Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday that he was declaring a state of emergency over threats of “armed militia groups storming our Capitol” ahead of a gun-rights rally next week.

Northam’s emergency order will ban weapons of all kinds, including firearms, from the Capitol grounds starting Friday and continuing through Tuesday. He said the order was necessary to protect public safety because of potential violence from out-of-state groups at a gun-rights rally scheduled for Monday.

“Let me be clear. These are considered credible, serious threats by our law enforcement agencies,” Northam said at a Capitol news conference.

He added that some of the rhetoric used by groups planning to attend Monday’s rally is similar to what  was said in the lead-up to a deadly 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville. “We will not allow that mayhem and violence to happen here.”

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and is known as “Lobby day” in Virginia politics as advocates for a number of causes use the holiday to try and buttonhole lawmakers. It’s also traditionally when pro-gun and gun-control advocates hold rallies. This year, law enforcement officials are expecting thousands of gun-rights advocates to attend a rally organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League.

The group said its lawyers are reviewing the governor’s emergency declaration but did not have immediate additional comment.

Republicans were mixed in their response. House Minority Leader Del. Todd Gilbert lamented that “there are legitimate concerns of a few bad actors hijacking the rally.” But Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Jack Wilson condemned Northam’s declaration.

“Northam and the rest of the Virginia Democrats have made their session goal crystal clear: a disarmed, vulnerable, and subservient citizenry,” Wilson said in a statement.

The emergency declaration will mean road closures around the Capitol and limited access to the grounds, including a security checkpoint with metal detectors.

Law enforcement leaders from the Capitol Police, Virginia State Police and Richmond Police said public safety was their top priority and they would not tolerate any acts of violence.

Virginia law enforcement officials have been criticized for their planning and response to the Charlottesville rally that involved heavily armed protesters. One woman was killed and several more were injured when a car plowed into a group of counter protesters.

Northam’s declaration will also ban items like helmets and shields, items that some white nationalists carried in Charlottesville.

Gun laws have become a dominant issue this legislative session and there’s been a heavy police presence at the Capitol.

Northam’s planned announcement comes days after Democratic leaders used a special rules committee to ban guns inside the Capitol and a legislative office building. That ban did not include Capitol grounds, which are under the governor’s control.

Democrats have full control of the statehouse for the first time in a generation and are set to pass a number of gun-control restrictions, including limiting handgun purchases to once a month and universal background checks on gun purchases.

Republicans and gun-rights groups have pledged stiff resistance. Gun owners are descending on local government offices to demand they establish sanctuaries for gun rights. More than 100 counties, cities and towns have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries and vowed to oppose any new “unconstitutional restrictions” on guns.

…

Students in Iran have protested against their Islamist rulers for a fifth day, with dozens staging a sit-in at a central university as police surrounded other universities in Tehran to block more rallies at those sites.

Photos obtained by VOA appeared to show at least 100 students staging Wednesday’s sit-in next to a campus restaurant at Isfahan University of Technology in the central city of Isfahan. The protest seemed to be a silent one, with many of those gathered wearing surgical white masks over their faces with black “X” marks to symbolize their voices being silenced.

Signs held up by the demonstrators indicated that their grievances were directed toward the Iranian government, which has faced daily protests since its Saturday admission that Iranian forces shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane mistaken for an enemy threat as it departed Tehran for Kyiv Jan. 8.

Several students at the Isfahan sit-in held a sign saying “1,500 + 176”, referencing the number of people the U.S. government has accused Iran of killing in a crackdown on nationwide protests last November, plus the number of people killed in the crash of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 jet.

The crash killed 82 Iranians and 57 Canadians, many of them students with dual Iranian citizenship who were flying to Kyiv en route to Canada to resume university studies after the winter break.

Iran has rejected allegations that it killed hundreds of people in the November crackdown as exaggerated without providing its own official death toll.

Another sign held by one of the protesters at the Isfahan sit-in read, “We are not seditionists.”

There was no word on whether Iranian security forces responded to the apparent silent protest.

