https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/kayla-guo/The latest news by Kayla Guo.enWed, 20 Nov 2024 15:21:03 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/20/texas-department-public-safety-director/Martin, a senior official, takes the helm of the agency on Dec. 1, replacing retiring director Steve McCraw.By Kayla GuoWed, 20 Nov 2024 15:21:03 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/20/texas-department-public-safety-director/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/15/robert-roberson-texas-execution-whats-next/Roberson was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in a “shaken baby” case that many say led to an innocent man’s death sentence.By Kayla GuoFri, 15 Nov 2024 17:22:52 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/15/robert-roberson-texas-execution-whats-next/Robert Roberson seeks a new trial after his 2003 conviction for the murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in Palestine, Texas.Robert Roberson seeks a new trial for the 2003 conviction of the murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in Palestine, Texas on August 14, 2018.Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/14/texas-melissa-lucio-capital-murder-conviction-recommendation/The Cameron County judge also found the state relied on false testimony during her capital murder trial, according to court documents.By Kayla GuoThu, 14 Nov 2024 18:46:29 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/14/texas-melissa-lucio-capital-murder-conviction-recommendation/State Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas, speaks at a 2022 rally organized at Dallas City Hall to free death row inmate Melissa Lucio.State Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas, speaks at a rally organized at Dallas City Hall to free Melissa Lucio on April 7, 2022.Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/13/mccaul-detained-intoxication-washington-airport-texas/A nervous flier, the House Foreign Affairs chief said he made a “poor decision” to mix Ambien and alcohol before his flight home to Texas on Nov. 4.By Kayla GuoWed, 13 Nov 2024 16:23:51 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/13/mccaul-detained-intoxication-washington-airport-texas/U.S. Rep Michael McCaul, R-Austin, said his detainment at a Washington, D.C. airport was "the result of a poor decision I made to mix an Ambien — which I took in order to sleep on the upcoming flight — with some alcohol.”U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, speaks to reporters outside a House Republican Caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 12, 2023.Julia Nikhinson for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/12/donald-trump-texan-john-ratcliffe-CIA/Ratcliffe represented Texas’ 4th Congressional District until Trump picked him to serve as director of national intelligence in 2020.By Kayla GuoTue, 12 Nov 2024 17:36:31 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/12/donald-trump-texan-john-ratcliffe-CIA/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/07/texas-oklahoma-border-change-lake-texoma/The two states agreed to a land swap to ensure that a Dallas-area water district’s pump station lies wholly within Texas. Neither state gained in size from the small change.By Kayla GuoThu, 07 Nov 2024 17:55:01 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/07/texas-oklahoma-border-change-lake-texoma/A raw water pump station at Lake Texoma on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. The station was bisected by the state line between Texas and Oklahoma.A raw water pump station at Lake Texoma on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. The station is bisected by the state line between Texas and Oklahoma, complicating the transportation of water to its intended destination in Texas.Laura Buckman for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/06/texas-republican-sweep-appellate-courts/Republican judges won in 25 out of 26 contested races throughout the state in a show of the party’s broader strength up and down Tuesday’s ballot.By Kayla GuoWed, 06 Nov 2024 18:36:30 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/06/texas-republican-sweep-appellate-courts/In Tuesday's elections for the state's appellate courts, Republican judges won all but one of the contested races.Texas Senate gavelMarjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/05/texas-election-day-trump-harris-allred-cruz-congress-legislature/Texas might not be a swing state, but many of its races will have major consequences to the national political landscape and on the lives of everyday Texans.By Texas Tribune Staff, James Barragán, Jasper Scherer, Matthew Choi, Robert Downen, Alejandro Serrano, Joshua Fechter, Kayla Guo, Pooja Salhotra and Terri LangfordTue, 05 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/05/texas-election-day-trump-harris-allred-cruz-congress-legislature/Voters wait in line at the Houston Community College Southeast voting location in Houston on Election Day.Voters wait in line at the Houston Community College Southeast voting location in Houston on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024.Mark Felix for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/01/texas-justice-department-election-monitors/The federal agency agreed their monitors would remain outside polling locations and wouldn’t interfere with voting.By Terri Langford, Joshua Fechter and Kayla GuoFri, 01 Nov 2024 22:44:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/01/texas-justice-department-election-monitors/The Department of Justice announced Friday it would send election monitors to 27 states, including Texas, to keep an eye out for potential voting rights violations on Tuesday.Voters check in to vote at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston, Tuesday Nov. 8, 2022.Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/29/robert-roberson-shaken-baby-texas-death-row-evidence/Even before the Texas man’s death sentence became a political lightning rod, law enforcement and medical experts had differing opinions on the evidence that convicted him.By Kayla GuoTue, 29 Oct 2024 17:23:43 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/29/robert-roberson-shaken-baby-texas-death-row-evidence/Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at Texas' Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Projecthttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/29/ken-paxton-jeff-leach-robert-roberson/The AG also said he’d make a criminal referral against the lawmaker, who apologized for texting a Court of Criminal Appeals judge about a new trial for the death row inmate.By Jasper Scherer, Kayla Guo and Pooja SalhotraTue, 29 Oct 2024 16:38:17 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/29/ken-paxton-jeff-leach-robert-roberson/“His conduct demonstrates that he is unfit to serve in any capacity overseeing our judicial system and unfit to serve as a member of the Texas House,” Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement seeking Rep. Jeff Leach's resignation Tuesday.