Latest / EM Morning Brief / Hawaii recovery deepens after Hurricane Lala with one death and tens of thousands still dark; Indiana readies major disaster request after seven deaths

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Hawaii recovery deepens after Hurricane Lala with one death and tens of thousands still dark; Indiana readies major disaster request after seven deaths · EM Morning Brief

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  Cedric: Good morning, I'm Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief for Tuesday, August 18, 2026.
• 0:06
  Cedric: Get EM Morning Brief delivered directly to your favorite podcast player.
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  Cedric: Link is in the show notes below.
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  Cedric: Hawaii is the national story.
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  Cedric: Hurricane Lala has left one confirmed death, a 90 year old woman found dead Monday in Naalehu on Hawaii Island, and a recovery that is now measured in weeks rather than days.
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  Cedric: Hawaiian Electric reported roughly 88,670 customers still without power statewide Monday evening, down from a peak above 250,900 on Sunday.
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  Cedric: About 100 mainland mutual aid crew members are due to arrive and begin work midweek.
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  Cedric: Pahala has no power, no running water and no sewer service, and Kau Hospital and Clinic is operating on backup generation with its clinic closed.
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  Cedric: Floodwaters destroyed the section of Highway 11 that is the only road in and out of Pahala.
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  Cedric: Big Island schools and county and state offices stay closed Tuesday while the other counties reopen.
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  Cedric: Lala itself has restrengthened to a hurricane far to the northwest, with 80 mile per hour winds and no coastal watches in effect, though forecasters say watches are likely for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.
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  Cedric: The wildfire picture stays severe.
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  Cedric: The National Preparedness Level remains at 5, with 80 uncontained large fires and 28,710 personnel assigned nationally.
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  Cedric: Year to date acreage stands at just over 7.2 million acres, roughly 169 percent of the ten year average.
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  Cedric: The Northwest is the busiest geographic area, and evacuations and closures remain in effect on fires in Washington, Oregon, Utah, Montana and New Mexico.
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  Cedric: In the Midwest, Indiana is still working a lethal flood.
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  Cedric: At least seven people are dead and more than a thousand displaced, and the state expects to file a major disaster declaration request within days.
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  Cedric: On the federal side, CISA added one vulnerability to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog Monday, a code injection flaw in the Ray distributed computing framework, with remediation due this week.
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  Cedric: There is no active National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin.
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  Cedric: Extreme Heat Warnings cover the lower Colorado River valley and the coastal Carolinas, and the FDA posted two Salmonella recalls Monday.
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  Cedric: Let's run through the states.
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  Cedric: Alaska: A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 41 kilometers southwest of Karluk Monday afternoon at a depth of about 58 kilometers, producing a tsunami information statement with no threat.
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  Cedric: Great Sitkin remains at Watch and aviation color code orange, with slow lava effusion continuing in the summit crater.
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  Cedric: Kupreanof and Shishaldin stay at Advisory.
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  Cedric: Arizona: NWS Phoenix carries an Extreme Heat Warning running through 8 p.m.
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  Cedric: Friday, with afternoon highs of 106 to 114 in the lower Colorado River valley and 109 to 113 across the Phoenix metro area.
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  Cedric: The Maricopa County Heat Relief Network remains active with more than 200 cooling, respite and hydration sites, and 211 Arizona is taking cooling center and transportation calls daily.
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  Cedric: Arkansas: The City of Fort Smith is still working through a network security event that began Sunday and disrupted city computer systems and services.
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  Cedric: The city says emergency response and 911 dispatch remained fully functional.
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  Cedric: Card readers at city offices and the landfill scale house are offline, so those transactions are cash and check only.
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  Cedric: California: The Sorrento Fire in the city of San Diego is holding at 131 acres and 60 percent containment, with one evacuation order still in place for zone SDC 1444 A.
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  Cedric: Extreme heat also extends into the southeast California deserts under the NWS Phoenix warning.
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  Cedric: Colorado: The Aspen Acres Fire southwest of Pueblo sits at 102,004 acres and 72 percent containment, with 915 structures destroyed.
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  Cedric: Gold Mountain north of Ouray is at 87 percent.
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  Cedric: No active evacuations remain on either fire, only area closures.
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  Cedric: Hawaii: Beyond the power and roadway picture, Hawaii County has been running points of distribution for water, hot meals and supplies across the Puna and Kau districts, and shelters remain open on the Big Island.
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  Cedric: The 911 system on Hawaii Island went down temporarily Monday when storm damage affected radio and telephone links, and it was restored Monday afternoon.
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  Cedric: Governor Josh Green's emergency proclamation, signed ahead of the storm, remains the governing instrument, and Senator Brian Schatz says he has pressed the Transportation Secretary to approve forthcoming emergency funding for debris removal and road repair.