VOA could not independently verify the authenticity of the sit-in photos because of Iran’s tight restrictions on reporting in the country.

It was a different scene in Tehran, where video clips obtained by VOA appeared to show unusually high police deployments at entrances to Amirkabir University and Tehran University on Wednesday.

VOA could not independently verify the authenticity of the Tehran images, either.

Hundreds of students had staged noisy anti-government protests at several university campuses in the Iranian capital in the prior four days and had planned to do so again Wednesday, according to a widely shared social media posting seen by VOA.

But a video clip filmed by a citizen journalist showed about 20 police motorcycles and several officers stationed at the eastern entrance to Amirkabir University after nightfall, with the narrator saying the officers had blocked the entrance.

In a message to VOA, an alumnus of the university who asked to remain anonymous said he went to the campus Wednesday and saw Iranian police blocking all of its entrances and exits. 

“They were all over the campus in plain clothes or in riot gear,” he said. “Basiji militiamen helped them to kick everyone out of the campus by 5:30 p.m. to prevent any demonstration from forming.”

A nighttime video clip by another citizen journalist appeared to show security agents standing at an entrance of Tehran University. The narrator said they had shut down the entire campus.

A report by VOA sister network Radio Farda said pro-government students were able to hold gatherings and freely express their views at several Iranian universities Wednesday. It said some social media users criticized the gatherings as attempts to overshadow the anti-government student protests of the previous four days.

Iran’s judiciary has said police detained 30 people at those earlier protests in Tehran and several other cities and acted leniently in breaking up the demonstrations.

But in a report released Wednesday, London-based rights group Amnesty International said verified video footage, photographs and testimonies from victims and eyewitnesses showed that Iranian security forces used “unlawful force” against peaceful demonstrators in the first two days of the protests.

Amnesty said the evidence indicated that the security forces fired pointed pellets from airguns usually used for hunting at peaceful protesters, causing bleeding and painful injuries. It said those forces also used rubber bullets, tear gas and pepper spray to disperse protesters, as well as kicking and punching them, beating them with batons and making arbitrary arrests.

“The use of unlawful force in the latest demonstrations is part of a long-standing pattern by Iranian security forces,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty’s Middle East research director.

Amnesty has said it verified the killings of at least 300 protesters, mostly by gunfire, in Iran’s crackdown on the November 2019 protests.

This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service. Mehdi Jedinia of VOA’s Extremism Watch Desk contributed.

…

Intellectual property theft is a growing concern, and it poses a real risk at large conferences where people from around the world are gathered, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said recently. 

David Eagleman was one of more than 175,000 people at the Consumer Electronics Show held earlier this month in Las Vegas. He is a Stanford neuroscientist who co-founded a company that creates a wristband that helps the hearing-impaired hear through their skin. 

The device was produced after years of research, so Eagleman wanted it well-protected globally. 

“We have all the underlying technology patented, so we’re not terribly worried about patent theft. On the flip side, this is a group of 170,000 smart people, and so it’s something that we just have to watch out for,” Eagleman said. 

Aaron Rouse, special agent in charge of the Las Vegas division of the FBI, said, ““It does happen from time to time where a piece of product may go missing or somebody has noticed when they get back to their factory that there has been a piece of software that’s been installed onto one of their systems. 

“So it’s a matter of being vigilant,” Rouse said. 

According to the FBI and federal prosecutors, last year alone, there was a long list of cases of proprietary information being stolen.

They include: a North Carolina man who pleaded guilty of stealing trade secrets from aircraft companies to help a competitor develop anti-ice aircraft technology; a software engineer at a Chicago locomotive manufacturer who was indicted for stealing proprietary information from his company and taking it to China, where he is believed to be living; and a Chinese national working as an engineer in California who was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for stealing trade secrets from medical device companies and taking them to China. 

There are many different types of entities that would benefit from stolen technology. “Could be a criminal organization, could be a foreign intelligence service, could be a competitor,” Rouse said. 

