A newly introduced California bill meant to “protect” immigration support services is instead raising concerns that it could hinder independent journalism. In an era of citizen-driven accountability and viral exposés, some worry the measure could shield companies accused of fraud from public scrutiny. Nicknamed by critics as the “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” Assembly Bill 2624, introduced by Democratic Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, the wife of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, would establish a confidentiality program for immigration service providers who face “threats of violence or harassment from the public.” The bill would also “prohibit a person from posting on the internet or social media … the personal information or image of a designated immigration support services provider, employee, volunteer, or patient, or other individuals residing at the same home address.” Violations could result in fines up to $10,000 or up to one year in jail. Critics, including Republican Assembly member Carl DeMaio, believe the bill could be leveraged to block investigative reporting and “silence citizen journalists exposing fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.” “Instead of fixing the fraud problems being uncovered, Sacramento politicians are trying to shut down the people exposing them,” DeMaio said. “AB 2624 would allow activists and taxpayer-funded organizations to demand the removal of video evidence — even if it captures misconduct in plain view — and threatens journalists with massive financial penalties,” he added. “That’s not about public safety — it’s about protecting powerful interests.” Nick Shirley, an independent journalist known for viral videos exposing alleged Somali daycare fraud in Minnesota, recently continued his work in California, igniting an online feud with Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. In response to the bill, Shirley posted to X, “Under AB 2624, government-funded entities like the Somali “Learing” Daycare centers would be protected from being exposed if they operated inside California.” “The enemy truly is within. When our politicians would rather protect fraudsters and illegal migrants, it’s time for us to stand up or face mass oppression from the traitors who ‘rule’ over us,” he added. Bonta, however, rejected claims that the bill targets journalism. In a recent video, she said, “People who work to help immigrant communities should not have to fear being doxxed for doing so.” She said the bill is designed to shield workers from having their personal information publicly exposed and to provide legal tools to prevent and respond to targeted harassment. “If MAGA can’t tell the difference between journalism and doxxing, that’s on them, because on my bill, there are no provisions related to journalism or fraud. This bill does not infringe on the First Amendment,” she said.

It seems LIV Golf may be living on a prayer after reports claim Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is considering pulling funding from the tour that lured the biggest names away from the PGA just over four years ago. The Financial Times reported Wednesday that the PIF is “on the verge” of slashing financial support for the league, while other outlets suggested LIV could be facing “imminent closure.” The fund has poured millions in LIV Golf to rival the PGA Tour, but The Wall Street Journal reported that financial support could end after the league struggled to attract a significant television audience in the United States. Amid the dire reports, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil told players and personnel Wednesday that the league is fully funded through the rest of the year and that reports of its imminent shutdown are “false,” according to Golf Channel. O’Neil did not address funding beyond the 2026 season. “Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” O’Neil said. The news comes as 50 players are teeing off for a LIV tournament outside Mexico City. The potential timeline for any shutdown remains unclear, with The Journal reporting that Saudi officials are still weighing their decision. The outlet noted there is still a chance LIV could continue in some form depending on the outcome of those discussions. The league’s undoing would be welcomed by some golf fans who have argued the rival tour has tarnished the game’s traditional reputation. Since LIV’s launch, the league has faced government investigations, lawsuits, and other litigation, contributing to a lack of profitability on the world stage. LIV lost nearly $600 million in 2024, according to The Journal, despite signing big names, including Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, and Phil Mickelson. In 2o22, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan addressed the mass exodus of players from his league. “The PGA Tour, an American institution, can’t compete with a foreign monarchy that is spending billions of dollars in an attempt to buy the game of golf,” Monahan said. “We welcome good, healthy competition. The LIV Saudi Golf League is not that. It’s an irrational threat.” The tone shifted a year later when Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s PIF, appeared together to announce a framework agreement aimed at ending litigation and potentially reunifying the sport. That effort ultimately stalled, leaving both tours operating independently, with the PGA now appearing to stand the test of time.

