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This is CNN STUDENT NEWS.
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I`m Carl Azuz at the CNN Center.
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First up in today`s commercial-free coverage,
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the U.S. Army has charged Sergeant Bo Bergdahl
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with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy
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when he left his post in Afghanistan.
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Sergeant Bergdahl is expected to be court-martialed,
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meaning he could be tried in a military court for his alleged crimes.
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If convicted, he could be dishonorably discharged and imprisoned.
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Bergdahl was the longest held U.S. prisoner of war
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since the conflict in Vietnam.
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Securing his release was a top priority for President Obama,
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who said the U.S. does not leave its soldiers behind.
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But the way the Obama administration
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secured Bergdahl`s release was controversial.
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It didn`t notify Congress about it 30 days in advance,
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as law requires. It exchanged five Taliban prisoners
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held at Guantanamo Bay for Bergdahl.
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U.S. intelligence reports have suggested
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that one of these former prisoners had since contacted the Taliban.
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The night Bo Bergdahl disappeared from his post in the summer of 2009,
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he was 23 years old.
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The Army sergeant`s gun, bullet-proof vest
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and his night vision goggles were all found in his bunk.
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From that moment,
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the U.S. military would spend almost five years
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looking for and negotiating for Bergdahl`s release.
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Our commanders are sparing no effort to find this young soldier.
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It`s a saga that still isn`t over for the soldier who is now 28 years old.
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When Bo Bergdahl disappeared,
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he was stationed at a U.S. military outpost in Paktika Province,
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in Southeastern Afghanistan.
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He was supposed to be on a guard shift that night.
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This was his first deployment as a U.S. soldier
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and he had been in Afghanistan less than two months.
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Other soldiers in his unit have described Bergdahl
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as a deserter and a traitor to his country.
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I think he just wanted to go on an adventure
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without having anybody to answer to,
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without having anything to worry about.
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He wanted to be able to go out
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and see Afghanistan for himself without,
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you know, the Army stopping him.
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Bergdahl would end up in the hands of the Taliban.
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Intensive efforts to find Bergdahl in those early days
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of his disappearance failed.
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And before long,
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Bergdahl`s captors would start showing off their prized
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capture in propaganda videos.
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In the propaganda, that the Army grounded us in,
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in fact, this is exactly why we are hated not only by the afghans,
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but by many people in the world.
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The U.S. government believed Bergdahl
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was then passed around between Taliban captors
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and members of what`s called the Haqqani Network,
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which would have taken him into Pakistan at some point.
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For Bergdahl`s mother and father in Idaho,
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these videos would be the only proof of life they`d see of their son.
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Get me to be released.
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Frustrated by the slow progress in finding his son,
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Bob Bergdahl grew out his beard as a sign of solidarity
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with Bowe and started teaching himself to speak Pashtu,
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the language of his captors.
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Bob Bergdahl would later receive scathing criticism
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as a Taliban sympathizer for growing the beard.
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A father does not leave his son alone on the battlefield.
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Then in May of last year, after several years of negotiating,
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the Obama administration agreed to release five Taliban prisoners
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held in Guantanamo Bay for Bowe Bergdahl.
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He was brought to this field in a remote area of Khost Province
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and handed over to a U.S. Special Forces unit.
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One of the soldiers told Bowe Bergdahl on the chopper ride out,
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"We`ve been looking for you for a long time."
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Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
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Heinz probably makes you think of ketchup.
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Other Heinz brands include Nancy`s, Ore Ida, Poppers,
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Bagel Bites and Smart Ones.
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Kraft brings to mind mac and cheese.
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Other Kraft brands include A1, Capri Sun, Cracker Barrel,
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Kool-Aid and Miracle Whip. According to "USA Today,
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" 98 percent of American households
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have some kind of Kraft product in them.
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The two businesses are planning to merge,
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forming the Kraft Heinz Company.
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We say planning because the merger
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must first be approved by the U.S. government,
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whose anti-trust laws aim to prevent monopolies.
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The Kraft Heinz Company would allow the businesses to grow,
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to cut down on costs and to better accommodate
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the changing tastes of consumers as more Americans
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look for fresh local foods over processed and shipped products.
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Kraft Heinz would be the world`s fifth largest food
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and beverage company.
