Good Morning El Paso 1.12.16

this is it—the president is giving his last state of the union address tonight–why it’s expected to be much different than past state of the union speeches. the trial continues this morning for a former el paso county judge accused of fraud. why his defense argues — his alleged victims are to blame. plus– economic development in el paso — an announcement this morning about new jobs coming to the city. a very good morning el paso, las cruces, and juarez. i’m stephanie valle. and i’m hillary floren. good morning, everyone. west to northwest winds will result in seasonably cool and mostly dry weather for southern new mexico and west texas today through early next week with temperatures increasing to near normal. weak embedded disturbances will bring only slight chances for rain and snow showers friday night and again on sunday and sunday night… mainly for high mountain locations. tonight.. president obama delivers his final “state of the union address… and he’s promising a much different type of speech. abc’s stephanie ramos has our top story / obama sot: i have no more campaigns to run …. that was president obama at last year’s state of the union address.. now…in his final year in office he’ll speak before congress for the last time …. but instead of trying to persuade the joint session to work with him in 2016 ..with legislative to- do’s?. the president is expected to deliver a speech…with a slightly different tone compared to years past. in a video released by the white house… mr. obama previews what he’ll say tonight? sot from video “what i want t focus on in this state of the union is not just the remarkable progress we’ve made, not just what i want to get done in the year ahead, but what we all need to do together in the years to com. ” th president’s speech will try to frame the choice facing americans as they select the next president he’ll tout the economy’s recovery nat sot: seven years ago, auto sales hit a 27-year low. last year, they hit an all- time high. and other administration’s successes like the affordable care act, the new cuba relationship, and the legalization of same sex marriage.. nats: same sex marriage cheers soundbite: matthew dallek, george washington university: “it does become a little more of a legacy speech in terms of defing what has been achieved.” and a lon list of guests sitting with first lady michelle obama to includes..a refugee from war torn syria… to army reserve major lisa jaster….one of just three women to complete the vigorous army ranger course. a chair in mrs. obama’s box will be left empty to honor victims of gun violence. ramos on- camera tag: south carolinas governor nikki haley will give the republican response to president obama’s state of the union address. haley is seen as a potential running mate for the eventual gop nominee. the stage is set for the next round of republican presidential debates. it’s your voice your vote… fox business network is broadcasting the debates. it said seven candidates will be on stage for the main debate thursday. they are donald trump, ben carson, senators ted cruz and marco rubio, governors chris christie and john kasich and former governor jeb bush. senator rand paul, carly fiorina, former governor mike huckabee and former senator rick santorum are invited to the undercard debate. paul said he won’t participate — telling c-n-n he will only participate in what he calls “first-tier” debates.. the first witness is expected to take the stand today in the case against former el paso county judge anthony cobos. last week he pleaded not guilty to a fraud charge — and if convicted — cobos could face more jail time. from our new mexico mobile newsroom … this latest charge was for selling a property out in chaparral that belonged to his late step-mother! court records abc-seven got ahold of state cobos stopped forwarding the mortgage payments he received from a couple – who then got a foreclosure notice. opening statements wrapped up quickly yesterday. the defense attorney claims the couple failed to follow a contract. “the truth of the matter is the knew what they were getting themselves into….it was their responsibility.” ” had gone into foreclosure and they will tell you that it belonged to his… deceased stepmother. cobos is already serving a four-year sentence for accepting a bribe when he was el paso’s county judge. he could face an additional nine years in prison for the charges in new mexico .. the trial resumes at 8:30 this morning and abc-7 will be there happening today– the city of el paso begins the new year with a possible announcement about new jobs. good morning el paso’s denise olivas is live with the latest…denise? just ahead of today’s city council meeting– mayor oscar leeser is expected to announce job opportunities for el pasoans. it’s part of the mayor’s campaign “el paso open for business.” this is file video from past announcements– city officials– as it has become a custom– don’t reveal too many details about the possible opportunities. this effort was started when mayor leeser was voted into office in june of 2013. the mayor and other local business leaders have travelled to other cities touting what the sun city has to offer– in hopes of bringing new business. and it’s proving to be successful with some of the new companies that have opened up shop here. coming up in our next half hour– a look at those companies that have created job opportunities for el pasoans. again– the details have not been revealed but we can expect to learn more in less than two hours. the mayor’s announcement is scheduled for 7-30 this morning. now to an abc-7 update on two deadly crashes involving pedestrians. both happened over the weekend. on saturday evening on the 21-hundred block of montana — police say 24-year- old bianca dozal hit 61-year-old arturo flores as he was crossing montana. police say flores was not in a cross walk and died at the scene. and we now know the name of the man who was killed after being hit a truck near utep friday night. police say 63- year-old van richard mundell was not using a crosswalk just after 7 in the evening and walked right into the path of the pick up. mundell who was from big springs texas — was taken to u-m-c where he later died. at , here’s a look at how your commute is shaping up this morning. the tx-dot traffic cams at … still much more to come here on good morning el paso — new video this morning being released of the last place “e chapo” wa before being arrested —we’ll also have the latest on the investigation into sean penn’s meeting with the drug kingpin. / plus— preparations are underway to lay the new field in california before the super bowl– why they are rushing to get the new turf down this week. but first – stormtrack weather! meteorologist krystal kleihas your complete forecast. krystal… and this is abc-7, where news comes first! alabama is the new ncaa college football champion this morning. the game took place last night in glendale arizona. . second ranked “bama” took on on first ranked, undefeated clemson! here are some of the comments posted nationally from around the country