Italian parliament dissolved

The move paves the way for fresh elections, after Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigned

Italy is facing a general election after President Sergio Mattarella dissolved parliament on Thursday. Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigned hours earlier, after three of his coalition partners boycotted a confidence vote.

Mattarella did not set a date for elections, but said that a vote must take place within 70 days, as per Italy’s constitution.

His decision to dissolve parliament came after an attempt last week to keep Draghi in power. Draghi, who formerly led the European Central Bank, announced his resignation last Thursday after his largest coalition partners in the populist Five Star Movement withdrew their support from him, but Mattarella rejected his bid to quit.

Draghi was installed by Mattarella in 2021 to steer Italy through its post-pandemic recovery, and led a broad coalition government. However, three parties in this coalition boycotted a no-confidence vote in the Italian Senate on Wednesday, leaving the former banker without a mandate.

Italians were originally set to vote in general elections next year, but Mattarella said that he made the decision to hold an early vote as there was “no possibility” that Draghi could rally enough support to lead a government until then.

The Five Star Movement had persistently criticized Draghi over the rising cost of living in Italy, and demanded more state aid for families and small businesses. Its leader, Giuseppe Conte, also hammered Draghi over his policy of arming Ukraine, which has less public support in Italy than many other European countries.

https://www.rt.com/news/559410-italy-parliament-dissolved-elections/

The State Of The US Consumer: AT&T Crashes As Americans Can't Afford To Pay Their Phone Bills

Shares of AT&T fell on Thursday after CEO John Stankey said that customers are starting to put off paying their phone bills - which resulted in the wireless carrier cutting this year's forecast for free cash flow by $2 billion, Bloomberg reports.

The company added 813,000 regular monthly phone subscribers in the second quarter, exceeding the 554,000 average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Earnings, excluding some items, topped estimates at 65 cents a share, while analysts were looking for 62 cents. Revenue in the quarter met estimates at $29.6 billion.

Recent price increases and subscriber gains allowed the company to raise its forecast for full-year wireless service revenue growth to a range of 4.5% to 5%, up from at least 3% previously. Even so, those price hikes aren’t fully covering costs, Chief Executive Officer John Stankey told analysts on AT&T’s earnings call. -Bloomberg

"I’m not surprised to hear consumers are paying bills more slowly; they are already struggling with higher food and energy prices," said Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino. "I’m not worried so much for AT&T as I am for the broader consumer economy. You wonder if this is the canary in the coal mine."

The highest US inflation in four decades has been squeezing household budgets everywhere from the gas pump to the grocery aisle. That has soured people’s view of the economy and forced some to scale back entertainment and other discretionary spending. But wireless has long been considered an essential service, even for low-income Americans, and discounts on phones are still luring them to sign up with AT&T. -Bloomberg

And as a reminder, the so-called strong consumer is draining savings at an almost unprecedented pace, while relying on credit cards to cover the soaring cost of living.

https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/state-us-consumer-att-crashes-americans-cant-afford-pay-their-phone-bills

"Twice-Boosted" President Biden Tested Positive For COVID-19

Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (emphasis and images ours)

This morning, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms.

He has begun taking Paxlovid.

Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time. He has been in contact with members of the White House staff by phone this morning, and will participate in his planned meetings at the White House this morning via phone and Zoom from the residence.

Consistent with White House protocol for positive COVID cases, which goes above and beyond CDC guidance, he will continue to work in isolation until he tests negative. Once he tests negative, he will return to in-person work.

Out of an abundance of transparency, the White House will provide a daily update on the Presidents status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation.

Per standard protocol for any positive case at the White House, the White House Medical Unit will inform all close contacts of the President during the day today, including any Members of Congress and any members of the press who interacted with the President during yesterday’s travel.

The President’s last previous test for COVID was Tuesday, when he had a negative test result.

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/president-biden-tested-positive-covid-19

ORGANIZED FRAUD: Election Workers Allowed to Drag in Backpacks, Suitcases on Rollers, Bags into Counting Centers Without Being Checked in Philly and Detroit

True the Vote posted a video on their Truth Social page of suspicious behavior outside the Philadelphia arena where election workers were allowed to carry in backpacks, suitcases, and bags into the Philadelphia convention center following the election.

