Nick Shirley says 'leftists' are 'coming after me' for exposing Minnesota fraud

Independent journalist Nick Shirley says he's now become a target from the political left for putting a spotlight on the fraud that has taken place in Minnesota. 

"I think something like this would just be ‘fraud as bad.' But no, now people are coming after me for exposing fraud. And who are all those people? They're leftists," Shirley said in a preview of Wednesday's debut of Outkick's "The Riley Gaines Show" podcast.

"And it's just a moment where they could have really been like, 'Okay, you guys, let's come together. Let's tell everyone ‘Fraud is bad. Let's crack down on the fraud.' Instead, they come after the person who is exposing the fraud," Shirley told Gaines. 

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Since he went viral with his reporting about the Minnesota fraud, Shirley said he's received tips on alleged fraud across the country, specifically regarding daycare centers.  

"The people have given me a mandate to expose more of the fraud, so I'll be exposing more," Shirley told Gaines.

The full interview will be released on Wednesday. "The Riley Gaines Show" will be available on all major podcast platforms. Watch more content from "The Riley Gaines Show" on Gaines' YouTube page. 

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Shirley upended the news cycle last month with a 42-minute video investigating Minnesota daycare centers that appeared inactive despite receiving millions of dollars in government funding. The video, which has been viewed more than 138 million times on X alone, prompted investigations by federal officials and led the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to freeze all childcare payments in Minnesota.

However, Shirley has since become a target by legacy news organizations like CBS News and CNN, casting doubt on his journalism. 

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Ashley Tisdale slams 'toxic' mom group after repeated exclusion

Ashley Tisdale French gave up mom groups after feeling isolated by the "mean girls" in a community she initially sought out.

In the "Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group" op-ed shared on The Cut, the actress ruminated over what she believed was finding her "village" with the women, but instead felt thrown "back in high school."

The "High School Musical" star, who has daughters Jupiter, four, and Emerson, 15 months, with husband Christopher French, initially "felt lucky" to find the group after missing out on normal pre-baby activities due to the pandemic.

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"After the birth of my first daughter, I was craving connection with other mothers," she wrote. "I needed someone to talk to about which diaper bag to buy, whether a Snoo is worth it, and how you can possibly get anything done if you’re supposed to ‘sleep while the baby is sleeping.’"

Tisdale's innocent efforts to connect with other, like-minded mothers became a challenge though. At one point, the actress became hyper-focused on social media posts after feeling detached from the group. 

"I remember being left out of a couple of group hangs, and I knew about them because Instagram made sure it fed me every single photo and Instagram Story," she wrote. 

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"Another time, at one of the mom’s dinner parties, I realized where I sat with her — which was at the end of the table, far from the rest of the women. I was starting to feel frozen out of the group, noticing every way that they seemed to exclude me."

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She added, "When everyone else attended a birthday dinner together, I was met with excuses as to why I hadn’t been invited. I still don’t get why I wasn’t at the girl hang that they all planned at my daughter’s birthday."

After putting her daughter to bed one night, she was overwhelmed with a feeling of being left behind and wondered if she was "not cool enough" for the other mothers.

"All of a sudden, I was in high school again, feeling totally lost as to what I was doing ‘wrong’ to be left out," she wrote. 

Tisdale refused to stay silent, and texted the group after being left behind on another plan.

She remembered sending the message, "This is too high school for me and I don’t want to take part in it anymore," which didn't go over well with the mothers.

"Some of the others tried to smooth things over," she recalled. "One sent flowers, then ignored me when I thanked her for them. Another tried to convince me that everyone assumed I’d been invited to gatherings and just hadn’t shown up."

Tisdale wondered if leaving the group silently would have been a better choice, but felt pride knowing she spoke her mind.

"Motherhood has enough challenges without having to wonder if the people around you are on your side," she added. "You deserve to go through motherhood with people who actually, you know, like you. And if you have to wonder if they do, here’s the hard-earned lesson I hope you’ll take to heart: It’s not the right group for you. Even if it looks like they’re having the best time on Instagram."

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