Good Morning El Paso 12.17.15

from our round the clock news team— details on a deadly crash overnight that closed a portion of montana for hours. we have the latest / also from our ’round the clock news team—a fire in west el paso displaces a family this morning.. / “this action marks the end of an extraordinary 7 year period ” plus–the federal reserve has increased the interest rate for the first time in nearly a decade—how this is affecting everything from credit cards to mortgages. a very good morning el paso, las cruces, and juarez. i’m stephanie valle. hillary floren is off today. let’s get straight to your round the clock coverage. the 13-thousand block of montana was shut down to traffic this morning after an early morning crash. good morning el paso’s denise olivas is on the scene with more… denise? let’s start with traffic this morning– if you are trying to leave the city through montana, you’ll have to wait a few hours. the eastbound lanes are closed. zaragoza at montana also closed. the westbound lanes are open on montana. this area is expected to open at 6:30 let’s to the new video this morning. the el paso sheriff’s office confirms it was a single-vehicle wreck. the victim between 45 and 50 years of age was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. officials say he was heading east on montana when he veered onto the median and hit a light pole. the truck then veered back onto the road rolling over. now to more round the clock coverage… residents in west el paso were woken up earlier this morning to a fire. it happened around 2 a.m at the hills apartment complex at 48-40 mesa street. when our crews arrived there were emergency crews in the parking lot and inside one of the apartment units. the fire was contained to a unit on the 2nd floor. according to emergency crews… there were no injuries. a live look at stormtrack doppler radar is showing… currently around our region… here’s your day planner for today… expect skies, winds and temperatures in the by 8 am, by noon and for your drive home around 5 pm. we’ll talk more about what to expect for the rest of this work week and the weekend ahead coming up in your full forecast. for the first time in nearly a decade the federal reserve announcing an interest rate increase..the first rate hike since the financial collapse. abc’s stephanie ramos reports from washington. 0:14 – 0:25 0:44 – 0:50 1:18 – 1:24 do you have a credit card? a car loan? mortgages? listen up… fed chair janet yellen announcing the federal reserve is upping interest rates from a record low of zero to one quarter of a percent. and while it may be a good sign for the economy? sot yellen: “….th federal funds rate was held near zero to support the recovery of the economy from the worst financial cris and recession since the great depression.” ..it may not be good for your wallet rates have been kept low in order to stimulate the economy … yellen says this raise shows progress… toward restoring jobs and raising the incomes….of millions of americans. but? everything from your credit cards, to new car loans or mortgages, will be a little more expensive? but the increase will be slow. sot chris rugaber, ap economics writer: “some banks have already raised the prime rate you’ll probably see a little bit of a rise there in your credit card statement. one to two billing cycles..to be exact.. if you have credit cards with variable rates.. for new mortgages? small changes – with a big impact. on a $200k house? a fixed rate mortgage at 4% will cost you $955/month. but if the rate rises just one quarter of a percent, that payment rises to $984?costing you $11,000 more over the life of the loan. the economic recovery has come a long way… but it isn’t completely over. sot: francis lun, chief chief executive officer of geo securities: “w expect the federal reserve will not raise interest rates again in the near future at least not for the next six months.” tag this is a huge improvement for the economy. and if you’re a saver?.withthis rate increase you’ll begin to earn more on those cd’s and money accounts.. stephanie ramos abc news washington e) new this morning— u-s defense secretary ash carter just touched down in erbil, the de facto capital of kurdish iraq. he is due to meet the president of the kurdistan regional government. carter is coming from baghdad – where he has been talking to members of the u-s forces who are helping iraq in the fight with isis. / police in washington d.c. are investigating the murder of a secret service agent. arthur baldwin was killed tuesday after he was shot in a residential neighborhood. baldwin was placed on leave and his security clearance suspended after he was charged with trying to break into his girlfriend’s house while armed. his most recent court appearance was just hours before he was killed. police say they are looking for three people in connection with the shooting and have no information about them or a possible motive. / president obama will pay a visit to san bernardino, california, friday. the white house says the president will meet with families of victims in this month’s mass shooting in the city. fourteen people were killed in the shooting. the meetings will be private, and it’s not known if the president will make any public statements while in san bernardino. “all night all day we are going to fight for fight gray” hours after a baltimore jury said it couldn’t reach a decision in the trial of a police officer charged in the death of freddie gray, the city remains relatively calm. there was a prayer and unity gathering wednesday night at the intersection that was the epicenter of april’s unrest following gray’s death. gray died after his neck was broken while being transported in a police van. a total of six police officers face charges. meanwhile…. chicago police officer jason van dyke is now formally indicted for the shooting death of 17-year-old laquan mcdonald. dyke shot mcdonald 16 times in an incident last year. the indictment includes six counts of first degree murder and one count of official misconduct. van dyke is free on bail. he’s due back in court on friday. road work on the west side of el paso is a nightmare for commuters right now. but tex-dot says it could have been worse… depending on how you look at it. “it’s a mess. they shouldn’ have done so much construction at one time.” “th should have done it in stages as they wrap up one thing maybe start another because it has started more congestion, more accidents, more frustration.” so why is road work on i-10 and cosntruction on the border highway happening at the same time? tex-dot says both projects are dependent on one another. and if the two were built separatley – it would’ve taken twice as long. now it’s time to take a look at the tx-dot traffic cams… still to come here on good morning el paso — a driver is lucky to be alive after this accident caught on camera–we’ll take a closer look at what happened. and later—the day all star wars fans have been waiting for is here! what one of the main characters says you’ll be getting out of the movie coming up —don’t worry no spoilers. meteorologist krystal klei has your detailed forecast. krystal… and this is abc-7, where news comes first!