Good Morning El Paso: 01.02.15

new year, new law and possibly new sights on the street in texas… as open carry advocates and residents adjust to the changes. indian security forces engage in a firefight with attackers at an airforce base near the pakistani border… coming as diplomatic talks had been moving forward. and the miners playing their most important game of the season at the don haskin’s center… looking to celebrate the new year with a win in the conference usa opener vs rice. and in stormtrack weather, iris! this is all the news you need to start your saturday, january second. abc-7’s “good morning el paso weekend” starts right now good morning and thank you for joing us… i’m andrew j. polk. …stormtrack weather now! let’s get your first forecast with stormtracker iris lopez a warming trend will take place the next couple of days but temperatures will still be on the cool side. the cloud cover will break up somewhat today allowing some sunshine…especially western portion. clouds will increase again sunday night as a pacific storm system approaches. a number of storms will bring precipitation throughout most of the coming week…mainly lowland rain and mountain snow. in northwestern india… security forces killed four attackers at an air force base near the pakistani border today. the gunmen are believed to be militants using the attack to undermine diplomatic talks between india and pakistan. they entered the base and exchanged fire with security forces… killing two indian soldiers and a civilian. c-n-n reports a militant is holed up in a building. no group has claimed responsibility. this attack comes about a week after indian prime minister visited pakistan in more than a decade. there are fears this attack could undermine the diplomatic talks. then in saudi arabia… a saudi officials say they’ve executed men 47 men who believed in extremist ideologies… and where members of terror groups. one of the men executed was shia cleric nimr al-nimr who was notorious for heavily criticizing the saudi royal family. he had been charged with inciting sectarian strife and sedition. others were convicted of plotting and carrying out attacks against civilians, including an attack on the u-s consulate in jeddah in 2004. reports say lebanon’s supreme islamic shi’ite council, and yemen’s houthi movement, are among those who quickly condemned the executions. police say they think new year’s celebrations are to blame for a police k-9 going missing. the dog’s name is “kilo” and h was discovered missing from his kennel near americas high school yesterday. these are some pictures of kilo… police say they think fireworks in the area startled him, causing him to leave his kennel. kilo is described as a male belgian malinois with a friendly personality. police say he’s not a danger to the public, but the cold could be dangerous to him… so they’re not giving up the search anytime soon. anyone with information is asked to contact police at 9-1-5-8-3-2-4-0-0. that number is at the bottom of your streen. a string of new laws are in effect throughout the country. and one of them in effect in texas eliminates a handgun restriction that went back to the reconstruction era. there are nearly a million people in texas licensed to carry a handgun … with about 12-thousand of them in el paso. abc-7’s darrent hunt brings us more on what to expect. “have you seen anyone openl carrying today?” “no i haven’t … ” “no, we’ve been wal-mart and couple different places and haven’t seen anybody with guns.” “have you seen anyone openl carrying today?” “uh-uh, no. “would you think about doin it?” “absolutely, yes, definitely .. i’m glad we’re doing it.” while no one had spotted anyone carrying a handgun yet, most had an opinion about open carry now being legal. “i think we’ve seen a lot o incidents where only one person that’s armed and they try to take control … so i think if more people are armed, i truly think they are going to think about it twice before they do something crazy.” supporter think it will reduce crime while opponents think it will increase crime. “how do you feel about it?” “well, i think as long as it’ responsible people with guns, it’s ok … but unfortunately you’re still going to find some hot heads that will do it and we might have a few problems down the road, but overall, i’m ok with it.” the new law will no allow for open carry at schools, sporting events or at bars … other places where “open carry” may be banned is churches and where government meetings are held, as long as signs with proper language are posted. “businesses must make a choic whether they will allow guns or not … this barbershop on mesa street says it will allow firearms, meanwhile at this point store located in the same strip mall, firearms will not be allowed.” “do you think some people wil be freaked out to see someone carrying a handgun on their hip?” “maybe … i don’t know anythin about it really … i don’t follow it.” while som admitted they haven’t paid much attention, others, like this woman’s daughter, admitted it concerns them. “to be honest it’s kind o stupid … there’s like mass shootings going on … that’s kind of stupid, why are there mass shootings? well duh, you’re carrying a hand gun.” “does that scare you? “yeah it scares me … ” b this man had a different way of looking at it. “if they are going to b carrying