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DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 42

ZO, THAT’S IT? For months, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has pressed the case that Albany must raise income and corporate taxes to help plug New York City’s $5.4 billion budget deficit.

So in rolling out an executive budget today that closes the gap without his favored state-level tax hikes, Mamdani made a significant concession, showing he did not, in fact, need the increases from Albany to shore up his spending plan.

When Playbook asked whether that means he’s throwing in the towel on his push for income and corporate tax increases, Mamdani signaled he’s content with the commitments he’s already secured.

“I’ve been very open and honest about my vision, whether it be fast and free buses, or whether it be higher personal income taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers or the most profitable corporations — this budget is a reflection of that vision in its tax on the rich,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani was referring to the pied-à-terre tax Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislators in Albany have committed to enacting as part of this year’s badly overdue state budget. The tax, which impacts owners of secondary homes in the city worth more than $5 million, is expected to generate $500 million in new annual revenue for the municipal coffers.

That’s a far cry from the $9 billion in fresh revenue the democratic socialist said his income and corporate tax increases would annually produce during last year’s mayoral race.

Still, Mamdani offered nothing but praise for Hochul when asked today whether he’s a little bit disappointed that she hasn’t conceded any ground on those fronts. “I see this as a win,” he said at City Hall. “And I do want to thank Gov. Hochul for her partnership. It is a partnership that reflects a commitment to the long-term health and vitality for the city.”

A close Mamdani supporter echoed his sentiment — but added a caveat.

“What we heard from the mayor today signals that between the governor and New York City, the deal is done and they have reached the goals that they are going to accomplish this year,” Jasmine Gripper, director of the New York Working Families Party, told Playbook. “But nonetheless, the fight doesn’t die.”

Gripper’s comment opens the door to 2027, when Mamdani may have a better shot at convincing Hochul to push through his preferred tax hikes.

Locked in a reelection race against Republican Bruce Blakeman, Hochul has been consistently reluctant to support tax increases this year. As long as she’s reelected to a second full term in November, the governor may be more inclined to back tax hikes in 2027, when the pressures of a competitive reelection contest aren’t looming.

A Hochul spokesperson declined to comment on 2027 considerations. And a spokesperson for Mamdani didn’t comment on what his 2027 plans are vis-à-vis tax priorities in Albany.

Mamdani’s executive budget this year indicates he will be in dire need of new revenue streams from Albany next year.

The budget gap the city faces for fiscal year 2028 stands at over $7 billion, budget documents released today show. The gap for fiscal year 2029 is even larger, topping $9 billion, according to the new projections.

Without additional intervention from the state next year, closing such exorbitant outyear gaps could prove difficult for the young democratic socialist — unless he shifts gears to further trim spending.

Gustavo Gordillo, a co-chair of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, made clear his group will continue pressuring Hochul to get behind higher taxes on the wealthy to stave off future municipal service cuts.

“Closing the deficit was challenging. We did it. That’s an actual victory showing that socialists can govern,” Gordillo said. “But to deliver the full affordability agenda we will need a governor who stands with working New Yorkers instead of billionaire donors to make the rich pay what they owe.” — Chris Sommerfeldt and Joe Anuta

From the Capitol

BLAKEMAN WINS CASE ON MATCHING FUNDS: An Albany County judge has blocked an attempt from Democrats to deny GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman access to $3.5 million in campaign matching funds.

Blakeman was booted from the program in March after the Democratic majority on the Public Campaign Finance Board concluded he never filled out a nonexistent form identifying his running mate. Justice Denise Hartman concluded today that maneuver was “arbitrary and capricious.”

“Blakeman registered his campaign and certified compliance with the Program, attended mandatory training, publicly identified their joint-ticket, and submitted certified amended filings 11 days before the filing deadline,” Hartman wrote. “Yet he received no notice that the PCFB considered the submissions deficient until after the filing deadline had lapsed.”

Democrats on the board said “an appeal is likely.”

Read more from POLITICO Pro’s Bill Mahoney. 

