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Rubio teases details of potential Trump, Putin in-person meeting after Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks stall

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the timing of a potential face-to-face meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin regarding a ceasefire deal in Ukraine in an interview that aired Sunday. 

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday while returning to Washington, D.C., from Abu Dhabi that no peace in Ukraine would be reached until he met with Putin in person. The president added in a Truth Social post on Saturday that he planned to speak with Putin on the phone on Monday, followed by a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and some NATO leaders. 

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Meanwhile, Rubio — who attended Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass in Rome on Sunday — said the Vatican has offered to host a direct meeting between Ukraine, Russia and possibly other parties. 

«Obviously, the Vatican has made a very generous offer to host anything — by the way, not just a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, but any meeting, including at a technical level, you know — any meetings that need to be hosted, they’ve expressed a willingness to do so. So it’s a very generous offer that may be taken up on,» Rubio told CBS’ «Face the Nation» in an interview that was recorded on Saturday. «I mean, it would be a site that all parties would feel comfortable. So hopefully we’ll get to that stage where talks are happening on a regular basis, and that the Vatican will have the opportunity to be one of the options.» 

ZELENSKYY SHEDS DETAILS ON MEETING WITH VANCE, RUBIO IN ROME AFTER RUSSIA PEACE TALKS STALL

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and Vice President JD Vance, right, greet each other as Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s formal inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on Sunday.  (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Rubio had a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on Saturday after Putin was a no-show to a face-to-face meeting the Russian leader called with Zelenskyy in Turkey last week. Despite Putin’s absence, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations did agree to a prisoner exchange of 1,000 people from each side, though a broader ceasefire or peace deal failed to materialize. 

CBS host Margaret Brennan asked Rubio if he spoke with Lavrov about lining up a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin. 

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«Well, we talked about a variety of things,» said Rubio. «I wanted to get his readout on his view of how the talks went yesterday. They were not a complete waste of time. For example, there were 1,000 prisoners that are going to be exchanged, and that, from a humanitarian standpoint, is very positive. He explained to me that they are going to be preparing a document outlining their requirements for a ceasefire that would then lead to broader negotiations.»

Rubio said the Ukrainians will be working on their own proposal coming soon, and he hoped proposals from both sides would be «serious and viable.»

«So we’ll have to wait and see. But he wanted me to know, and he communicated in our call, that their side will be working on a series of ideas and requirements that they would have in order to move forward with a ceasefire and further negotiations,» he said.

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Rubio said the U.S. is «testing» whether the Russian are just «tapping» them along, as Trump has suggested could be the case. 

Rubio, Vance, Meloni and von der Leyen meet in Rome

From left: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrive for a meeting at the Chigi Palace in Rome on Sunday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

ZELENSKYY SPEAKS WITH TRUMP, ALLIES AFTER RUSSIA PEACE TALKS BROKER NO CEASEFIRE

«On the one hand, we’re trying to achieve peace and end a very bloody, costly and destructive war. So there’s some element of patience that is required. On the other hand, we don’t have time to waste,» Rubio said. «There are a lot of other things happening in the world that we also need to be paying attention to. So we don’t want to be involved in this process of just endless talks — there has to be some progress, some movement forward. And if at the end of this, in the next few days, we get a document produced by both sides, and it shows that both sides are… making concessions and being realistic and rational in their approach, then I think we can feel good about continuing to remain engaged.»

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«If, on the other hand, what we see is not very productive, perhaps we’ll have a different assessment. I also agree that, ultimately, one of the things that could help break this logjam — perhaps the only thing that can — is a direct conversation between President Trump and Vladimir Putin. And he’s already openly expressed a desire and a belief that that needs to happen, and hopefully that’ll be worked out soon as well,» he added.

Pressed on whether the in-person talks between Trump and Putin were being planned, Rubio reiterated that the president had already made that offer publicly. 

