Strawberry fest returns, OBX snow clean up, Nashville school shooting: Sunrise Brief

TOP STORIES: Strawberry fest returns, OBX snow clean up, Nashville school shooting

1. After a five year hiatus, Strawberry Festival is set to return this spring. The revived event will be held in Virginia Beach and it will pay homage to the original Pungo-based festival.

   The new festival will be dubbed "Strawberry Fest at the Beach." It will include nearby restaurants and will feature strawberry-based dishes with fruit bought at local, Pungo farms.

   The now-defunct Pungo Strawberry Festival had been cancelled several years in a row, largely due to traffic and parking issues. Jesse Wykle, owner of Aloha Snacks and president of the Artery District nonprofit, told News 3 that the festival will likely be held in May.

   New strawberry festival coming to Virginia Beach this spring

2. While snowfall in the Outer Banks is quite rare, the residents were ready for it. Now, crews from Rutherford County are helping clear snow off the barrier islands.

   Local crews were hard at work before and during the storm to take care of the snow covered roads. On Wednesday, they got some help as NCDOT crews from Division 13 in Rutherford County arrived.

   Rutherford County was one of the western North Carolina counties devastated by Hurricane Helene. Jacob Zimmerman, an NCDOT engineer from Rutherford, explained that this is their way of giving back for all the assistance they received last year.

   “It really means a lot. When Helene hit, they were able to provide a lot of help to us and help us through the recovery efforts, through the storm," said Zimmerman. "Now, we can return the favor."

   Crews from western N.C. arrive in the Outer Banks to help clear snow covered roads

3. A 17-year-old shot two students at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, killing one of them, officials said. One female student has died, while another injured student is in stable condition at a hospital.

   The shooter, a student at the school, reportedly started firing shots into the school's cafeteria around 11 a.m. before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officials said two resource officers were in the building at the time of the shooting but were not in the cafeteria.

   Antioch High School serves about 2,000 students. The students were bused to a nearby hospital to be reunited with their parents, police asked people to avoid the school.

   Two students shot inside cafeteria of Nashville high school

This morning's weather: A chilly, overcast day with a chance of showers

Meteorologist Myles Henderson says there will be a frigid start this morning with temperatures in the teens and single digits. Highs will climb into the mid 30s this afternoon, above freezing for the first time in 2+ days. Expect a mix of partly to mostly cloudy skies with a stray shower possible.

Highs will climb to near 40 on Friday. Expect partly cloudy skies with a stray shower possible.

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

Traffic map:

Interactive Traffic Map

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

We Follow Through: ORF hopes to cross the pond

• Norfolk International Airport, despite the name, does not offer direct flights to foreign countries. News 3's Anthony Sabella spoke with the airport's CEO about his international travel wishlist and future plans.

  The "International" in Norfolk International Airport simply means they have the ability to process private flights from overseas. Norfolk Airport Authority CEO Mark Perryman said there are plans to offer true international flights.

  "There's a couple of airlines in particular that we are working very closely with," said Perryman. "Hopefully it's going to be coming back from Frontier this summer. I think we'll see Cancun or Montego Bay in the mix by one of our airlines very soon that already fly there."

  Perryman said direct to the Caribbean is a big goal, but he knows the requests don't stop there. Last week, he spoke to cities and groups around Hampton Roads to explain that airports need an incentive to start offering European routes.

  "We need the state, the commonwealth and we're actually going to be talking to them in this legislative session about increasing the governor's airline incentive program. Right now, they have a pool of about $800,000 a year for all the airports in the commonwealth," said Perryman.

Watch the full story on News 3 This Morning here.

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