Shirley exposes disturbing homeless issue in California

By Jerry McConway, 
updated on February 15, 2026

Independent journalist Nick Shirley was a nobody in terms of name recognition, but that all changed once he started doing videos to expose the corruption in Minnesota.

Since that first viral video, he has published several more, he is doing the media circuit, and he even appeared before Congress.

Now, Shirley is a household name, and he just unleashed another bombshell video that will likely hurt Governor Gavin Newsom.

Shirley video raises a lot of questions

To be clear, Shirley did not do any original reporting, but he piggybacked off a New York Times report, as well as having worked with a local whistleblower to put all this fraud on the country’s radar.

After Shirley’s video, Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families commissioner Tikki Brown stated, "While we have questions about some of the methods used in the video, we do take the concerns that the video raises about fraud very seriously.”

A lot of the Somali business owners then claimed they were being threatened, which the media reported.

However, when Nick Shirley was forced to hire security due to the threats against him, the media sat on its hands.

Going before Congress

Shirley jumped at the opportunity to testify before Congress, immediately calling out California and Governor Gavin Newsom.

When asked about possible fraud in California, Shirley answered, “Yeah, and fraud in California might be worse than fraud in Minnesota.”

When he was asked to explain, he noted that there was about $24 billion in money earmarked for homelessness that had gone missing.

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) then responded, “Twenty-four billion in homelessness, and yet the homelessness population went up, and a state audit found out that they couldn’t even figure out where the money went or what the outcomes linked to that spending were.” I also want to be clear that I do not let Congress off the hook for this. If they were doing their jobs, they would have demanded accountability in terms of the spending. We have two committeed dedicated to this, yet neither of them were aware of the fraud before this reporting.

Another bombshell video

Since then, Shirley has gone to California to check into the fraud, but he wound up finding something that could hurt Democrats even more.

While touring the infamous Skid Row in Los Angeles, he came upon a family from Colombia who came here to chase the dream, but now they are all living in a tent on the street, and the children did not even have any shoes.

When Shirley asked the father if they were better off here or in Colombia, he responded, “We came here to change our lives, and now we are living like dogs. We aren’t animals, we are human. But f***k… look we have the kids here.” He later added, “We are 1000 times better in Colombia.”

This goes back to something I have been saying for quite some time… that “dream” about a better life simply does not exist for many of these people. They sneak into the country with no formal education, no language skills, and then they find out that everything they were told is a lie. Believe me, we are doing them all a favor by locking down the border.

About Jerry McConway

Jerry McConway is the Senior Editorial Director at American Digest Media, as well as the featured columnist on Real Talk Digest. He has been covering politics for more than a decade. His no-nonsense writing style makes him enemy number one in DC. His mission is to tell the truth to readers, good or bad, something the mainstream media has failed to do for decades. What sets Jerry apart from his competition is reader loyalty. They don't always agree with him, but they know he tells them the truth. Love him or hate him, you can't ignore him.

Real Talk. Daily.

No spin. No fluff. Just the hard truth. served straight. Every morning, we cut through the noise and deliver what really matters to hardworking Americans. No agendas. No media games. Just real talk you can trust.