UNIONS BACK PRISON REFORM: A dozen unions will soon announce their support for a pair of penal reform bills that advocates hope will be on the agenda for this year’s brief post-budget session.

Labor organizations including 1199SEIU, District Council 37 and the New York State Nurses Association are backing the Earned Time Act, which would increase options for early release credits for participation in job training programs, and the Second Look Act, which would let inmates petition for early release after a decade.

“New York is facing an ongoing labor shortage that is slowing economic growth and straining industries across the state,” the unions wrote in a letter to state leaders. “Hundreds of thousands of jobs remain unfilled, even as thousands of New Yorkers are locked out of the workforce due to long prison sentences and limited access to programs that would allow them to earn release.”

Lawmakers are facing the likelihood they’ll have only two weeks to deal with post-budget issues before adjourning for the summer. But the Center for Community Alternatives’ Katie Schaffer was optimistic these measures might have some momentum, noting that state Sen. Jeremy Zellner’s decision today to cosponsor the Second Look Act means it’s now supported by a majority of his chamber. — Bill Mahoney

STRIKING A DEAL — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Long Island Rail Road and five unions threatening to strike are only at odds over the fourth year of a three-year contract.

The last contract expired three years ago. The unions and the MTA have already reached a deal on the retroactive pay for those years, but remain apart on the fourth year, which begins this summer, according to people familiar with the sensitive negotiations on both sides of the table.

In public, the union’s last offer was a 5 percent pay increase, while the MTA’s was about 3 percent.

At one point, the MTA looked for changes to work rules, which critics of the unions say are arcane and overly generous. Now, the MTA has moved on to looking for one-time lump sum payments as an alternative to salary increases in the fourth year. The advantage to the MTA is that one-time payments aren’t reoccurring, but the unions want a built-in pay increase and cite ongoing inflation.

The unions said they are continuing to prepare for a strike and that no “contract talks” were scheduled today, though a formal bargaining session is scheduled for tomorrow.

“We are having discussions today,” MTA spokesperson John McCarthy told POLITICO today. — Ry Rivard

SEEKING A ZYN WIN: Some form of a tax on nicotine pouch products like Zyn is expected to be included in a final state budget deal.

A coalition of private sector groups — including The Business Council of New York State — is trying to shape the details.

The business organizations are pushing state lawmakers and Hochul to adopt a 67-cent flat, unit-based tax as an alternative to the original proposal, which would place a 75 percent wholesale tax on the products. The groups wrote in a letter to the governor and top state legislators that their proposal will still prevent those under 21 from accessing the products and curtail an illegal market.

“It is a proven tax structure that keeps adult consumers purchasing through legal, taxed, and regulated channels, minimizes illicit trade, and preserves enforcement safeguards,” they wrote. “Importantly, it also provides stable and reliable revenue without importing the community and youth harms that accompany illegal markets.” — Nick Reisman

GRAND JURY SUBPOENA: NYU Langone received a grand jury subpoena last week requesting six years of information on patients under 18 who received gender-affirming care and the medical staff involved, according to an online disclosure.

Several other unnamed institutions received the subpoena, NYU Langone said in the notice. Under New York’s shield laws, local health care organizations must report subpoenas or requests for information regarding legally protected health activities to the state attorney general’s office.

“We understand that these developments may be concerning to our patients, providers, and others,” the health system wrote in the notice. “Please know that NYU Langone takes the privacy of your protected health information very seriously and we are evaluating our response to the subpoena.”

The subpoena by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas, which was first reported in the newsletter Erin in the Morning, indicates federal prosecutors empaneled a grand jury to weigh potential criminal charges. Federal agencies reportedly subpoenaed NYU Langone and Mount Sinai last year demanding information on care for transgender minors.

NYU Langone shuttered its program for transgender youth earlier this year, citing the current regulatory environment. — Maya Kaufman

FROM CITY HALL

THINKING ABOUT THE UNTHINKABLE — New York City Police Commissioner Jassica Tisch told a ballroom of civic leaders this morning that the city remains a terrorist target, especially this summer, with a series of “major international events, enormous public gatherings and historic commemorations,” including the World Cup and America’s 250th birthday party.

