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Oct. 7, 2025, 6:57 PM EDTBy Dan Slepian, Nick McElroy and Erik OrtizLawyers for Robert Roberson, the condemned man on Texas’ death row who faces execution next week, say the first episode of a “Dateline” podcast about his case contains “highly relevant” evidence that highlights judicial misconduct and supports their petition for a new trial.The ongoing claim before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals seeks to halt Roberson’s Oct. 16 execution for the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki. If executed by lethal injection, Roberson, 58, would be the first person put to death in the United States in a case of “shaken baby syndrome.”For more on this case, listen to episodes of the “Dateline” podcast “The Last Appeal”In a filing Monday, Roberson’s lawyers wrote that an interview with Nikki’s maternal grandfather conducted by “Dateline” anchor Lester Holt is “directly relevant to the judicial misconduct claim,” which alleges a “serious violation of Mr. Roberson’s fundamental right to a trial before an impartial tribunal — and before a tribunal that appears impartial.”“It’s shocking that we are discovering the truth about this glaring, undisclosed evidence of bias only by chance, from a podcast, days before Robert is scheduled to be executed for a tragedy that has been mislabeled as a crime,” Gretchen Sween, a lawyer for Roberson, said in a statement.Robert Roberson with his daughter Nikki.Courtesy Roberson familyIn January 2002, Roberson and Nikki fell asleep in their East Texas home and he later awoke, he said, after he heard a sound and found Nikki had fallen out of bed, according to court documents.Later that morning, when Roberson discovered his daughter was unconscious and her lips were blue, he rushed her to an emergency room.Within three days, a detective arrested Roberson on a capital murder charge.For the initial episode of “The Last Appeal” podcast, which was released Monday, Holt interviewed Larry Bowman, Nikki’s maternal grandfather.Bowman identified Anderson County Judge Bascom Bentley as the judiciary official who called the hospital, directing them to contact the Bowmans for permission to authorize removing Nikki from life support.“Matter of fact, Judge Bentley told ’em we were the parents,” Bowman said.But Roberson’s lawyers say the Bowmans did not have that authority, and Roberson had custody of Nikki and was appointed her sole conservator in November 2001, about two months before she died.Roberson had been a single father caring for Nikki after her mother lost custody because of personal issues.In addition to Bentley providing false information to the hospital, which allowed Nikki to be removed from life-sustaining care, according to the latest filing, he was the judge who signed Roberson’s arrest warrant based on the “shaken baby syndrome” diagnosis and then presided over all but one proceeding in Roberson’s criminal trial.Roberson’s lawyers say Bentley’s involvement in the early stages of Roberson’s case are material to their larger claims of judicial misconduct that they say tainted his trial.“Any objective member of the public, with knowledge of the new facts, would reasonably believe that Judge Bentley had prejudged Mr. Roberson’s guilt and, animated by that presumption of guilt, improperly circumvented the law governing parental rights and the guarantees of due process and thus should have recused himself from presiding over Mr. Roberson’s criminal case to preserve the appearance of impartiality,” the court filing says. “Judge Bentley’s failure to do so caused structural error and requires a new trial.”Robert Roberson.NBC NewsBentley died in 2017. The Texas Attorney General’s Office, which is now overseeing the prosecution against Roberson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The office of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declined to be interviewed for the “Dateline” podcast.Roberson was nearly put to death a year ago, but a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers used their legislative power to help block his execution in a last-minute maneuver.State Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to press ahead with a execution date, and has previously said Roberson murdered his daughter by “beating her so brutally that she ultimately died.”In filings this year, Roberson’s legal team has argued that there is new evidence of his innocence and that the medical and scientific methods used to convict him of so-called shaken baby syndrome, in which a child is shaken so violently that the action causes head trauma, have since been largely discredited.His team also claims that judicial officials in Anderson County, where a jury sentenced him to death in 2003, violated Roberson’s constitutional rights.Aside from the request in front of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Roberson filed a separate plea this month with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for a stay of execution so that he could file a new legal challenge claiming his imprisonment is illegal because of “overwhelming evidence that he was convicted using discredited ‘science.’” That appeal is also ongoing.Previous attempts to stop Roberson’s execution have been unsuccessful, including as it relates to a 2013 “junk science” law in Texas that allows prisoners to potentially challenge convictions based on advances in forensic science.While doctors and law enforcement concluded that Nikki suffered blunt-force trauma and was shaken, Roberson’s defense team says a new understanding of “shaken baby syndrome” shows that other medical conditions can be factors in a child’s death, as it believes was the case with Nikki.Dan SlepianDan Slepian is an award-winning investigative producer and a veteran of “Dateline: NBC.” Nick McElroyNick McElroy is an associate producer for NBC News’ “Dateline.”Erik OrtizErik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality.

- Latest News - October 7, 2025

Lawyers for Robert Roberson, the condemned man on Texas’ death row who faces execution next week, say the first episode of a “Dateline” podcast about his case contains “highly relevant”.

