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October 20, 2025

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November 7, 2025

Nov. 7, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Mike HixenbaughThis article is part of “Pastors and Prey,” a series investigating sex abuse allegations in the Assemblies of God.The Assemblies of God is facing calls for reform and repentance after an NBC News investigation revealed decades of sexual abuse allegations and alleged cover-ups within the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination.The report last week identified nearly 200 ministers, church employees and volunteer leaders accused of sexually abusing more than 475 people, most of them children, over the past half-century. In dozens of cases, the investigation found, Assemblies of God churches returned accused offenders to ministry — freeing them to abuse again.In response, several Assemblies of God pastors said they were praying for a reckoning within their ranks. One urged the denomination to enter a season of repentance; another announced he was leaving in protest.“I cannot in good conscience remain credentialed with the Assemblies of God,” the minister, Trevor Walker, wrote in an email Wednesday to denomination leaders. “I pray that greater light and humility will one day prevail in addressing abuse within the church.”Walker was one of 10 current and former Assemblies of God ministers who shared their views with NBC News. Reporters also heard from several alleged victims and longtime congregants. Their reactions ranged from outrage and grief to deep disappointment. Some said they hoped the reporting would prompt change.The Children’s Pastor: The 40-year mission to stop a preacher accused of raping children42:24“Maybe this will be the thing that turns the corner,” said Krystopher Scroggins, an Assemblies of God minister who leads a college ministry in San Angelo, Texas. “You can’t have this amount of light shining in your dark corners and not want to clean your house.”The General Council of the Assemblies of God, the denomination’s U.S. governing body, released a video statement last week taking issue with the NBC News report and asserting its commitment to child protection.“The Assemblies of God grieves with anyone who has been hurt by the actions of an abuser,” said General Superintendent Doug Clay, the denomination’s top national leader. “The General Council of the Assemblies of God is committed to child safety and has an established track record of leadership in this area.”Standing beside him, General Secretary Donna Barrett defended the denomination’s policies, reiterating that it requires background checks of credentialed ministers and screens out any found to have sexually abused children.‘Pastors and Prey’: NBC News investigates sex abuse in Assemblies of God churchesAssemblies of God churches shielded accused predators — and allowed them to keep abusing children.A revered missionary who was also a convicted sex offender urged generations of Chi Alpha members to get naked in his Houston sauna.Assemblies of God church leaders allowed a children’s pastor to continue preaching for years after he was accused of sexually abusing girls.An NBC News documentary traces the 40-year fight to stop a preacher accused of raping children.Some pastors praised the Assemblies of God for vetting credentialed ministers but were troubled by a significant gap noted in NBC News’ report: Under denominational policy, only a church’s lead pastor is required to hold ministerial credentials — meaning other staff, such as youth pastors or music ministers, can be hired without national oversight or background checks.Jim Line, who leads a small church in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, said he’s concerned that this lack of supervision can allow individuals with troubling histories to return to ministry roles.“If you bring in somebody who’s a minister of music or youth pastor and they’re not credentialed, I don’t know what your background is,” said Line, who added that he otherwise thought the Assemblies of God’s policies are strong. “I do have a problem with that.”NBC News contacted each elected member of the denomination’s Executive Presbytery, which serves as a national board of directors, but none agreed to comment.At least a few of the Assemblies of God’s 66 district councils, which oversee church affairs on a state or regional level, sent emails to ministers responding to the reporting. One district office implored every pastor in the region to voluntarily adopt child safety policies; another called the reporting “heartbreaking” and encouraged ministers to watch the General Council’s response.For some inside the denomination, the video statement fell short, confirming fears that leadership is unwilling to confront what they see as systemic failures.California pastor Anthony Scoma called on Assemblies of God leaders to repent for failures that allowed alleged abusers to remain in ministry.Courtesy Anthony ScomaAnthony Scoma, an Assemblies of God pastor in San Francisco who previously served as a district leader in north Texas, said failures that allowed sex offenders to return to ministry can’t be fixed with policy changes alone. He called for “churchwide, denominationalwide repentance” in response to the NBC News report.