ARLINGTON, Va. – Just weeks before Virginia elects a new governor, there’s a surprise move that could upend the state’s congressional makeup.  

Democrats, who control the state’s General Assembly, are poised to hold a special session in Richmond to redraw congressional maps. It could wipe out GOP seats and put more Democrats in Congress.

It’s a move that’s sending shockwaves through Virginia politics. Virginia’s congressional delegation of 11 seats is made up of six Democrats and five Republicans but if Democrats

in Richmond move to redraw those districts, it could wipe out some of those seats held by Republicans. 

What they’re saying:

The plan has been denounced by Republican. Lieutenant Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears who would preside over a special session, says it’s a ploy to take her off Virginia Republican. 

Congressman Morgan Griffith tells FOX 5 the move is “underhanded.” 

 “The Democrats have a plan to eliminate the nonpartisan districting that the voters overwhelmingly supported just a few years ago,” Griffith said.

Democratic Congressman James Walkinshaw says the GOP started this effort by redistricting Democratic seats in Texas and North Carolina. 

“We’ve seen Republicans across the country — neighbors in North Carolina and obviously in Texas — gerrymandering in very extreme ways, so look, we can’t take anything off the table,” Walkinshaw said.

Dig deeper:

The timing is raising eyebrows across Virginia amid a heated election season.

In just 12 days, the Commonwealth holds elections for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates.  

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger told FOX 5 just weeks ago that she would not support a redistricting effort because the state already had a process in place

 “We spent years putting in place via a constitutional amendment that we have a bipartisan commission. Any efforts to try and change that would require another multi-year process so the answer isn’t feasible in Virginia,” Spanberger said. 

 “There is always a risk. It’s purple state and the Schar Center/Washington Post poll showed today that, minutes before our interview, Spanberger is ahead 12 points,” said David Ramadan with George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy.

 Whether or not Earle-Sears or Spanberger wins next month, that would do little to end state democrats’ efforts to redistrict republican seats.  

Under Virginia law, the General Assembly holds the power to make the rules on redistricting, not the governor. 

A South Philadelphia staple is heading down south.

Geno’s Steaks, known for its mouthwatering cheesesteaks, is crossing state lines and opening a brand-new spot at Power Plant Hampton Roads in Virginia.

Founded in 1966 at 9th and Passyunk, Geno’s has grown from a small corner stand into one of Philadelphia’s most popular cheesesteak shops, loved by locals and tourists alike.

Open 24/7, Geno’s serves up not only classic cheesesteaks but also hoagies, sandwiches, and sides.

If you don’t know what to order, Geno’s has a guide titled “How To Order Cheesesteaks Like a Local.”

Now, Virginia’s about to experience “60 years of steak, whiz and attitude.”

It is unclear when the new restaurant will open, but if interested, check out Power Plant Hampton Roads’ Instagram for updates.

In her posthumously published memoir, Virginia Roberts Giuffre shares a personal account of the story that made headlines worldwide: her accusations against Prince Andrew and years of alleged trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein.

“Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice” was released on Tuesday. Guiffre died by suicide earlier this year.

Here are some key takeaways from the book:

More details about Prince Andrew

Giuffre’s book alleges that she had sex with Prince Andrew three times, including when she was 17, after being trafficked by Epstein. One time, she said, was part of an orgy involving around eight other girls.

“The other girls all seemed and appeared to be under the age of eighteen and didn’t really speak English,” Giuffre said.

She said that, as her legal case progressed, Andrew made it difficult for her legal team to serve him papers by “fleeing to Queen Elizabeth’s Balmoral Castle in Scotland and hiding behind its well-guarded gates.” Andrew denied her allegations.

But a turning point came with Andrew’s November 2019 interview on the BBC program Newsnight. He was widely criticized for seeming to lack empathy when asked about the accusations, and Giuffre says the interview “was like an injection of jet fuel” for her legal team.

“Its contents would not only help us build an ironclad case against the prince but also open the door to potentially subpoenaing his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, and their daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie,” Giuffre wrote.

She said her settlement negotiations with Andrew began to move quickly after he hired American lawyer Andrew Brettler, who had worked with other public figures facing #MeToo allegations.