At conferences, such as the Consumer Electronics Show, where there were more than 4,000 companies exhibiting and more than 160 countries represented, Rouse said one should be aware of who is handling the technology at all times. 

“Before you come out to one of these conferences, [it’s important] to make sure that the equipment arrives intact and on time, that it makes it off the loading dock,” he said. “And then during the time of the convention, who’s handling your your equipment? Who is handling your product, and do they have access or the capability of installing malware onto that product at that time?” 

As technology continues to permeate every aspect of life, especially internet file sharing, the FBI warns intellectual property theft is a growing threat that can cost companies billions of dollars. 

…

It’s the soundtrack of  “Chocolate City,” the non-federal Washington that has traditionally been a tent pole of black America.

Go-go music, a distinctive D.C.-specific offshoot of funk, has endured for decades through cultural shifts, fluctuations in popularity and law enforcement purges.

Now go-go has taken on a new mantle: battle hymn for the fight against a gentrification wave that’s reshaping the city.

“It’s a very deep cultural thing,” said Justin “Yaddiya” Johnson, an activist and creator of the #Don’tMuteDC campaign. “When you think about go-go, you should think about D.C. culture. It should be the symbol of our culture.”

Many longtime Washingtonians fear that culture is being steadily eroded as the city becomes whiter and richer. A recent controversy over an innocuous noise complaint placed go-go at the center of a perfect storm of gentrification symbolism.

The owner of a popular mobile phone store in the historically black Shaw neighborhood was told to turn off the go-go that he had been playing through sidewalk speakers for more than 20 years. He claims the complaint came from a resident of the gleaming new mixed-used apartment building erected on the next block.

The reaction was fierce. Seemingly overnight, a protest movement and petition drive sprung up and members of the D.C. Council started weighing in. Within days, the decision was reversed.

The mini-controversy was over almost before it started. But it obviously touched a nerve.

“I think that was messed up. Go-go IS D.C. Go-Go is our history,” said community activist Tiffany Richardson, one of the thousands of fans who turned out on a Tuesday night this month for an outdoor concert/protest featuring go-go mainstays Backyard Band. “They’re not going to stop go-go.”

The concert, mischievously named “Moechella,” was organized by Johnson under the #Don’tMuteDC banner. And since it was a protest, he didn’t need to secure a permit, so police obligingly blocked off several city blocks. The location – the corner of 14th and U streets – was no accident. That intersection was once one of the hearts of black D.C.; now it’s within two blocks of a Trader Joe’s (market) and a lululemon (apparel store).

To the uninitiated, go-go music seems indistinguishable from funk. What sets it apart are a specific conga-driven syncopation, known as the pocket beat, and a culture of call-and-response that turns the crowd into part of the show. Go-go bands feature multiple percussionists and often multiple vocalists- with one usually designated as “lead talker.”

“It’s the drumming it’s the rhythm pattern. It’s the feel of the rhythm,” said Liza Figueroa Kravinsky, founder of the band Go-Go Symphony. “In go-go, the fans know who the conga player is more than the guitar player.”

The late Chuck Brown is generally considered the godfather of the sound, starting in the early 1970s. And bands like Rare Essence and Trouble Funk have all flirted with mainstream success, but there has never been a full-scale breakout star. Probably the most famous go-go song is”Da Butt” by Experience Unlimited, which was showcased in the Spike Lee film “School Daze.”

While the music retains a local fanbase, musicians and devotees say the scene is still recovering from the effects of the crack epidemic, which ravaged Washington and turned go-go shows into magnets for violence. Eventually police began shutting down famous clubs like the Ibex in 1990s and forcing the shows out of the city.

Anwan “Big G” Glover, lead talker of Backyard Band, still recalls the time with bitterness. Authorities blamed the music for drawing violence when he says go-go was simply the ambient soundtrack of a city in crisis .

“Those rave parties in the suburbs with these rich kids – if anything happened there, they could just cover it up. That was the difference,” he said.

The purge was especially damaging because go-go is all about live performances. Glover and others say there’s a missing generation of fans who weren’t exposed to live go-go in their youth.