President Trump was ahead by nearly 800,000 votes on election night. Democrats were able to manufacture over a million votes in the following days stealing President Trump’s landslide victory in the state. GOP election officials, including Rudy Giuliani and Corey Lewandowski, were locked out of the counting room while Democrats stole the state.

The Gateway Pundit has video evidence of this also happening at the TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan at 3 in the morning following the election.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/07/organized-fraud-election-workers-allowed-drag-backpacks-suitcases-rollers-bags-counting-centers-without-checked-philly-detroit-video/

REPORT: Biden Regime LOST HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of Illegals In The United States

A new report written by the DHS office of the inspector general discovered that Federal officials have no idea where potentially hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants have gone in the US.

Under the fraudulent Biden regime, illegal border crossings surged to record highs. In the fiscal year 2022, more illegals have already been encountered at the border than in all of 2021, setting another record.

The Gateway Pundit recently reported on the horrifying scene in Mexico, where thousands of illegal immigrants stormed through the Mexican National Guard to illegally enter the United States.

The Feds are just letting these criminals into our country and releasing them without court dates or even recording their addresses.

Newsmax reported,

Federal immigration officials don’t know the whereabouts of potentially hundreds of thousands of migrants who came across the southern border last year, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report obtained by The Washington Free Beacon.

The report reveals that between March and June 2021, when Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents encountered more than 720,000 migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border, agents failed to record the U.S. addresses of approximately one-third of illegal immigrants.

Many of those who entered the country at the southern border failed to report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after their release, according to the DHS report. All migrants who are not immediately deported are required to check in at an ICE office within 60 days of their release, but the report shows that about 30% of migrants released into the U.S. between March and September 2021 “did not comply with release terms.”

Those who did not provide a U.S. address and schedule an asylum court date are practically untraceable.

Thus far in the 2022 fiscal year, CBP agents have encountered a record 1,746,119 migrants at the nation’s shared border with Mexico. The previous record was set during the 2021 fiscal year, when there were 1,734,686 encounters at the border.

Federal immigration authorities have released up to hundreds of thousands of migrants into the United States without court dates, under President Joe Biden.

According to a report from Axios, from March to mid-July 2021, approximately 50,000 illegal immigrants were set free in the U.S. without a scheduled court date.

Lacking a court date, migrants are subject to deportation, however, the Biden administration has drastically cut back on deportation as a method of enforcing immigration law.

In the 2021 fiscal year, ICE deported just 58,000 migrants, which is the lowest number in recent history, according to the Free Beacon. Even former President Barack Obama, in whose administration Biden served as vice president, deported hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants each year.

As we reported, most of these illegal immigrants coming to the United States are military-aged men that we know nothing about. This is a Trojan Horse that will be used to destroy our country.

This is why the Democrats want EVERY vote to count — especially illegal ones.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/07/report-biden-regime-lost-hundreds-thousands-illegals-united-states/

UK to pump more arms into Ukraine

The shipment will include 1,600 anti-tank weapons and 50,000 artillery shells

The UK will send Ukraine anti-tank weapons, drones, artillery guns and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told Parliament on Thursday. Ukraine will receive more than 20 M109 and 26 L119 artillery guns, as well as counter-battery radar systems and more than 50,000 rounds of ammunition for its existing Soviet-era artillery systems.

The UK will also send 1,600 anti-tank weapons as well as drones, including hundreds of “loitering aerial munitions,” more commonly known as “suicide drones.”

The arms will be sent to Ukraine in the coming weeks, and Wallace’s announcement comes several weeks after outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged an additional £1 billion ($1.2bn) in military support to Vladimir Zelensky’s government. In total, the UK has spent £2.3 billion on weapons and training for Kiev’s military since Russia’s military operation in Ukraine began in February.

This money has already paid for nearly 7,000 NLAW, Javelin and other anti-tank missiles, 16,000 artillery rounds, six mobile anti-air missile launchers, as well as a number of M270 rocket artillery systems and 120 armored vehicles.

The impact of these shipments on the battlefield, however, has been debatable. Captured Ukrainian troops have described the Javelin missile launchers – sent by both the UK and the US – as “completely useless” in urban combat, while soldiers are reportedly encountering battery issues with the NLAW “making it impossible to use.” Russia’s military doctrine also favors heavy artillery bombardment of enemy positions from far beyond the NLAW’s 600 meter range.