Rubio with Italian officials in Rome

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, flanked by Tajani’s wife, Brunella Orecchio, left, and Rubio’s wife, Jeanette Dousdebes, right, meet at Villa Madama in Rome on Saturday. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

«The mechanics of setting that kind of meeting up would require a little bit of work, so I can’t say that’s being planned as we speak in terms of picking a site and a date,» Rubio said. «But the president wants to do it. He wants to do it as soon as feasible. I think the Russian side has also expressed a willingness to do it. And so, now it’s just a question of bringing them, bringing everyone together, and figuring out where and when and that meeting will happen and what it will be about.»

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Rubio joined Vice President JD Vance in meeting with Zelenskyy at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Rome on Sunday. 

Vance and Rubio later met with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for discussions on trade, the war in Ukraine and NATO spending, according to a spokesperson for the vice president. 

«The individual countries within Europe are important allies of the United States. But, of course, we have some disagreements, as friends sometimes do, on issues like trade, and we also have many agreements and many things we can work on together, and I’m looking forward to the conversation,» Vance told reporters at the top of the meeting. 

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After the meeting, the vice president’s office released a statement saying that «the leaders discussed their shared goal of ending the bloodshed in Ukraine and provided updates on the current state of negotiations for a ceasefire and lasting peace.» 

Fox News’ Meghan Tomes and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Quiénes son los líderes europeos que firmaron una carta pidiendo mantener la presión sobre Rusia antes de la cumbre Trump-Putin

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Los principales líderes europeos llamaron este domingo a mantener la presión sobre Rusia para alcanzar la paz y reafirmaron su apoyo a Ucrania, antes de la cumbre entre los presidentes Vladimir Putin y Donald Trump.

Los presidentes de Rusia y Estados Unidos deberán encontrarse el 15 de agosto en Alaska como parte de los esfuerzos de Trump por encontrar una salida al conflicto desatado en febrero de 2022 con la invasión rusa a Ucrania.

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La cita se efectuará sin la presencia del líder ucraniano, Volodimir Zelenski, quien ha exigido formar parte de las negociaciones.


Al anunciar la cumbre el viernes, Trump dijo que «habrá algún intercambio de territorios para el beneficio de ambos», refiriéndose a Ucrania y Rusia, sin dar más detalles.


«No pueden tomarse decisiones en nuestra contra, no pueden tomarse decisiones sin Ucrania. Sería una decisión contra la paz. No conseguirán nada», advirtió Zelenski el sábado en redes sociales. «Los ucranianos no entregarán su tierra al ocupante».

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El mandatario ucraniano dijo haber conversado con su homólogo francés, Emmanuel Macron, que afirmó en la red X que «el futuro de Ucrania no puede decidirse sin los ucranianos».


El presidente del Gobierno español, Pedro Sánchez, también conversó con Zelenski a quien le expresó su «pleno apoyo» y abogó por «una paz justa y duradera que respete la independencia y la soberanía de Ucrania».

Este domingo, los principales líderes europeos firmaron una declaración en la cual afirmaron que «solo un enfoque que combina una diplomacia activa, el apoyo a Ucrania y la presión sobre la Federación Rusa» podrá poner fin a la guerra entre Ucrania y Rusia.

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«Aplaudimos el trabajo del presidente Trump por detener la masacre en Ucrania y estamos listos para apoyar ese trabajo en el plano diplomático, además de mantener nuestro sustancial apoyo militar y financiero a Ucrania» así como «manteniendo e imponiendo medidas restrictivas contra la Federación Rusa», indicaron los líderes europeos.

Entre los firmantes de la declaración figuran Macron, la italiana Giorgia Meloni, el alemán Fiedrich Merz, el polaco Donald Tusk y el británico Keir Starmer, además de la presidenta de la Comisión Europea, Ursula von der Leyen.


Por su parte el presidente brasileño, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, conversó por teléfono este sábado con Vladimir Putín, y expresó la disposición de Brasil a contribuir a una salida pacífica.

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Putin «agradeció a Lula su empeño e interés en el tema», según una nota de la presidencia brasileña.

Las tres rondas de negociaciones entre Rusia y Ucrania celebradas este año no dieron frutos, y sigue sin estar claro si una cumbre contribuirá a acercar la paz.

