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Dave Portnoy raises over $10 million for small businesses impacted by coronavirus lockdowns

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Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has raised $10.2 million for small businesses as of Wednesday morning.

“The Barstool Fund” was created by Portnoy after New York City officials closed indoor dining following a spike in coronavirus cases.

Portnoy, who is a regular guest on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” has been extremely outspoken about the detrimental affects lockdowns have on small businesses.

“I can’t believe in this country, what I consider the most basic right of them all, the right to earn a living, the right to earn a livelihood, is now being stolen, it is being stolen by a few politicians who believe they are smarter than me and you. They believe they have the right to tell me and you how to live our lives,” Portnoy said in a Twitter video.

“How do you expect these people to survive?” Portnoy said during an interview with Tucker Carlson. “How are restaurants going to survive? Nobody in the government seems to care. Or at least no one is acting like they care.”

“Barstool’s going to make it — but a lot of people aren’t.”

Portnoy began The Barstool Fund on Dec. 17.

Less than two weeks later, the fund raised over $10 million for small businesses across the country. Portnoy contributed $500,000 of his own money toward the effort.

He’s also pressured other influential millionaires and billionaires to support the cause and has invited SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to donate.

The first small business they supported was Borrelli’s located in Long Island.

In an emotional video posted on Twitter, Frankie Borelli Jr., thanked Portnoy after receiving a donation from the fund.

“I really want to thank you for starting this fund. You don’t know what it means to us,” Borrelli said holding back tears. “I got my staff. They’re all being paid, and I said we’ll make it through Christmas. January, February and March, I planned on closing. I didn’t say anything to my staff. This is going to help so much. You don’t know. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

According to The Barstool Fund website, over 87,000 people have donated and 43 small businesses have been supported.

The Barstool Fund is continuing to accept applications from small businesses in need of help at TheBarstoolFund.com/apply.

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Economy

House inquiry opened as to whether IRS is using artificial intelligence to invade Americans’ financial privacy

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An inquiry has been opened by the House Judiciary Committee as to whether the IRS is using artificial intelligence to invade Americans’ financial privacy. The inquiry comes after an agency employee was captured in an undercover tape suggesting there was a widespread surveillance operation underway that might not be constitutional, reports Just the News.

The inquiry was opened by Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., who sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen demanding documents, and answers as to how the agency is currently employing artificial intelligence to comb through bank records to look for possible tax cheats.

The House Judiciary Committee has been investigating why the FBI was obtaining Americans’ bank records, including those who partook in the January 6 Capitol riots, without using search warrants or subpoenas.

Jordan’s and Hageman’s letter said lawmakers have evidence and reason to believe that the IRS and Department of Justice (DOJ) are actively monitoring millions of Americans’ private transactions, bank accounts, and related financial information—without any legal process—using the AI-powered system.

“This kind of pervasive financial surveillance, carried out in coordination with federal law enforcement, into Americans’ private financial records raises serious doubts about the IRS’s—and the federal government’s—respect for Americans’ fundamental civil liberties,” the letter said.

“So one of the things that I have learned since I’ve been in Congress is that there are quite a few people in government who do not recognize our constitutional protections,” Hageman told Just the News. “They’ve kind of forgotten or at least ignored our Bill of Rights.”

Just the News also reported that the Treasury Department has since acknowledged it has “implemented an enhanced process using AI to mitigate check fraud in near real-time by strengthening and expediting processes to recover potentially fraudulent payments from financial institutions’ since late 2022.”

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