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A lot of you are dreaming of going to the beach this summer.
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The sea, sand, sun and swimming -- hopefully not with these.
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A massive school of sharks, likely black tips and spinners,
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was recently spotted near the Louisiana coast.
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Experts say it`s normal.
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They typically migrate north as the weather and water warm up.
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It may be a little early this year, though.
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And while black tipped sharks aren`t likely to eat you,
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they do account for about 16 percent of the shark attacks in Florida.
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They`re relatively small sized. Black tips usually weigh
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between 40 and 55 pounds.
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That means the bite wounds people sometimes get from them are pretty minor.
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Time for the call of the Roll.
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Let`s see who`s watching
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and requesting a mention at cnnstudentnews.com.
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East Windsor High School is in Connecticut.
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And it`s The Panthers who are stalking
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CNN STUDENT NEWS from East Windsor.
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Paducah Tilghman High School is in Kentucky.
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Its mascot is the tornado and it`s whirling our way from Paducah.
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And in Central America, in the capital of Guatemala,
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hello to the students at Colegio Interamericano at Guatemala City.
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Between the nations of Israel and Jordan
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is a landlocked body of water
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whose shores are more than 1,300 feet below sea level.
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It`s The Dead Sea,
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which is actually a lake. It`s called dead
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because it`s so high in salt and minerals that fish
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and plants can`t live in it.
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Water levels in this lowest lake on Earth are getting lower.
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This is The Alito Hotel (ph), built on the shores of the Dead Sea.
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No one was around to see King Herod`s view,
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but many middle-aged Israelis remember walking
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through this once swank lobby and right into the waves.
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The Dead Sea is way, way down there.
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My goodness, are you serious? So where -- the water line was where?
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The water line was actually right at the steps.
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The demise of the Dead Sea is completely manmade.
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This is not climate change.
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You know, this is not an act of nature.
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The demise of the Dead Sea is taking place under government license.
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He shows me a mural of an old crusader map of the Jordan Valley
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and it`s a great way to get our bearings,
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to understand that it all begins in the Sea of Galilee,
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where Jesus took that famous walk across the waves.
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That is the main source of the River Jordan.
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And for centuries,
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it flowed into the Dead Sea with enough force
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to keep up with rapid evaporation under that scalding sun.
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But in the last 50 years, warring neighbors began draining the Jordan.
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Israel took half of the River Jordan,
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another quarter from Syria and another quarter from Jordan.
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So there is no one villain in this manmade disaster.
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It is a simple equation of too many people and not enough cooperation.
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As we drive down, down, down below sea level,
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ears a popping, we see a liquid victim of all that conflict
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-- a lake unlike any other, smooth as blueberry yogurt.
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Just imagine the elation of ancient travelers seeing it for the first time.
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Water! In the desert.
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But then they got close and crunched across a bizarro beach of salt.
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And instead of cool refreshment,
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found a thick mineral soup that stings the eyes and burns the tongue.
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No wonder that for centuries, the Dead Sea filled visitors with dread.
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They say that splashing any of the Dead Sea in your face
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is a sensation not unlike being pepper-sprayed
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-- or salt and pepper-sprayed I suppose.
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And so one must ease into the warm and viscous water,
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which feels like 90 degrees and almost slimy.
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But the floating, amazing.
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You need a bit of core muscle to keep from flipping over,
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but otherwise if not for the blow torch sun,
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you could almost nap out here.
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Now, getting out brings the instant urge to shower.
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So for most, this is a been there, done that kind of experience.
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But for hundreds of thousands of people a year,
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this is not entertainment, it is medicine.
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From the lowest lake on Earth to its largest known cave.
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Son Doong Cave was discovered in 1991,
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located near the border between Laos and Vietnam, it`s gigantic.
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It has a jungle inside of it. One of its chambers is three miles long.
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And thanks to a number of cave-ins, it has its own skylights.
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A photographer used a drone to capture these images of Son Doong.
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Ryan Deboodt says it took him eight days
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and involved a lot of near misses with rocks.
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That`s easy to see.
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You stalagmite destroy your drone flying it through such stalag-tight spaces.
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But it would be kind of spelunk-headed not to cave at the opportunity.
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I`m Carl Azuz and I am done droning on for the day.