Por ahora, posiciones irreconciliables

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La invasión rusa de Ucrania, lanzada en febrero de 2022, ha dejado decenas de miles de muertos, millones de desplazados y grandes destrozos. Putin se ha resistido a los múltiples llamamientos de Estados Unidos, Europa y Ucrania para que se declare un alto el fuego.


La cumbre en Alaska, territorio que Rusia vendió a Estados Unidos en 1867, sería la primera entre los presidentes en ejercicio de Estados Unidos y Rusia desde que Joe Biden se reunió con Putin en Ginebra en junio de 2021.


Trump y Putin se reunieron por última vez en 2019 en una cumbre del G20 en Japón durante el primer mandato del estadounidense, aunque han hablado por teléfono en varias ocasiones desde enero.

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Después de más de tres años de combates, las posiciones ucranianas y rusas siguen siendo irreconciliables. Sobre el terreno, los enfrentamientos y ataques mortales continúan, con lanzamientos mutuos de drones durante la noche, y el ejército ruso sigue avanzando en el este frente a un adversario menos numeroso y peor equipado.

En la región oriental de Donetsk, cuatro personas murieron el sábado tras bombardeos rusos y otras dos en la región de Jersón, en el sur, informaron las respectivas autoridades. Estos ataques han dejado una veintena de heridos.

Para poner fin al conflicto, Moscú exige que Ucrania ceda cuatro regiones parcialmente ocupadas (Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporiyia y Jersón), además de Crimea, anexionada en 2014, y que renuncie a los suministros de armas occidentales y a cualquier adhesión a la OTAN.

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Estas exigencias son inaceptables para Ucrania, que exige la retirada de las tropas rusas de su territorio y garantías de seguridad occidentales. Esto incluiría más suministros de armas y el despliegue de un contingente europeo, a lo que Rusia se opone.

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Líderes europeos reafirmaron su apoyo a Ucrania y llamaron a mantener la presión sobre Rusia antes de cumbre entre Trump y Putin

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Líderes europeos reafirmaron su apoyo a Ucrania y llamaron a mantener la presión sobre Rusia antes de cumbre Trump-Putin (EFE)

Los principales líderes europeos reafirmaron este domingo su apoyo a Ucrania y llamaron a mantener la presión sobre Rusia para alcanzar la paz, días antes de la reunión prevista entre los presidentes Vladimir Putin y Donald Trump el próximo 15 de agosto en Alaska.

La cumbre, anunciada por Trump el viernes, forma parte de sus esfuerzos por buscar una salida al conflicto iniciado con la invasión rusa en febrero de 2022. El encuentro se celebrará sin la presencia del presidente ucraniano, Volodimir Zelensky, quien ha reclamado participar en las negociaciones.

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Trump adelantó que el eventual acuerdo “incluirá algún intercambio de territorios para el beneficio de ambos”, en referencia a Ucrania y Rusia, sin dar más detalles. Zelensky rechazó esa posibilidad: “No pueden tomarse decisiones en nuestra contra, no pueden tomarse decisiones sin Ucrania. Sería una decisión contra la paz. No conseguirán nada. Los ucranianos no entregarán su tierra al ocupante”, afirmó el sábado en redes sociales.

En conversaciones separadas con Zelensky, el presidente francés, Emmanuel Macron, y el jefe del Gobierno español, Pedro Sánchez, expresaron su respaldo a Kiev. Macron señaló en X que “el futuro de Ucrania no puede decidirse sin los ucranianos”, mientras que Sánchez abogó por “una paz justa y duradera que respete la independencia y la soberanía” del país.

El presidente del Gobierno español,
El presidente del Gobierno español, Pedro Sánchez, junto al presidente de Ucrania, Volodymyr Zelensky (EP)

Además, los mandatarios europeos firmaron una declaración conjunta en la que sostienen que “solo un enfoque que combina una diplomacia activa, el apoyo a Ucrania y la presión sobre la Federación Rusa” podrá poner fin a la guerra. “Aplaudimos el trabajo del presidente Trump por detener la masacre en Ucrania” y “estamos listos para apoyar ese trabajo en el plano diplomático, además de mantener nuestro sustancial apoyo militar y financiero a Ucrania”, añade el texto.