Brettler “was less reluctant than some of his British counterparts to face reality,” Giuffre wrote.

Giuffre said she and her team were asking for more than money as part of the settlement: They wanted an acknowledgement of what Giuffre had been through.

“After casting doubt on my credibility for so long — Prince Andrew’s team had even gone so far as to try to hire internet trolls to hassle me — the Duke of York owed me a meaningful apology as well. We would never get a confession, of course.”

The settlement was announced on Feb. 15, 2022, and Prince Andrew and Giuffre issued a joint statement which made clear he would pay Giuffre money, but didn’t specify the amount. It also said he would make a “substantial donation” in support of victims’ rights to Giuffre’s nonprofit organization. Andrew did not admit wrongdoing but said in court documents that he “regrets his association with Epstein.”

“I agreed to a one-year gag order, which seemed important to the prince because it ensured that his mother’s Platinum Jubilee would not be tarnished any more than it already had been,” Giuffre wrote.

Last week, ahead of the publication of Giuffre’s memoir, Prince Andrew announced he would no longer use his Duke of York title, after already having stepped back from royal duties in 2019.

Mar-a-Lago and a meeting with Trump

Before she first encountered Gislaine Maxwell and was brought into Epstein’s world, in 2000, Giuffre worked at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, alongside her father, who was a maintenance man responsible for the air conditioning units in hotel rooms, as well as the clay tennis courts.

“I remember he gave me a brief tour before presenting me to the hiring manager who — after I passed both a drug test and a polygraph — agreed to take me on,” Giuffre wrote. She said she met Mr. Trump a few days after starting work at the resort.

“They weren’t friends exactly. But Dad worked hard, and Trump liked that,” Giuffre said.

When she met Mr. Trump in his office, she said he “couldn’t have been friendlier, telling me it was fantastic I was there.”

He also asked if she babysat, Guiffre wrote, mentioning families with children who stayed in his properties nearby.

But it was also at Mar-a-Lago that Giuffre said she first met Ghislaine Maxwell.

“One steaming hot day some weeks before my seventeenth birthday, I was walking toward the Mar-a-Lago spa, on my way to work, when a car slowed behind me. I wish I could say that I sensed that something evil was tracking me, but as I headed into the building, I had no inkling of the danger I was in,” Giuffre said.

Maxwell jumped out of the car and introduced herself to Giuffre.

“I wish I could say that I saw through Maxwell’s polished facade — that, like a horse, I intuited the immense threat she posed to me. Instead, my first impression of Maxwell was the same one I formed when I greeted any well-heeled Mar-a-Lago guest. I’d be lucky, I thought, if I could grow up to be anything like her.”

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on federal charges including sex trafficking conspiracy, and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Epstein died in jail in 2019 after his arrest on sex trafficking charges.

Mr. Trump has denied knowledge of Epstein and Maxwell’s activities.

Giuffre’s message to the world

Giuffre writes about how the abuse she was subjected to affected her and how she dedicated herself to standing up those who harmed her and supporting others to do the same.

“Don’t be fooled by those in Epstein’s circle who say they didn’t know what Epstein was doing,” Guiffre said at the end of the book. “Anyone who spent any significant amount of time with Epstein saw him touching girls in ways you wouldn’t want a creepy old man touching your daughter. They can say they didn’t know he was raping children. But they were not blind. (Not to mention the fact that many prominent people were still associating with him years after).”

Though it was difficult, Guiffre said she was glad she had worked to share her story.

“I don’t regret it, but the constant telling and retelling has been extremely painful and exhausting,” she said.

Guiffre leaves readers with this message:

“I hope my story has moved you — to seek ways to free yourself from a bad situation, say, to stand up for someone else in need, or to simply reframe how you judge victims of sexual abuse. Each one of us can make positive change. I truly believe that. I hope for a world in which predators are punished, not protected; victims are treated with compassion, not shamed; and powerful people face the same consequences as anyone else. I yearn, too, for a world in which perpetrators face more shame than their victims do and where anyone who’s been trafficked can confront their abusers when they are ready, no matter how much time has passed. We don’t live in this world yet. …  If this book moves us even an inch closer to a reality like that — if it helps just one person — I will have achieved my goal.”