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[intro music]
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After a relative prosperous period
America was hit with some of it's
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greatest challenges, only to respond
with long awaited changes that
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reshaped the course of the nation
during this decade.
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>> Thank you. God bless you, and
God bless the United States of America.
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>> Welcome to watchMojo.com
and today we are counting down
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our picks for the top ten defining
moments in 2000's America.
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>> It does not appear that there is
any kind of effort up there yet,
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now remember, Oh my god.
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>> For this list, we've chosen moments
that we've felt best represent this
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essential decade in American history.
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>> Yes, I saw Lance Armstrong using
drugs.
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>> Number 10: The Stigma of Steroids
in Sports.
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>> What other supplements did you use?
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>> I'm not here to talk about the past.
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>> Long hidden under the
bright lights of sports,
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steroid abuse was
exposed this decade.
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Former players like Jose Canseco,
opened up about their use.
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>> As early as his MVP season in
1988, there were whispers that
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Jose Conseco was using steroids.
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>> Leading to rigorous and
refined anti-doping programs
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across the major sports
organizations.
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>> Around 300 separate tests
that he has undergone.
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>> From Marion Jones to Mark McGwire
the resulting investigations shattered
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many reputations and achievements.
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Tests to detect performance
enhancing drugs continued to evolve
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but recent scandals show that
athletes still use to seek that
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ever desirable competitive edge.
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Number 9: Corporate Scandals
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>> Scott D. Sullivan, and David F. Meyers
were charged with seven counts of
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securities fraud.
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>> The early 2000's were host to an
abnormally large amount of
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corporate corruption and bankruptcies.
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Facing debt and a recessing
economy, major companies
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like Enron and WorldCom
used fraudulent schemes
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to disguise their massive loses.
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>> Plant operators were coached
on how to lie to officials.
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>> However in every case, the
sham came to an end
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and several corporations toppled
to the tune of billions of dollars.
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Enron's fall was especially bloody
with trials and lawsuits
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dragging on throughout the decade.
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>> Number 8: Same-sex Marriage Legalized
in Some States.
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>> It is important for me to go ahead
and affirm that I think that
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same - sex couples should be
able to get married.
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>> At the decade's start, same
sex marriage wasn't permitted
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anywhere in the United States.
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This all changed in 2003 when
the Massachusetts Supreme Court
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legalized it.
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>> Everyone deserves an equal chance for
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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And this law is just so monumental,
it just makes me so proud to
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be from Massachusetts
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>> Marriages were authorized for
many states at a torrid pace.
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Four total by the decade's end.
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This started a major movement
for gay rights, as antiquated laws
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and policies were slowly
phased out.
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Marriage legalization has
strongly continued since
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with its seeds first planted
in the 2000's.
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>> But that alone doesn't make people
equal, so it is time for equality
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in marriage in Washington State.
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>> Number 7: The USA Patriot Act.
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>> President George W. Bush
signed the Patriot Act which
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gave law enforcement broader
authority to investigate and
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prosecute suspected terrorists.
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The actions of 9/11 stunned
the American people and it
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was to be expected that the
government attempt to
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increase security measures.
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The Patriot Act was the resulting
act of Congress, including initiatives
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meant to empower investigations
into terrorist activity.
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>>Never in my worst nightmare
would I ever think that it
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would be my own government
that I would have to protect
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my children from.
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>> Many criticized the act for violating
civil liberties with expanded
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surveillance and stringent
immigration policies.
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The debate continues as the Patriot
Act has survived through the years
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with minor changes.
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>> Today is the 10th anniversary of
President George W. Bush signing into law
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the Patriot Act. So happy birthday
to extended wiretaps.
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>> Number 6: Social. Local. Mobile.
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>> You know someone is going to build
this, someone is going to build something
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that makes it so that people can stay
connected with their friends
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and their family, but no way would we
be the ones who were contributing to
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leading the whole Internet in
this direction.
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>> The 2000s saw Americans again change
the way they communicate.
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Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter
and Myspace attracted
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millions of users to chat and share their
pictures, interests, and daily lives.
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This was aided by the prominent
advancement of the cellphone
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to the smartphone.
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>> The colors in your photos will look
truer and your skin tones more natural.
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>> No longer mere communication devices,
they allow people to experience
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a full electronic world from anywhere
at anytime.
