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Biden Sell’s Off Emergency Oil Reserves Ahead of Nov 8 Elections

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Biden is to blame for high gas prices

On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced a plan to sell off the remainder of his pre-release from the U.S. emergency oil reserve by the end of 2022 and begin replenishing the stockpile to reduce high gasoline prices ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections.

Biden’s goal is to increase supply sufficiently to prevent near-term oil price rises that would penalize Americans and reassure U.S. drillers that the U.S. government would enter the oil market as a buyer if prices fall too low.

He said 15 million barrels of oil would be offered from the emergency Oil Reserve as part of a record 180 million barrel release that began in May and that the U.S. is ready to tap supplies again early next year to keep prices under control.

“It’s what we’re calling a prepare and release plan,” Joe Biden said at a White House event. “This enables us to respond rapidly to world events and avert oil price rises.”

Joe Biden’s use of the federal government’s Oil reserves to manage oil price surges and attempts to enhance U.S. output demonstrate how the Ukraine crisis and inflation have altered the policies of a president who campaigned to reduce the country’s reliance on the fossil fuel industry.

The White House felt an increased sense of urgency after the Saudi-led Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries irritated Biden, sided with Russia and agreed to a production cut, prompting Biden to remark that the US-Saudi relationship has to be revalued.

“With today’s statement, we’re going to continue to stabilize markets and lower prices at a time when other countries’ actions have produced such instability,” Biden said.

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Biden blamed rising crude and gasoline costs on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, adding that prices had plummeted 30% from their peak earlier this year.

He also reminded U.S. energy corporations, gasoline merchants, and refiners to stop using record profits to buy back stock and instead invest in production.

Prices aren’t lowering fast enough, he claims.

“Families are hurting,” he says, and rising gasoline prices strain their finances.

Faced with criticism from Republicans who claim he is using the SPR for political reasons rather than an emergency, the president also stated that the nation’s stockpiles would be replenished in the coming years.

He stated that his goal is to replenish supplies when U.S. crude is about $70 per barrel, a price he believes will allow firms to profit while still being a good value for taxpayers. On Wednesday, the U.S. benchmark was around $85 per barrel.

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According to Biden, the SPR, already at its lowest point since 1984, is more than half empty with more than 400 million barrels of oil.

The administration intended to stop selling the 180 million barrels in November. Purchases by businesses such as Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC.N), Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), and Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N) were, however, slower than expected over the summer, with approximately 15 million barrels remaining unsold.

Presidents in the United States have limited influence over fuel prices, but given the country’s vast gasoline consumption – the largest in the world – high costs at the pump can be political poison. Retail gasoline prices have decreased from a high in June, but they remain higher than historical averages and significantly contribute to inflation.

The disparity between wholesale and retail prices has also risen, prompting the White House to issue cautions against price gouging.

 

With the new SPR repurchase guarantee, Biden believes oil companies will be more confident in investing in production and stop pushing stock buybacks.

“So, to all businesses, I say, “You’re sitting on record profits, and we’re offering you more confidence.” So you may take action right now to improve oil production, “He stated.

Companies “You should not use your profits to repurchase stock or pay dividends. Not now, not while there is a war raging, “He asked them to lower the prices they charge at the pump.

In recent weeks, the oil sector has grown increasingly apprehensive that the administration may take the dramatic step of prohibiting or limiting gasoline or diesel exports to replenish dwindling U.S. supplies.

They have urged the government to withdraw the option, which officials are unwilling to do.

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Biden is to Blame for High Gas Prices

When President Biden began office, a gallon of normal gas cost an average of $2.38. It now costs $3.92.

Mr. Biden has attempted to blame Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine for the rising cost, referring to it as “Putin’s price hike, and now he’s blaming Saudi Arabia.

” However, gasoline had already reached $3.53 per gallon when the red megalomaniac invaded. As a result, Mr. Putin was not to blame.

The president has taken numerous attempts to reduce the price but to no avail. He released millions of barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), but practically every analyst believes this is only a temporary solution.

By the end of March, a gallon of gas cost $4.23, so he drew on the vast emergency reserve, allowing the discharge of 125 million barrels of oil. However, the United States consumes approximately 20 million barrels of oil daily, so Mr. Biden’s release was brief.

Prices levelled off for roughly five weeks, hovering just above $4. Then it all started over: $4.62 at the end of May and even $5.00 by mid-June.

However, economists argue that the SPR release is not the cause of declining prices. Prices had risen so far that many had just stopped buying.