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  Cedric: A federal major disaster declaration request has not been confirmed as filed.
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  Cedric: Separately, a magnitude 4.1 earthquake southeast of Honaunau-Napo'opo'o Monday morning is assessed as an aftershock of the May 23 magnitude 6.0, with no impact on Mauna Loa or Kilauea.
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  Cedric: Kilauea stays at Advisory, and the Observatory forecasts the next fountaining episode between Friday and the following Thursday.
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  Cedric: Indiana: At least seven people are dead and state officials believe more than 1,000 residents are displaced by last week's storms and flooding.
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  Cedric: Governor Mike Braun and Indiana Department of Homeland Security Executive Director Jonathan Whitham announced Monday from the State Emergency Operations Center that the State Disaster Relief Fund is active, offering grants of up to $5,000 per household for food and
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  Cedric: clothing while residents are out of their homes.
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  Cedric: The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority is moving families from emergency shelters into hotels and apartments, with intake through 211.
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  Cedric: Braun also activated replacement SNAP benefits for recipients who lost food to flooding or power loss, with affidavits due within ten days.
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  Cedric: The state is finalizing a major disaster declaration request and expects FEMA review to take seven to ten days once filed.
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  Cedric: A presidential emergency declaration approved over the weekend covers 53 counties for emergency protective measures at a 75 percent federal cost share.
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  Cedric: Maine: The Town of Lincoln reopened its town office Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.
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  Cedric: with limited services after a cybersecurity event encrypted files on the main file server and other network infrastructure.
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  Cedric: The town's IT provider flagged the encryption Saturday, and preliminary information indicates the activity may have begun as early as Thursday.
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  Cedric: Vehicle registrations, hunting and fishing licenses and tax payments are available.
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  Cedric: Systems are being restored methodically to avoid reinfection.
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  Cedric: Minnesota: The Bear Trap Fire north of Ely is at 30,110 acres inside the United States and 45 percent contained, and the Thumb Fire is at 24,755 acres and 44 percent.
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  Cedric: The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness emergency closure order remains in effect through October 1 or until rescinded.
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  Cedric: Fire danger is now moderate in both the east and west zones of the Superior National Forest.
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  Cedric: Mississippi: MEMA opens five Disaster Service Centers at noon Tuesday for survivors of Tropical Storm Arthur under DR 4930 MS.
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  Cedric: The centers serve Hancock, Harrison, Pearl River and Stone counties and are staffed by FEMA application specialists, MEMA representatives and SBA disaster loan specialists.
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  Cedric: Hours after today run Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.
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  Cedric: to 6 p.m.
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  Cedric: Missouri: A precautionary boil water advisory remains in effect for St.
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  Cedric: Louis, covering 27 neighborhoods across North City, South City and Midtown.
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  Cedric: The Water Division issued it Monday after low water pressure caused by storm related power outages at the Chain of Rocks Water Treatment Plant.
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  Cedric: The division says it has detected no contamination and issued the advisory out of an abundance of caution.
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  Cedric: Samples are being analyzed, and the advisory stands until further notice.
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  Cedric: We have more to cover this morning, but first, a quick word from the sponsor supporting today’s episode.
• 8:32
  Cedric: Thanks for supporting the sponsors who help make EM Morning Brief possible.
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  Cedric: Now, back to this morning’s updates.
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  Cedric: Montana: The Sand Creek Fire five miles east of Wisdom is the least contained large fire in the country, at 31,652 acres and 1 percent containment with 484 personnel assigned.
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  Cedric: One structure has been lost, and numerous structures and communication infrastructure are threatened, with evacuations and area, road and trail closures in effect.
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  Cedric: Two companion fires on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge are also active: Bobcat Lakes at 9,791 acres and 10 percent, and Moose at 5,678 acres and zero percent, both with evacuations in effect.
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  Cedric: Nevada: The Bug Fire near the California line is at 93,733 acres and 85 percent containment.
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  Cedric: The state of emergency Governor Joe Lombardo declared earlier this month for the Bug and Fred Mountain fires remains in place.
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  Cedric: New Mexico: The Frijoles Fire in the Santa Fe National Forest has grown northeast into the Pecos Wilderness and stands at 11,335 acres with 9 percent containment and 656 personnel.
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  Cedric: Camino de Canon in Cundiyo remains in Go status, the rest of Cundiyo and Cerro Piñon are in Set, and Borrego Mesa, Nambe Pueblo Lake and Cordova are in Ready.
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  Cedric: State Road 503 is closed between County Road 98 and State Road 76, and a new temporary forest area closure now includes the Pecos Wilderness.
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  Cedric: A community meeting is set for Tuesday evening in Santa Fe.
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  Cedric: North Carolina: NWS Wilmington issued an Extreme Heat Warning early Tuesday running through 8 p.m., covering the southeastern counties with dangerously high heat index values.