“New York City is not only a global hub, it is a global target,” she said during a breakfast hosted by the Association for a Better New York.

Tisch said that “what begins overseas often finds its way here,” alluding to the war with Iran, the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in Israel and emerging warfare strategies involving drones. She also mentioned domestic threats and lone actors.

What she didn’t go into is how a terrorist attack could scramble the political picture in New York City and affect the perception of her boss.

“An attack will always be exploited by the Mamdani derangement crowd, but I think a lot of it would depend on where it comes from,” said Richard Flanagan, a professor at the College of Staten Island, who wrote a book on challenges facing mayors.

Maki Haberfeld, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said if an attack comes from a Muslim group or individual inspired by ISIS, “It will be a huge liability for him because of who he is, being the first Muslim mayor of New York City.”

Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist and political analyst, said Mamdani would be criticized in the same ways he was during his campaign, as young and progressive. And Mamdani, unlike Rudy Giuliani, who was praised after the 9/11 attacks, hasn’t had years in public life building a reputation around law and order. The information and political environment is also different now.

“That is a big difference from 2001 to now. You didn’t have the access to alternative viewpoints in the way you do now,” he said.

Right now, Flanagan sees Mamdani, in part because he kept Tisch on as head of NYPD, as balancing the law-and-order coalition and his own base, which looks for police reforms. “It’s a fine line and he’s walking it,” he said. — Ry Rivard

IN OTHER NEWS

— DYNAMIC DUO: President Donald Trump defended Mamdani on a conservative talk radio show Tuesday, calling him a ‘nice guy,’ but he criticized his proposed second-home tax, warning it could drive the rich out of the city. (POLITICO)

— NOT-SO-NICE SUNSET: The presence of federal immigration enforcement agents in New York City is impacting immigrant-majority neighborhoods like Sunset Park, where nearly 80% of businesses reported a decrease in sales and foot traffic. (Gothamist)

— FEES ON NOTICE: The New York senate is pushing to pass consumer protection bills that go after deceptive business practices, including surveillance pricing and junk fees. (Spectrum News)

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Labour MP and cabinet minister Jess Phillips has resigned, joining growing calls for the PM Keir Starmer to step down as leader. This latest resignation, however, hardly comes as a shock when we remember how Phillips proudly admitted:

The day that … you are hurting us more than you are helping us, I won’t knife you in the back, I’ll knife you in the front.’

As a result, this serves as a reminder of two things: long-quiet MPs are more than willing to turn on their leaders despite their own inaction and complicity, and it further highlights the absence of any “good guys” in Starmer’s cabinet.

Therefore, British people should think carefully over who they are prepared to accept as leader of this Zionist-captured, genocide-complicit government.

BREAKING: MP Jess Phillips has RESIGNED as minister – amidst growing calls for Keir Starmer to step down.

Phillips infamously told reporters in 2015 she was willing to 'stab Corbyn in the front' – not the back.'

There are no 'good guys' in Starmer's cabinet. pic.twitter.com/5535VAJdIu

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) May 12, 2026

Jess Phillips: when complicity no longer pays, she ‘remembers’ her voice

It is quite something to watch a bunch of MPs, and cabinet ministers, turn on their leader quite so prolifically – especially when they have all seemed perfectly content with the direction of travel under Keir Starmer. It feels especially jarring when we remember that this issue concerns less Starmer’s “personality” and more the fact that British people do not consent to what this Labour government has delivered.

Nevertheless, these MPs would surely wish you to take them on their word now – rather than look to their own abysmal behaviour and performance. One such MP is Phillips, who has equally let down the British public, and women and girls more generally.

This refers to the lack of significant change following her now-previous responsibility for the safeguarding of women and girls. Phillips did little to address this huge issue, given the level of violence women and girls are forced to navigate in an increasingly unsafe and abusive society.

