Month: February 2015

Thomas Eric Duncan, the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States, grew up next to a leper colony in Liberia and was forced to flee from years of war before returning to his country, years later, to find it ravaged by the disease that ultimately took his life as well. Duncan, 42, arrived in

The first freeze contest is over, and that means we have a winner. Congratulations Miguel Saenz! The contest asked viewers to give ABC-7 their best forecast for the first freeze of the season in El Paso, down to the minute. Viewers were allowed to send one forecast a day for the entirety of the contest.

The first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States died in a Dallas hospital Wednesday, a little more than a week after his diagnosis exposed gaps in the nation’s defenses against the disease and set off a scramble to track down anyone exposed to him. Thomas Eric Duncan, 42, was pronounced dead at 7:51 a.m.

The ABC-7 StormTRACK Weather Team has issued a First Alert earlier this week for expected moderate to heavy rain, possible flash flooding and cooler temps. The First Alert has been cancelled. Chances for rain sit around 20 percent in El Paso and 10 percent in Las Cruces tonight. A moisture plume sitting to the east

The holiday season is in full swing and with New Year’s just around the corner, fireworks sales have begun. Recent rains and strong holiday spending indicate a busy season for buying fireworks. The Keetch-Byram Drought Index, which is used to determine outdoor activities and to inform fireworks sales restriction shows no indication of rising to

Celebrations for the 4th of July continued into the night around the Borderland, though some were louder than others. At the Socorro Entertainment Center in the Lower Valley, the bombs really were bursting in air all night. The Tigua reservation is one of the few places in the region where fireworks sales aren’t being restricted,

This fourth of July, Chapparal NM was one of the only places near El Paso County that allowed fireworks this year. Vendors started cleaning early Friday morning and were finished in a couple of hours — not a huge sacrifice, considering each stand’s successful sales. “It’s Christmas in July, man,” said vendorMathis Zamora. Zamora said

Cleanup has begun after the Fourth of July holiday. Because of fireworks bans in El Paso and Dona Ana counties, the number of places where people can set off their own fireworks was limited. But up in Otero County, folks were up early cleaning up some of mess left behind. A manager with one of

County Judge Veronica Escobar will said she plans to ban fire works and is asking Governor Rick Perry to extend the ban through July 5th. It’s hot. It’s dry. It’s a desert in a drought. County Judge Veronica Escobar said after consulting with the state forest service and county fire departments, they all support a

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) – The Lincoln National Forest will be imposing fire restrictions on the Guadalupe Ranger District in southeastern New Mexico starting Sunday. The Stage II restrictions will prohibit campfires as well as wood, coal and charcoal stoves and the use of fireworks. Smoking will be allowed only inside buildings or vehicles. Welding or

A bonfire in Vinton, Texas exploded seriously injuring three people. The Sheriff’s office tells ABC-7 it happened at the 8000 block of kiely road. Police found three people had received what appeared to be third degree burns. Deputies said a family had started a bonfire and some members wanted to make the fire more intense.

A mobile home has been completely destroyed after it caught fire. Fire officials suspect it was because of a faulty heater. It happened before 3:30 a.m. Thursday on the 1500 block of Westbourne in Clint. Sheriff’s officials originally told ABC-7 a person was hospitalized from burns. The father of the family was injured, but it

Firefighters had a busy night on Monday. An apartment fire on the 11000 block of Vista del Sol forced two people to seek shelter elsewhere for the night. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Fire crews also had to put out a house that went up in flames

There’s a tremendous amount of the ballpark project that you can’t see from the street. Sunday afternoon city and El Paso Chihuahuas officials took ABC-7 up-down and underground to give us an inside look at the ballpark. “We’re seventy something days away from opening day April. Every week there’s something happening here,” said Chihuahuas general

The biggest day in sports is only a few hours away. Managers at Wing Daddy’s Sauce House tell ABC-7 they are going to be slammed. They are expecting to serve more than 3,000 pounds of chicken wings. “You know, honestly we’ve been having phone calls for over a month now,” Wingdaddy’s manager Kenny Durling said.