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The social grid was inescapable.
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Number 5: Hurricane Katrina.
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>> In the world of weather, this is
the weapon of mass destruction.
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The United States' costliest natural
disaster shook the country's core
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in the summer of 2005.
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Hurricane Katrina terrorized the Gulf
coast, killing nearly 2,000 people
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and leading some to question a connection
to climate change.
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>> Reporting from the Hurricane,
in New Orleans, [inaudible}.
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>> The disaster was worsened by the
failure of levies in New Orleans
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and left much of the city flooded.
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Afterwards, criticism was directed
at the federal and state governments
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for unorganized rescue efforts and
insufficient preparation.
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>> And in a country accustomed to
watching its troops swoop into
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foreign terrain and deliver aid, seemingly
at a moment's notice,
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people are beginning to wonder
what's going wrong?
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>> Number 4: Econopocalypse.
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>> A lot of Americans may feel that
we've been in a recession
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for some time, and now, according to
the National Bureau for Economic Research,
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they would be right.
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>> With the economic success under
President Clinton a distant memory,
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the U.S. suffered a serious recession
starting at the end of 2007.
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The economic collapse was fueled by
the burst of the housing bubble
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earlier in the year.
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>> It was really the granddaddy of
all bubbles, and it affected
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an asset class of 22 trillion.
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>> To make matters worse, the federal
budget was in a deep deficit,
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limited by ongoing warfare.
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Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy
and unemployment hit a peak
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of 10%.
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Plans were introduced to curtail
the damage, but the nation is still
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recovering today.
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Number 3: the election of Barack Obama.
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>> Welcome to the White House.
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Wheels of change kicked into motion
when Senator Barack Obama
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announced his decision to run for
the presidency in 2007.
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Defeating Senator Hillary Clinton to
become the primary Democratic candidate,
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the once-impossible dream of an
African American president
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no longer seemed a fantasy.
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>> And CNN can now project that Barack
Obama, 47 years old, will become
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the president elect of the United States.
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>> Obama's economic plan and opposition
to the Iraq war rocketed him
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into the White House on election day
and brought new hope to America.
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>> And with eyes fixed on the horizon
and God's grace upon us,
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we carried forth that great gift of
freedom and delivered it safely
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to future generations.
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>> Number 2: A decade of war.
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>> We will make no distinction between
the terrorists who committed
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these acts and those who harbor them.
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Caught off-guard by an attack on its
own soil, America pushed against
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foreign threats for much of
the 2000s.
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Operation Enduring Freedom was launched
to eliminate Al Qaeda leadership
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in Afghanistan, while the Iraq war
served to overthrow Saddam Hussein
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and rebuild a new government.
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>> This supercarrier arrives for battle
in mid December in
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the northern Arabian Sea.
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It relieves another carrier to join
Operation Enduring Freedom.
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>> Though Hussein and Osama Bin Laden
were eventually eliminated,
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the wars dragged on with continuous
insurgency.
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>> Afghans will have full responsibility
for their security and this war
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will come to a responsible end.
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>> Numerous U.S. troops were lost,
but the battle in Afghanistan
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raged on.
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Before we look at our final pick,
here are some honorable mentions.
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>> I'm going to cut you off because
we do have now word,
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according to the Los Angeles Times,
the Los Angeles Times is reporting that
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Michael Jackson has died.
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>> Hello everyone, and welcome to
American Idol, the show that's
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on a mission to discover the next
superstar.
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>> Number 1: the September 11 attacks.
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>> Into-- oh my goodness,
there's another one.
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Oh my goodness, there's another one.
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>> This seems to be on purpose.
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>> A date that will forever live in
infamy, the events of 9/11
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completely altered the country's course.
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In protest of U.S. foreign policy,
terrorist group Al Qaeda
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hijacked four commercial airliners and
crashed them into the World Trade Center,
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the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field,
leaving nearly 3,000 casualties.
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>> 9:59 A.M., the outer columns of
the south tower finally give way.
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>> The deadliest attack on America in
six decades, the losses were unfathomable
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and the grieving process long
and challenging.
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The attacks defined the era for America,
as it spent much of the decade
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in combat, seeking to prevent future
tragedies.
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Do you agree with our list? Which events
do you think define 2000s America
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and beyond?
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For more informative top tens published
every day, be sure to subscribe
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to watchmojo.com.
