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Thousands of activists from across the country are expected to descend on the Virginia state Capitol on Monday to rally against sweeping new gun control proposals supported by state Democrats.But the rally in Richmond -- billed as a peaceful event to lobby lawmakers to defend Second Amendment rights -- has quickly set off fears of potential violence and chaos. Discussions about the rally have been lighting up online platforms frequented by anti-government militia groups and white supremacists for weeks, and various extremist groups have vowed to attend.Tensions escalated this week when Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency and temporarily banned weapons on Capitol grounds, citing credible "threats of violence." The FBI also announced the arrest of three suspected neo-Nazis who the authorities said had obtained weapons and discussed participating in the Richmond event, intensifying concerns.Here's what you need to know about the rally and what to expect for Monday.Why is the rally happening now?Virginia Democrats flipped the state House and Senate in November, wresting the General Assembly from Republican control in a state that was once the seat of the Confederacy.Under Northam, a Democrat who survived a scandal over a racist photograph last year, state Democrats planned to make gun control a priority in the 2020 session. But the plan sparked a backlash in a state with a strong history of supporting gun rights.After 12 people were killed in a mass shooting in Virginia Beach last year, a special legislative session to consider gun control lasted just 90 minutes. In recent weeks, more than 100 municipalities have designated themselves "sanctuaries" for the Second Amendment. Though the measures are purely symbolic, lawmakers and sheriffs in those areas have said they will refuse to enforce new gun control laws.What are the proposed Virginia gun laws?The Virginia Senate has approved three gun control bills that could be approved by the House of Delegates as early as next week.The measures would limit purchases of handguns to one each month; require that gunbuyers submit to background checks; and allow local governments to ban guns in parks and public buildings. Northam has said he would sign each of the bills.Democrats who won control of the General Assembly, in part for their support of imposing strict firearms restrictions, say more gun control legislation is on the way, including a red flag law that would permit officials to confiscate firearms from people deemed dangerous to themselves or others. They also say they want to ban assault-style weapons, but that effort has been delayed in both chambers.Who is expected to attend the rally?The rally is being hosted by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a prominent Second Amendment group that typically holds an annual "Lobby Day" to meet with lawmakers. The group is organizing charter buses, car pools and a sushi dinner the night before the rally in anticipation of what it is calling "the most important Lobby Day Rally that we have ever had."The group's president Philip Van Cleave, who refers to himself as an extremist, issued a statement saying that the rally was meant to be a peaceful protest "about gun rights and nothing else."In a state where hunting is a popular sport and gun ownership is common in rural areas, most in attendance are expected to be gun rights supporters. Still, the rally has drawn the attention of militia groups from as far away as Nevada and Oklahoma, including those tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League.Others vowing to attend include individuals associated with the Light Foot Militia, some of whom were banned from Charlottesville after the "Unite the Right" rally in 2017, which ended in the death of a counterprotester. Richard B. Spencer, a prominent white nationalist who is among 24 defendants in a lawsuit over the rally in Charlottesville, also said he might attend.Experts on extremism believe the groups want to co-opt the rally in an effort to fuel a race war. For example, extremists are calling Monday's rally the "boogaloo," which in the language of white supremacists is an event that will accelerate such a war.It remains unclear who will actually arrive in Richmond, but it's possible preemptive moves by authorities could deter some who had vowed to attend.What is the Base?Authorities on Thursday announced the arrests of three men linked to the Base, an extremist group being tracked by the FBI. The three men had obtained weapons and discussed participating in the Richmond rally and were charged with various federal crimes in Maryland, authorities said.On Friday, law enforcement announced the arrest of at least four other men also tied to the Base, in separate plots. In Georgia, three men, who are members of the group, were arrested and charged for a conspiracy to murder a married couple in Bartow County, the authorities said.In Wisconsin, another member of the Base was arrested on charges of vandalizing a synagogue in Racine, Wisconsin, according to court documents.The Base is a white extremist, anti-government group that aims to establish a white "ethno-state."The FBI has grown increasingly concerned about the Base as it has worked to recruit more people. The group encourages the onset of anarchy, according to the Counter Extremism Project, an organization that tracks far-right extremists. Experts say that its founder, an American, appears to be living in Russia.Former law enforcement officials say the Base and a similar group known as Atomwaffen have become priorities for the FBI.In November, the FBI arrested Richard Tobin, a young man in New Jersey, who was accused of recruiting on behalf of the Base and of supporting violence, including the killing of black people with a machete.How long will the state of emergency last?Northam declared a state of emergency before Monday's rally, temporarily banning weapons, including firearms, from the grounds of the Capitol in a move that the Virginia Citizens Defense League tried to fight in court.The Virginia Supreme Court upheld the temporary ban.In his declaration, Northam cited the eruption in Charlottesville three years ago as an example of "what can happen when peaceful demonstrations are hijacked by those who come into the Commonwealth and do not value the importance of peaceful assembly." He added: "We must take all precautions to prevent that from ever happening again."The state of emergency was scheduled to begin Friday at 5 p.m. and extend through Tuesday.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company

POSTED JANUARY 18, 2020 10:13 AM

Vanessa Smallwood of Maple Shade, N.J., was 46 at the time of her disappearance. She was identified in a statement from New Jersey State Police.

POSTED JANUARY 19, 2020 2:10 PM

The messages provide key new evidence that Nunes' team was aware of and involved in Trump's efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.