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/28/robert-roberson-jeff-leach-criminal-case/Leach, one of the driving forces behind the effort to stop Roberson’s execution, later apologized to the judge, who told the lawmaker there were still pending matters before the court.By Kayla Guo and Pooja SalhotraMon, 28 Oct 2024 16:30:26 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/28/robert-roberson-jeff-leach-criminal-case/State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, is a member of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence that intervened in the execution of Robert Roberson.From left: State Reps. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, and Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, listen to a testimony during a Criminal Jurisprudence hearing on death row inmate Robert Roberson on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin.Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/24/texas-robert-roberson-execution-political-battle/After the attorney general insisted on the death row inmate’s guilt in a graphic press release, four lawmakers issued a point-by-point rebuttal.By Kayla GuoThu, 24 Oct 2024 19:43:39 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/24/texas-robert-roberson-execution-political-battle/Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton insisted on the guilt of death row inmate Robert Roberson in a graphic press release Wednesday.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/22/texas-voter-verification-lawsuit-paxton/Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the federal government of failing to provide citizenship data for registered voters, even as he acknowledged that the vast majority of the people on the rolls are lawful voters.By Kayla GuoTue, 22 Oct 2024 22:08:29 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/22/texas-voter-verification-lawsuit-paxton/Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and other Republicans have repeatedly raised and used unsubstantiated concerns about noncitizen voting to cast doubt on the integrity of elections.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/21/robert-roberson-execution-subpoena-texas-house-testimony/The death row inmate was expected to testify before a Texas House committee, but those plans were scrapped amid a dispute over whether he should appear in person or virtually.By Kayla Guo and Pooja SalhotraMon, 21 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/21/robert-roberson-execution-subpoena-texas-house-testimony/A Texas House panel heard more than nine hours of testimony Monday from a range of people who support death row inmate Robert Roberson, seen at the TDCJ's Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023.Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Projecthttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/18/robert-roberson-texas-house-hearing/The effort to spare Roberson sparked a conflict between the executive and legislative branches that must be resolved. When it is, the death row inmate will likely be back on the path to execution.By Kayla GuoFri, 18 Oct 2024 16:30:18 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/18/robert-roberson-texas-house-hearing/Attorneys for death row inmate Robert Roberson confirmed Friday that he is expected to appear for testimony in person before the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence next week.Robert Roberson seeks a new trial for the 2003 conviction of the murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. His attorneys are asking for a new trial based on new findings they say debunk the flawed science presented in the original trial.Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/17/texas-execution-robert-roberson-subpoena/With Roberson’s options dwindling, a House panel used its bully pulpit to prove his case and excoriate the failures of the state’s junk science law.By Kayla GuoThu, 17 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/17/texas-execution-robert-roberson-subpoena/Robert Roberson has maintained for more than 20 years that he did not kill his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in 2002.Robert Roberson seeks a new trial for the 2003 conviction of the murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis in Palestine on Aug. 14, 2018. His attorneys are asking for a new trial based on new findings they say debunk the flawed science presented in the original trial.Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/16/robert-roberson-texas-shaken-baby-execution/The state’s highest civil court said it wants a lower court to resolve a separation-of-powers issue raised by a group of Texas lawmakers who subpoenaed the death row inmate the night before he was set to be put to death.By Kayla GuoWed, 16 Oct 2024 14:11:02 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/16/robert-roberson-texas-shaken-baby-execution/Jennifer Roberson (center), sister-in-law of Robert Roberson, is comforted after speaking outside of the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville. Opponents of the death penalty and prison personnel alike waited into the night for word on whether Roberson would be executed.Jennifer Roberson (center), sister-in-law of Robert Roberson, is comforted after speaking outside of the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville. Opponents of the death penalty and prison personnel alike waited into the night for word on whether Roberson would be executed.Mark Felix for the Texas Tribunnehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/11/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-investigations-request-to-examine/A federal judge said Texas’ “request to examine” statute amounts to unconstitutional search and seizure, Bloomberg reported.By Alejandro Serrano and Kayla Guo, The Texas Tribune, and Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaFri, 11 Oct 2024 19:48:01 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/11/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-investigations-request-to-examine/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/11/robert-roberson-texas-execution-appeal/Few options to avoid death remain for the Palestine man, who is set to be executed Thursday on the basis of a shaken baby syndrome diagnosis.By Kayla GuoFri, 11 Oct 2024 14:48:46 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/11/robert-roberson-texas-execution-appeal/