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...

Oregon Senate Democrats unanimously voted to kill an effort to require that federal authorities be notified when an illegal immigrant convicted of a violent felony is about to be released from prison, leading the chamber’s top Republican to say the majority is choosing ideology over common sense. In Oregon’s legislature, the minority caucus is permitted to file an alternative “minority report” to a majority party-led bill, which would...