VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools based on race is unconstitutional.

VB board adopts resolution to suspend DEI initiatives

Virginia Beach NAACP president Dr. Eric Majette, 62, remembers that era where the schools and the books used for instruction where in poor shape.

"They were in terrible condition, terrible conditions," Majette said. "You could see where kids had written notes in those books. So that was a period of life where there was very interesting stuff that you would never forget."

Sixty-nine years later, the high court ruled race-based college admissions were unconstitutional. Then, two years later, the high court backed the Trump Administration's order to freeze funds for school divisions that fail to drop diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in school division programs and curriculums.

That led to the action taken by the Virginia Beach School Board Tuesday to suspend its DEI initiatives, lest it risk losing more than $74 million in federal funding, making some in the community upset by the board's actions, and how they did it.

"I think it's a tremendous threat to the schools," Majette said. "I think is going to impact the school themselves, not only the schools, but also is definitely impacting the programs and impacting the kids, the students as well as the parents."

In a statement, the Virginia Beach NAACP said "the move to eliminate DEI policies — without identifying which programs, clubs or initiatives would be affected, and without allowing for public comment — represents a troubling disregard for the values of inclusion, equity and democratic process."

"Basically trying to hide it from public view, steamroll it even through other members of the board," said Elizabeth Schur, who is a former teacher for Virginia Beach Public Schools.

Del. Michael Feggans also condemned the board's vote. In a joint letter with State Sen. Aaron Rouse (Dist. 22), Del. Alex Askew (Dist. 95) and Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler (Dist. 96), he called the board's adoption of the resolution "a deeply troubling step backward for students and families across the city."

"This decision is not about compliance — it's about capitulation," Feggans said. "It's an alarming move that disregards the lived experiences of Black and Brown students, LGBTQ+ youth and immigrant families. The message it sends is that their voices don't matter."

Feggans said the board's decision is a harmful precedent for school divisions statewide.

"Virginia Beach has long served as a leader in public education," Feggans said. "This reversal not only hurts our local students, but threatens decades of progress in creating inclusive and equitable learning environments."

He called for the board to reverse its decision and fully reinstate DEI initiatives.

10 On Your Side earlier this week reached out to the entire School Board; not one member responded to the email.

The Virginia Beach NAACP will host a town hall meeting at The Hive, located at 140 Independence Boulevard. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The black binder, the bold felt tip pen and a captive audience has been the scene of late as President Donald Trump follows through on some campaign promises, including one that would eliminate the U.S. Department of Education through an executive order.

Congress founded the department, and President Jimmy Carter signed it into law in October 1979.

In his inaugural speech, Trump parroted some of the same complaints about critical race theory that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin banned from Virginia schools, although CRT was not taught in Virginia K-12 schools.

"And we have an education system that teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves — in many cases, to hate our country despite the love that we try so desperately to provide to them. All of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly," Trump said at the Capitol building.

In Portsmouth, 18 of its 19 public schools are Title 1 schools.

That means the children need special attention and they need it right away. Fourth grade, says Portsmouth Public Schools School Board Chairman Dr. Cardell Patillo, is the unofficial academic deadline to have children's reading and math skills up to par in order to be adequately prepared for learning success throughout their time in school.

So far, funding for public schools has not been touched, but Patillo is still waiting to exhale.

In addition to presiding over school board meetings, Patillo owns two Head Start schools outside the city of Portsmouth.

"Well, it was complete panic amongst Head Start programs when the freeze was announced," Patillo said. "Head Start programs are totally dependent on federal funding."

Regina Mobley: What would you advise people to do if they're hearing your plea today and they're concerned that funding could be cut for public education and Head Start?

Dr. Cardell Patillo: Utilize your rights as citizens. Contact your local legislators and representatives. Tell them how important this funding is to you, your family, to those around you, and your community.

National Public Radio reports that a research arm of the Education Department has been all but shut down, and several contracts have been canceled.

It takes an order from Congress to abolish the Education Department, so it is unclear how the president would use an executive order to shutter an agency that employs more than 4000 employees.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) -- From the Virginia Beach Oceanfront south to Sandbridge and to a creek near Linkhorn Bay, dead speckled trout are leaving reminders of the winter that's speckled with wild temperature swings.

