Mike Hixenbaugh
@mikehixenbaugh.com
NBC News senior reporter | Author of THEY CAME FOR THE SCHOOLS | Co-creator of SOUTHLAKE & GRAPEVINE podcasts | Retired t-ball coach
www.mikehixenbaugh.com
www.mikehixenbaugh.com
Pinned
Mike Hixenbaugh
@mikehixenbaugh.com
· Oct 30
Last year we got a tip about a children's pastor who'd managed to stay in ministry for decades even as allegations of sex abuse trailed him across four states.
I kept pulling thread and found something far bigger: a 50-year pattern of abuse and cover-up in the largest Pentecostal denomination 🧵 1/
I kept pulling thread and found something far bigger: a 50-year pattern of abuse and cover-up in the largest Pentecostal denomination 🧵 1/
Reposted by Mike Hixenbaugh
ACA premiums have officially gone up this month with the tax credits expired. Many people are moving toward low-premium plans with high deductibles and less coverage. Overall sign-ups are down more than 800,000 compared to last year. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
ACA sign-ups fall as higher premiums push people off plans
Nationally, sign-ups are down more than 800,000 from last year.
www.nbcnews.com
January 13, 2026 at 10:00 PM
ACA premiums have officially gone up this month with the tax credits expired. Many people are moving toward low-premium plans with high deductibles and less coverage. Overall sign-ups are down more than 800,000 compared to last year. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Reposted by Mike Hixenbaugh
NEW: 6 federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned today because of DOJ's push to investigate the widow of a woman killed by an ICE agent and the department’s reluctance to investigate the shooter
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u...
Six Prosecutors Quit Over Push to Investigate ICE Shooting Victim’s Widow
www.nytimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 6:28 PM
NEW: 6 federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned today because of DOJ's push to investigate the widow of a woman killed by an ICE agent and the department’s reluctance to investigate the shooter
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u...
Reposted by Mike Hixenbaugh
“The Lord is sending his son back, and he’s coming with fire in his eyes and a sword in his mouth.”
I looked at the rapid political expansion of Mercy Culture, a Texas-based church network that believes its fighting spiritual war against Jezebels, and now has a direct line to the White House.
I looked at the rapid political expansion of Mercy Culture, a Texas-based church network that believes its fighting spiritual war against Jezebels, and now has a direct line to the White House.
This Texas Church Became a Political Machine. Now It’s Going National.
With a prayer house across the street from the U.S. Supreme Court building, leaders of the Fort Worth–based Mercy Culture Church are taking their spiritual battle to Washington, D.C.
www.texasmonthly.com
January 13, 2026 at 4:04 PM
“The Lord is sending his son back, and he’s coming with fire in his eyes and a sword in his mouth.”
I looked at the rapid political expansion of Mercy Culture, a Texas-based church network that believes its fighting spiritual war against Jezebels, and now has a direct line to the White House.
I looked at the rapid political expansion of Mercy Culture, a Texas-based church network that believes its fighting spiritual war against Jezebels, and now has a direct line to the White House.
A peek into Iran: “Within the wailing crowds, a man in a yellow sweater clings to the feet of a corpse, gently rocking, crying and moaning inaudibly. Nearby, a woman can be heard screaming, a guttural noise unmistakable for the discovery that a loved one has died.”
Video of body bags at one Iranian morgue shows scale of Iran crackdown
Rows of black body bags can be seen laid inside and outside a large warehouse. Many have been partially opened so the corpses can be identified.
www.nbcnews.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:03 AM
A peek into Iran: “Within the wailing crowds, a man in a yellow sweater clings to the feet of a corpse, gently rocking, crying and moaning inaudibly. Nearby, a woman can be heard screaming, a guttural noise unmistakable for the discovery that a loved one has died.”
The hearing in a Tulsa courtroom was procedural.
But for the women who say pastor Joe Campbell sexually abused them as children, it was anything but.
But for the women who say pastor Joe Campbell sexually abused them as children, it was anything but.
‘We’re not those little girls anymore’: Women who accused pastor of abuse see him in court
Nearly a month after Joe Campbell was arrested on charges that he sexually abused two girls decades ago, he appeared in an Oklahoma courtroom. His accusers attended, too.
www.nbcnews.com
January 13, 2026 at 12:11 AM
The hearing in a Tulsa courtroom was procedural.
But for the women who say pastor Joe Campbell sexually abused them as children, it was anything but.
But for the women who say pastor Joe Campbell sexually abused them as children, it was anything but.
Reposted by Mike Hixenbaugh
Video analysis clearly contradicts what Noem and Trump claim about the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. By @devonlum.bsky.social @robinsteinnyt.bsky.social Ainara Tiefenthaler Courtney Brooks for @nytimes.com www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQCv...
Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
YouTube video by The New York Times
www.youtube.com
January 8, 2026 at 12:18 PM
Video analysis clearly contradicts what Noem and Trump claim about the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. By @devonlum.bsky.social @robinsteinnyt.bsky.social Ainara Tiefenthaler Courtney Brooks for @nytimes.com www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQCv...
Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.
January 8, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.
The New York Times states it plainly in display type:
Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
Video: Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
An analysis of footage from three camera angles shows that the motorist was driving away from — not toward — a federal officer when he opened fire.
www.nytimes.com
January 8, 2026 at 12:40 PM
The New York Times states it plainly in display type:
Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
A witness told @nbcnews.com ICE agents were yelling at the driver to leave and to stop at the same time, then the man "just fired" his gun. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Minnesota ICE shooting live updates: Driver fatally shot by immigration agent
Follow the latest news after an ICE agent fatally shot a 37-year-old woman after a group of individuals began to block an immigration-related operation.
www.nbcnews.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:48 PM
A witness told @nbcnews.com ICE agents were yelling at the driver to leave and to stop at the same time, then the man "just fired" his gun. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
ICE officers approached vehicle in manner counter to training, DHS official tells NBC News
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
January 7, 2026 at 9:33 PM
ICE officers approached vehicle in manner counter to training, DHS official tells NBC News
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Reposted by Mike Hixenbaugh
This is the ICE agent President Trump says was "violently, willfully, and viciously ran over ... hard to believe he is alive."
January 7, 2026 at 9:19 PM
This is the ICE agent President Trump says was "violently, willfully, and viciously ran over ... hard to believe he is alive."
Reposted by Mike Hixenbaugh
Last week, we published a story detailing ICE's strategy for recruiting new officers, including targeting "gun rights" supporters and geo-fencing ads around gun shows.
Ex-ICE director told me: “That mentality you’re fostering tends to inculcate in people a certain aggressiveness"
wapo.st/3Ngmo9C
Ex-ICE director told me: “That mentality you’re fostering tends to inculcate in people a certain aggressiveness"
wapo.st/3Ngmo9C
January 7, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Last week, we published a story detailing ICE's strategy for recruiting new officers, including targeting "gun rights" supporters and geo-fencing ads around gun shows.
Ex-ICE director told me: “That mentality you’re fostering tends to inculcate in people a certain aggressiveness"
wapo.st/3Ngmo9C
Ex-ICE director told me: “That mentality you’re fostering tends to inculcate in people a certain aggressiveness"
wapo.st/3Ngmo9C
Reposted by Mike Hixenbaugh
To kick off the new year, here's a doc I'm quite proud of: My NBC team spent months investigating a children’s pastor accused of serial rape, and followed women who say he abused them as children in the 1980s.
Last month, he was charged with first-degree rape and lewd acts to a child under 16.
Last month, he was charged with first-degree rape and lewd acts to a child under 16.
The Children’s Pastor: The 40-year mission to stop a preacher accused of raping children
YouTube video by NBC News
www.youtube.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:15 AM
To kick off the new year, here's a doc I'm quite proud of: My NBC team spent months investigating a children’s pastor accused of serial rape, and followed women who say he abused them as children in the 1980s.
Last month, he was charged with first-degree rape and lewd acts to a child under 16.
Last month, he was charged with first-degree rape and lewd acts to a child under 16.
Reposted by Mike Hixenbaugh
READ
Here's the remarkable story of how Rob and Michele Reiner forged a unshakable bond with a man serving life in prison for a murder he says he didn't commit.
“Rob and Michele didn’t want credit for trying to help me,” Nanon Williams told us. “It was just because they loved me.”
Please give it a read
“Rob and Michele didn’t want credit for trying to help me,” Nanon Williams told us. “It was just because they loved me.”
Please give it a read
He was sentenced to death. Rob and Michele Reiner loved him like a son.
Nanon Williams was sent to death row for a murder he says he didn't commit. Decades later, through daily emails and weekly prison calls, the Reiners became family.
www.nbcnews.com
January 7, 2026 at 12:19 AM
READ
Reposted by Mike Hixenbaugh
My first addition to the "stories you wish you had written" list of 2026: @mikehixenbaugh.com and @danslepian.bsky.social on Rob and Michele Reiner's longtime support of Nanone Williams, a man on death row in Texas fighting what he says is a wrongful conviction. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
He was sentenced to death. Rob and Michele Reiner loved him like a son.
Nanon Williams was sent to death row for a murder he says he didn't commit. Decades later, through daily emails and weekly prison calls, the Reiners became family.
www.nbcnews.com
January 6, 2026 at 10:56 PM
My first addition to the "stories you wish you had written" list of 2026: @mikehixenbaugh.com and @danslepian.bsky.social on Rob and Michele Reiner's longtime support of Nanone Williams, a man on death row in Texas fighting what he says is a wrongful conviction. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Five years later
“The sky is blue, the Earth is round, and Jan. 6 was a historically violent day that will forever be a stain on this country’s history. Political convenience does not change the facts.”