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Prices began to rise again after 99 days of decline. Reporters questioned White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about it all last Tuesday.

“You stated that the president was to blame for the drop in gas prices. “Is the president to blame for rising petrol prices?” a reporter inquired.

“It’s far more sophisticated than that,” Ms. Jean-Pierre explained. “You are aware of this. There have been global challenges to which we have all responded. When I say ‘all,’ I mean that other countries have had to deal with it since the pandemic.

There was the pandemic, and then there was Putin’s war. In addition, Putin’s war has raised petrol costs at the pump. “We’ve seen that over the last few months,” she remarked.

As prices began to climb again, Mr. Biden began to blame oil firms, despite taking credit for reducing costs.

According to the letter acquired by The Wall Street Journal from Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to seven major refiners, the Biden administration has gone so far as to advise them to limit fuel exports.

“Given the historic level of U.S. refined product exports,” Ms. Granholm said in an August letter to seven U.S. refiners, “I again advise you to focus in the near term on growing inventories in the United States rather than selling down present stockpiles and boosting exports.”

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However, the refiners retaliated. “Banning or restricting the export of refined products would certainly lower inventory levels, reduce domestic refining capacity, raise consumer fuel costs, and alienate U.S. friends during a time of conflict,” business leaders said in response to Ms. Granholm.

Mr. Biden also halted much of the oil production growth in the United States.

“Recall that the United States imported 10.1 million barrels per day (BPD) of crude oil in 2005, with OPEC accounting for 4.8 million BPD (48%) of that total. The SPR held 685 million barrels. With the United States buying 10.1 million BPD of crude oil at the time, there was enough oil to last 68 days,” Forbes noted.

Mr. Biden even went to Saudi Arabia to ask for more oil (remember the fist bump with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman?). He almost went empty-handed, save for a vague agreement in which Saudi Arabia stated that it would “help global oil market balancing for continued economic growth” but never specified how much petroleum would be delivered.

Mr. Biden stated that he was not there for oil but that he and the prince “privately agreed that oil-producing states would agree to increase output at an Aug. 3 summit,” according to The New York Times.

While the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) declared an increase in output in August — 100,000 barrels per day — it didn’t last long. OPEC stated this month that it would cut oil production by two million barrels a day due to a glut in the global crude oil market.

In the end, Mr. Biden deserves none of the credit — and all of the blame — for rising gas costs.

Source: VOR News, Reuters

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Death Toll In Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises To 140 After Another Victim Dies In Hospital

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MOSCOW — The death toll from last week’s music hall attack in Moscow increased to 140 on Wednesday, with another victim dying in a hospital, according to Russian officials.

That victim was one of five who remained hospitalized in “extremely grave condition,” and physicians “did everything they could” to rescue them, according to Russia’s Health Minister, Mikhail Murashko.

According to the official, 80 individuals were hurt in the attack and are hospitalized, while 205 others sought outpatient medical care.

moscow

Death Toll In Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises To 140 After Another Victim Dies In Hospital

The Friday night shooting at Crocus City Hall, a huge shopping and entertainment complex on the northwestern outskirts of Moscow, was the bloodiest terrorist act on Russian soil in nearly two decades. Four attackers with automatic rifles targeted thousands of concertgoers and set fire to the arena.

An Islamic State affiliate claimed credit for the violence, while US intelligence confirmed the group’s involvement. French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France has intelligence pointing to “an IS entity” as responsible for the attack.

The day following the attack, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the arrest of 11 people, including four alleged gunmen. The four guys, all Tajik nationals, appeared in court in Moscow on Sunday on terrorist accusations and appeared to have been severely beaten. One person appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing.

Russian officials, meanwhile, have asserted that Ukraine and the West played a role, which Kyiv categorically rejects. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, of attempting to incite frenzy as his forces fight in Ukraine.

Alexander Bortnikov, the FSB chief, also said that Western intelligence services may have been involved. “We believe that radical Islamists planned the action, while Western special services assisted it, and Ukrainian special services had a direct role in it,” Bortnikov added without providing further information.

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Death Toll In Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises To 140 After Another Victim Dies In Hospital

He echoed Putin’s claim that the four gunmen were attempting to flee to Ukraine when they were apprehended, citing it as evidence of Kyiv’s claimed involvement.

However, Belarus’ autocratic President Alexander Lukashenko, who stated on Tuesday that the suspects were on their way to Ukraine because they were concerned about tight border controls, called this allegation into question.

