Russian forces appear to lose steam as Ukraine prepares offensive [Al Jazeera]
• Dossier's investigative report unearths shadowy innards of Russia's Wagner Group & Prigozhin empire [France 24]
• Ukraine war: The front line where Russian eyes are always watching [BBC News]
Ukraine turning into a ‘forever war’ | Caspian Report
David Petraeus on the war in Ukraine and the relationship between Russia and China | DW News
Russian troops are laying waste to Bakhmut - Military Mind | TVP World
Russia Ukraine War: Russian assault losing steam in Bakhmut | WION
How Mysterious Explosions In Bulgaria Are Connected To Russia's War In Ukraine | Radio Free Europe
Norwegian F-35's on Standby to Respond in Iceland | Funker530 Veteran Community
News from Russian or pro-Russian outlets or Video About the Russian Perspective
Massive Russian offensives are underway to terminate Ukraine | Straight Calls with Douglas Macgregor
• Ukrainian special forces getting military targets from CIA satellite – Times [Russia Today]
• Zelensky decorates Ukrainian soldiers in Bakhmut. The end is near [Pravda]
• International institutions must change, future belongs to regional bodies — Medvedev [TASS Russian News Agency]
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On This Day
March 24th is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 282 days remain until the end of the year.
March 24th is the 365th and last day of the year in many European implementations of the Julian calendar.
Historical Events
(Please note that the Wikipedia articles often contain a bibliography and links to where you can learn more about a historical event)
1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6.
1387 – English victory over a Franco-Castilian-Flemish fleet in the Battle of Margate off the coast of Margate.
1401 – Turco-Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus.
1603 – James VI of Scotland is proclaimed King James I of England and Ireland, upon the death of Elizabeth I.
1603 – Tokugawa Ieyasu is granted the title of shōgun from Emperor Go-Yōzei, and establishes the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo, Japan.
1663 – The Province of Carolina is granted by charter to eight Lords Proprietor in reward for their assistance in restoring Charles II of England to the throne.
1720 – Count Frederick of Hesse-Kassel is elected King of Sweden by the Riksdag of the Estates, after his consort Ulrika Eleonora abdicated the throne on 29 February.
1721 – Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated six concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt, now commonly called the Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046–1051.
1765 – Great Britain passes the Quartering Act, which requires the Thirteen Colonies to house British troops.
1794 – In Kraków, Tadeusz Kościuszko announces a general uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia, and assumes the powers of the Commander in Chief of all of the Polish forces.
1829 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, allowing Catholics to serve in Parliament.
1832 – In Hiram, Ohio, a group of men beat and tar and feather Mormon leader Joseph Smith.
1854 – President José Gregorio Monagas abolishes slavery in Venezuela.
1860 – Sakuradamon Incident: Japanese Chief Minister (Tairō) Ii Naosuke is assassinated by rōnin samurai outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle.
1869 – The last of Titokowaru's forces surrendered to the New Zealand government, ending his uprising.
1878 – The British frigate HMS Eurydice sinks, killing more than 300.
1882 – Robert Koch announces the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis.
1900 – Mayor of New York City Robert Anderson Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground "Rapid Transit Railroad" that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
1900 – Carnegie Steel Company is formed in New Jersey; its capitalization of $160 mil. is the largest to date.
1921 – The 1921 Women's Olympiad began in Monte Carlo, becoming the first international women's sports event.
1927 – Nanking Incident: Foreign warships bombard Nanjing, China, in defense of the foreign citizens within the city.
1934 – The Tydings–McDuffie Act is passed by the United States Congress, allowing the Philippines to become a self-governing commonwealth.
1944 – German troops massacre 335 Italian civilians in Rome.
1944 – World War II: In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape, 76 Allied prisoners of war begin breaking out of the German camp Stalag Luft III.
1946 – A British Cabinet Mission arrives in India to discuss and plan for the transfer of power from the British Raj to Indian leadership.
1961 – The Quebec Board of the French Language is established.
1976 – In Argentina, the armed forces overthrow the constitutional government of President Isabel Perón and start a 7-year dictatorial period self-styled the National Reorganization Process.
1977 – Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister of India, the first Prime Minister not to belong to Indian National Congress.
1980 – El Salvadorian Archbishop Óscar Romero is assassinated while celebrating Mass in San Salvador.
1986 – The Loscoe gas explosion leads to new UK laws on landfill gas migration and gas protection on landfill sites.
1989 – In Prince William Sound in Alaska, the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of crude oil after running aground.
1993 – Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 is discovered by Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker, and David Levy at the Palomar Observatory in California.
1998 – Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden, aged 11 and 13 respectively, fire upon teachers and students at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas; five people are killed and ten are wounded.
1998 – A tornado sweeps through Dantan in India, killing 250 people and injuring 3,000 others.
1998 – Dr. Rüdiger Marmulla performed the first computer-assisted Bone Segment Navigation at the University of Regensburg, Germany.
1999 – Kosovo war: NATO began attacks on Yugoslavia without United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approval, marking the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.
1999 – A lorry carrying margarine and flour catches fire inside the Mont Blanc Tunnel, creating an inferno that kills 38 people.
2003 – The Arab League votes 21–1 in favor of a resolution demanding an end to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
2008 – Bhutan officially becomes a democracy, with its first ever general election.
2015 – Germanwings Flight 9525 crashes in the French Alps in an apparent pilot mass murder-suicide, killing all 150 people on board.
2018 – Syrian civil war: The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and Syrian National Army (SNA) take full control of Afrin District, marking the end of the Afrin offensive.
2018 – Students across the United States stage the March for Our Lives demanding gun control in response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
2019 – Jakarta MRT, a rapid transit system in Jakarta, began operation.
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Published at 5:00am on Friday, March 24, 2023
Author: Bobby Coggins
Resources used to compile the information in this article include, but are not limited to the following websites or books: MaconMedia.com, youtube.com, weather.gov, airnow.gov, wikipedia.com, onthisday.com, ncdcr.gov, ncsu.edu, utah.edu, https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/, wolfram.com, biorxiv.org, aps.org, nejm.org, plos.org, cell.com, researchsquare.com, cureus.com, spc.noaa.gov, nhc.noaa.gov, ncdenr.org, medrxiv.org, archive.org, ncpedia.org, nasa.gov, https://ww2days.com, nih.gov, carolinapublicpress.org, microbe.tv, smokymountainnews.com, psypost.org, blogspot.com, pollen.com, franklinnc.com, maconnc.org, spaceweather.com, solarham.com, loc.gov, ncleg.net, senate.gov, house.gov, whitehouse.gov, drudgereport.com, politico.com, realclearpolitics.com, ushmm.org, This Day in North Carolina History, World War II Day By Day, The Holocaust Encyclopedia, The Timetables of History, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The World History and Book of Facts (multiple years), On This Day In History: Over 4,000 facts, The NASA Archives. 60 Years in Space, This Day in North Carolina History, The Smithsonian History of Space Exploration: From the Ancient World to the Extraterrestrial Future, Spaceflight, 2nd Edition: The Complete Story from Sputnik to Curiousity, The Story of Civilization (11 volumes), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, American History, Volume 1: 1492-1877, American History, Volume 2: 1877 - Present, A Complete Chronolgy of the Second World War. Weather and Almanac data and information sources: Sources (except where otherwise credited): heavens-above.com, Ian Webster's Github, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, The National Weather Service, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, National Hurricane Center, Penn State University Electronic Wall Map, The State Climate Office of North Carolina, Storm Prediction Center, U.S. Naval Observatory, University of Utah Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and the Weather Prediction Center.
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