POSTED JANUARY 18, 2020 10:44 AM

Dust storms, hail and flash floods have battered beleaguered Australian cities in recent days, extreme weather that has diminished the threat from scores of wildfires that continue to blaze across the country’s southeast. A hail storm in the national capital Canberra on Monday damaged public buildings, businesses, homes and cars, cut power to some suburbs, brought down trees, caused flash flooding and injured two people, emergency services officials said.

POSTED JANUARY 20, 2020 4:19 AM

World War III is no joke...

POSTED JANUARY 18, 2020 5:00 PM

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Somalia had invited Turkey to explore for oil in its seas, after Ankara signed a maritime agreement with Libya last year, broadcaster NTV reported. Turkey has been a major source of aid to Somalia following a famine in 2011 as Ankara seeks to increase its influence in the Horn of Africa to counter Gulf rivals like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

POSTED JANUARY 20, 2020 7:54 AM

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. received intelligence about a potentially imminent attack being planned against military personnel stationed in Germany, Newsweek reported, citing a memo it saw.The 66th Military Intelligence Brigade received third party information stating that a possible attack could occur against soldiers at either Tower Barracks in Grafenwohr or Tower Barracks, Dulmen; the exact location, date and time of possible attack was unknown Information was marked unclassified and from a senior U.S. intelligence official “The source of information stated the attack would be carried out by an unknown Jordanian extremist currently located in Germany near an unknown military base,” the report saidU.S. Army Europe confirmed to Newsweek that a potential threat was identified and investigated last night “German and US officials were consulted and no imminent threat was found to exit”To view the source of this information click hereTo contact the reporter on this story: Nathan Crooks in Miami at ncrooks@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Sebastian Tong at stong41@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

POSTED JANUARY 19, 2020 4:00 PM

More than 100 people were killed and dozens wounded in a missile and drone attack blamed on Huthi rebels in central Yemen, officials said Sunday. Saturday's strike follows months of relative calm in the war between the Iran-backed Huthis and Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is supported by a Saudi-led military coalition. The Huthis attacked a mosque in a military camp in the central province of Marib -- about 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of the capital Sanaa -- during evening prayers, military sources told AFP.

POSTED JANUARY 19, 2020 6:35 PM

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will need to be protected at taxpayers’ expense against the threat of terror attacks and kidnap for years to come, security experts have said. Police and former security chiefs fear the couple will continue to be at risk from organised terror groups, political fanatics and lone obsessives long after they separate from the Royal family. Talks are understood to be taking place at senior levels over the best way of providing protection for Meghan and Prince Harry as they divide their time between Britain and their new life in North America. But there are fears among some experts that palace and government officials may be underestimating both the potential threat and what is required to protect the couple against it. Dai Davies, who was Head of Royal Protection from 1994 to 1998 and former Chief Superintendent (Divisional Commander) Metropolitan Police Service, said: “We have to learn the lessons of history and act on them. Anyone in charge of security has to think the impossible and then think it again and I fear there is not enough of that going on by the experts currently in charge. “One thing you can be sure of is that terrorists and others who pose a threat are thinking about it all the time.” Mr Davies said the three main threats come from jihadist terrorists targeting Prince Harry, who also served in Afghanistan; lone ‘fixateds’ and royal obsessives; and right wing extremists with an hatred of Meghan as a woman of colour marrying into the royal family. Minister and senior police officers are thought to be determined to avoid the mistakes made over Diana, Princess of Wales, who in 1993 turned down publicly funded police protection except when she was with her sons William and Harry or staying at Kensington Palace. That left her relying on private security at other times, leading to her being in the hands of the Ritz Hotel’s head of security Herni Paul on the night she died when their car crashed in the Pont de l'Alma underpass as he tried to evade photographers following Diana. Her bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones was badly injured in the crash, on 31 August 1997. Ken Wharfe, who served as Diana's royal protection officer for six years, resigned from the position in 1993, has since said that if he and his team were working with the Princess in 1997, they may have been able to prevent her death.  Mr Davies, who said there have been far more plots against the Royals than publicly acknowledged, added: “We don't want the situation where Harry and Meghan are being followed, without protection, by paparazzi or people with a fixation and we need to be sure that protection is of the highest level.” But he added that the high cost of providing security may cause resentment among British taxpayers if the Sussexes begin to earn large sums of private income outside of any Royal duties they continue to carry out. “The question is whether the British public will wear the cost of security, even if it is miniscule in real terms, over a long period,” said Mr Davies, who was in charge of protection for the Queen and the Royal family throughout the UK and worldwide. Lord West of Spithead, who was a security minister from 2007 to 2010, said that Harry and Meghan would be expected to make a contribution towards the cost of their security should they start earning a large amount of private income. But he said there was no question that high levels of police protection would have to be provided by the British government into the future. “We have got an obligation to provide security for one of the Queen’s sons and his family and that’s a long term obligation,” he said. “It would be nice to work out an arrangement with the Canadians, but we can’t not provide that protection ourselves, regardless. Mike Penning MP, who was police minister from 2014 to 2016 and went on to serve as justice and Armed Forces minister, said: “It doesn’t matter who they are, if they are at risk we have a duty to protect them, it’s as simple as that. That requirement should be based on any risk assessment made by our intelligence services and by the Canadians.”

POSTED JANUARY 18, 2020 2:30 PM

Mexican authorities say they have discovered two more bodies at a house in Tijuana where a couple with dual U.S.-Mexico citizenship were found buried, allegedly by their son-in-law. The attorney general's office for the state of Baja California, just south of San Diego, California, said late Saturday the second set of bodies —one male and the other female— are in a state of advanced decomposition. The suspect was deported from the U.S. in 2012 and had been living at a property in Tijuana owned by his in-laws.

POSTED JANUARY 19, 2020 2:44 PM