“As long as the Assemblies of God, led by our leaders, refuses to repent over a culture of abuse, the media, the courts, public opinion will continue to expose all these things,” Scoma said. “Because it’s not actually them that’s exposing it — it’s God. It’s the spirit of truth that is bringing these things to light.”Among the most forceful reactions came from Walker, the minister who resigned his credentials after two decades in the Assemblies of God. Walker said he had already left his church in Midlothian, Virginia, in 2023 over its handling of a family member’s abuse allegations but had maintained his credentials and hoped to one day return to ministry.The NBC News report and the denomination’s response — which Walker described as “sterile,” “impersonal” and “devoid of accountability or compassion” — finally convinced him to step away for good.“If they would have said, ‘Many people have been hurt over the years under our watch, and we regret that, but we’re working toward making it better,’ that would have been enough for me,” Walker said.Other ministers criticized a 2021 decision by the General Council to reject a resolution that would have added language to the bylaws stating that a credentialed minister or church could be expelled or disciplined for failing to enforce safeguards like background checks and mandatory reporting of abuse. Ministers declined to adopt the policy after lawyers for the denomination warned that it could expose the General Council to costly lawsuits.One senior official said at the time that the legal risk “outweighed the benefit.”That remark brought to mind a passage from the Book of Matthew, said Scroggins, in which Jesus warned that a person cannot serve both God and mammon — or money.“When your guiding thought is, ‘We don’t want to implement this policy that will protect children because we don’t want to lose a lot of money in potential lawsuits,’ that to me is, you’re worshipping money,” Scroggins said. “And that’s heartbreaking.”Barrett, the Assemblies of God’s general secretary, defended the 2021 decision in the video response last week. She said the denomination’s structure gives churches broad autonomy to govern themselves, which she said “makes it impossible” for the General Council to “give oversight” to local congregations. “It is absurd to think that anyone at 2021 General Council was opposed to child safety,” Barrett said.Former Assemblies of God pastor Dan Matlock called that explanation hypocritical and “frankly, pardon me, bulls—.”Former pastor Dan Matlock criticized the Assemblies of God for saying it can’t force local churches to adopt policies to protect children.Courtesy Dan MatlockIn 2020, Matlock’s church in Kyle, Texas, announced it would affirm LGBTQ members and perform same-sex weddings. Within days, Assemblies of God district officials moved to revoke his ministerial credential and expel the church for adopting views “contradictory to historical Christian beliefs and our AG doctrinal positions,” according to a letter reviewed by NBC News.Matlock said the episode showed that the Assemblies of God can exercise control over local church policies — when it’s important to them.“I am not convinced in the least that what they are most concerned about is congregants’ safety,” he said.Among rank-and-file Assemblies of God congregants, reactions to the NBC News report ranged from heartbreak to hope.Charity True, a longtime Assemblies of God member in Illinois, said “Jesus would be flipping tables” at the Assemblies of God’s national office.“If my local church didn’t have their act already together, then last Sunday would have been my last Sunday inside of an Assemblies of God church,” True said in an email, referring to her congregation’s stringent child safety policies. “I just pray this will bring change at a national level.”For survivors, the revelations were deeply personal, reviving painful memories and exposing a pattern of abuse, silence and cover-ups.Cheryl Almond, who says her pastor molested her in the late 1970s, said she was “shocked” by NBC News’ report.September Dawn Bottoms for NBC NewsCheryl Almond spent decades attending Assemblies of God churches in Oklahoma — even after she says her pastor, Joe Campbell, sexually abused her as a teen in the late 1970s. After other children came forward in the 1980s to allege abuse, Campbell was allowed to keep preaching for years before the denomination finally removed him in 1989, NBC News reported in May.Almond said she was devastated by the latest report, which she said confirmed a long-held fear: What happened at her childhood church wasn’t isolated. “This has been allowed to happen to far too many kids, and for far too long,” she said.In calling for change at the national level, Almond pointed to Jesus’ parable of the shepherd who leaves 99 sheep to rescue one that has gone astray — a lesson about valuing every life.“The Assemblies of God isn’t doing that,” she said. “They’re saying that safeguarding the 99 is more important than protecting the one. ‘That vulnerable child can fend for themselves. We’ve got a church to protect from lawsuits.’”“It’s wrong,” she added. “It’s not biblical, and it’s disgusting.”Mike HixenbaughMike Hixenbaugh is a senior investigative reporter for NBC News, based in Maryland, and author of “They Came for the Schools.” Elizabeth Chuck contributed.

