Good Morning El Paso: 06.23.15

over one person has died after a car crash on the eastside of town–our round the clock news team is still on the scene. / also–after more than a 5 hour long standoff at a bank last night, one man is in custody and police are still trying to understand his motive. ” “we are all aware of what really means, and that’s why whenever hate groups march or parade or rally they use those symbols.” the governor of south carolina wants the confederate flag removed from state house grounds. so why is the flag still flying high? a very good morning el paso, las cruces, and juarez. i’m stephanie valle. and i’m hillary floren. good morning, everyone. good morning! today we start our week of change! after seeing temperatures in the triple digits yesterday, we’ll only see temps into the low to mid 90s today! what a change! plus, the cooler air push from the east and weakening of a ridge of high pressure, which brings the heat and dryness, will bring better chances of showers. we’ll watch this morning clear conditions see more clouds and then a chance of showers as a result each day for the next week straight! we’ll track rain chances and where we could see the most rain fall over the next few days all coming up in a bit! our top story this morning– a deadly wreck in east el paso. it happened around 2 this morning near the intersection of george dieter and vista del sol. abc-7’s denise olivas is live on the east side with the very latest… adlib traffic we know one person was killed, the driver. no other cars were involved. this video shot by or round the clock crew. it appears it was a black dodge chrysler involved. it’s unclear how the wreck happened or what direction the car was going. we’re told the driver died on the scene. mention traffic again. a man is in custody after barricading himself inside a bank in east el paso yesterday. . it started around 5- 30 yesterday evening at the compass bank just off of yarbrough near montwood. so far we know the man is a 56 year old hispanic male. but police have not figured out a motive. no hostages were taken, and police say bank robbery was not a factor. “…happening so close to their home.” authorities say they were able to successful evacuate the bank’s employees and the entire shopping center during the incident. former fort bliss commander major general dana pittard could have his rank reduced. pittard is an el paso native and graduated from eastwood high school. pentagon commanders reprimanded him this year for allegedly using his authority as fort bliss commander to award an energy contract to a firm led by one of his former west point classmates. pittard was the post’s commander from 2010 to 2013. the nearly half a million dollar contract was part of a larger project to make the post self-sufficient in energy use. in a statement he said that some risk is acceptable in order to benefit the force — he then added quote: “if my example deters other senior army leaders from taking bold risk in the future, that is unfortunate.” end quote. el paso sheriff deputies need you help finding a man wanted for murder in new mexico. investigators say 35-year-old joel ponce killed juan perez back in 2013. it happened in berino. investigators say ponce was last seen at an east el paso sports bar. the tipster told deputies ponce now has a shaved his head if you see him, call crime stoppers of el paso at 566-tips.the number is on your screen the search continues for a missing las cruces woman. 44-year-old janet castrejon was last seen friday night. her aunt told abc-7 — she was with her parents and brother before she got separated from them in the coronado national forest in arizona. she was last seen in chiri-cawa mountain range by the new mexico state line. two sheriff’s offices in the area are helping search for castrejon. her aunt told abc-seven — castrejon suffered brain damage in a car wreck several years ago so she may be in danger. meanwhile — a las cruces teenager is now back with her family. las cruces police say 13-year- old nichole enriquez was found on friday. she was reported missing last week. officials did not say where she was found or who she was with– but say she is in good condition. now it’s time to take a look at the tx-dot traffic cams… the end of a weekend trip to las vegas took a turn for the worse on the flight back home to el paso. the small plane crashed near the hoover damn at lake mead, nevada this morning. three women and the pilot were on board. no one was seriously hurt but two of the women were treated for minor injuries. initial reports suggest the plane’s engine died. the women were returning home after attending the e-d-c music festival in vegas. the transportation security administration has as new top man. the u-s senate overwhelmingly confirmed peter nef-fenger monday. the vote was 81-to- one. nef-fenger previously served as vice admiral for the u-s the coast guard. he is the t-s-a’s first full-time administrator since john pistole resigned at the end of last year. neffenger takes over amid reports of security gaps at america’s airports. earlier this month, officials revealed that auditors were able to sneak prohibited items past t-s-a checkpoints 67 times out of 70 tries. the chorus of powerful voices is growing this morning — demanding that the confederate flag be removed from south carolina’s statehouse grounds. the governor herself admits the flag is a divisive symbol. we get the latest from abc’s kenneth moton on this story developing now. it’s been flying high on the grounds of south carolina’s capitol for more than half a century. this morning the state’s republican governor is calling for the confederate flag to come down. sot gov. nikki haley “we are here in a momen of unity in our state, without ill will, to say it’ s time to move the flag from the capitol grounds.” is i hate or is it southern heritage? sot jim westmoreland, grimes county, texas greys camp commander “it represent history to me. represents my ancestors.” sot king salim khalfani, former virginia naacp president “we are all aware of what it really means, and that’s why whenever hate groups march or parade or rally they use those symbols.” fifteen years ago a battle between the naacp and the state resulted in lawmakers removing the flag from the dome of the state house in columbia — to this location. it was a compromise many could no longer live, with after this image surfaced over the weekend showing the accused killer in the charleston church massacre holding on to the confederate flag. sot gov. nikki haley “we are not going to allow this symbol to divide us any longer. the fact that people are choosing to use it as a sign of hate is something that we cannot stand.” governor nikki haley may be the top official in the state, but removing the flag will take a vote from the legislature, which wraps up next week. sot joseph p. riley jr., charleston mayor “i respectfull ask the general assembly flag to an appropriate historical context.” the speaker of the house in mississippi is calling for the confederate emblem to be taken off that state’s flag. and retail giant walmart announced it will remove all items promoting the confederate flag from its stores. kenneth moton, abc news washington. wal-mart has announced that it will stop selling merchandise bearing the image of the confederate battle flag. the country’s largest retailer made the announcement monday, five days after a racist gunman killed nine people at an african-american church in charleston. walmart-dot-com currently sells the flag … along with several apparel items featuring the flag’s design, like t- shirts and belt buckles. a statement from the company said the items will be removed from both stores and the website. also monday, south carolina’s governor called for the confederate flag to be removed from state capitol grounds. with all the controversy over the confederate flag in south carolina… we are taking a closer look at confederate symbols in the borderland. over at the anthony rest stop… a lesser known version of the confederate flag – flies high. fort bliss used to have a road named after robert e lee. but it was recently renamed. however… the city still has a robert e lee road. some say these symbols are hurtful, and represent racism. but a member of the historical commission says they have historical value … since el paso… and parts of southern new mexico were once a part of the confederacy. so what do you think? should the confederate flag be removed from government property? take our online poll right now at kvia dot com. still ahead– a lightning strike in las cruces displaces a family–what’s next for the family of four …. and later–the el chihuahuas make a big change to their roster–who’s out and who is now in? —coming up / meteorologist krystal klei has your detailed forecast. krystal… and this is abc-7, where news comes first! a las cruces family is still cleaning