“How long have you been a Broncos fan?” ABC-7 asked football fan Jerry Sanchez. “Since I was fifteen,” Sanchez said. There were die hard fans…and there were the ones who were beyond die hard. “Since I was zero, since I was a baby,” said a young Broncos fan. El Paso’s Denver Broncos club gathered for

City officials held a groundbreaking ceremony at San Jacinto Plaza. It’s the beginning of a yearlong beautification process. Wednesday afternoon crews were using hydraulic jacks to break concrete at the plaza. The benches have been removed and the lights are coming down. City officials broke ground to officially kick off the project expected to be

Back in September, ABC-7 brought you word that the Humane Society inherited a home and vehicle from a veteran. Joseph Janek left the house to the non-profit in his will, asking them to sell it and use the money for the animals. The Humane Society set a goal back in September to completely remodel the

Over the past week, some Time Warner Cable customers may have noticed a few channels have gone missing. Replacing those channels: Two static screens with text that explain the channel numbers have changed, and a new digital adapter may be necessary to retrieve them. ABC-7 spoke with Sergio Enriquez, a spokesman for Time Warner Cable,

Police confirmed two men were arrested after shots were fired early Saturday morning in downtown El Paso. Police said 25-year-old Gregory Moore was spotted by officers as he fired three shots into the air and got into a black Range Rover. He then fired two more rounds from out the window of the vehicle, according

Jurors found an El Paso man guilty of two counts of intoxication manslaughter Saturday, during a rare weekend court appearance. Eric Barajas, 36, was found guilty to a crime dating back to 2009. Barajas was reportedly driving drunk when officials said he struck and killed 26-year-old Orlando Figueroa and 22-year-old Angela Gonzalez, who were walking

The City of Socorro appears to be looking for a new police chief. ABC-7 located several ads online that indicate a job opening for an interim Socorro Police Chief. The ads show that the person sought would be under administrative direction, and would be in charge of managing police operations. According to an ad on

El Paso Police are looking into a stabbing that occurred in Northeast El Paso early Saturday morning. Police said the incident occurred at around 3:30 a.m. on the 4900 block of Hercules. The 21-year-old man stabbed was taken to University Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries, according to EMS dispatch. Our ABC-7 crew discovered the

El Paso parents who lost their children to a suspected drunk driver in North Dakota are calling for tougher drunk driving laws in the state. The parents lostAlaries Ruiz, 9, and Cyris Ruiz, 5, last summer, and have been lobbying at the state’s capitol over the past month. Friday the family made appeals to lawmakers,

The Oscars are just around the corner. For some, that means getting caught up on all the nominees before learning who wins the “best” title. Some people choose to get their videos through Redbox kiosks, which have taken a bite out of the movie rental industry over the past 10 years. In 2002, Redbox came

1AD/GARRISON PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE FORT BLISS, Texas— More than 250 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, will redeploy from their Security Force Adviser Assistance Teams to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom Feb. 17. While in country, the SFAATs’ main focus will be training and advising Afghan Security Forces to independently conduct unilateral

El Paso Electric is turning some big profit to those who own the company’s stock. Forbes just released a report by “Dividend Channel,” calling the company a top 10 dividend paying utility stock. Dividends are payments made to stockholders per share. Right now El Paso Electric is paying about $1 per share, generating some buzz

A pedestrian was hit be a vehicle early Sunday morning, officials said. The collision happened around 1:30 a.m., near the intersection of McCutcheon and Doniphan. Officials said one person was transported to an area hospital. The scene was cleared quickly. Police dispatch told ABC-7 the driver of the vehicle was caught a short distance from

ABC-7’s Karla Huelga interviews General Manager of”Feast in the Middle East” at St. George Church Jean- Marc Salloum. Keep watching: Karla also has this week’s coming weather and belly dancers. The festival is Saturday, May 17 12 p.m. -10 p.m. and Sunday, May 18 12 p.m. – 7 p.m. at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Christian

The FBI has confirmed with ABC-7 that it served search warrants to Anamarc College at its Dyer and Santa Teresa, N.M. locations early Wednesday morning. The FBI was also at the home of Anamarc College owners in El Paso’s Upper Valley. The owners are Ana Maria Pina Houde, CEO of the college, and her husband,