November 5, 2025

Nov. 5, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Lawrence HurleyWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s signature economic policy comes under Supreme Court scrutiny Wednesday as the justices weigh whether he has the authority to impose sweeping tariffs on imports under a law designed for use during a national emergency.The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority that has regularly backed Trump on various contentious cases since he took office in January, but many legal observers think the tariffs dispute is a close call.The consequences are huge for Trump and the economy at large, with Americans increasingly anxious amid signs that the tariffs are contributing to, rather than alleviating, higher costs.A new NBC News poll found that 63% of registered voters believe Trump is failing to live up to expectations on the economy, after he ran on lowering prices, in part, through tariffs. Other recent polls show a majority of Americans oppose the tariffs, which disproportionately burden small businesses.Trump reaches trade war truce with China01:49The legal question is whether a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, which allows the president to regulate imports when there is an emergency, extends to the power to impose global tariffs of unspecified duration and breadth.The Constitution states that the power to set tariffs is assigned to Congress. IEEPA, which does not specifically mention tariffs, says the president can “regulate” imports and exports when he deems there to be an emergency, which occurs when there is an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the nation.Until Trump began his second term in January, no president had ever used the law to tariff imports. Lower courts ruled against the Trump administration, with both sides asking the Supreme Court to issue a definitive ruling.Trump has made clear how important this case is to him and his economic plan, repeatedly warning of drastic consequences if the court strikes down his tariffs. He had even suggested he would go in person to Wednesday’s oral arguments, becoming the first president to do so. He later backed off that idea, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he plans to attend.“If a President was not able to quickly and nimbly use the power of Tariffs, we would be defenseless, leading perhaps even to the ruination of our Nation,” Trump said in a characteristic Truth Social post Sunday.But even if he were to lose at the Supreme Court, Trump has levied other tariffs under different laws that would survive. And his administration has been looking at other ways of imposing tariffs, although those methods are more limited.The court is hearing the case on an expedited basis, meaning a ruling could be issued in short order. It has consolidated two underlying challenges brought by small businesses and a coalition of states.V.O.S. Selections Inc., a wine and spirits importer, Plastic Services and Products, a pipe and fittings company, and two companies that sell educational toys are among the businesses that sued.The high-stakes case puts the spotlight on a court that was skeptical of President Joe Biden’s unilateral use of executive power, including his attempt to forgive billions of dollars in student loan debt. The court blocked that proposal, citing what has been called the “major questions doctrine.”Under that theory, embraced by the conservative majority in recent years, a president cannot impose a broad policy with huge impacts on society and the economy unless Congress passes a law that specifically allows for it.The challengers said in court papers that the justices do not even need to reach the “major questions” question, noting that the text of IEEPA does not grant any power to impose tariffs.They pointed out that other laws, including the Trade Act, specifically grant the president the authority to levy tariffs in some form.Even if Trump could, in theory, use IEEPA for tariffs, there is no emergency that would warrant invoking it now, they added.Solicitor General D. John Sauer, representing the Trump administration, argued in his brief that the law is written in such a way to give broad powers to the president, including over tariffs.The tariffs are necessary because of “country-killing trade deficits,” he added, echoing Trump’s dire language.The cases concern two sets of tariffs. One is country-by-country or “reciprocal” tariffs, which range from 34% for China to a 10% baseline for the rest of the world. The other is a 25% tariff Trump imposed on some goods from Canada, China and Mexico for what the administration said was their failure to curb the flow of fentanyl.Other tariffs implemented using different legal authorities, such as 50% steel and aluminum tariffs on all other worldwide trading partners, are not at issue in the case before the court.As of the end of August, IEEPA tariffs had raised about $89 billion, according to the latest data available from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. If the Supreme Court overturns those tariffs, the government would then face demands from businesses that it pay back that revenue.Lawrence HurleyLawrence Hurley is a senior Supreme Court reporter for NBC News. Gary Grumbach , Steve Kopack and Rob Wile contributed.

October 7, 2025

Oct. 7, 2025, 11:21 AM EDT / Updated Oct. 7, 2025, 11:49 AM EDTBy Matt Lavietes and Corky SiemaszkoFlight delays were reported across the country for a second straight day Tuesday as the Federal Aviation Administration braced for more airport staffing shortages amid the government shutdown. Delays due to a shortage of air traffic controllers caused delays Tuesday at airports in Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville, Houston, Chicago and Las Vegas, the FAA reported.These delays came on the heels of slowdowns at airports in Denver, Phoenix, Burbank, California and Newark, New Jersey that the FAA reported during the first 24 hours that air traffic controllers began working without pay due to the shutdown. Meanwhile, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association reminded members it does not “endorse, support, or condone” federal employees participating in coordinated activities that could affect flight safety or cause delays.”Participating in a job action could result in removal from federal service,” the union posted on its website. “It is not only illegal, but it also undermines NATCA’s credibility and severely weakens our ability to effectively advocate for you and your families.”Despite the delays, the FAA had not issued a “staffing trigger” Tuesday that would reduce the number of flights in and out of airports that don’t have enough controllers to handle the traffic safely.But the number of domestic and international flight delays have been surging in recent days, with more than 6,000 reported Monday compared with roughly 3,000 delays Saturday, according to flight tracker website FlightAware. There were just over 1,000 delays within, into, or out of the U.S. as of Tuesday morning, according to the site.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday at Newark International Airport that there had been a slight increase in sick calls since the government shutdown began Wednesday. “Our priorities are safety,” Duffy said. “And so, if we have additional sick calls, we will reduce the flow consistent with a rate that’s safe for the American people.”

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