Entre los firmantes figuran Macron, la primera ministra italiana, Giorgia Meloni; el canciller alemán, Friedrich Merz; el primer ministro polaco, Donald Tusk; el primer ministro británico, Keir Starmer; el presidente finlandés, Alexander Stubb, y la presidenta de la Comisión Europea, Ursula von der Leyen.

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En paralelo, el presidente brasileño, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, conversó el sábado por teléfono con Putin y expresó la disposición de Brasil a contribuir a una solución pacífica. Según la presidencia brasileña, el mandatario ruso agradeció el interés.

Las tres rondas de conversaciones celebradas este año entre Rusia y Ucrania no produjeron avances. Moscú exige la cesión de cuatro regiones parcialmente ocupadas —Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia y Kherson—, además de Crimea, anexionada en 2014, y que Kiev renuncie a suministros de armas occidentales y a su ingreso en la OTAN. Ucrania considera estas condiciones inaceptables y exige la retirada total de las tropas rusas y garantías de seguridad que incluyan más armamento y presencia militar europea.

Los combates y bombardeos continúan
Los combates y bombardeos continúan en distintos puntos de la región (REUTERS)

Sobre el terreno, los combates continúan. En la región de Donetsk, bombardeos rusos mataron el sábado a cuatro personas y dejaron una veintena de heridos; en Kherson, otras dos personas murieron.

La reunión de Alaska será la primera entre presidentes en ejercicio de Estados Unidos y Rusia desde la celebrada en Ginebra en junio de 2021 entre Putin y el ex presidente Joe Biden. Trump y Putin no se encuentran cara a cara desde la cumbre del G20 en Japón en 2019, aunque han mantenido contactos telefónicos desde enero.

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Los líderes europeos subrayaron que “el camino a la paz en Ucrania no puede decidirse sin Ucrania” y reiteraron su compromiso con garantías de seguridad “creíbles y robustas” para Kiev. Además, calificaron la invasión rusa como una “flagrante violación” de la Carta de la ONU, el Tratado de Helsinki de 1975, el Memorándum de Budapest de 1994 y otros compromisos internacionales suscritos por Moscú.

Seguiremos trabajando con el presidente Trump y los Estados Unidos y con el presidente Zelensky y el pueblo ucraniano por una paz en Ucrania que proteja nuestros intereses vitales de seguridad”, concluye la declaración.

(Con información de EFE y AFP)

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Kash Patel slams ‘corrupt’ sanctuary sheriff indicted for cannabis company extortion

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Boston’s sanctuary sheriff was arrested Friday on federal charges after allegedly leveraging his elected position to extort $50,000 from a cannabis executive who was seeking state approval to open a dispensary—a scheme FBI Director Kash Patel called a betrayal of public trust.

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Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins, 67, who oversees more than 1,000 employees in the Boston-area, was handcuffed Friday morning in the Southern District of Florida after a federal grand jury indicted him on two counts of extortion under color of official right, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

«When someone entrusted with enforcing the law is accused of breaking it for personal gain, it undermines the public’s trust in every honest officer who wears the badge,» Patel told Fox News Digital. «The FBI will pursue corruption at every level, because no one is above the law. The people of Suffolk County, and the country, deserve leaders who serve them, not themselves.»

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins was arrested on Friday in connection to an illegal licensing scheme. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

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SUSPECTED ICE FACILITY ATTACKERS ARRESTED IN BLUE CITY, CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING FEDERAL OFFICERS

Tompkins was appointed sheriff of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department (SCSD) in 2013, elected in a 2014 special election, and later re-elected to serve successive six-year terms. 

He made headlines in 2019 after booting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents out of the county jail, signing an eviction notice that required hundreds of illegal immigrant detainees to be moved out within 60 days, according to a report from the Boston Herald.