The Islamic State organization, which lost much of its territory after Russia’s military intervention in Syria in 2015, has long targeted Russia. In October 2015, IS bombed a Russian airplane over the Sinai desert, killing all 224 persons on board, the majority of them were Russian vacationers returning from Egypt.

The group, which primarily works in Syria and Iraq but also Afghanistan and Africa, has claimed multiple strikes in Russia’s dangerous Caucasus and other areas in recent years. It has recruited fighters from Russia and other former Soviet republics.

On Monday, Putin warned that similar strikes could occur, citing probable Western participation. He made no mention of the United States classified warning to Moscow about a probable imminent terrorist strike two weeks before the raid.

moscow

Death Toll In Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises To 140 After Another Victim Dies In Hospital

Three days before the incident, Putin condemned the US Embassy’s March 7 notification urging Americans to avoid crowds in Moscow, particularly concerts, as an attempt to intimidate Russians and “blackmail” the Kremlin ahead of the presidential election.

Bortnikov said Russia appreciated the warning, but it was quite vague.

SOURCE – (AP)

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Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Powerless Cargo Ship Rams Into Support Column; 6 Presumed Dead

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BALTIMORE — A cargo ship lost power and slammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, demolishing it in seconds and dumping it into the river in a horrifying collapse that might shut down a vital maritime port for months. Six persons were missing, probably dead.

Maryland’s governor said the ship’s crew issued a mayday call moments before the collapse that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge, allowing officials to restrict car traffic on the span.

The spacecraft hit one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to fall like a doll. A part of the span came to rest on the vessel’s bow, which caught fire and emitted dense, black smoke.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said that with the ship approaching the bridge at “a very, very rapid speed,” officials had barely enough time to prevent automobiles from crossing.

“These people are heroes,” Moore remarked. “They saved lives last night.”

On the 1.6-mile (2.6-kilometer) bridge, which 12 million vehicles used last year, the incident happened in the middle of the night, well before the hectic morning commute.

bridge

Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Powerless Cargo Ship Rams Into Support Column; 6 Presumed Dead

According to Paul Wiedefeld, the state’s transportation secretary, the six unaccounted-for persons were part of a construction crew fixing potholes on the bridge.

A top executive at the company that employed the workers stated Tuesday afternoon that they were considered dead due to the depth of the water and the time since the collision.

Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said the crew was working in the middle of the bridge when it collapsed. No bodies have been found, and rescue workers resumed their search into the late afternoon.

“This was completely unexpected,” Pritzker remarked. “We do not know what more to say. We take great satisfaction in our safety measures, which include cones, signs, lights, barriers, and flaggers. But we never expected the bridge to collapse.”

Jesus Campos, who has worked on the bridge for Brawner Builders and knows several of the team, said he was told they were on break and some were sitting in their vehicles when it collapsed.

“I was there a month ago, and I know what it feels like when the trailers pass,” he said. Imagine being aware that you are falling. It is so difficult that one doesn’t know what to do.”

Rescuers plucked two persons from the water. One person was treated in a hospital and released several hours later. Although authorities believed no one was inside, multiple automobiles also entered the river.

“It looked like something out of an action movie,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, who described it as “an unthinkable tragedy.”

According to Maryland Transportation Authority first responder radio communications acquired from the Broadcastify.com archive, a police dispatcher called immediately before the collapse to inform officers that a ship had lost its steering and requested that all traffic be stopped.

One cop who had stopped traffic said he would drive onto the bridge to notify the construction crew. But seconds later, a frightened cop exclaimed, “The entire bridge just collapsed. “Start, whoever, everybody… the entire bridge just collapsed.”

On a second radio channel for maintenance and construction personnel, someone reported that cops were blocking traffic because a ship had lost steering. There was no follow-up evacuation order, and the bridge collapsed 30 seconds later, leaving the waterway silent.

The World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure reports that between 1960 and 2015, ship or barge collisions led to 35 significant bridge collapses.

The collapse is expected to cause a logistical nightmare for months, if not years, throughout the East Coast. It will halt ship movement at the Port of Baltimore, a major shipping hub. The accident will also cause congestion in cargo and commuter traffic.

bridge

Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Powerless Cargo Ship Rams Into Support Column; 6 Presumed Dead

“Losing this bridge will devastate the entire area and the entire East Coast,” Maryland State Sen. Johnny Ray Salling said.

Speaking at a news conference near the site, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said it was too early to determine how long it would take to clear the channel, approximately 50 feet (15 meters) deep.

