Virginia
Winsome Earle-Sears, Abigail Spanberger will face off in key Virginia governor’s race
In what could be a key 2025 bellwether, Virginia’s race for governor will also make history, all but guaranteeing the Commonwealth’s first female governor. Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former congresswoman and CIA officer, will face Republican Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, a Marine veteran, after both state parties confirmed their nominees in recent days.
One of the only competitive races of the year, the Virginia gubernatorial contest will be closely watched by both parties — and is often treated as a referendum on the president’s party. Historically, Virginia has voted for a governor of the opposite political party, every time a new president has been elected since 1977.
The race is already breaking state records for fundraising, with Earle-Sears raising more than $3 million from January to March and Spanberger raising around $6.7 million during the same period, according to the campaigns.
In an interview with “America Decides,” Spanberger told CBS News she believes national issues will weigh heavily on the race, from the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of federal employees, more than 144,000 of whom live in Virginia, as well as what she called an “antagonistic trade war.”
“All of this impacts Virginia, and the stakes of this election reflect that,” said Spanberger.
When asked whether Earle-Sears supports President Trump’s tariff policy, her campaign deflected but said in a statement, “After leftists like Joe Biden and Abigail Spanberger devastated our economy and standing in the world—President Trump is doing the work to put America first again.”
Earle-Sears has attacked Spanberger for her votes in Congress supporting Biden administration policies including the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed in 2022 with no Republican support. Earle-Sears argues it has contributed to inflation.
“I think it’s a ridiculous assertion given that my opponent has been eager to claim credit for some of the funding that came through some of those federal dollars to Virginia’s Commonwealth,” Spanberger told CBS News. “But, the reality is that my opponent is endeavoring to distract, because she’s not talking about the fact that we’ve seen an absolute tanking of the stock market because of Donald Trump’s actions.”
In 2021, Earle-Sears became the first Black woman ever elected to statewide office in Virginia. She will have to appeal to moderates and independent voters in the blue-leaning state but has given mixed messages on her support for Mr. Trump in recent years.
In 2020, she co-chaired the group “Black Americans to re-elect President Trump,” but in 2022, following the midterms, she told FOX Business it was “time to move on.”
“A true leader understands when they have become a liability,” she said during the interview. “A true leader understands when it’s time to step off the stage.”
She went on to vote for Mr. Trump in 2024. A source close to the campaign says she sees the president as a federal partner. It remains to be seen if Mr. Trump offers Earle-Sears an endorsement given the high stakes of this year’s few marquee races.
While Mr. Trump made inroads in Virginia during the 2024 presidential election, the state comfortably went for Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is barred from serving back-to-back terms, endorsed his Lt. Governor early in the race.
Prince Andrew’s ex-girlfriend, Lady Victoria Hervey, gloated over the death-by-suicide of Andrew’s sex accuser, Virginia Giuffre, a mother of three.
In a vile message on Instagram, Hervey posted a screenshot of the news of Giuffre’s death with the caption, “When lies catch up with you, there’s no way out.”
She then posted another message, saying, “I have taken the decision to pause my posts on Virginia Giuffre at this time. Irrespective of the circumstances, suicide in anyone at any time is tragic, and in a young mother who has children, even more so.”
However, she left the first post up.
Hervey has been one of Giuffre’s most voluble critics and has frequently alleged that Giuffre faked the notorious picture of herself as a teenager with Prince Andrew. Hervey has poured scorn on claims that the famous photograph of a grinning Andrew with his arm slung around Roberts’ bare midriff when she was just 17 is genuine.
Hervey, whose brother was the famously dissolute seventh Marquess of Bristol, has previously suggested that the picture of Roberts and Andrew was a composite made with an “Irish body double.”
Andrew has also refused to accept that the photo is genuine.
“From the investigations that we’ve done, you can’t prove whether or not that photograph is faked or not because it is a photograph of a photograph of a photograph,” he said in the Newsnight interview. ”Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored, but I don’t recollect that photograph ever being taken.”
