A Texas-based career criminal with a lengthy rap sheet is behind bars in Travis County after he was charged with murdering a father of five outside a 7-Eleven in Austin, reviving scrutiny of Travis County District Attorney José Garza and what critics call his controversial prosecutorial record and “soft on crime” approach.

Caleb Anthony Jenkins, described by police as a career criminal, was charged with murder in connection with a shooting last year that left a 25-year-old father dead outside a 7-Eleven. According to Austin police, Jenkins allegedly shot the victim and drove off.

But critics argue the killing may have been preventable. Garza’s office previously dismissed or declined to prosecute three separate gun charges against Jenkins in incidents dating back to 2022. He was also arrested in 2023 on a domestic violence charge and failed to appear in court, as Fox News reported. Most recently, he was re-arrested and released after his bond was raised.

Taken together, the developments have intensified public criticism of Garza, the Democratic district attorney backed by liberal mega-donor George Soros,

Garza, who was elected Travis County DA without prior experience as a prosecutor, has faced criticism from police advocacy groups and victims’ families since taking office. They have accused him of deliberately slow-walking certain cases and embracing lenient sentencing policies.

The criticism has sparked national attention in years past. In 2023, the family of 25-year-old Doug Cantor, who was shot and killed in the 2021 Sixth Street mass shooting in downtown Austin, criticized Garza for slow-walking the trial of the gunman.

Family members told Fox News Digital in an interview at the time that they believed Garza had put the case on the “back burner.”

“It’s very clear that his focus and attention is not on this case,” Nick Kantor told Fox News Digital in an interview reflecting on the two-year anniversary of his brother’s death — and the way Garza, who has been widely criticized for soft-on-crime policies, has handled the case.

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“He’s doing things that are clearly causing distress on the trial and on the overall outcome of the case and for getting justice for my brother,” Kantor said. 

Other victims’ families cited similar behavior from Garza’s office in interviews with Fox News Digital. 

While overall reported crime in Travis County has declined, opponents argue dismissal rates have been “political,” and could further endanger public safety.

It “appears that Garza has now become more of an advocate for the criminal than he has for the victim,” Dennis Farris, president of the Austin Police Retired Officer’s Association, previously told Fox News Digital.

“The prosecution is acting more like defense attorneys than they are prosecutors,” Farris said in an interview roughly one year after Garza took office. “Whatever his skewed view of what criminal justice reform is, it isn’t working. It sure isn’t working for the victims.” 

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“It used to be that they got the victims’ buy-in before offering plea bargains. Now it doesn’t appear he’s even doing that, because they’re not even communicating with them, and that’s what’s leading to the revictimization of these families.” 

Current and former local law enforcement officers have criticized Garza’s actions and his alleged “war on cops,” after the Soros-backed district attorney campaigned on indicting police officers and “reimagining” policing in Austin.

Soros contributed $652,000 to the Texas Justice & Public Safety PAC in the months leading up to the 2020 Travis County DA election, according to campaign finance records.

That same PAC spent almost $1 million on digital and mail advertisements to help Garza’s campaign, as Fox News reported.

The Travis County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restricted flights Thursday near Fort Hancock, Texas, after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) drone was reportedly shot down by a laser sytem operated by the Pentagon.

While government agencies have not identified who the drone belonged to, top Democrats on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released a joint statement Thursday evening claiming the drone belonged to CBP.

U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen, Bennie Thompson and Andre Carson said their “heads are exploding over the news” that a CBP drone was shot down by the Pentagon with “a high risk counter-unmanned aircraft system.”

The legislators added that this incident is “the result of [the White House’s] incompetence” after a “short-sighted” decision to “sidestep a bipartisan, tri-committee bill to appropriately train C-UAS operators and address the lack of coordination between the Pentagon, DHS and the FAA.”

In a joint statement provided to Fox News Digital, the Department of War, CBP and the FAA said the DOW used counter-unmanned aircraft system to respond to a “seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace.”

The departments said the engagement took place “far away from populated areas and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity,” adding they “will continue to work on increased cooperation and communication to prevent such incidents in the future.”