“I do not know of a bridge that has been constructed to withstand a direct impact from a vessel of this size,” he said.

Synergy Marine Group, which runs the Dali, said that the ship collided with a bridge pillar around 1:30 a.m. while piloted by one or more local specialists who assist in securely guiding vessels into ports. Grace Ocean Private Ltd. owns the ship.

Synergy said all crew members and the two pilots were safe, and no injuries were reported.

The governor said the ship was going at 8 knots, or around 9 mph (14.8 kph).

Jagged portions of the bridge could be seen protruding from the water’s surface. The on-ramp abruptly halted where the span had begun.

Donald Heinbuch, a former Baltimore fire chief, claimed he awoke to a powerful rumble that shook his house for several seconds. “It felt like an earthquake,” he explained.

bridge

Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Powerless Cargo Ship Rams Into Support Column; 6 Presumed Dead

He drove to the river’s edge and could not believe what he saw.

“The ship was there, and the bridge was in the water, like it was blown up,” he said.

The bridge, which opened in 1977, crosses the Patapsco River at the entrance to a thriving harbor that connects to the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. It is named for the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Wiedefeld stated that all vessels that travel into and out of the port will be suspended until further notice. However, the facility would remain available to trucks.

President Joe Biden said he plans to visit Baltimore and that the federal government will cover the entire cost of reconstruction.

“This is going to take some time,” Biden explained. “The people of Baltimore can count on us, though, to stick with them at every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt.”

According to Marine Traffic, the Dali was on its way from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and was flying the Singapore flag. According to the website, the container ship is around 985 feet (300 meters) long and 157 feet (48 meters) broad.

bridge

Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Powerless Cargo Ship Rams Into Support Column; 6 Presumed Dead

Inspectors discovered a fault with Dali’s machinery in June, but a more recent inspection revealed no deficiencies, according to the maritime tracking system Equasis.

The Danish shipping company Maersk said it had rented the vessel.

According to the state, the Port of Baltimore handled a record 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo worth $80 billion last year.

The president of a supply chain management firm said Americans can expect commodity shortages due to the fall in ocean container shipping and East Coast transportation.

“It’s not just the Baltimore port that will be affected,” said Ryan Petersen, Flexport’s CEO.

The collapse, however, is unlikely to impact global trade because Baltimore is not a significant container port, but its facilities are more vital for products such as farm equipment and automobiles, according to Judah Levine, head of research for global freight booking platform Freightos.

SOURCE – (AP)

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With Its Soldiers Mired In Gaza, Israel Is Fighting A Battle At Home Over Drafting The Ultra-Orthodox.

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JERUSALEM — As Israel fights a long war in Gaza, broad exemptions from mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox men have reopened a deep schism in the country and shaken the government coalition, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fellow War Cabinet members staunchly opposed to his proposed new conscription legislation.

By the end of the month, Israel’s government must introduce legislation to increase recruiting among the religious community. As the deadline approaches, public debate has become increasingly poisonous, starkly contrasting to early-war expressions of solidarity.

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With Its Soldiers Mired In Gaza, Israel Is Fighting A Battle At Home Over Drafting The Ultra-Orthodox.

So far, Netanyahu’s government has weathered the public outrage caused by Hamas’ October 7 strike, which launched the war, but the draft issue has put him in a bind. The fall of the three-member War Cabinet would jeopardize the country’s stability at a critical juncture in the conflict. However, losing the ultra-Orthodox parties would bring down his broader ruling coalition, forcing the country into new elections, as Netanyahu and his Likud party are losing in opinion polls.

“Politically, this is one of the most concrete threats to the government,” said Gilad Malach, an ultra-Orthodox researcher at the Jerusalem-based Israel Democracy Institute.

The typical Jewish male service commitment is almost three years, then several years of reserve duty. Jewish women must serve two required years. However, the politically influential ultra-Orthodox, who account for approximately 13% of Israeli society, have typically been granted exemptions provided they are enrolled full-time in religious seminaries. The exemptions and the government stipends that many seminary students get until they reach the age of 26 have outraged the general population.

The Supreme Court declared the current system discriminatory and gave the administration until April 1 to offer a bill and June 30 to pass it.

Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, who serve in Netanyahu’s War Cabinet, argue that the prime minister’s proposed measure does not go far enough to increase the number of ultra-Orthodox soldiers. Critics argue that some components, such as raising the exemption age, could reduce the numbers.

