Month: January 2014

Mexican electoral authorities said Wednesday they are recounting more than half the ballot boxes used in the weekend’s presidential election after finding inconsistencies in the vote tallies. Of the 143,000 ballot boxes used during Sunday’s vote, 78,012 will be opened and the votes recounted, said Edmundo Jacobo, executive secretary of Mexico’s Federal Electoral Institute.

By Lisa DanielAmerican Forces Press Service The Defense Department recently awarded $60 million to three public schools on two military installations, the latest example of its efforts to invest in the education of military children, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said at an education seminar here today. The grants, to schools serving children at Fort

U.S. marshals say a man wanted in the 2007 slayings of a Dallas couple has been arrested at a West Texas border crossing. In a statement Tuesday, the U.S. Marshals Service says Customs and Border Protection officers arrested 35-year-old Nicolas Monarrez late last week at an El Paso crossing. Dallas police wanted Monarrez as a

Court documents obtained by ABC-7 show Lazarus Delaurentis, 14, told investigators he was having sex with two of his young relatives, but he said it was consensual. Investigators are concerned with how advanced Delaurentis’ thought process of allegedly sexually abusing these girls seems to be. “This was not just one incident. This is an ongoing,

A political action committee is in the process of forming that will advocate for the passage of the City of El Paso’s proposed bond of nearly $500 million to pay for parks, museum improvements, zoo additions and Downtown attractions. The El Paso Advisory Committee, made up of members from the Downtown Management District, the Paso

A 17-year-old Houston teen was arrested Monday night after he allegedly stole a teddy bear and then pushed a 6-year-old child in an attempt to get away. El Paso Police said Martin Morales walked into the Mr. C Toys at the Outlet Shoppes at El Paso and placed a teddy bear into one of his

ABCNews Graduate students from the University of Texas who hijacked a civilian drone aircraft have demonstrated just how easy it would be to redirect unmanned vehicles — so-called UAVs that someday may do everything from delivering pizza to our doorstep to tracking stolen cars and aiding law enforcement. The hijacking was done over White Sands,

The man accused of tricking young women from Juarez into prostitution in El Paso appeared before a federal magistrate judge Tuesday morning. Charles Escamilla Marquez, who is referred to in federal documents as “El Puerkote” and “El Gordo,” waived his detention hearing, but Judge Richard Mesa requested to speak with Marquez about his right to

The StormTRACK Weather Team has issued a First Alert for Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Strong winds, heavy rain, and flooding are all possible with the storms that may develop. A monsoonal pattern is beginning to take shape as an upper-level ridge of high pressure is sitting over the Southeastern U.S., bringing in abundant

As plans move forward to bulldoze city hall and make way for a new baseball stadium, ABC-7 asked city leaders Monday to explain how often the building is appraised. According to Chief Financial Officer Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria, the city hall building was last appraised in 2007 and valued at $13.8 million. She said city officials do

ABCNews After decades of careful experiment, physicists say they have found the “strongest indication to date” to prove the existence of the Higgs boson — a subatomic particle so important to the understanding of space, time and matter that the physicist Leon Lederman nicknamed it “the God particle.” The announcement today, based on experiments at

New Mexico is still fighting and recovering from two record-breaking fires that burned thousands of acres and destroyed hundreds of homes. New research suggests tiny bark beetles may have played a role in feeding these fires. In January, state forest officials worried about thousands upon thousands of acres of trees dying in the Lincoln National

A StormTrack Weather First Alert has been issued for Wednesday and Thursday of this week due to the increased chances of rain. Rain chances will go up to 60 percent with the potential of some flooding in spots across El Paso and the surrounding area. The areas that were hit with the fires will be

Las Cruces Police have arrested a 14-year-old boy for allegedly having sexual relations with two young girls. Lazarus Delaurentis, of the 1700 block of Calle Sosa, was arrested June 30 and charged with seven first-degree felony counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor, according to police. The two young girls are 8 years old

Residents planning to clean up their garage during this Fourth of July holiday will not have any problems disposing of their junk at the El Paso landfill. The city’s Environmental Services Department announced collections and landfill operations will not be impacted during the Independence Day holiday. Trash and recyclables will be picked up as scheduled.