The departments said they are “working together in an unprecedented fashion to mitigate drone threats by Mexican cartels and foreign terrorist organizations at the U.S.-Mexico border.”

“The bottom line is the Trump Administration is doing more to secure the border and crack down on cartels than any administration in history,” the statement added.

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Congressional aides told Reuters that the Pentagon reportedly used the high-energy laser system to accidentally shoot down the CBP drone near the Mexican border, an area that frequently sees incursions from drones believed to be operated by Mexican drug cartels.

The FAA told Fox News Digital that a temporary flight restriction (TFR) was “already in place” around the Fort Hancock area and that the TFR “has been expanded to include a greater radius to ensure safety.” 

The restriction does not impact commercial flights, the agency said.

The FAA said in a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) that airspace around Fort Hancock was temporarily restricted for “special security reasons.”

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The restriction comes a couple of weeks after the FAA grounded flights to and from El Paso International Airport for 10 days before lifting the order roughly eight hours later.

A Trump administration official previously told Fox News that the initial lockdown came in response to “Mexican cartel drones” that breached U.S. airspace.

A U.S. official later confirmed that the U.S. military had shot down what was later determined to be a party balloon near El Paso.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment and was directed to the joint statement provided by the Department of War, Customs and Border Patrol and Federal Aviation Administration.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Reuters contributed to this report.

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A wave of corporate relocations is reshaping the U.S. economy, and Texas is emerging as the clear winner.

According to a report by CBRE, one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate brokerage firms, 561 companies have relocated their headquarters nationwide since 2018. The research shows many companies are reassessing tax climates, operating costs and growth prospects as they consider a move. 

That’s significant because these moves are often driven by long-term financial and growth strategies, not just geography — giving business-friendly states a competitive edge. 

From Texas to Tennessee, those states are racking up new headquarters, while blue strongholds like California and New York are losing companies at a notable clip.

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The Lone Star State clearly dominates the relocation map. Dallas-Fort Worth captured 100 headquarters moves between 2018 and 2024 — the most of any metro in the country — while Austin secured another 81 and Houston added 31. Combined, those three markets accounted for more relocations than most entire states, cementing Texas’ outsized role in reshaping the corporate landscape.

Meanwhile, California metros saw the steepest net losses, led by the San Francisco Bay Area with a net loss of 156 headquarters over the same period. 

As blue states debate regulation and tax policy, Texas business leaders say the state’s approach is paying off. Megan Mauro, interim president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business, points to the state’s tax structure and lighter regulatory climate as key draws.

“We have a light regulatory touch and no personal or corporate income tax,” Mauro said, citing Texas’ recent $25 billion surplus as evidence of what she calls a competitive tax environment.

Her argument aligns with research from CBRE, which found that companies most often cite lower taxes, reduced operating costs and stronger growth opportunities when relocating their headquarters.

The shift has intensified scrutiny of tax policy in high-cost states. Steve Moore, economist and co-founder of Unleash Prosperity, said those states risk driving away wealth and investment.

“It is common sense for business leaders to pick places for future financial success rather than economic suffocation,” Moore told Fox News Digital.

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He argued that proposals such as California’s 2026 Billionaire Tax Act are accelerating the outflow of the state’s ultra-wealthy residents to lower-tax states like Texas and Florida. 

“These business tycoons are running to states like Florida and Texas because of lower taxes, economic freedom and future economic prosperity,” he said, describing it as “voting with their feet.”

That shift is also reflected in population data.

From 2021 to 2024, Texas and Florida posted the largest net population gains, while California and several northeastern states recorded some of the steepest losses, according to IRS and U.S. Census Bureau data.

Moore added that the broader economic implications extend beyond corporate balance sheets.

Growth in states like Texas can expand the tax base and provide additional funding flexibility for infrastructure, education and other priorities — often without raising tax rates.

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Economic performance frequently shapes midterm messaging, and migration trends like these are poised to feature in debates over tax competitiveness.

Whether those patterns endure remains to be seen. For now, though, population flows are reinforcing a broader argument: tax policy is no longer an abstract debate — it’s shaping where Americans choose to build their futures.

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