But we are more than happy to keep reminding people of their toxicity, as they so desperately clamber to distance themselves from the increasingly embattled PM. To be clear, Starmer standing down is a welcome sight – however, the British public must not be naive to believe that anything but the figurehead at the top would actually change.

On the other hand, they might not even secure a leadership change – and might subsequently just lose their jobs. Quite ironic, really, when they’ve happily played along to stay in the corridors of power:

Starmer can have 20% of Labour MPs turn on him but unless the said 20% solidify around a contender they cannot trigger a leadership contest.

As such, Starmer can lose maybe 30% of his MPs' confidence & retain power.

There are 405. Reportedly he has lost 85, 21%. 30% is 120ish. pic.twitter.com/HDsjHO5e8V

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— Will Coleshill (@WillColeshill) May 12, 2026

Jess Phillips: Nodding dog

After all, Phillips acted as Starmer’s lapdog last year while other MPs faced suspension after taking a principled stand against Labour’s off-manifesto austerity policies. Starmer has either threatened, intimidated or suspended any MPs who have dared to disagree with him publicly – with the apparent full support of his cabinet.

We wrote at the time:

Apparently, Labour MPs are supposed to behave like those nodding dogs that people have in cars, mindlessly voting through cuts that would bring hundreds of thousands of disabled people into poverty. And Jess Phillips MP seems to be looking for a promotion from nodding dog to chief lapdog with her defence of the suspensions.

She said:

“We were elected as a team under a banner and under a manifesto. And we have to seek to work together. And if you are acting in a manner that is to undermine the ability of the government to deliver those things, I don’t know what you expect. To govern, you can’t have 650 people all shooting off in different ways. And the country wouldn’t thank us for that either”

As well as presenting herself as yes-man-in-chief, Phillips’ comment is backwards. There was no mention of cuts to disabled people’s benefits in the Labour manifesto. In fact, Labour pledged to support disabled people and consult them on changes. But then Reeves announced huge cuts to disabled people’s support in her spring statement. On top of that, there were only two references to welfare in Labour’s manifesto and no mention of benefits.

This ‘blast to the past’ likely underscores Phillips real motives for finally standing up to the big boss man – she is a careerist, after all.

• 90 MPs have now publicly withdrawn support for Keir Starmer

• 55 MPs have now publicly declared support for Keir Starmer

Both expected to pass 100 today. pic.twitter.com/9T6aaYEYOK

— Tory Fibs (@ToryFibs) May 12, 2026

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MPs revolt – to save their own skin

This revolt from Labour MPs – currently at 90 and counting – is not a sign that Labour MPs suddenly located their spines, and principles, to speak up. Instead, it’s more akin to rats leaving a sinking ship, as they each seek to distance themselves from Keir Starmer after the pretty impressive losses at the recent local elections.

People will clearly try to present Labour MPs as if they are different from Starmer, despite many of them acting in much the same way when it suited their own pockets and careers, showing they are all largely a chip off the same corrupted block.

As a result, the public must stay alert to prevent further hoodwinking of the British electorate, who this grossly incompetent and increasingly cruel party has already let down enough.

Featured image via the Canary

By Maddison Wheeldon

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Following their resounding electoral defeat, lame-duck PM Keir Starmer and his hangers on, are again resorting to desperate measures.

Hanger-on Starmer

Almost 100 Labour MPs — and counting — signed a letter demanding Starmer’s immediate departure. A counter-letter supposedly signed by 100 MPs asking him to stay then suddenly appeared.

Even if a third of his party supported the prime minister, that would be damaging enough. But even that figure has been thrown into doubt, with three MPs named as signatories now saying they didn’t sign the letter.

Two of them spoke to Times journalist Aubrey Allegretti with the news:

A *second* Labour MP has been in touch to say they also didn’t agree to sign this loyalists’ statement. Make of that what you will.https://t.co/alRqv6HaJh

— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) May 12, 2026

Not in my name

Then there was the MP for Ealing Central and Acton, Rupa Huq, who announced over social media that she hadn’t signed either letter:

Surprised to see my name on this list when I haven’t either signed any letter supporting the PM or called for the PM to go??