Charter boat captain David Wright said the results are unfortunate, but not unpredictable.

"What we're seeing around here is not something that's never happened, OK? It does happen," Wright said. "It's unfortunate when fish are all comfortable and then, [we get] slowly changing temperature, to wham, a shock, a freeze, OK. And a lot of them do not make it through that."

All you have to do is follow the flock and they will lead you right to speckled trout and their running buddies.

"Well, now there ... puppy drum that kind of dwell together a lot of times," Wright said.

Much like what happened to humans at the polar plunge Saturday at the Oceanfront, some speckled trout can escape the frigid waters, but when they reach the surface, they look a little disoriented.

"And on a sunny day, you can walk along afterwards and see the survivors," Wright said. "Not every single fish ever goes away, but you can see the survivors along the banks where the water is kind of shallow and it's sunny, and they're very lethargic, but they're alive. And most of them do survive. It's just sad for people to see that."

From the sea to the air, there is concern about birds that may have been exposed to the deadly avian flu. The virus is suspected in the deaths of birds on the Eastern Shore.

Wildlife officials in Virginia say that if you see an unusual number of dead birds, report this to the Department of Wildlife Resources.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — My daddy shot my mother.

That's what court documents say a child, a young boy, told dispatchers around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in a 911 call from Kenny Lane in the Churchland section of the city. The child's father, Hasheed Mills, now faces aggravated murder charges.

It is likely the death of 30-year-old Shaquana Deborah Jordan will be recorded in the annals of crime trends. Her children: two and 7-years-old, witnessed her death, according to court documents, and police reported she was five months pregnant.

Within the last year, Mills was charged three times with domestic assault toward Jordan and had protective orders issued against him.

Previous Coverage: Portsmouth man charged with killing pregnant woman in presence of child, police say

According to court documents, Jordan's family told detectives that she had kicked Mills out of her apartment and was reportedly scared of him coming back to take his items. A pile of Mills' belongings were found outside the doorway, including clothing and medical paperwork.

Court documents also reveal a history of violence in which each partner has been the accused.

Outside the crime scene, police saw a pile of items that belonged to Mills including clothing and medicine. The victim, according to court documents, reportedly told loved ones she was afraid Mills would return. These facts are consistent with Holmes' findings in some cases of deadly domestic violence.

"You're at greater risk of homicide when you are attempting to leave the situation," said Dr. Bernadette Holmes, a sociology and criminal justice professor at Norfolk State University, discussing cases of this nature with 10 On Your Side's Regina Mobley. "That's why it's important for anyone who is experiencing domestic violence to have a safety plan to let others know what they are doing and what is going on because they're victims."

According to the Harvard University School of Public Health, pregnant women in America, or women who have recently given birth, are more likely to be murdered than to die from conditions related to pregnancy. According to the study, these homicides are linked to a deadly mix of intimate partner violence and firearms.

"Domestic violence does not occur in a vacuum," Holmes said.

On Wednesday, video footage captured a dark sedan pulling up to the apartment complex just before 8:30 p.m. The driver, matching Mills' description, parked and walked toward Jordan's apartment, leaving the car on.

The suspect was wearing a green shirt over a white shirt, a green bucket hat, gray sweatpants and Nike tennis shoes. Footage showed the suspect and Jordan engaged in an "encounter" before the suspect was later seen running back to the car. The bucket hat was found on the scene.

The 2-year-old and 7-year-old were left abandoned in the home after their mother was shot. Mills was later arrested in Hampton wearing the same clothes seen in the footage.

He told detectives that "he had a child on the way."

Jordan was shot in her left arm and left side and died at the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

Mills has been charged him with aggravated murder of a pregnant woman, use of a firearm, abuse of a child causing serious injury, shooting in commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a felon. He's being held without bail.

Mills is currently on probation for other charges out of Chesapeake and Portsmouth, according to court documents. Mills has previous convictions of drug charges, robbery, grand larceny, assault and battery of a family member and more.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — If it takes an entire village to raise a child, where was the village and who was the chief before five lives were lost in two cases of violence in two Hampton Roads cities?