A Minnesota prosecutor is seeking the arrest of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. It appears to be the first such case where local authorities have charged a federal immigration officer tied to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. During a press conference Thursday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced that the ICE agent now faces two counts of second-degree assault after he allegedly flashed a gun while passing a driver on the highway. There is now a warrant out for his arrest. The Minnesota State Patrol received a 911 call in February from the alleged victims, who said a driver pulled up next to them on the shoulder of a highway and pointed a gun at them, Moriarty said. The ICE agent appeared to be trying “to bypass slower traffic” at the time, the county attorney claimed. The other driver “briefly moved their vehicle into the shoulder to slow him down,” she said. Moriarty said that the federal agent “was driving a rented SUV with no markings or other features to indicate that it was an ICE vehicle.” When the victim moved out of the shoulder, the agent “pulled alongside the victim’s vehicle,” before he “visibly slowed his vehicle to match the pace of the victims’ vehicle, opened his window, and pointed his duty weapon directly at both victims in the other vehicle while continuing to drive illegally on the shoulder,” she said. The driver then called 911 while the passenger began recording the incident on video, according to Moriarty. State troopers later identified an ICE agent as the driver and interviewed him at the agency’s office in Minneapolis, the county attorney said. The agent “admitted that he was driving the rented SUV and he and his partner were headed to the Whipple building to end their shift” and “that he drew his firearm after the victims’ vehicle had already rejoined the normal flow of traffic,” Moriarty said. In his statement, the agent also allegedly said “he yelled ‘police'” at the victims. But the windows of the victims’ vehicle, Moriarty said, “were rolled up and they couldn’t hear” it. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) didn’t respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment on the charges. The typical jail time for each of the charges against the ICE agent is 36 months in prison, Moriarty said. The charges follow the federal withdrawal of hundreds of federal immigration agents from Minneapolis. President Donald Trump sent his border czar Tom Homan to initiate the drawdown in January, replacing the former Border Patrol sector chief Gregory Bovino, who was known for his aggressive tactics. Homan’s arrival came after the fatal shootings by federal immigration agents of anti-ICE activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis that sparked weeks of protests. The shootings also resulted in the mass mobilization of ICE watch groups that followed federal agents and outed their locations. During Thursday’s press conference, Moriarty recalled the Good and Pretti shootings. She also said there’s no indication the victims were part of ICE watch groups. Moriarty characterized the accused agent’s “conduct” as “extremely dangerous,” adding that it “could’ve led to another disastrous incident in a community that has already suffered too many.” “Our community is still navigating the effects of the federal occupation,” she said. Asked if she’s concerned about “federal blowback” over the case, Moriarty said “it’s not a concern of ours.”

President Donald Trump jabbed at Pope Leo over his criticisms of the war with Iran while speaking to reporters on Thursday, saying that the Catholic leader should be the one responding to the news that the Iranian regime was continuing to execute civilian protesters. Trump, who has been publicly feuding with Pope Leo for some time over the war, was asked what he would say to Iran about reports that several protesters — one of whom is a woman — were set to be executed for opposing the regime. He pushed back on the reporter, arguing that Pope Leo should be the one to answer that question. WATCH: A pretty amazing response from President Trump to this reporter question: REPORTER: Iran is going to execute four more protesters, including the first woman protester. What do you tell Iran? TRUMP: Tell that to the Pope. pic.twitter.com/K3jTlaMVX0 — Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) April 16, 2026 “Iran is going to execute four more protesters, including the first woman protester. What do you tell Iran?” the reporter asked. “Well, tell that to the Pope,” Trump said, and as the reporters scrambled to ask more questions, he talked over them. “What did you say? Tell that to the Pope. Tell him that Iran is going to execute — did you just hear that Iran is going to execute four people including a woman?” Pope Leo has repeatedly criticized the Trump administration, saying early on that Iran should be dealt with through diplomacy rather than military action. His critiques have grown