Good Morning El Paso 11.17.15

developing overnight—russia is now saying a homemade explosive device did in fact take down the passenger plane back in october. “the people who are fleeing syria are the most harmed by terrorism. ” plus- after more syrian refugees are leaving their homeland–half the governors in the u.s. are now refusing to accept them. what a briefing in washington is going to address on that today and back here in the borderland—vandali sm at a cemetery has people blaming urban legends started by a local publication… we’ll explain. viewer video showing the days of summer are long gone here in the borderland. rolando morales sharing this video with us… and it shows snow flurries! rolando shot this with his cell phone at del sol medical center in east el paso. we remain under that first alert this morning because it’s definitely cold out there for the start of your tuesday. we’ll get to your forecast in just a bit but first 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’re starting very cold outside! we’ll see wind chill temperatures below freezing, although temps are actually above freezing. winds are still high again particularly in the east and northeast. winds will last today, temps will continue cold! we’ll see change in the days to come, as we warm up. we’ll discuss that coming up! first to round the clock news from las cruces– clock news from las cruces– a suspicious device was cause for concern on the n-m- s-u campus overnight. according to their website an emergency notification went out around midnight for students living at pinion hall. the alert said their was a suspicious device found near the northeast gate of the dorm and that police were on the scene. students were asked to avoid the area until it was determined to be safe. the situation was ‘all clear” just after 1:30 a.m. students were then allowed back into their dorms shortly after. no word yet on the contents of the package. new information this morning from russia– russia is offering a $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for downing the metrojet passenger plane over egypt. this, after russia’s security service announced today that a homemade bomb blew apart the aircraft on oct. 31. the plane was headed from an egyptian resort to st. petersburg, russia, killing all 224 people aboard. officials say it’s now clear that the incident was a “terrorist” ac also… breaking news just in the last few minutes… we are getting word that russia has launched airstrikes against is in their self- declared capital of syria. today the full house will receive a classified briefing on the paris attacks. one of the attackers was carrying a syrian passport sparking fears in the us about the refugee crisis. half of this nation’s governors have vowed not to take any syrian refugees. abc’s kenneth moton has our complete coverage. / 0:24 – 0:35 0:49 – 0:53 1:12 – 1:20 closing state borders to the syrian refugee crisis…. sot obama the people who are fleeing syria are the most harmed by terrorism. it’s a movement frustrating president obama and gaing speed across the us…led by republican governors. half the states in the us have told the federal government in the wake of the paris terror attacks, no more syrian refugees allowed. sot greg abbott texas governor it is imperative that texas do everything to ensure that we don’t have a syrian refugee sneak into texas who can pose a similar terroristic since the start of the civil war in syria, the us has taken 2100 refugees. but 85 thousand are expected next year. the state department says refugees are the most highly vetted and do not pose a real threat. sot u.s. rep. luis gutierrez / illinois 4th district “we are going to be robust in our inspection of those who would apply.” it’s believed illinois 4th district “we are going to be robust in our inspection of those who would apply.” it’s believed the i terrorists in the paris attacks including the mastermind have ties to syria. speaker paul ryan and the full house will receive a homeland security briefing on the attacks today. national security has taken center stage in the 2016 presidential race. donald trump at at tennessee rally last night. sot trump “anybod that’s brought into this country from the migration is going to be out, we’re not gonna do it, we’re not gonna do it, we’re not gonna do it. congress can’t simply cut money for resettled syrians, it would have to stop the funding for the entire refugee program. also it appears states can’t legally stop the flow of refugees once the us gives them legal status. kenneth moton, abc news washington. back in the borderland… we want to know how local security agencies are reacting to the events in paris. we contacted the el paso police department, the department of homeland security and customs and border protection — none of them are admitting to raising the level of security. however… d-h-s did put out a statement saying it is consulting with state and local law enforcement. of course… one of the attacks in paris was at a soccer match… raising concerns for sporting events here at home like the miner game on saturday. we spoke with utep special events coordinator jorge vasquez. he says security will be high at the sun bowl. this morning– dozens of families heartbroken. a local cemetery vandalized– with many of their loved ones’ tombstones damaged. we’re talkiing about “la isla cemetery” i fabens. now- some are blaming a local website for allegedly attracting vandals. good morning el paso’s denise olivas is live with the story …denise? after learning about the vandalism– our newsroom couldn’t help but notice so many on social media speaking out– including on our kvia facebook page. some accusing el paso 411– a local news and entertainment website– for posting an article urging people to visit the fabens cemetery. 7:29-7:51 “it just breaks m heart that you know we put our people to rest in peace, and for these godless people to come out here and to destroy things and treat it, you know i know their souls are no longer here, but these are their final resting places and it means something to us.” take a look at the damage. tombstones shattered and left in pieces. the catholic diocese of el paso says between thirty pieces. the catholic diocese of el paso says between thirty and fifty graves were destroyed over the weekend. last month el paso 411 posted an article– listing “la isla” as place to visit on halloween. this cemetery wasn’t the only location on the list. el paso 4-1-1 says it removed the address after editors received concerns from nearby residents. and the estimated replacement cost is $125-thousand dollars. more on el paso 411’s response in our next half hour… and how you can help collect funds to repair dozens of headstones. we have an abc-7 traffic alert to tell you about if you use highway 180 to get to carlsbad new mexico— the department of public safety has closed highway 180 just after cor-nu- das to high springs because a semi was knocked over and is blocking the highway. so if you take highway 180 you will be detouring back to interstate ten–over to u.s. 54 and then allowed back up to 180. that area is known to get high winds so as a safety precaution and as they clear the scene of that semi –it will be closed until further notice. / the strong winds had it in for at least three more semi- trucks on the roads on monday. the trailers were knocked on their sides — blocking traffic for several hours. one happened at the spaghetti bowl affecting those going to the northeast from the eastside. the other on the spur 601 overpass going to 54 south. and the third happened around 5:30 on transmountain road, on the eastside of the mountain: abc-seven was live on the scene throughout the afternoon as emergency crews worked to clear the overturned semi truck on the spur 601 overpass. this affected traffic getting onto u-s 54 south. no word on any injuries. now it’s time to take a look at the tx-dot traffic cams… still much more to come here on good morning el paso– including the latest on the terrorist attacks in france–another fugitive being identified, while air strikes continue in syria… we’ll have the latest developments. plus-chilly temps and high winds in the borderland–but it was almost nothing compared to this tornado in another part of texas yesterday–we’ll take a look. / meteorologist krystal klei has your detailed forecast. krystal… and this is abc-7, where news comes first!