“The reason a lot of kids don’t know about go-go is that it’s been erased,” said Angela Byrd, founder of “Made in the DMV” incubator for local artists and activists. She was speaking at a recent #Don’tMuteDC conference. “I feel like go-go was pushed out, but it’s coming back.”

This official mistrust has continued. As recently as 2010 the alternative weekly City Paper published the Metropolitan Police Department’s bi-weekly internal “go-go report” tracking all the shows in the area.

Glover says the attitudes of the police have eased a bit in recent years and Backyard Band and others now play regular shows around the district. But there’s still a shortage of the all-ages shows that used to be the main gateway for young new fans. That age gap was evident during one of Backyard Band’s recent shows at a bowling alley in Chinatown. The concert drew a healthy crowd of about 150 people – many of whom were obvious hardcores who knew every song by heart. But almost everybody seemed to be at least 35 years old.

Now the renewed attention comes at a time when go-go may organically be approaching one of its periodic flirtations with mainstream popularity .

Glover has gained personal fame for a memorable recurring role as Slim Charles on the popular TV show “The Wire.” Artists as diverse as Snoop Dog and Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters have paid public tribute to the genre. Rare Essence and Backyard Band have both performed at the South by Southwest music festival and Backyard Band recently scored an improbable hit with a go-go cover of Adele’s “Hello.” Wale, the most famous Washington rapper, pays regular homage to go-go and recorded a song with TCB, purveyors of a neo-go-go sound called bounce-beat.

But local musicians still feel authorities have kept the culture at arms-length. They want to see the District government embrace go-go the way Chicago has done with blues and New Orleans with jazz. They want a go-go museum , a hall of fame and go-go landmark-themed tours.

Glover says District politicians tend to rediscover their affection for go-go during election season.

“They love us at campaign rally time,” he laughed. “They know that’s the only way to bring people out.”

 
…

It’s the soundtrack of  “Chocolate City,” the non-federal Washington that has traditionally been a tent pole of black America.

Go-go music, a distinctive D.C.-specific offshoot of funk, has endured for decades through cultural shifts, fluctuations in popularity and law enforcement purges.

Now go-go has taken on a new mantle: battle hymn for the fight against a gentrification wave that’s reshaping the city.

“It’s a very deep cultural thing,” said Justin “Yaddiya” Johnson, an activist and creator of the #Don’tMuteDC campaign. “When you think about go-go, you should think about D.C. culture. It should be the symbol of our culture.”

Many longtime Washingtonians fear that culture is being steadily eroded as the city becomes whiter and richer. A recent controversy over an innocuous noise complaint placed go-go at the center of a perfect storm of gentrification symbolism.

The owner of a popular mobile phone store in the historically black Shaw neighborhood was told to turn off the go-go that he had been playing through sidewalk speakers for more than 20 years. He claims the complaint came from a resident of the gleaming new mixed-used apartment building erected on the next block.

The reaction was fierce. Seemingly overnight, a protest movement and petition drive sprung up and members of the D.C. Council started weighing in. Within days, the decision was reversed.

The mini-controversy was over almost before it started. But it obviously touched a nerve.

“I think that was messed up. Go-go IS D.C. Go-Go is our history,” said community activist Tiffany Richardson, one of the thousands of fans who turned out on a Tuesday night this month for an outdoor concert/protest featuring go-go mainstays Backyard Band. “They’re not going to stop go-go.”

The concert, mischievously named “Moechella,” was organized by Johnson under the #Don’tMuteDC banner. And since it was a protest, he didn’t need to secure a permit, so police obligingly blocked off several city blocks. The location – the corner of 14th and U streets – was no accident. That intersection was once one of the hearts of black D.C.; now it’s within two blocks of a Trader Joe’s (market) and a lululemon (apparel store).

To the uninitiated, go-go music seems indistinguishable from funk. What sets it apart are a specific conga-driven syncopation, known as the pocket beat, and a culture of call-and-response that turns the crowd into part of the show. Go-go bands feature multiple percussionists and often multiple vocalists- with one usually designated as “lead talker.”