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Five years after Jan. 6, Trump is rewriting the narrative around the Capitol siege
The president is expected to take more actions this year, including possible payments to compensate Jan. 6 defendants.
www.nbcnews.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Five years later
1/
A few years ago, a Texas man serving life in prison was struggling with a decision: Was it fair to get married to the woman he’d fallen in love with?
Nanon Williams feared “my chains becoming hers.”
He turned to a man he’d come to see as a father for advice:
Rob Reiner
A few years ago, a Texas man serving life in prison was struggling with a decision: Was it fair to get married to the woman he’d fallen in love with?
Nanon Williams feared “my chains becoming hers.”
He turned to a man he’d come to see as a father for advice:
Rob Reiner
He was sentenced to death. Rob and Michele Reiner loved him like a son.
Nanon Williams was sent to death row for a murder he says he didn't commit. Decades later, through daily emails and weekly prison calls, the Reiners became family.
www.nbcnews.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:25 PM
1/
A few years ago, a Texas man serving life in prison was struggling with a decision: Was it fair to get married to the woman he’d fallen in love with?
Nanon Williams feared “my chains becoming hers.”
He turned to a man he’d come to see as a father for advice:
Rob Reiner
A few years ago, a Texas man serving life in prison was struggling with a decision: Was it fair to get married to the woman he’d fallen in love with?
Nanon Williams feared “my chains becoming hers.”
He turned to a man he’d come to see as a father for advice:
Rob Reiner
Reposted by Mike Hixenbaugh
Please read this breathtaking story: www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
He was sentenced to death. Rob and Michele Reiner loved him like a son.
Nanon Williams was sent to death row for a murder he says he didn't commit. Decades later, through daily emails and weekly prison calls, the Reiners became family.
www.nbcnews.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:15 AM
Please read this breathtaking story: www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Reposted by Mike Hixenbaugh
Nanon Williams was sent to death row for a murder he says he didn’t commit.
Rob and Michelle Reiner learned about his fight for freedom and built a bond through daily emails.
“They became my family,” Williams told NBC News after their deaths.
Rob and Michelle Reiner learned about his fight for freedom and built a bond through daily emails.
“They became my family,” Williams told NBC News after their deaths.
He was sentenced to death. Rob and Michele Reiner loved him like a son.
Nanon Williams was sent to death row for a murder he says he didn't commit. Decades later, through daily emails and weekly prison calls, the Reiners became family.
nbcnews.to
January 5, 2026 at 10:40 PM
Nanon Williams was sent to death row for a murder he says he didn’t commit.
Rob and Michelle Reiner learned about his fight for freedom and built a bond through daily emails.
“They became my family,” Williams told NBC News after their deaths.
Rob and Michelle Reiner learned about his fight for freedom and built a bond through daily emails.
“They became my family,” Williams told NBC News after their deaths.
Here's the remarkable story of how Rob and Michele Reiner forged a unshakable bond with a man serving life in prison for a murder he says he didn't commit.
“Rob and Michele didn’t want credit for trying to help me,” Nanon Williams told us. “It was just because they loved me.”
Please give it a read
“Rob and Michele didn’t want credit for trying to help me,” Nanon Williams told us. “It was just because they loved me.”
Please give it a read
He was sentenced to death. Rob and Michele Reiner loved him like a son.
Nanon Williams was sent to death row for a murder he says he didn't commit. Decades later, through daily emails and weekly prison calls, the Reiners became family.
www.nbcnews.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Here's the remarkable story of how Rob and Michele Reiner forged a unshakable bond with a man serving life in prison for a murder he says he didn't commit.
“Rob and Michele didn’t want credit for trying to help me,” Nanon Williams told us. “It was just because they loved me.”
Please give it a read
“Rob and Michele didn’t want credit for trying to help me,” Nanon Williams told us. “It was just because they loved me.”
Please give it a read
Reposted by Mike Hixenbaugh
I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.
December 23, 2025 at 7:06 PM
I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.
Reposted by Mike Hixenbaugh
Samed and Samir are incredibly brave, principled and talented journalists who risked and sacrificed much to bring footage from inside Gaza to the world. Watch "Filmed in Gaza" here: youtu.be/xWC85viExwo?...
Filmed in Gaza: Two NBC News journalists on what it is like to cover the war from inside Gaza
YouTube video by NBC News
youtu.be
December 23, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Samed and Samir are incredibly brave, principled and talented journalists who risked and sacrificed much to bring footage from inside Gaza to the world. Watch "Filmed in Gaza" here: youtu.be/xWC85viExwo?...