Not very courteous of colleagues to put names down without their approval https://t.co/2TofoVdfKb

— Rupa Huq MP (@RupaHuq) May 12, 2026

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So the ‘letter of support’ supposedly asking Starmer to stay in power is at least partially made up. The smart money’s on mostly made up.

Starmer’s position is at best untenable. The fact he’s still clinging on and claims not to get it yet is just another sign how unfit he is for the job.

Featured image via the Labour Party

By Skwawkbox

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Prince Turki Al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia has written a damning opinion piece in the newswire Arab News, which not only calls the current upheaval in West Asia the “US-Israeli war on Iran”, but also says that Israel plans to be the only actor left standing in the West Asia region by its destabilizing tactics.

#OPINION: Had the Israeli plan to ignite war between #SaudiArabia and #Iran succeeded, the region would have been plunged into ruin and destruction, writes Prince Turki Al-Faisal https://t.co/Mnq6MgWnLT

— Arab News (@arabnews) May 9, 2026

The former head of Saudi intelligence wrote:

Had the Israeli plan to ignite war between us and Iran succeeded, the region would have been plunged into ruin and destruction. Thousands of our sons and daughters would have been lost in a battle in which we had no stake. Israel would have succeeded in imposing its will on the region and remained the only actor in our surroundings.

The opinion piece lays bare the tensions in normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia – a deal long sought by the Americans – as the relationship dithers or falls apart amid the current conflict.

Prince Turki is remarkably conciliatory toward Iran, calling it ‘a neighbor’ even as he condemns it, while balancing that with a quiet warning of Saudi military capability. He says:

When Iran and others tried to drag the Kingdom into the furnace of destruction, our leadership chose to endure the pains caused by a neighbor in order to protect the lives and property of its citizens. Had the Kingdom wanted, and it is capable of doing so, to respond in kind to Iran by destroying Iranian facilities and interests, the outcome could have been the destruction of Saudi oil facilities and desalination plants along the Arabian Gulf coast, and even deep inside the Kingdom.

In the view of Israel’s Ynetglobal, the quiet UAE-Israel alliance is “gaining importance” during the war on Iran.

The Canary also pointed out that the recent UAE developments, including the US dollar swap request, exit from OPEC, and expulsion of 15,000 Pakistani Shias, can be read as interlocking signs of the Gulf state’s increased subservience to the US. Pro-Trump think tanks have even called it the “Israelification” of the UAE.

Saudis resisting the American push for normalisation with Israel

September 2026 will mark six years since the Abraham Accords were signed between Israel and four Arab states (Morocco, the UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan). Due to internal instability, Sudan has not ratified the Accords.

Saudi Arabia has resisted joining the Accords – and the implied normalisation with Israel – despite push from both the Biden and Trump administrations.

Even earlier this year, Prince Turki consistently pushed against normalization with Israel. In Arab News, he made clear that the crown prince – Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud – believes a Palestinian state must be established before any diplomatic ties with Israel can occur.

He accused Netanyahu of adopting a “reprehensible” strategy to break apart Arab nations by exploiting minority groups in Syria, recognizing breakaway states like Somaliland, and encouraging separatists like Aidrous Al-Zubaidi in Yemen, all while committing genocide against the Palestinians.

A week before Turki’s January op-ed, Al Jazeera reported that Al-Zubaidi fled to the UAE via Somaliland with the help of UAE officers, turning off the plane’s identification systems mid-flight, leading Saudi Arabia to declare him a fugitive and exposing the unprecedented rift between the former Gulf allies.

According to Giorgio Cafiero, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman are moving in the opposite direction, resisting normalization, viewing Israel as a growing threat to regional security and stability, and not wanting to see an Israeli footprint form on the Arabian Peninsula

Cafiero, the CEO of Gulf State Analytics, said in an interview with BTNews recently:

There is a growing view in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and many other Arab countries that Israel is a growing threat to the security and stability of the region.

