Month: June 2019

Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law one of lawmakers’ biggest achievements this year, a massive overhaul of Texas’ long-beleaguered school finance system. Abbott put his signature on House Bill 3 during a triumphant ceremony Tuesday at Parmer Lane Elementary School in Austin. The governor was flanked by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dennis

Sidewalk “speakeasies” are a thing of the past for Texas children. Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a new law that prohibits police from shutting down children’s lemonade stands. On Twitter, Abbott signed what he called a “common-sense law” with a celebratory tall glass of lemonade on Monday, saying, “Cheers.” (See video above.) The bill was

Major General Patrick E. Matlock delivered the annual El Paso Chamber State of the Military address on Tuesday. Matlock, who serves as Commanding General 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss, told the crowd of hundreds gathered for the chamber luncheon that the state of the military and of the Army base is strong. (Watch the

Sal Martinez is a native El Pasoan, a graduate of Ysleta High. His law enforcement career began in the early 1990’s with the Texas Department of Public Safety as a Texas State Trooper. He moved over to U.S. Customs where he worked in the Air Interdiction Program, patrolling the skies looking for aircraft that were

UPDATE: The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) issued the following statement on Tuesday afternoon… (You can read ABC-7’s original report from Monday night below the statement). “A private organization, We Build the Wall, built a gate on federal land in Sunland Park, N.M., near El Paso, Texas, without authority, and then locked the gate

In a cramped San Diego courtroom, immigrant mothers cradled restless babies and toddlers as they waited to go before a judge. After a quick exchange, they were whisked back to Mexico where they face months, or possibly years, before their cases play out in the U.S. Hundreds of miles away, a judge in El Paso,

If you haven’t had a mammogram, it’s time to make an appointment. Early detection saves lives. ABC-7 recently spoke with Dr. Robert Prieto, an oncologist with Texas Tech Physicians who specializes in breast cancer. In addition to not smoking, Dr. Prieto suggests women make good food choices and exercise regularly. While doing these things does

The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops convened a high-stakes meeting Tuesday under pressure to confront the child sexual abuse crisis that has disillusioned many churchgoers, with one scholar warning: “We find ourselves at a turning point, a critical moment in our history.” How the bishops confront the problem “will determine in many ways the future vibrancy

World Pet Memorial Day Everyone has had an animal or pet make an impact on our lives. Big or small, animals fill our hearts with so much joy. How do we show our thanks to an animal that has passed? Talking about the loss of a pet can be hard, but it is also important

Editor’s Note: This article has been corrected to clarify an allegation made about a representative cursing at the meeting and attribution of a quote related to the bantering that took place. —- Discussion over an El Paso City Council code of conduct (you can read the entire document at the end of his article) sparked

Four men were found dead Monday in an irrigation canal that diverts water from the Rio Grande to farmers in southern New Mexico and west Texas, according to El Paso police. Authorities said Border Patrol agents discovered three of the bodies on a in a tunnel adjoining the canal, near a section of the waterway

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law teacher raises and a sweeping overhaul of how the state pays to educate more than 5 million students in public schools. Abbott on Tuesday called it a “monumental moment” while signing the bill at an Austin elementary school. It comes near the end of an often rocky

President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden are assailing each other in overlapping visits to the key state of Iowa on Tuesday, previewing what the country might get in next year’s election if Biden becomes his party’s nominee. The president unleashed a series of schoolyard taunts of the former vice president before taking off from

Following the arrest of UTEP quarterback Kai Locksley over the weekend, news Monday of another UTEP football player who was also arrested on the very same night. According to online jail records, defensive tackle Tiano Tialevea, was arrested Saturday and charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly fighting. Tialevea was also charged with public intoxication. Tialevea

The Southern Baptist Convention opened a national meeting Tuesday that was expected to be dominated by discussion of a large-scale sex-abuse crisis. Delegates were expected to adopt new abuse prevention measures and consider a proposal making it easier to expel churches that mishandle abuse cases. The Rev. J.D. Greear, president of the nation’s largest Protestant

