VB special election, Portsmouth Peace Week, judge blocks new vaccine schedule: Sunrise Brief

TOP STORIES: VB special election, Portsmouth Peace Week, judge blocks new vaccine schedule

1. Residents who live in Virginia Beach’s 98th House District, which includes much of the city’s Southside, will choose between Republican Andrew Rice and Democrat Cheryl Smith in Tuesday’s special election.

   Polls are open from 6 a.m. – 7 p.m. Assigned polling places can be found through the Virginia Department of Elections’ Citizen Portal. The City of Virginia Beach reminds voters that they can only vote at their assigned precinct, and those with a registered voting address outside of District 98 cannot vote in the special election.

   Individuals who will be 18 years old by the time of the November general election are eligible to register and vote in this election. Voters may register to vote in-person at any time, including Election Day.  Same-day registrants will vote with a provisional ballot, which is subject to approval by the local electoral board before it’s counted. 

   Tuesday’s special election looks to fill the seat for Virginia Del. Barry Knight. He passed away Feb. 19 and represented Virginia Beach.
   

2. As Portsmouth Public Schools prepares for spring break next month, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department is bringing back its Peace Week camp, a free program that offers children a safe, supportive place to spend their time off.

   Portsmouth’s Peace Week camp aims to keep kids safe and supported during spring break

   Now in its fifth year, Peace Week brings together several community programs and organizations, including Portsmouth United and the nonprofit A Purpose Driven, making this a citywide effort. The goal is simple: keep kids engaged, safe, and learning during the school break.

   The free camp offers a range of activities, including field trips, yoga, art, photography, and sports. Organizers say the program is about more than recreation; it’s about building meaningful relationships with young people. “We’re here to help,” said Carlton Copeland, executive director of A Purpose Driven. “We want our kids to go on to prosper. We don’t want our young men and girls to continue to go to secondary schools or alternative schools, or end up in prison or six feet under. We want to be proactive and catch them before those things happen.”

   Copeland said the program’s success can be seen in the progress of the children involved. “We believe in them,” Copeland said. “The kids that come to the center, we’ve had honor roll students, we’ve had perfect attendance. We see the individual time we’ve put into our kids.” Parents can still register their children now for the Peace Week camp, click here for Portsmouth's Parks and Recreation Peace Camp and here for the Stop the Violence 757 Peace Camp.
   

3. A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked major changes to the U.S. childhood vaccination schedule while a lawsuit challenging the policy moves forward.

   Judge blocks Trump administration’s revised childhood vaccine schedule

   In January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance recommending vaccines for 11 diseases for children, down from 17 previously recommended. Diseases no longer recommended for universal vaccination include influenza, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rotavirus, some types of meningitis and RSV. Several major medical organizations and patients sued, asking the court to restore the childhood immunization schedule that was in effect in April 2025, before the changes were made.

   The court issued a stay preventing federal health officials from implementing the revised schedule introduced earlier this year. "The Court concludes that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed in showing that the reconstitution of ACIP and the January 2026 changes to the childhood immunization schedule violate the Administrative Procedure Act," the judge wrote in the ruling.

   The American Academy of Pediatrics called Monday's ruling "historic" and a "welcome outcome." A spokesperson for Health and Human Services decried Monday's ruling. “HHS looks forward to this judge’s decision being overturned just like his other attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing," HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said.
   

This morning's weather: Sunny, chilly, and breezy today

Meteorologist Myles Henderson says leftover clouds should clear out early this morning, and we will see sunshine for most of the day. It will be chilly and windy with highs in the upper 40s and a NW wind at 10 to 20 mph. Clouds will roll back in tonight with lows falling into the low and mid 30s overnight.

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

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