3 children, 1 woman dead after murder-suicide in Chesapeake

10 On Your Side put the questions before Dr. Bernadette Holmes, a professor of sociology and criminal justice at Norfolk State University.

"Well, unfortunately, our safety nets are breaking down," Holmes said. "You know, there was a time where there was a greater sense of community. And when people saw others in crisis, there would be some type of intervention or support."

As the crisis continues, Holmes is calling on the community to create a new safety net for families that have more mobility than the previous generation.

"Oftentimes in marginalized communities in particular, they may be more reluctant to call the police because in domestic situations, they don't want the police involved," Holmes said.

And without intervention, Holmes said, today's witnesses could become tomorrow's victims.

"I think it is important that we emphasize support for these families — the extended families that are involved, the children that are involved, that there will be intervention, professional intervention, as well as community support and family support," she said, "because, in these events, the entire family system is affected by the tragedy and the community as well. Because for others who are seeing this, it is very traumatic."

The YWCA offers help for the victims of domestic violence, and if someone is suicidal, they should dial the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

POTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The evening news has been populated with scenes of suspected illegal immigrants being rounded up as the new Secretary of Homeland Security looks on in body armor. Failures at the border have been the centerpiece of the Trump agenda.

Democratic Third District Rep. Bobby Scott agrees that reforms are needed, but not if they're made for television.

"You don't need more expensive photo ops to make that point," Scott said. "Just enforce the law."

This week, for the first time, military aircraft have been used to transport suspected illegal immigrants, even in cases where the receiving countries initially refused to allow the planes to land. Scott has an estimate on the cost as the president has launched the Department of Government Efficiency.

"Well, we're seeing the estimates of the costs of the photo ops and putting the immigrants on military rather than commercial [planes]," Scott said. "The cost is five or 10 times more expensive for that photo op."

Across the aisle, First District Republican Rep. Rob Wittman applauds President Trump's program.

"Border security is a matter of national security, and the actions taken by President Trump reflect the leadership we need to address this crisis head-on, " said Wittman in a statement

Late Friday, we learned the U.S. Coast Guard has conducted what it calls alien expulsion flights between California and Texas.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Dignity for the deceased and caution for the wreckage.

That's what a retired Navy admiral said about the task underway in the Potomac River and how it ties to another air tragedy. On July 17, 1996, 230 people died when TWA flight 800 went down in the Atlantic Ocean, 12 minutes after takeoff from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Retired Rear Admiral Kelvin Dixon was in Washington, D.C. the day before Wednesday's American Airlines crash.

"I was in Washington yesterday for a meeting," Dixon said. "When I landed home in New Jersey, I found out later on about this tragic accident. It really made me look back at the recovery operations with the team with Flight 800."

Then a lieutenant commander, Dixon was in command of New Jersey-based Shore Boat Unit 23. Before Unit 23 reached the wreckage, Dixon advised the sailors on how to mentally prepare for the mission.

"They could see bodies that are intact," Dixon said. "They may find bodies that are not intact. Of course, then [they may find] body parts. To retrieve those, they have special bags and special techniques that they use to make sure they don't destroy any of [the remains,]."

In the Atlantic and now on the Potomac, it's all-hands-on-deck.

"We went through it with Flight 800 by looking for and working with divers," Dixon said. "We worked with Navy divers and the divers out of New York City, [the] FBI and so forth. So I'm quite sure all of those folks are possibly onsite there in Washington. It's going to be a daunting task for them, especially in those waters now. At least they're in the Potomac."

Regina Mobley: What are the factors they have to take into consideration when they have to handle those remains with dignity while preserving the aircraft?

USN Rear Admiral (ret.)Kelvin Dixon: It's pretty daunting. It's all based on what they see and how they have to go in. If they're inside the actual aircraft underwater, they will have to cut things open, pull things apart and keep the the aircraft intact as much as possible without destroying any of the evidence that could possibly help you determine what happened in this incident.

Dixon also said the Navy worked closely with the National Weather Service to determine how currents could affect the delicate recovery.