“It’s the drumming it’s the rhythm pattern. It’s the feel of the rhythm,” said Liza Figueroa Kravinsky, founder of the band Go-Go Symphony. “In go-go, the fans know who the conga player is more than the guitar player.”

The late Chuck Brown is generally considered the godfather of the sound, starting in the early 1970s. And bands like Rare Essence and Trouble Funk have all flirted with mainstream success, but there has never been a full-scale breakout star. Probably the most famous go-go song is”Da Butt” by Experience Unlimited, which was showcased in the Spike Lee film “School Daze.”

While the music retains a local fanbase, musicians and devotees say the scene is still recovering from the effects of the crack epidemic, which ravaged Washington and turned go-go shows into magnets for violence. Eventually police began shutting down famous clubs like the Ibex in 1990s and forcing the shows out of the city.

Anwan “Big G” Glover, lead talker of Backyard Band, still recalls the time with bitterness. Authorities blamed the music for drawing violence when he says go-go was simply the ambient soundtrack of a city in crisis .

“Those rave parties in the suburbs with these rich kids – if anything happened there, they could just cover it up. That was the difference,” he said.

The purge was especially damaging because go-go is all about live performances. Glover and others say there’s a missing generation of fans who weren’t exposed to live go-go in their youth.

“The reason a lot of kids don’t know about go-go is that it’s been erased,” said Angela Byrd, founder of “Made in the DMV” incubator for local artists and activists. She was speaking at a recent #Don’tMuteDC conference. “I feel like go-go was pushed out, but it’s coming back.”

This official mistrust has continued. As recently as 2010 the alternative weekly City Paper published the Metropolitan Police Department’s bi-weekly internal “go-go report” tracking all the shows in the area.

Glover says the attitudes of the police have eased a bit in recent years and Backyard Band and others now play regular shows around the district. But there’s still a shortage of the all-ages shows that used to be the main gateway for young new fans. That age gap was evident during one of Backyard Band’s recent shows at a bowling alley in Chinatown. The concert drew a healthy crowd of about 150 people – many of whom were obvious hardcores who knew every song by heart. But almost everybody seemed to be at least 35 years old.

Now the renewed attention comes at a time when go-go may organically be approaching one of its periodic flirtations with mainstream popularity .

Glover has gained personal fame for a memorable recurring role as Slim Charles on the popular TV show “The Wire.” Artists as diverse as Snoop Dog and Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters have paid public tribute to the genre. Rare Essence and Backyard Band have both performed at the South by Southwest music festival and Backyard Band recently scored an improbable hit with a go-go cover of Adele’s “Hello.” Wale, the most famous Washington rapper, pays regular homage to go-go and recorded a song with TCB, purveyors of a neo-go-go sound called bounce-beat.

But local musicians still feel authorities have kept the culture at arms-length. They want to see the District government embrace go-go the way Chicago has done with blues and New Orleans with jazz. They want a go-go museum , a hall of fame and go-go landmark-themed tours.

Glover says District politicians tend to rediscover their affection for go-go during election season.

“They love us at campaign rally time,” he laughed. “They know that’s the only way to bring people out.”

 
…

In 2000, Magnus Liljedahl received an Olympic gold medal in sailing. He has been in love with the sport all his life, and it paid off. But after finishing a career in professional sports, he never gave up sailing, and today, he is introducing the therapeutic and healing sport to underserved young people, U.S. veterans, and individuals with disabilities. Lilia Anisimova met with the Olympic champion. Anna Rice narrates her story.
…

In 2000, Magnus Liljedahl received an Olympic gold medal in sailing. He has been in love with the sport all his life, and it paid off. But after finishing a career in professional sports, he never gave up sailing, and today, he is introducing the therapeutic and healing sport to underserved young people, U.S. veterans, and individuals with disabilities. Lilia Anisimova met with the Olympic champion. Anna Rice narrates her story.
…