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FLORIDA EX-SHERIFF ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY RUNNING ILLEGAL GAMBLING HOUSE THAT GENERATED MILLIONS

According to court documents, a cannabis company applied in 2019 for a retail dispensary license in Boston through the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC). To meet the state’s Positive Impact Plan (PIP) requirement, the company partnered with the sheriff’s department, which agreed to screen and refer graduates from its re-entry program for work at the dispensary’s retail store.

The company’s partnership with SCSD was formalized in a letter signed by Tompkins in 2019 and submitted with its dispensary license application in 2020. The cannabis commission approved the license in 2021 and renewed it in 2022 and 2023, with the company citing the partnership to meet the PIP requirement in each application.

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Governor Deval Patrick swears in Steven Tompkins as Suffolk County Sheriff at the State House on Tuesday, January 22, 2013.

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins is accused of pressuring an executive into selling him stocks and then demanding a refund. (John Wilcox/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

To raise capital for an initial public offering (IPO) and expand as a publicly traded company, executives sought multimillion-dollar investments from institutions and other high-net-worth investors—not the general public, according to court documents. 

By mid-2020, the company was preparing for its IPO by producing audited financial statements, hiring attorneys and obtaining additional financing.

Prosecutors allege Tompkins pressured the cannabis executive for stock, reminding the executive he had helped the company in its licensing efforts. The executive feared Tompkins might exploit his position as sheriff to undermine the partnership with the department, putting both the license and the company’s planned IPO in jeopardy.

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PATEL’S IMMIGRATION PUSH AT FBI YIELDS 10,000 ARRESTS SINCE JANUARY

In October 2020, the company asked Tompkins for an updated partnership letter to submit with its license renewal application, according to court documents. Within a month of signing the letter, and after alleged pressure on the executive, Tompkins obtained a pre-IPO stake in the company.

Prosecutors claim that in November 2020, Tompkins wired $50,000 from his retirement account to an account controlled by the executive, purchasing nearly 29,000 shares at $1.73 each. Following a reverse stock split, he held about 14,400 shares valued at $3.46 each.

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Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins on Herald Radio on Tuesday, August 23, 2016.

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins is facing up to 20 years in prison for each count of extortion. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

Once the company launched its IPO in 2021, the stock value jumped to $9.60 per share, increasing the value of Tompkins’ $50,000 purchase of 14,417 shares to $138,403.

By May 2022, the value of Tompkins’ stock had dropped thousands of dollars below his $50,000 investment, but he allegedly demanded a full refund. The executive agreed, issuing five checks between May 2022 and July 2023.

Prosecutors claim some checks were marked as «loan repayment» and «[company] expense» at Tompkins’s direction to disguise the nature of some of the payments.

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Copies of checks showed payments allegedly made to Suffolk County sheriff.

Copies of checks showed payments allegedly made to the Suffolk County sheriff.

US ATTORNEY FOR MASSACHUSETTS SAYS INTERFERENCE WITH ICE OPERATIONS IS ‘DISTURBING,’ THREATENS ARRESTS

U.S. Attorney Leah Foley wrote in a statement that elected officials, particularly those in law enforcement, are expected to be ethical, honest and law-abiding, «not self-serving.» 

«His alleged actions are an affront to the voters and taxpayers who elected him to his position, and the many dedicated and honest public servants at the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department. The people of Suffolk County deserve better,» Foley wrote. «Public corruption remains a top priority for my administration, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute anyone who uses their position of trust and power for their own gain.»

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FBI Boston special agent in charge Ted Docks added the act was «clear-cut corruption.»

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«From his very first day as Suffolk County Sheriff, Steven Tompkins sought to portray himself as a man of the people–a principled public servant and reformer, devoted to the cause of justice. That’s why it’s beyond disappointing that he’s now accused of gaming a system instituted in the interests of public safety and fair play,» Docks wrote in a statement. «We believe what the Sheriff saw as an easy way to make a quick buck on the sly is clear-cut corruption under federal law. The citizens of Suffolk County deserve better, not a man who is accused of trading on his position to bankroll his own political and financial future. Public servants must be held to the highest of ethical standards, and those falling short will be rooted out.»

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Tompkins, who faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison for each count, will appear in Boston federal court at a later date.

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