He sees the UAE as being on a different page than countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman, which are  “uncomfortable” with the idea of turning to Israel as a security partner to protect Arab countries from Iran.

By Nandita Lal

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Glenn Gibbons, the newly elected hard-right Reform UK councillor, has become the sixth to be suspended. This follows outcry over his violent remarks about Nigerians who he said the state should:

melt them all down and fill in the pot holes!!

Drawing stark parallels to the dehumanising rhetoric seen in Nazi Germany, Farage has attracted a bunch of abusive and morally bankrupt councillors to his billionaire-profiting party.

Sunderland councillor suspended from Reform UK after allegedly posting racist commentshttps://t.co/6FM87NlKuq

— Reform Party UK Exposed (@reformexposed) May 12, 2026

The fact the suspension was not immediate is notable. The fact that Gibbons was allowed to stand in the first place exposes Reform UK’s tolerance for racial abuse.

Would it be a stretch to say that Farage and his functionaries believe there is some merit to Gibbon’s disgusting suggestion?

Reform UK have still not suspended him:

Reform councillor called for Nigerians to be ‘melted’

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Newly-elected Sunderland politician suggested they be used as ballast in the city’s potholeshttps://t.co/f4JFpFS5t6

— Reform Party UK Exposed (@reformexposed) May 11, 2026

We saw this was coming

These suspensions prove what said all along. The worst racists and domestic abusers have banded together. They have filled the ranks of a billionaire-funded party, against the backdrop of rising voter disengagement in England.

Gibbons’ suspension today was inevitable but should not have taken this long. Nevertheless, the public shaming and ousting of Gibbons and other Reform-ers is a move to be celebrated. We just hope the public at large wake up to the threat Farage and his party pose.

And needless to say, potholes, after all, are the direct result of poor public infrastructure, while tax-avoiding, greedy billionaires like Richard Tice, get of light … legal tax management they say.

Our own Willem Moore wrote a couple of days ago:

The exchange between Kuenssberg and Tice played out as follows:

Laura Kuenssberg: I want to ask you about your party. One of your new Sunderland councillors – so a man who was elected to represent Reform – suggested melting Nigerians to fill potholes. Is that person, who’s expressed those views, somebody you are happy to see represent Reform?

Richard Tice: Laura, this weekend we are celebrating our incredible successes.

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We’re not sure we’d consider the local elections an ‘incredible success’ if we’d managed to get Gibbins elected.

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice is facing a mounting backlash after he failed to condemn one of the party’s new councillors who said Nigerans should be melted down to fill potholes”.

Tice was asked repeatedly in a series of interviews to disown the remarks by Glenn… pic.twitter.com/xeRVceyxz1

— The Daily Britain (@dailybritainonx) May 10, 2026

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Some resigned to save face

Unlike Gibbons, others Reform councillors jumped before being pushed. One case in point as we reported yesterday is Stuart Prior who:

resigned from his post after less than a week in office. Prior gained notoriety after campaign group Hope Not Hate exposed his history of deeply racist social media posts.

As a very brief recap of his abhorrent comments, Prior:

• called white people the “master race” and stated that they have “larger brains”.
• celebrated the rape of two Sikh women in 2025, posting the comment “good, reap it”.
• described a video of a Palestinian man searching through rubble for his child as “hilarious”.
• responded “No one cares. Die” to a post about people using plastic bags instead of nappies in Gaza.
• said “Muslims are dirt”.
• claimed “There cannot be a genocide against Muslims. It’s only ever self defence against those rats”.
• stated that Black people like to ‘play the victim’ and complain about the slave trade.

Nevertheless, this was a pretty predictable outcome when electing a Reform councillor. Since 2025, 1 in 10 Reform councillors have either defected, been sacked or chosen to leave the party themselves.

No smoke without fire, after all

Featured image via the Canary

By Maddison Wheeldon

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