HRT robbery arrest, winter weather prep, record breaking fires: Sunrise Brief

TOP STORIES: HRT robbery arrest, Richmond's water solution, LA's record breaking fire

1. A man was arrested in connection to a robbery on the Tide Light Rail, Norfolk police say. Security camera photos of the alleged incident garnered significant attention on social media leading up to Thursday's arrest.

   Detectives charged Silvero Brown Jr., 32, with robbery and assault and took him in to police custody around 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

   Officers say the event took in the 3500 block of Mississippi Avenue near the Ingleside Station and there were no reported injuries.

   Although Norfolk Police released pictures and video of the incident Monday, images were already being shared online.

   Brown Jr. is currently being held in Norfolk City Jail without bond.

   Suspect arrested in connection to Tide Light Rail robbery

2. The Mayor of Richmond has announced that residents should expect to have running water again. A power outage at a water treatment facility, along with multiple failures to generate backup power, has resulted in Richmond being under a boil order since Monday.

   The boil order will still remain in effect for Richmond, Henrico, and Goochland.

   For the advisories to be lifted, localities need to have two consecutive negative samples, with the tests separated by 16 hours.

   The mayor expects the advisory to be lifted later today or tomorrow at the latest.

   Richmond also stated that public water distribution sites will continue to operate.

   The Mayor of Richmond has announced that residents should expect to have running water again

3. Fueled by a drought and powerful winds, wildfires in LA county have engulfed over 45 square miles of land. At least 10 people have died, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

   The Palisades Fire is the most destructive in Los Angeles' history — in total, nearly 180,000 people were given evacuation orders.

   According to Gov. Gavin Newsom, over 7,500 firefighters are currently deployed. Crews from nearby states and from as far away as Canada are responding to the blazes.

   Calmer winds have allowed crews to resume their air attack, but new fires are prompting additional evacuations and weather conditions may deteriorate again over the next days.

   Communications officials clarified Thursday night that there are five known deaths, two from the Palisades Fire and three due to the Eaton Fire in eastern Los Angeles County. However, the Los Angeles County Sheriff says he expects the number of fatalities to rise.

   Fueled by a drought and powerful winds, wildfires in LA county have engulfed

This morning's weather: Brisk day, snowy night

*** Winter Storm Warning in in effect from Friday night to midday Saturday for the Eastern Shore, Middle Peninsula, Peninsula, most of the Southside, and inland NC.

*** Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from Friday night to midday Saturday for Virginia Beach, most of the Albemarle, and parts of the Outer Banks.

Meteorologist Myles Henderson says its cold again today, but not as windy. Highs will return to the upper 30s today with NW winds backing down through the day. Expect sunshine in the morning with clouds building in by midday. Snow showers will move in from west to east after 8 pm.

Snow will continue for Saturday morning with sleet and rain mixing in for parts of the Southside and NE NC. Most of the area will see 1” to 4” of snow accumulation with the highest numbers for the Peninsulas and inland Virginia and the lowest numbers near the Albemarle Sound. Some ice accumulation is possible, mainly on the Southside and NE NC. Skies will clear out Saturday afternoon with highs near 40.

For the latest weather updates, watch Myles live on News 3 This Morning here.

This morning's traffic:

There was a multi-vehicle crash on the HRBT. All lanes are now open.

Interactive Traffic Map

For the latest traffic updates, watch Conor live on News 3 This Morning here.

We Follow Through: Resetting your finances in 2025

• News 3's Erin Miller spoke with local financial experts to provide financial advice as we start off the New Year. Between January 2018 and August 2024, inflation-adjusted spending on retail goods went up almost 17%, according to a Fed study.

  "Being that I am a parent, right? A parent of six and a grandparent of one. It's easy for me to spend a lot," said Kezia Hendricks.

  Hendricks is not alone, everyone is spending a lot more these days — but that cannot outweigh what is saved.

  I sat down with Zach Tekamp, the managing director of Heritage Wealth Management Group in Norfolk, to talk more about this.

  "What your life looks like in January 2025 is certainly not what it looked like in, you know, June of last year or December of this year. I think a good goal to have every single year is just to be a little bit more intentional with your money," said Tekamp.

  That starts with defining goals — short term and long term.

  "Assign each dollar a purpose, you know, start to build those healthier financial habits. That's really the bare bones of it," said Tekamp. "I think a lot of personal finance comes down to budgeting."

  If saving feels too overwhelming, try lowering your credit score. You will have more access to lower interest rates and better chances of loan, apartment, and credit card approval.

  And speaking of credit cards, consider what Hendricks does.

  "If you are going to use a credit card, instead of using the money that you think you're going to get, use the money you already have," said Hendricks.

We have a crew covering this today. Watch the story on News 3 starting at 4 p.m. here.

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