Month: October 2016

Ninety-eight federal inmates will return home sooner than expected after President Barack Obama commuted their sentences on Thursday, part of a clemency push that has sped up dramatically in Obama’s final months. All told, Obama has cut short sentences for 872 inmates, including 688 this year. The figure is higher than the number commuted by

New Mexico is pursuing federal authority to charge medical co-payments and some other costs to patients enrolled in Medicaid health care for the poor and disabled. Human Service Secretary Brent Earnest briefed state lawmakers Wednesday on efforts to institute “nominal” co-payments as an incentive to steer patients away from wasteful expenses, such as the use

Law enforcement officers and soldiers, some wearing riot gear and many armed, began an operation on Thursday to remove Dakota Access pipeline protesters camped on private land in the path of the pipeline in North Dakota. The forcible removal began a day after protesters refused to leave voluntarily. Authorities with trucks, police cars, military Humvees

It can be a frightening call to get – and it’s a familiar one for many thousands of Americans. Callers posing as tax and immigration agents are threatening arrest, deportation or other punishment unless money is sent to help clear up what they say is a deportation warrant or to cover supposedly unpaid income taxes.

Ground has not yet been broken, but plans for a new downtown arena are already dividing the city. The city announced last week it wanted to use the area about two blocks south of the convention center downtown. The concern is that historic buildings will be demolished, but city officials insist not all of the

Above normal temperatures will continue for the next few days. El Paso: Today: Sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. Southeast winds 5 to10 mph.Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows 55 to 60. Southeast winds 5 to10 mph. Las Cruces: Today: Mostly sunny. highs in the mid 80s. East winds 5 to10 mph.Tonight: Mostly clear. lows in the

EL PASO, Texas – A new era of professional soccer in El Paso is about to begin this weekend. The El Paso Coyotes, a professional indoor soccer team affiliated with the Major Arena Soccer League, travel to Dallas to play the Sidekicks in their first-ever match Saturday. The Coyotes will then host the Sidekicks at

The ScottHulse Law Firm is encouraging its nearly 50 employees to get to the polls with a “group walk.” “It gives both our attorneys and staff time to go together and go vote for the presidential and local elections. It’s a good opportunity for us, as an employer, to be able to show our staff

Police continue to investigate the disappearance of Ricardo Martinez.Martinez, last seen on October 30, 2015 near the intersection of Zaragoza Road and Vista Del Sol Drive. Police said Martinez, 31, has a mental illness that requires medication. “We’ve done extensive research, we’ve checked hospitals, we checked other places where he had been before and also

Police are investigating a shooting and a stabbing on the 300 block of Keathley. A police spokesman tells ABC-7’s Jamie Warren a 16-year-old boy was shot and a 37-year-old man was stabbed multiple times. “I wasn’t surprised because two or three maybe, even four weeks ago, there were two police vehicles out front of that

The number of animals euthanized by the city of El Paso is on the decline. According to reports obtained by ABC-7 from the Animal Services Department, 14,009 dogs and cats were put down in 2015. Compare that to 2010, when 21,242 were euthanized, and the recent peak in 2012 with 25,335. Since 2012, the number

An 18-year-old in Texas has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2014 run-over death of a man who refused to buy beer for the underage youth. Prosecutors say Emmanuel Diaz was sentenced Tuesday in Abilene. Investigators say Diaz was 16 when he ran over and killed 58-year-old Jesse Cortinez on Oct. 31, 2014.

A Texas grand jury has indicted a 23-year-old man in the death of his wife who was found decapitated hours after officers visited the couple on a welfare check. Davie Dauzat was indicted Wednesday on a murder charge in the death of 21-year-old Natasha Dauzat. Authorities say she was killed Aug. 25 at the couple’s

Officials say a fourth man has been arrested in a Houston-area jewelry store robbery attempt that left another suspect dead during a shootout with workers. Montgomery County jail records show 20-year-old Santo Stephens was being held Wednesday on an aggravated robbery charge. Bond was $150,000 for Stephens, who was arrested Tuesday on a warrant for

San Antonio police say a woman found dead on a road appears to have been dragged and run over while trying to stop a tow truck from taking her car. Police on Wednesday didn’t immediately release the name of the woman. Sgt. Martin Landgraf says the body was discovered around 10 p.m. Tuesday. Investigators say

