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    "story_id": "mp-2026-10-12-017",
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    "section": "infrastructure",
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    "headline": "The Token Merger Hit an Exact Budget in Linear Time",
    "slug": "the-token-merger-hit-an-exact-budget-in-linear-time",
    "dek": "LapMerge learns how to allocate an ordered sequence into a fixed number of outputs.",
    "summary": "LapMerge learns how to allocate an ordered sequence into a fixed number of outputs.",
    "body_text": "A learned mass distribution partitions tokens into equal-mass segments, with prefix and suffix scans doing the aggregation. The authors report competitive vision and vision-language results and large operator-speed gains on long sequences. The method works best when token order preserves spatial or temporal locality.",
    "why_it_matters": "LapMerge learns how to allocate an ordered sequence into a fixed number of outputs.",
    "limitations": [],
    "importance": 7,
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    "first_published_at": "2026-10-12T09:00:00.000-04:00",
    "modified_at": "2026-10-12T09:48:10.481-04:00",
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        "text": "LapMerge learns how to allocate an ordered sequence into a fixed number of outputs.",
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    "tags": [
      "token-compression",
      "linear-time",
      "preprint"
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    "image_url": null,
    "corrections": [
      {
        "correction_id": "correction-2026-10-12-001",
        "revision": 2,
        "summary": "Publication note: The October 12, 2026 edition was prepared and published late on October 12 after the scheduled newsroom task could not start. The edition retains its October 12 date and 9:00 AM America/Detroit reveal time. Reports use sources available before that cutoff; actual preparation and image-generation times are preserved in the provenance records.",
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      "source_id": "source-2026-10-12-019",
      "title": "arXiv preprint 2610.13858, original v1",
      "publisher": "arXiv / submitting research authors",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.13858v1",
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      "published_at": "2026-10-09T13:07:17.000-04:00",
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  "corrections": [
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      "revision": 2,
      "summary": "Publication note: The October 12, 2026 edition was prepared and published late on October 12 after the scheduled newsroom task could not start. The edition retains its October 12 date and 9:00 AM America/Detroit reveal time. Reports use sources available before that cutoff; actual preparation and image-generation times are preserved in the provenance records.",
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  "cite_this_report": {
    "title": "The Token Merger Hit an Exact Budget in Linear Time",
    "publisher": "The Machine Press",
    "published_at": "2026-10-12T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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