more pointed with time, and he recently claimed that God would not “bless” any military conflict. “God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs. Military action will not create space for freedom or times of #Peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples.” Trump said Thursday he did not expect to meet with the Pope any time soon, adding, “It’s very important that the Pope understands … Iran killed 42,000 people that were totally unarmed, there were protesters, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.” BREAKING: President Trump says he will NOT meet with Pope Leo amid their feud over the war in Iran. TRUMP: “It’s very important that the Pope understands… Iran killed 42,000 people that were totally unarmed, there were protesters, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.” REPORTER:… pic.twitter.com/nFuaHleMYq — Fox News (@FoxNews) April 16, 2026

Ten Republicans joined with Democratic House members on Thursday to pass a resolution that seeks to protect 350,000 Haitians from deportation. The House resolution would require the secretary of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for temporary protected status until 2029. Republicans Don Bacon (NE), Mario Díaz-Balart (FL), Mike Carey (OH), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Carlos Giménez (FL), Mike Lawler (NY), Nicole Malliotakis (NY), Rich McCormick (GA), Maria Elvira Salazar (FL), and Mike Turner (OH), bucked President Donald Trump and his mass deportation effort and signed onto the resolution. Independent Rep. Kevin Kiley, who caucuses with the Republicans, also voted in favor of the resolution. The Democrats broke out in cheers and applause when the resolution passed. While President Donald Trump would likely veto the resolution if it made it to his desk, the vote reflects a divide in the Republican Party that is complicating the administration’s immigration agenda. The resolution’s passage also comes just one week after Homeland Security revealed that Rolbert Joachin, an illegal immigrant from Haiti accused of murdering a woman with a hammer, was granted temporary protected status by the Biden administration. Joachin’s alleged murder was caught on camera, with footage showing the suspect charge a female gas station attendant in Fort Myers, Florida, before he attacks her. Trump shared the footage of the gruesome murder, calling the killer an “animal … who was released into our Country by the WORST President in History, Crooked Joe Biden.” Last year, the Trump administration moved to terminate temporary protected status for Haitians, but the move was quickly blocked by a federal judge. The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on the issue this month after the Trump administration appealed the federal judge’s decision, NBC News reported. The White House came out “strongly” opposing the House resolution on Wednesday, telling The Daily Wire, “The President has made it clear that this Administration’s priority is protecting the American people and addressing the criminal threat posed by those who enter this nation with little to no vetting or overstay the visa granted them.” “Numerous Haitian nationals previously granted TPS have been the subject of administrative investigations for fraud, public safety, and national security,” the White House added. Rep. Bacon argued that deporting 350,000 Haitians would worsen “serious workforce shortages.” “I’ve heard from healthcare providers and business leaders across Nebraska, including @OmahaChamber, who are concerned about the impact this would have on patient care and our economy. I don’t see the goodness of deporting people who are here legally, working, and contributing to our country,” Bacon said. Malliotakis also cited concerns about the health care industry if Haitian migrants were deported. “Look, I have a lot of health care workers in my district that are of Haitian descent, that are on TPS and my nursing homes,” she told Fox News. “My health care facilities have said that they’re going to lose skilled staff at a time when there is a shortage. And so it’s the right thing to do for my district, for the health care facilities I represent.” Rep. Lawler added that the deteriorating situation in Haiti would cause “chaos” and “uncertainty” for Haitian migrants if they were forced to go back to their home country. Lawler helped force the vote on the resolution and was joined by Democratic “Squad” member Ayanna Pressley (MA). The proposal was also sponsored by Florida Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Haitian-American who faces expulsion from the House for allegedly funneling millions of dollars into her campaign illegally. The Trump administration has raised concerns about the large number of Haitian migrants in the United States. Trump highlighted reports on Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, during his 2024 election campaign, including on stage during a debate against then-Vice President Kamala Harris.