Leaders of a Minnesota church community enabled a child abuser by telling his victims that once the sins were “washed away in the blood of reconciliation,” they could never speak of them again.<a href="[link removed]><img src="[link removed]" alt="" border="0" /></a>

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The Big Story
November 20, 2025 · View in browser <[link removed]>

In today’s newsletter: A Minnesota church community protected a child abuser <[link removed]>, telling young girls to forgive and forget; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released some of his emails with Elon Musk <[link removed]>, but most were redacted.

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Young Girls Were Sexually Abused by a Church Member. They Were Told to Forgive and Forget. <[link removed]>

In Minnesota, leaders of an Old Apostolic Lutheran Church community enabled a child abuser by telling his victims that once the sins were “washed away in the blood of reconciliation,” they could never speak of them again.

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Every Saturday morning, we send an email to our readers that spotlights some of our best reporting. This week, ProPublica reporter Jessica Lussenhop <[link removed]> will write to you about her investigation with Andy Mannix <[link removed]> of the Minnesota Star Tribune revealing an open secret among the congregation of an Old Apostolic Lutheran Church in Minnesota <[link removed]>: Young girls should stay away from Clint Massie.

Lussenhop tells the stories of young women who survived and are still grappling with the abuse they endured. Her newsletter will take you behind the scenes of her reporting.

Massie did not respond to requests for comment but has denied abuse allegations relating to some individual victims in pending lawsuits. In December 2024, he pleaded guilty to four counts of felony criminal sexual conduct with victims under the age of 13. According to law enforcement notes, a church leader told investigators that the church encourages abuse victims to go to police, but that he believed it was “on them to do that.” John Hiivala, a spokesperson for the Woodland Park Old Apostolic Lutheran Church, said that the church “has fully complied with the law in the referenced case, and it’s a matter of legal record.”

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Texas

 
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Gov. Greg Abbott Was Ordered to Release Some of His Emails With Elon Musk. Most Are Blacked Out. <[link removed]>

Months after fighting to keep secret the emails exchanged between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s companies, state officials released nearly 1,400 pages to The Texas Newsroom <[link removed]>.

The records, however, reveal little about the two men’s relationship or Musk’s influence over state government. In fact, all but about 200 of the pages are entirely blacked out. Of those that were readable, many were either already public or provided minimal information.

The documents were provided in response to a public records request by The Texas Newsroom, which asked Abbott’s office for communications with Musk and the businessman’s employees dating back to last fall. Abbott’s and Musk’s lawyers fought their release <[link removed]>, arguing they would reveal trade secrets, potentially “intimate and embarrassing” exchanges or confidential legal and policymaking discussions.

Abbott’s spokesperson said the governor’s office “rigorously complies with the Texas Public Information Act and releases any responsive information that is determined to not be confidential or excepted from disclosure.” Musk and his companies’ representatives did not respond to questions about the records.

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How Trump’s Transportation Department Is Loosening Safety Rules Meant to Protect the Public <[link removed]>

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New York Moves Forward With a Brooklyn Flood Protection Plan That Falls Short of Other City Projects <[link removed]>

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“Ticking Time Bomb”: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas. <[link removed]>

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Gov. Greg Abbott Was Ordered to Release Some of His Emails With Elon Musk. Most Are Blacked Out. <[link removed]>

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Trump’s Anti-Green Agenda Could Lead to 1.3 Million More Climate Deaths. The Poorest Countries Will Be Impacted Most. <[link removed]>

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