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Oct. 7, 2025, 6:30 PM EDTBy Kaitlin SullivanShort bursts of purposeful activity –– such as walking around the block or lifting small weights –– may be the best way to get in the habit of exercising. Bite-sized bits of exercise also improve heart and muscle fitness, a study published Tuesday in BMJ Sports Medicine found.Less than half of adults in the United States get enough aerobic activity and less than a quarter get the recommended amount of both aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercise. “When people are asked why they don’t exercise, the answers are almost always the same, no time and no motivation,” Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, a doctoral student in clinical research at the University of Oviedo in Spain, who led the study, said in an email.Rodríguez and his team measured how brief bouts of exercise spread throughout the day –– which he calls exercise snacks –– affected cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, as well as blood pressure and body composition in adults who did not regularly exercise. The team compiled data from seven randomized clinical trials that included people ages 18 to 80. There were more than 400 inactive people across the study, about 70% of whom women.What’s an effective exercise snack? An exercise snack was defined as a bout of vigorous physical activity that lasted less than five minutes. The activity had to be done at least two times a day on at least three days per week, for four to 12 weeks. The exercise was short and deliberate, such as climbing flights of stairs for the purpose of exercise. Stair-climbing was most common in adults younger than 65, while exercise, including tai chi, that strengthened lower body muscles was more common in older adults. They found that in adults younger than 65, these small acts of physical activity significantly improved cardiorespiratory fitness. For older adults –– those 65 and older –– exercise snacks significantly improved muscular endurance. People were also extremely likely to adhere to these small bouts of exercise –– about 91% of adults and 83% of older adults routinely engaged in them.“The biggest benefits happen at the very beginning, when someone goes from being inactive to a little bit active. That’s where exercise snacks can really help,” Rodríguez said. The study did have limitations, including the fact that the seven clinical trials they included used different methods to collect data, and had people exercise for different lengths of time between four and 12 weeks. For this reason, some of the benefits of moving may have been masked.For example, contrary to what past research has found, the new study found that short bursts of activity did not appear to have an effect on cardiometabolic health, such as body composition, blood pressure and blood lipids. Lipids are fatty substances, including LDL (bad cholesterol), HDL (good cholesterol) and triglycerides, that perform critical functions in the body but can be harmful if they build up in the blood.“It was surprising that they didn’t find any improvement in those other markers of cardiometabolic health because most other studies have,” said Carol Ewing Garber, director of both the Applied Physiology Laboratory and the EXerT Clinic at the Columbia University Teachers College, who wasn’t involved in the study. Cardiorespiratory health is a measure of how well the heart and lungs deliver oxygen to the muscles during exercise and predicts a person’s risk of developing heart disease and diabetes. The new study showed short bursts of exercises improved cardiorespiratory fitness.At the very least, getting small amounts of deliberate exercise on a regular basis will make everyday tasks, such as hauling groceries or making the bed, much easier, Garber said. “Most of us could probably find these five-minute bouts of time in our day, to walk around the building we work in, or up and down the stairs. We just don’t think we can,” she said. Short workouts create changes in the bodyPerhaps the biggest benefit of starting an exercise snack routine is that it can help people who are inactive build upon these small changes, said Dr. Tamanna Singh, director of the Sports Cardiology Center at Cleveland Clinic. “If you do the same snack, for the same amount of time, at the same frequency, your body will get used to it. The body needs a challenge,” she said. “The exercise snack can be the start of a foundation for more intense exercise.”Short workouts create key changes in the body that make intensifying workouts easier, Singh added. Within a couple of weeks of getting exercise, aerobic activity initiates cellular changes that increase the amount of plasma in the blood, which allows the blood to deliver more oxygen to the muscles and lengthens endurance. Even small amounts of aerobic activity strengthens the network of tiny blood vessels, called capillaries, that remove waste from muscles. Consistent activity also improves the amount of energy cells can provide, she added. These changes make it easier to exercise for longer periods of time or at a higher intensity. “The main takeaway here is that anything is better than nothing, but that does not mean you should just get three minutes of exercise,” Singh said. “Use that as a base, hopefully these exercise snacks will make people want to have an exercise meal.”Kaitlin SullivanKaitlin Sullivan is a contributor for NBCNews.com who has worked with NBC News Investigations. She reports on health, science and the environment and is a graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at City University of New York.

- Latest News - October 7, 2025

Short bursts of purposeful activity –– such as walking around the block or lifting small weights –– may be the best way to get in the habit of exercising.

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Freed Hamas hostage remembers Oct. 7

- Latest News - October 7, 2025

Here’s the Scoop: American Israeli Keith Siegel was taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attacks in Israel and held captive for 484 days before his release in February 2025. Now,.