Giuffre repeatedly insisted that the photo was real.
“It’s a real photo,” she said in an interview with British TV show Panorama. “I’ve given it to the FBI for their investigation, and it’s an authentic photo. There’s a date on the back of it from when it was printed.”
Giuffre received a bumper payout from Andrew in 2022 over claims he sexually assaulted her as a teenager.
Andrew has always said he has no recollection of meeting Giuffre. He has not commented on her death.
Giuffre’s family confirmed her passing on Friday, describing her in a statement to NBC News as a “lifelong fighter” who could “no longer carry the weight” of the trauma she endured.
Giuffre was born in California, but her family moved to Palm Beach County, Florida, where Giuffre got a job working as a spa attendant at Mar-a-Lago before being recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein under the pretense of working as a masseuse for the billionaire financier.
Giuffre alleged she was forced into sexual encounters with Epstein’s powerful associates, including Prince Andrew. Although Andrew denied any wrongdoing, he settled her civil lawsuit in 2022 for an undisclosed amount, rumored to be around $14 million, and was forced to give up his royal role due to the scandal.
Police confirmed they received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in the Perth suburb of Neergabby on Friday night.
“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid,” a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. “Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene.”
Giuffre’s lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, described her client as a “dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims.”
Her representative, Dini von Mueffling, added: “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honor to know.”
Well, no one saw this commitment coming!
The UNC basketball program added some guard depth, securing a commitment from Virginia Tech transfer Jaydon Young.
Jaydon Young has committed to North Carolina, he tells @greenlightbball.🐑
He averaged 16.3PTS in his final six ACC games— notably scoring 27PTS vs. Miami & 26PTS vs. Syracuse📊
Spent first two seasons at VA Tech.📈@jaydonyoung4 pic.twitter.com/lJtEzxzxIZ — GREENLIGHT MEDIA (@greenlightbball) April 25, 2025
Young originally committed to High Point this offseason, but coaching changes led for the former Virginia Tech Hokie to reevaluate his options. This led him to Chapel Hill, bringing the 6-foot-4 guard back to his home state to continue his college basketball career.
I give him (and North Carolina) credit: NO ONE had any inklings that this was even in consideration!
Anyways, Young spent the first two seasons of his college career at Virginia Tech. This past season, Young’s role increased and his production followed suit, averaging 8.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per-game in more than 22 minutes per contest.
Young put up some big-time performances down the stretch, scoring in double-figures in each of his final six games of the 2024-2025 season. He scored 27 points in a win over Miami and followed it up two games later with a 26-point outburst in an overtime victory over Syracuse.
While he likely will be a rotational piece, Young is a guy who can provide a spark in any role he’s utilized in. His shooting percentages are not eye-popping (which could be a result of taking a large number of shots), but given his attempts should be much lower once he arrives in Chapel Hill, the hope is that he’ll be able to be more effective with more space and opportunities to work with.
This was a very random commitment but one that makes a lot of sense for the UNC basketball program, as Jaydon Young provides some much-needed depth at the guard position. He becomes the latest piece to this puzzle, a group that will look a lot different than the team we saw during the 2024-2025 season.
HAMPTON, Va. — An experimental aircraft has crashed at a military base near the coast of Virginia, authorities said Thursday.
The incident occurred at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in the city of Hampton and is under investigation, U.S. Air Force Airman Donnell Ramsey said in a phone call. He was unable to provide information on possible injuries.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a post on X that it was “investigating the crash of an experimental MX Aircraft MXS near Hampton, Virginia.” The post did not contain more information.
The MXS is a single-seat airplane, according to the MX Aircraft website. The Australian company specializes in sport, aerobatic and race aircraft.
An airshow is scheduled for the base Saturday and Sunday. But it’s unclear if the plane is involved in the event.
The base is composed of the Army’s Fort Eustis and Langley Air Force Base, which sits near the southwestern edge of the Chesapeake Bay.
The installation is home to squadrons of F-22 Raptor fighter jets. One of them shot down a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic in 2023.
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