AAA Texas says nearly 3 million Texans will travel to celebrate the Fourth of July. With the holiday falling on Wednesday, AAA Texas is considering the holiday travel period as Tuesday through Sunday. The organization forecasts that 54 percent of the travelers already left over the weekend and the remaining 46 percent will leave Monday

Anderson Cooper is more accustomed to reporting news instead of having his personal life be the subject of major headlines. The 45-year-old host of “Anderson Cooper 360” recently revealed he is gay in an open letter to his longtime friend Andrew Sullivan of the Daily Beast. “The fact is, I’m gay, always have been, always

A wildfire burning on the western border of Carlsbad Caverns National Park has grown to 5,000 acres. Fire officials said Sunday that the blaze was sparked Friday by lightning in the Lincoln National Forest around the New Mexico-Texas state line. A helicopter battling the declining Little Bear Fire was diverted Saturday to the new fire,

Drought and wildfire fears are snuffing out some Fourth of July festivities this year. From Utah to Indiana, state and local governments are calling off annual fireworks displays out of fear that a stray rocket could ignite tinder-dry brush and trigger a wildfire. They’re also warning residents not to use fireworks, sparklers or Roman candles

An 18-year-old female El Pasoan and a 19-year-old male from Fort Bliss were shot in the parking lot of Players Billiards in the 4000 block of Dyer just before 3 a.m. Sunday, according to El Paso Police officials. The victims’ names have not been released. Police said the victims had been involved in a verbal

The borderland is no stranger to warm temperatures, but when will the area see a break from the heat? I often get this question from viewers who are tired of spending their afternoons trying to escape the sweltering temperatures. While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the area will begin to see a drop in

The City of Socorro is setting up six popping zones for the 4th of July. The zones have been watered and cleaned up, according to a City of Socorro spokesman. Traffic Control and Emergency Response Plans are in effect and more than a dozen extra City of Socorro Police Officers and fire guards will be

A Fort Bliss soldier was killed in Afghanistan on June 27, according to the Department of Defense. Sgt. James L. Skalberg Jr., 25, of Cullman, Ala., was assigned to 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss. He and another soldier assigned to a post in Germany

A bank’s computer glitch is keeping hundreds of El Paso County employees from getting paid today as scheduled. El Paso County spokesman Elihu Dominguez told ABC-7 the problem is with International Bank, the bank the County uses to pay employees. The glitch was supposed to be fixed by 11 a.m., according to El Paso County

El Paso Police have arrested a 29-year-old Horizon City man for alleged indecency with a child. On Thursday, El Paso Police’s Crimes Against Children Unity arrested Jorge Muniz after he turned himself in when he learned of an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Muniz is a local soccer coach who offers private lessons to male

ABC7 News has found out that two more former El Paso police officers were indicted late last week on charges of tampering with government records. Former officer Oscar Candelaria was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of tampering with government records along with former officer Paul Bowden who was indicted by the same

El Paso is enjoying the nation’s longest economic hitting streak. The westernmost metropolitan area in Texas has added private-sector jobs in 26 consecutive months, a run that is unmatched by any other major market across the country. On Numbers analyzed the employment streaks for America’s 100 biggest metropolitan areas as of April 2012, the latest

Another triple digit day on Thursday, now at 17 for the year. Normal 100-plus-days a year is 15. Only slight rain and storm chances for the next several days. Most storms will form in the mountains and along Arizona border. Although ABC-7 is keeping a 10 percent chance of a storm here the next several

American Red Cross El Paso is sending seven volunteers to assist with sheltering and client services as part of relief efforts in Florida due to tropical depression Debby. Two Red Cross team members have already deployed to assist in the relief efforts, and five more will be departing Friday morning. The El Pasoans will help

An El Paso man and a woman from Juarez are claimed to have smuggled girls from Juarez then forced them to work as prostitutes in El Paso motels for years, according to a multi-count federal indictment. Federal agents say Charles Marquez, 51, also known as “El Puerkote,” was working with Martha Jimenez Sanchez to recruit