Prosecutors say a former middle school teacher in Southeast Texas must serve five years in prison for sharing child pornography with an undercover agent. Gary Alan George was sentenced Tuesday by a federal judge in Beaumont. The 56-year-old Beaumont man in April pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography. Records show George taught in the Beaumont

Tony Romo participated in throwing drills at practice Wednesday for the first time since the Dallas quarterback broke a bone in his back in a preseason game at Seattle in August. The 36-year-old Romo worked in several individual drills in shorts and a T-shirt with his teammates in full pads. While he almost certainly won’t

Financial disclosures show GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump owns stock in the company building the Dakota Access oil pipeline across the Midwest. Trump’s 2016 federal disclosure forms, filed in May, show he owned between $15,000 and $50,000 in stock in Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners. That’s down from stock listed at between $500,000 and $1 million

Los Angeles police are investigating a pre-dawn attack that destroyed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame less than two weeks before the election. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which bestows the stars and maintains the popular tourist attraction, said it would quickly repair Trump’s spot, but it would take

Mexico’s national security commissioner insisted Tuesday drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s health is fine after the drug kingpin’s common-law wife filed a complaint saying he’s faring poorly behind bars. Commissioner Renato Sales told Imagen Radio that Guzman is isolated from other prisoners, but receives visits from his family and lawyers. “He is not subject

Santa Teresa boys Basketball Coach Bob Haack has passed away, a Gadsden ISD spokesman confirmed. Haack died as a result of complications from cancer, the spokesman said. Coach Haack, a graduate assistant under the legendary Don Haskins in the 1970s, won a state title with Santa Teresa in 2012. He also coached basketball at several

EL PASO, Texas – Very few coaches in any sport at any level even coach 1,000 games. To win 1,000 times is something only the most successful can claim they’ve done. Franklin head volleyball coach Flo Valdez is one of the lucky (and persistent) ones to reach that milestone. The school honored Valdez Tuesday night

If you own an Apple product, you know the company comes out with updates on a regular basis. The El Paso Independent School District is also being affected because the district owns nearly 36,000 iPads. A few years ago, EPISD started using iPads in schools as a training tool. The program was very small. Just

Prepare to lace up those running shoes and gather at least 11 of your friends. Being billed as one-of-a-kind, a 200-mile relay race is headed to the borderland beginning April 8, 2017. Teams comprised of twelve runners will experience an overnight running adventure beginning in El Paso, Texas and ending at the futuristic Spaceport America.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested two Fort Bliss soldiers Thursday morning, federal law enforcement officials told ABC-7. The soldiers, identified as 19-year-old Marco Antonio Nava and 25-year-old Joseph Edmond Cleveland, were indicted in federal court on charges of smuggling undocumented immigrants into the U.S. On June 19, 2016, Border Patrol agents at the checkpoint

It’s no surprise that most El Paso voters are Democrats, but an early voting exit poll conducted by Coronado High School students did find some interesting statistics. For example, nearly all of the people who voted for Donald Trump say the country is headed in the wrong direction. Also, El Paso voters tend to be

An Anthony teen was arrested Tuesday, accused of burglarizing a Revolt Wireless store and stealing several cell phones, said El Paso Police. Isaac Lopez, 17, is charged with burglary of business and booked into the El Paso County Jail on the outstanding warrant. His bond was set at $20,000.00. Police said the burglary happened sometime

Police arrested a couple accused of switching bar codes to fraudulently obtain merchandise at a Walmart. Joshua Sean Nestle, 25, and Bonnie Kathryn Ligon, 24, are charged with conspiracy and shoplifting (more than $500). Police said Nestle also faces one count of non-residential burglary. The charges are all fourth-degree felony counts. Police said additional charges

The longtime sheriff of metropolitan Phoenix was charged Tuesday with criminal contempt-of-court for ignoring a judge’s order in a racial-profiling case, leaving the 84-year-old lawman in a tough spot two weeks before Election Day as he seeks a seventh term. The U.S. Department of Justice promised two weeks ago that it would prosecute Sheriff Joe

In a close 3 to 2 vote Tuesday, Dona Ana County Commissioners voted to not move forward with adopting a revised version of the Unified Development Code. Instead, the 400-page document would go back to the county’s Planning and Zoning committee for more alterations. The vote was a victory for many living in the Talavera