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  Cedric: Oregon: Oregon has 21 large fires, the most of any state.
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  Cedric: The Hagen Fire east of Pendleton is at 56,869 acres and 14 percent containment with 944 personnel, and crews spent the weekend building a 600 to 1,000 foot buffer near Zig Zag Springs to stop the main fire's advance.
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  Cedric: Highway 204 remains closed between Weston and Elgin.
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  Cedric: The Paradise Fire in the Mill Creek Watershed is at 5,333 acres and zero percent containment.
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  Cedric: NWS Pendleton has a Red Flag Warning in effect from noon to 10 p.m.
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  Cedric: Tuesday for the Lower Columbia Basin, the eastern Columbia River Gorge and the Warm Springs Reservation, with gusts to 30 miles per hour and relative humidity as low as 15 percent.
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  Cedric: South Carolina: West Columbia issued a boil water advisory Monday morning after a water main break, covering eight streets including Kenwood Drive, Corley Manor Court and Persimmon Tree Road.
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  Cedric: Customers who lost pressure or see cloudy water should boil vigorously for one full minute.
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  Cedric: NWS Wilmington's Extreme Heat Warning also reaches the northeastern South Carolina coast.
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  Cedric: Texas: The University of Texas at San Antonio took systems offline after detecting attempted unauthorized activity at the edge of its network ahead of the first day of classes.
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  Cedric: The university says there is no evidence data was accessed, and all users must reset passphrases.
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  Cedric: In Fort Worth, JPS Health Network has resumed routine operations after a two week controlled network downtime, and its ambulance diversion has ended.
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  Cedric: Utah: Two fires are running evacuations.
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  Cedric: Black Canyon southwest of Price is at 3,563 acres and 36 percent containment with active fire behavior threatening residences and energy infrastructure.
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  Cedric: Widemouth 2 near Kanosh is winding down at 129,741 acres and 84 percent containment, though evacuations and closures there remain in effect.
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  Cedric: Washington: The Little Giant Fire northwest of Leavenworth is the largest active evacuation driver in the Northwest, at roughly 133,000 acres and 10 percent containment with 1,985 personnel, 43 hand crews and 83 engines assigned.
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  Cedric: Level 1, 2 and 3 evacuations remain in place across Chelan County, and the Red Cross is running a shelter at the Entiat Warehouse Community Church.
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  Cedric: Higher humidity and calmer winds Monday let crews run strategic firing operations south along Chiwawa River Road, and concern over the spot fire across Lake Chelan is diminishing.
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  Cedric: A community meeting is set for Tuesday evening at the Lake Wenatchee Recreation Club.
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  Cedric: Elsewhere in the state, the Sinlahekin Fire west of Tonasket is at 152,682 acres and 44 percent contained.
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  Cedric: Washington has 15 large fires overall.
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  Cedric: West Virginia: A woman died in Fayette County after her vehicle was swept away near Pax during Sunday's flooding, and the sheriff's drone unit located her Monday morning.
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  Cedric: More than four inches of rain fell at Yeager Airport in Charleston, with high water across Kanawha, Fayette, Braxton and Nicholas counties.
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  Cedric: Governor Patrick Morrisey says last month's severe storm emergency declaration remains in effect statewide through August 20, and residents and businesses are being asked to report damage through the state Emergency Management Division's weather damage survey.
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  Cedric: Wisconsin: Survivors of the April severe storms and flooding have until Monday, August 31 to apply for FEMA individual assistance or an SBA physical disaster loan under DR 4923 WI.
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  Cedric: Nineteen counties plus the Oneida Nation are eligible.
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  Cedric: SBA economic injury loans run through March 30 of next year.
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  Cedric: Let’s check in on the territories.
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  Cedric: Northern Mariana Islands: Ahyi Seamount remains at Advisory and aviation color code yellow, with no signs of unrest in satellite imagery or distal geophysical data over the past week.
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  Cedric: The summit sits about 55 meters below sea level, and eruptive activity can present a hazard to mariners.
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  Cedric: USGS notes that eleven other volcanoes in the commonwealth carry unassigned alert levels because they have no geophysical monitoring.
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  Cedric: Puerto Rico: The grid is stable, with roughly one percent of customers out of service Monday evening.
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  Cedric: Heavy showers and storms remained possible across eastern Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, with a risk of urban and stream flooding.
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  Cedric: American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam and the U.S.
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  Cedric: Virgin Islands: No significant updates in the last 24 hours.
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  Cedric: That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
• 15:13
  Cedric: New episodes drop Monday through Friday in the 5:00 AM hour P.T., so the day starts with clarity instead of catch-up.
• 15:20
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• 15:26
  Cedric: EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.
• 15:29
  Cedric: Stay Safe.