Norfolk school closures, meal tax increase, Trump officials' group chat: Sunrise Brief

TOP STORIES: Norfolk school closures, meal tax increase, Trump officials group chat

1. City leaders have directed Norfolk Public Schools to come up with a list of 10 schools that can be closed. Low enrollment and budgetary concerns are the key reason for this consolidation effort.

   Why Norfolk school leaders were asked to compile a list of 10 schools to close

   The Norfolk City Council unanimously passed a resolution to begin closing schools before the 2026-2027 school year, with two schools being closed each year. The school board is tasked with presenting an action plan to council before Aug. 2025. The freed up funds would then be put towards improvement and maintenance projects for other schools.

   Norfolk Public Schools have been operating with 3-17 more schools than what's needed for the population, according to a report given to the school board. City leaders say student enrollment in 2010 was over 31,000, 15 years later, and this number has dropped below 25,000.
   

2. Virginia Beach city leaders are considering raising the restaurant meals tax by half a percentage point. This would bring the meals tax up to 6%, it is currently 5.5%.

   Virginia Beach considers raising restaurant meals tax by half a percent

   Combined with the 6% sales tax, this means that Virginia Beach diners will pay a 12% tax overall. This tax increase was included in the current proposed budget for fiscal year 2025-26. If approved, then the tax will go into effect on July 1, 2025. The city collects the full meal tax revenue, and just 1% of the money accrued by the sales tax.

   The president of the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association says he will urge the council to seek alternative solutions, saying, "[it] just adds one more element to our plate." The city will hold two public hearings — on Apr. 16 and 22 — for residents to voice their opinion on the proposed budget. The meetings will be open to virtual audiences as well.
   

3. The House Intelligence Committee grilled senior officials from the Trump administration on their breached group chat. This stemmed from the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic being accidentally added to the "Houthi PC small group" text chain.

   'Hegseth is doing a great job': Trump responds to Signal chat fallout

   The conversation, which took place on the Signal messaging app, worried lawmakers about the handling of classified information. In their article, The Atlantic confirmed the validity of the leaked texts as they could be cross-referenced with real strikes carried out on Houthi bases in Yemen. A local health ministry says at least 53 were killed and more than 100 were hurt during this initial attack, mostly women and children.

   During a televised interview, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz admitted to mistakenly including the Atlantic's editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, in the chat.

   On Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Senate lawmakers that the exchange did not include classified information, but before House lawmakers on Wednesday, she walked back this position. She said her previous answer "was based on my recollection or the lack thereof."

   Rep. Jim Hines, who is the leading Democrat on the Intel Committee, said the administration needs to "apologize" and "own it."

This morning's weather: Cool today, warmer weekend ahead

Meteorologist Myles Henderson says its sunny and cool again today, but not as windy as yesterday. Highs will struggle to reach the 60s again, a few degrees below normal for this time of year.

Almost 15 degrees warmer tomorrow with highs climbing to the mid 70s. Expect partly cloudy skies tomorrow with a spotty shower possible. Winds will kick up a bit, mainly SW at 10 to 15 mph.

Highs will reach the mid to upper 70s this weekend. Expect a mix of clouds on Saturday and scattered showers on Sunday, mainly later in the day. It will be breezy through the weekend with a SW wind at 10 to 15 mph.

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

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