Gantz, Netanyahu’s main political challenger, warned that he would resign from the Cabinet if the enlistment law were reduced or if it was not passed by the deadline. Defense Minister Gallant stated that he would only accept a new law if Gantz and other centrist members of the country’s interim wartime administration agreed.

The administration consists of ultranationalist religious and Orthodox groups, which Gantz and a group of other former military generals joined in the early stages of the conflict. The merger was intended as a display of unity in the aftermath of October 7. However, the parties disagreed strongly on conscription.

Following the Hamas attack, Israel activated 360,000 reservists, its greatest mobilization since the 1973 Middle East war. Many have been freed but are anticipated to return to active duty in the following months. The increasing reserve duty and ideas of expanding mandatory service have fueled public outrage.

Israel’s Jewish majority views mandatory military service as a melting pot and rite of passage. The ultra-Orthodox argue that integrating into the army will jeopardize their generations-old way of life and that their devout lifestyle and adherence to Jewish precepts defend Israel as much as a powerful army.

“We prefer dying to serving in the Israeli army,” said Yona Kruskal, 42, a father of 11 and full-time seminary student, as he and some 200 others blocked traffic in Jerusalem last week in one of the many rallies against the conscription bill. “There’s no way you can force us to go to the army, because we are hell-bent that the army and religion contradict one another.”

As the ultra-Orthodox clashed with police during the protest, other Israelis chanted, “Shame! Shame!”

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With Its Soldiers Mired In Gaza, Israel Is Fighting A Battle At Home Over Drafting The Ultra-Orthodox.

“My friends are sitting in Gaza while you’re here, sitting on the ground,” the man said. A woman yelled at the demonstrators, saying her son was serving in Gaza to protect them.

According to Oren Shvill, founder of Brothers in Arms, a protest group representing reserve troops who oppose Netanyahu, the ultra-Orthodox benefit from the army’s protection without actively participating. “There’s one law for everyone, and it should be enforced equally,” he said.

Economists believe the system is unsustainable. With its high birthrate, the ultra-Orthodox community is the fastest-growing portion of the population, rising approximately 4% each year. Every year, some 13,000 ultra-Orthodox males reach the conscription age of 18, yet less than 10% enlist, according to the Israeli parliament’s State Control Committee, which recently convened a hearing on the issue.

“One of the things that was debatable in the past but is now much clearer is that we need more soldiers,” said Yoaz Hendel, a former Netanyahu confidant and Cabinet member who recently completed four months of reserve duty as head of a special forces unit. He stated that the service burden should be distributed fairly across all community sectors.

The shock of the October 7 attack appeared to stoke some enthusiasm among the ultra-Orthodox to serve, but no big enlistment occurred, according to Israeli media. The army refused to comment on the ultra-Orthodox enrollment rate.

The subject has long split Israel, and court rulings have consistently ruled the system wrong. However, Israeli leaders have frequently postponed, citing pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties. It’s unclear if Netanyahu will be able to do so again.

As Netanyahu’s administration advanced a legal system overhaul with support from ultra-Orthodox coalition partners who sought to overturn court rulings on conscription, the rift over exemptions grew worse last year. The administration halted the overhaul after the war broke out.

The army has attempted to accommodate the ultra-Orthodox by forming distinct battalions that allow them to keep their religious traditions while reducing interaction with women.

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With Its Soldiers Mired In Gaza, Israel Is Fighting A Battle At Home Over Drafting The Ultra-Orthodox.

Ephraim Luff, 65, a full-time seminary student in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, rejected such efforts, claiming that the men who enlist in these units are not “real Haredim,” as the ultra-Orthodox are known in Hebrew.

“The army is the final stage of Israeli education to make people into secular Israelis and to disconnect them from their Jewish heritage,” said Luff, who described how one of his eight children “strayed from the path” of full-time learning and served in the army as a truck driver for a year and a half.

Yitzhak Yosef, one of the country’s two chief rabbis, stated last month that the ultra-Orthodox “will all move abroad” if compelled to join. According to Malach of the Israel Democracy Institute, the comment elicited both outrage for urging Israelis to leave amid a national crisis and derision because many secular Israelis would not mind the ultra-Orthodox departing en masse.

On the contrary, Malach believes that the ultra-Orthodox leadership’s refusal to compromise, even as other segments of Israeli society make major sacrifices, has alienated a larger portion of the population.

“I don’t see a real opportunity for change in this government,” he told reporters. But if there are elections and there is a coalition without haredim or with weakened haredim, there could be a change.”

SOURCE – (AP)

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