The Justice Department says nearly 1,700 people have been arrested following a two-month crackdown aimed at targeting suspected child predators. Tuesday’s announcement caps the nationwide investigation conducted by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies around the U.S. Prosecutors said they identified more than 300 people suspected of producing child pornography or committing sexual abuse

Mexican officials said Tuesday they are beginning deployment of the country’s new National Guard for immigration enforcement, an accelerated commitment of a 6,000-strong force made as part of an agreement with the United States to head off threatened U.S. tariffs on imports from Mexico. President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador and Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard

Regenerative Medical Health in Las Cruces is one of seven places in the world offering a new procedure for men with erectile dysfunction. It’s called the Caverstem procedure. Bone marrow is extracted from one of the bones in a patient’s lower back. The stem cells from the bone marrow are then injected into the penile

A Jewish death row inmate who was part of the “Texas 7” gang of escaped prisoners has filed an appeal claiming the former county judge who convicted him was anti-Semitic and frequently used racial slurs. The Houston Chronicle reports that Randy Halprin alleges in his federal appeal that ex-Dallas County Judge Vickers Cunningham referred to

Every year, weather dangers affect the Borderland during late spring and summer. In preparation for “The Monsoon” this week The National Weather Service El Paso has teamed up with the StormTrack Weather Team to discuss safety tips for staying safe during the Borderland’s monsoon season. The time period from June 15th through September 30th has

In the 2018 fiscal year the El Paso Sector Border Patrol stations reported four deaths at the border and 14 rescues. In the past three days recovery and rescue crews from both sides of the border have retrieved five dead bodies from the canals and ditches plus saved four migrants in the Rio Grande. Saturday

The Del Valle Conquistadores have a new head football coach, and he’s no stranger to the program. Sources confirmed that Rudy Contreras will take over the program pending approval by the Ysleta Independent School District. The news of Contreras being named the head football coach was first reported by Prep One USA. Contreras has been

The state of New Mexico is suing the Trump administration over its quick-release asylum practices for immigrants, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Monday afternoon. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, seeks to halt what it calls the Trump administration’s “indiscriminate practice of releasing migrants in communities in the

The body of an apparent drowning victim washed up on shore along a canal in the 600 block of Upper Valley around noon Monday, El Paso police and fire officials said. EPFD spokesman Enrique Aguilar said a body was initially spotted in the water near Upper Valley Road and Scott Lane; fire-rescue crews were dispatched

Three bodies were found in a water tunnel near the Cesar Chavez Border Highway early Monday morning, local authorities said. El Paso police confirmed the bodies were of three men who were found east of Fonseca Drive in Lower Valley. A spokesperson for the fire department said that Customs and Border Patrol requested a body

The Better Business Bureau of Paso Del Norte (BBB) and El Paso Electric Company (EPE) share an important message about scam ploys targeting small business customers. In the last week, EPE has seen an increase in scams targeting local small businesses. Small business owners are encouraged to be alert to, and suspicious of, calls claiming

The University of Texas at El Paso will partner with the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) to foster the next generation of highly skilled STEM teachers through a five-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). UTEP will receive support from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, an NSF effort that helps

Authorities say the visitor who died on a hiking trail at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico over the weekend was a German man. State police on Monday identified him as 70-year old Peter Rudy Cramer. The victim went out for a hike with his 67-tear old wife on the Alkali Flat Trail on

Delta Airlines will no longer offer service between El Paso and Salt Lake City, Utah, an El Paso International Airport (EPIA) spokesperson confirmed with ABC-7. The spokesperson says Delta decided to discontinue the non-stop service due to poor performance, adding Salt Lake City wasn’t as much a destination as it was a hub to fly

A helicopter crash-landed on the roof of a rain-shrouded midtown Manhattan skyscraper Monday, killing the pilot and briefly triggering memories of 9/11, even though it appeared to be an accident unrelated to terrorism. The crash near Times Square and Trump Tower shook the 750-foot-tall (229-meter-tall) AXA Equitable building and forced office workers to flee on