them, i think i’d rather know it … ” el pasoa john gose pointed out concealed carry was already legal in texas … so the only difference is now people will be allowed to carry out in the open. “i think if they’re gonna carry i just assume know that they were carrying, so that’s how i feel about it … i don’t really have a problem if people carry or not.” the states surrounding texas — new mexico, arizona, oklahoma and louisiana — already allow open carry. only five states in the country — highlighted in white on this map — and washington, d-c, still ban it. those states are california, florida, illinois, new york and south carolina. texas lawmakers trust the license so much … a license to carry a handgun serves as an i-d for those approved to enter our state’s capitol building with a capital access pass. that pass allows you to bypass the long lines at public entrances. but you still have to be a legal resident of texas for six months before applying… be at least 21 years old… not been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor … not be under indictment … up to date on child support payments and taxes … and most important of all, you must pass a federal background check. the application fee for a license to carry is $140 dollars. the initial license is good for four years. it costs 70 dollars to renew the license and once you renew the first time, the licenses are good for five years. the license and renewal are free for active duty military. 25 dollars for military veterans and judicial officers. for senior citizens, the cost is 70 dollars for the license … and 35 dollars to renew it. there are even discounted fees for people who can’t afford it. if you can prove you live under the federal poverty line, the license costs 70 dollars and the renewal fee is 35 dollars. / / meanwhile, president barack obama is looking for ways to sidestep congress to implement new gun control laws. on monday, he’s scheduled to meet with attorney general loretta lynch to talk about possible executive actions. the president said he gets many letters from parents, teachers and children about the, quote “epidemic of gun violence and said he can’t sit around and do nothing. but republican texas governor greg abbott had a defiant message for the president via twitter. he tweeted, quote: “obama wants to impose more gun control. my response? come & take it.” / while texas’ open carry law has generated the most attention… several other new laws have gone into effect. one requires liability insurance for uber and lyft drivers. house bill 17-33 requires drivers to have liability insurance, uninsured motorist protection, and personal injury protection. and house bill 39-94 changes how underage teens can get abortions without their parent’s consent. teens seeking court orders allowing doctors to perform abortions must now wait up to five days for the court’s decision. it was previously two days. the teen also must file for the order in a court in her home county, or in a neighboring county if the home county has fewer than 10- thousand residents. another law in texas … proposition two … allows for the spouses of disabled veterans to take a one hundred percent property tax exemption. government transparency is also changing. house bill 283 requires local governments and school boards to provide online video access to all scheduled public meetings. the law applies to areas with populations greater than 125-thousand people. and if you live in new mexico… you’ll have to ease off the gas pedal when driving on country roads with no posted speed limit or risk getting a ticket. a new law reduces the speed limit on unmarked county roads from 75 to 55 miles per hour. state lawmakers felt the default speed limit of 75 posed a safety risk on many county roads that were never built for speed. they say those roads can be unpaved and lined with mailboxes. the miners played their most important game of the season last night at the don haskin’s center. the miners opened up conference u-s-a play against the rice owls. the game was close througout… but the miners were able to pull out a 61 to 60 win. the miners have won 3 straight games and will face north texas tomorrow afternoon at 3 o’clock. danny mata will have more on this thrilling game, later in sports. could you be the one starting 2016 as a multi-millionaire? it’s possible after tonight’s 334-million dollar powerball jackpot. this morning, americans are rushing out for their chance at the largest payout in almost three years. the odds are about one in 292-million… that means you’d be 20-times more likely to have identical quaduplets than to win this jackpot. but that isn’t slowing down lottery ticket sales. since last wedensday, more than $620-million dollars in tickets have been sold. the drawing is tonight around 9-pm. we’ve been telling you all about the intense weather we’ve been having here on good morning el paso weekend… but coming up – what severe storms this week made one doctor do to make it to work! and later on the borderland’s only weekend morning newscast… a bar owner on the eastcoast speking out, saying his business was the intended target of a new year’s eve terror plot. it is , right now we’ll take a live look at traffic this morning: and in stormtrack weather, iris! stormtrack weather is next! you’re watching abc-7… where news comes first!