Good Morning El Paso

back in court. a former el paso mayor is ready to once again go head- to-head with a pastor who tried to get him recalled. s “its a critical day in the 2016 race for the white house. it is now in the hands of the voters. i’m abc’s kenneth moton in the battlefield state of ohio and i’ll have the latest on the high stakes contest. coming up.” the leader of north korea says his country will soon be conducting more atomic warhead tests. a very good morning el paso, las cruces, and juarez. i’m stephanie valle. and i’m hillary floren. good morning, everyone. a deep westerly flow pattern across the southwestern u.s. will keep the region dry and mild. a weak frontal boundary will push in from the mayor john cook and pastor tom brown will one again be in downtown. attorneys for both sides will be in court today. the topic of discussion… whether tom brown should pay for cook’s legal fees. this goes back to when brown and others attempted to recall then-mayor john cook– and other city reps. cook’s legal team points to the state election code. it says a corporation may not make a political contribution in a recall election. word of life church is a non-profit corporation. but tom brown’s lawyers say the law doesn’t apply because of the supreme court decision in citizens united. it’s a big primary day in the race for the white house with contests in five states. donald trump is trying to cement his gop frontrunner status. democrat hillary clinton is trying to do the same. abc’s kenneth moton is in cleveland with the latest from the trail. it’s your voice, your vote. it’s here?the day that could be a critical turning point in the race for president. sot donald trump “this is a place i want to win. this is the place, this is going to do it.” gop frontrunner donald trump was in the winner take all state of ohio overnight attacking its governor and his rival john kasich. sot trump “kasich cannot make america great again, he can’t do it” the stop trump movement is in full effect. sot john kasich “this country is not about us tearing one another down” rivals spent election eve seizing on the recent violence at trump’s rallies. sot marco rubio “oh loo a bernie sanders sign, don’t worry, you’re not going to get beat up at my rally” sot ted cruz “o difference between this and a donald trump rally is i’m not asking anyone to punch you in the face.” trump’s response to these images. sot donald trump “there’s no violence. there’s a love fest. these are love fests” trump’s likel democratic opponent hillary clinton called him out. sot hillary clinton ” do call him responsible. i think if you go back several months, he’s been building this incitement.” clinton rallie late into the night in charlotte. bernie sanders was in illinois, far behind in the delegate count but confident. sot bernie sanders “let us see thi great state lead this country into a political revolution” planning ballistic missile tests of its own… the kind capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. newly-released photos show north korean leader kim jong un, reviewing a ballistic rocket simulation. there’s skepticism as to whether north korea has the technology to carry out a successful test… this is the latest in a series of threats in recent weeks. also developing now … russia has started packing up equipment, in preparation for pulling its forces out of syria. russian president vladimir putin ordered the withdrawal — saying the military has achieved its mission in the country. the announcement came as peace talks resumed in geneva — aimed at ending syria’s five-year- long civil war. new this morning– the obama administration confirms a top is commander is dead following u-s airstrikes in syria. omar al-shishani — better known as “omar the chechen” — was on t administration’s most wanted militant list — with a five- million dollar reward on his head. last week, u-s officials believed al-shishani was hurt, but survived the attacks near al- hawl. officials now say the red-bearded shishani later died from his injuries, along with a dozen other isis fighters. no word on how officials confirmed his death. also new this morning– a utep history lecturer has died after an accident over spring break. according to his linked-en profile richard foust taught american history at the university since 2012. he also graduated with a masters in history from utep that same year. according to a department email, foust fell over spring break and hit his head. he died last night. an el paso police officer that died is being honored around the country. last thursday — officer david ortiz was on patrol on his motorcycle in east el paso. while he was stopped at a red light — on lee trevino and vista del sol — he was rear- ended by a car and thrown from his bike. the department confirmed — officer ortiz died yesterday. . the 45-year-old driver who hit him has not been charged. an organization called “blu line” posted this picture on it facebook page… and the el paso police department spokesman re- tweeted the link. part of the post says — quote: “we will shine our blue lights across america tonight for officer ortiz. may he follow the blue glow home. rest easy sir.” coming up later on good morning el paso we’ll read condolences from other departments around the borderland honoring the fallen officer. now it’s time to take a look at the tx-dot traffic cams… an abc-7 traffic alert to pass along. also.. texas avenue is closed to all eastbound and westbound traffic at kansas street. the closure will last for at least another week. this is necessary to allow crews to continue underground utility work related to the el paso streetcar project. also… take note that every night this week… from 8-pm to 6 a-m… the i-10 eastbound lanes will be completely shut down between viscount and zaragoza. this is to restripe the roadway. still much more to come here on good morning el paso— flooding is so bad in one part of the south residents homes are now submerged under the lake–we’ll take a look. / and later–the quarantine is lifted at the racetrack but horses still have one more step before they can go home. meteorologist krystal klei has your detailed forecast. krystal… and this is abc-7, where news comes first!