Both sides have leaned heavily on artillery as fighting rages on in eastern Ukraine and the Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Utilizing superior firepower, Russian and allied troops recently brought the entirety of the Lugansk People’s Republic under their control and seized operational control of Seversk, which is within striking distance of the major cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.

Ukraine has received a dozen M142 HIMARS rocket artillery systems from the US. While US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin described these weapons as making “such a difference on the battlefield,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov claimed this week that his forces need at least 50 of the systems to hold back Russia’s advances and 100 – around a third of the US’ entire stockpile – to conduct a counteroffensive.

https://www.rt.com/news/559393-uk-new-weapons-ukraine/

They have no government - hidden hand

Insurrectionist David Hogg Storms US House Proceeding, Screams At Lawmakers – Congressman Andy Biggs Responds “Democrats Have Said If You Interrupt A Proceeding That Is The Definition Of Insurrection”

Leftist gun control activist David Hogg interrupted a House floor proceeding Tuesday to scream at lawmakers about racism and demand 2nd Amendment restrictions.

This isn’t the first Capitol invasion by the radical left. The Gateway Pundit previously reported that several employees of Stephen Colbert’s show were arrested last month for unlawfully entering the US Capitol and harassing GOP lawmakers.

All charges were dropped against these insurrectionists, but Trump supporters protesting the fraudulent 2020 Election are still rotting in prison.

Biggs asked, “Where is that J-6 committee when you need them?” after suggesting that Hogg should be charged for this intrusion.

David Hogg rose to prominence as a gun control campaigner following the 2018 Valentine’s Day massacre at the Parkland, Florida high school he attended. Using the situation to his advantage, the Tyrant in training has built a platform for spreading lies and fighting against gun rights.

GOP Congressman Andy Biggs was informed that the Democrats invited Hogg to carry out this insurrection.

Fox reported,

Gun control activist David Hogg disrupted a congressional hearing on Wednesday on the topic of gun control.

Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, accused House lawmakers of doing little to stop gun violence.

“You are perpetuating violence … stop these things now,” Hogg said while being removed from the hearing room by security.

The outburst came as the House Judiciary Committee was debating legislation that would ban assault weapons, a term used to describe semi-automatic rifles.

During Biggs’ speech, Hogg stood up and started screaming about racists and antisemites.

Rep. Andy Biggs responded to this bizarre interruption on Tucker Carlson Tonight, calling the Democrats out on their bogus January 6th narrative.

Tucker Carlson called Hogg a “creepy little publicity seeker” before playing the video of Hogg spazzing out in Congress.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/07/insurrectionist-david-hogg-storms-us-house-proceeding-screams-lawmakers-congressman-andy-biggs-responds-democrats-said-interrupt-proceeding-definition-insurrection/

Oilers owner Daryl Katz allegedly paid underage ballet dancer for sex: civil suit

The owner of the Edmonton Oilers is facing accusations he paid a teenage ballet dancer $75,000 in exchange for sexual favors, according to a civil suit reported on by CBC News.

A third-party counterclaim in US District Court in Nevada alleges Canadian billionaire Daryl Katz was in a sexual relationship with ballerina Sage Humphries when she was an underage teen.

The counterclaim is in response to a 2021 lawsuit that was filed against dance teacher Mitchell Taylor Button and his wife, Dusty Button, by Humphries and other ballet dancers who accused the couple of sexual abuse, the Canadian outlet reported.

Earlier this month, the couple filed the third-party counterclaim that alleges the Buttons were in a consensual “throuple sexual relationship” with Humphries when she was 18, but also claims Katz and two other men had sexual relationships with the Humphries when she was underage, CBC News reported. The claim seeks to hold the men responsible for any damages.

“Humphries was literally a child prostitute to a billionaire,” the claim alleges, “and her mother assisted her in laundering the money she was paid and in trafficking her to Katz.”

One exhibit from the court filing obtained by CBC News shows texts allegedly exchanged between Katz, when he was 53, and Humphries when she was 17. It wasn’t clear how the messages were obtained for the civil suit.

https://nypost.com/2022/07/21/legal-filing-claims-edmonton-oilers-owner-paid-ballerina-for-sex-report/