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Oct. 7, 2025, 5:37 PM EDTBy The Politics DeskWelcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.In today’s edition, Steve Kornacki digs into why a blue wave doesn’t appear to be materializing (yet) for Democrats in next year’s midterm elections. Plus, the government shutdown stretches into a 7th day. Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.— Adam WollnerThe signs of a blue wave aren’t there like they were in Trump’s first termAnalysis by Steve KornackiThe blue wave that interrupted President Donald Trump’s first term could be seen coming from far away. This time around, the signs are not so clear.By the fall of 2017, Trump’s first year in office, Democrats had opened a sizable advantage in the generic congressional ballot. On this day in 2017, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average, the Democratic lead was 7.8 points. It’s a margin that would more or less hold over the ensuing year, culminating in a 40-seat gain in the 2018 midterms that gave Democrats control of the House.Today, by contrast, the RCP average has Democrats up by only 3 points in the generic ballot. This comes even as Trump’s overall job approval rating sits in the low- to mid-40s — similar to his first term — and as he continues to accrue negative ratings for his handling of the economy and inflation.Views of Trump’s opposition, though, look very different today than they did eight years ago. In the run-up to the 2018 midterms, Democrats fared consistently — and significantly — better than the Republicans on party image. This time around, it’s a different story.Earlier this year, Democrats registered their lowest positive rating in the history of our NBC News poll, which dates back more than three decades. Similar findings have emerged in other surveys. A significant factor is self-identified Democrats expressing unfavorable views of their own party. This internal frustration — combined with other data that shows these voters want a more confrontational posture from their party’s leaders — helps explain why Democrats in Washington have embraced a government shutdown.This also raises the question of what other new tactical or ideological steps Democratic leaders may take to appease their base — and whether the wider electorate will be receptive to them. In Trump’s first term, independents took a less negative view of Democrats than Republicans. Now, it’s more of a wash.Of course, to win back the House next year, Democrats don’t need a wave; a net gain of just three seats will do the trick. But Republicans may end up effectively raising that number to the high single digits through mid-decade redistricting efforts. Typically, the opposition party can count on a midterm boost by serving as the protest vehicle for whatever dissatisfaction voters want to express with the White House. But in today’s atmosphere of intense polarization, there may be some voters who want to express their displeasure with the opposition party, too.Shutdown, Day 7: Trump dials up the pressure as MTG breaks with her party on ObamacareThe White House raised the stakes of the government shutdown as it entered its seventh day with a draft memo arguing that furloughed federal workers are not entitled to back pay, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News.The memo, first reported by Axios, comes despite the Office of Personnel Management’s own September guidance, which said federal workers will receive retroactive pay after the shutdown lifts.The memo also clashes with a 2019 law that requires back pay for federal workers. The law, called the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, says all federal employees, whether furloughed or deemed essential and working without pay, must receive back pay after a shutdown ends.Asked about the White House’s position on back pay, President Donald Trump told reporters, “I would say it depends on who we’re talking about.” Trump also likened the shutdown to a “kamikaze attack“ by Democrats.The idea of denying back pay prompted some intraparty backlash, with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., calling it a “horrible message” and a “bad strategy.”Speaking of GOP divisions: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., broke with her party by calling for action on expiring Obamacare subsidies to avoid premium hikes, Sahil Kapur reports. In a long post on X, Greene, the far-right MAGA firebrand, made it clear she was not in Congress when the 2010 law passed.“Let’s just say as nicely as possible, I’m not a fan,” she wrote. “But I’m going to go against everyone on this issue because when the tax credits expire this year my own adult children’s insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district.” “Not a single Republican in leadership talked to us about this or has given us a plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums DOUBLING!!!” Greene added.Asked by our colleague Ryan Nobles about Greene’s comments, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said she doesn’t sit on the committees of jurisdiction and “she’s probably not read in on some of that.” He added that “everybody’s entitled to their opinion,” but “not everyone knows everything.” At the airport: Flight delays across the U.S. stretched into a second day as the Federal Aviation Administration braced for more airport staffing shortages amid the shutdown, Matt Lavietes and Corky Siemaszko write. Maya Rosenberg and Jay Blackman also note that federal funding for air travel in rural areas will run out Sunday if the shutdown continues. In the states: Some governors are drawing on state funds to keep popular national parks open for tourists, Raquel Coronell Uribe reports. 🗞️ Today’s other top stories⚖️ SCOTUS watch: The Supreme Court appeared poised to back a free speech challenge to a Colorado law that bans conversion therapy aimed at young people questioning their sexual orientations or gender identities in a case likely to have national implications. Read more →🪑 On the hot seat: Attorney General Pam Bondi faced questions from senators about National Guard deployments and immigrant arrests in U.S. cities, the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, and files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Read more →🇨🇦 Oh, Canada: Trump said there’s “mutual love” but “natural conflict” between the U.S. and Canada as he met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House. Read more →📱 Sprint to November: In the final weeks of the Virginia governor’s race, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears is attempting to tie Democrat Abigail Spanberger to the uproar over the violent texts that surfaced from the Democratic nominee for attorney general in the state. Read more →🗳️ If it’s Tuesday: Voters are heading to the polls for a special primary election to fill former Rep. Mark Green’s seat in Tennessee’s deep-red 7th District. Trump stepped in at the last minute with an endorsement of Matt Van Epps, the former commissioner of the state Department of General Services. Read more →➡️ Explainer: Trump suggested numerous times this week that he could invoke the sweeping presidential powers granted by the Insurrection Act “if necessary.” Here’s what that is →That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.comAnd if you’re a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up here. The Politics Desk    

- Latest News - October 7, 2025

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill.

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