How Tucker Carlson inspired a Charlottesville neo-Nazi

OCTOBER 29, 2021

THE BIG STORY

Neo-Nazi Christopher Cantwell watched Tucker Carlson and got help from a white supremacist in prison to prepare for his trial in Charlottesville

BuzzFeed News; Stephanie Keith / Reuters; Fox News via YouTube

One of the most prominent white supremacists being sued by victims of the deadly "Unite the Right" rally prepped for the trial by watching Fox News personality Tucker Carlson and getting legal advice from a neo-Nazi denied a law license.

In a filing in the Charlottesville lawsuit, defendant Christopher Cantwell specifically cites Carlson as someone with whom he shares many views. Additionally, a man who spent five months with Cantwell in the same prison unit in Marion, Illinois, said Cantwell was emboldened by the polarizing messages emanating from Fox News — specifically Tucker Carlson. And since June, Cantwell has received free legal assistance from another white supremacist in prison, according to court documents and Cantwell himself.

Since the civil lawsuit against Cantwell was filed in 2017, no lawyer has been able to tolerate his antics, hate-filled online diatribes, puzzling motions he has filed himself, and confusing outbursts in pretrial hearings. Over the course of the Charlottesville trial, which is expected to last around four weeks, Cantwell will defend himself.

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

Democrats finally have their social spending plan. Paid family leave got left out

On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced a breakthrough framework agreement on the Build Back Better Act that includes $555 billion in funding to fight climate change as well as new social programs such as universal prekindergarten.

But after months of negotiations, Democrats had to make painful cuts as they shrunk their original $3.5 trillion plan roughly in half. Most notably, the plan to institute the country's first mandatory paid family and medical leave was left out. And in a huge win for Big Pharma, the plan released by the White House also omits letting Medicare directly negotiate down drug prices.

The success of this framework is no sure thing. Biden pitched his plan to Congress on Thursday morning. So far, progressives have not said definitively how they will vote.

SNAPSHOTS

Facebook's new name is Meta. According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the name reflects Facebook err— Meta's ambitions in virtual and augmented reality, which he's calling "metaverse."

AOC and other members of Congress called out Big Oil's climate BS in a historic hearing. Yesterday's all-day hearing marked the first time Congress members got to question the nation's top oil executives under oath about their long history of sowing doubt about the climate crisis, as well as the industry's current climate priorities.

Human remains found in a California desert were identified as those of missing woman Lauren Cho. Cho's June disappearance was amplified on social media as part of the discussion to highlight cases of missing people of color following the search for Gabby Petito.

Lori Loughlin paid two students' $500,000 college tuition fees, a month after returning to acting. People are calling it an "obvious PR rehabilitation" stunt following the college admissions scandal.

WHEN EXTREME BECOMES THE NEW NORMAL

California's year of drought and deluge is a preview of its painful climate future

A vehicle sits in floodwaters near the Russian River in Forestville, California, on Oct. 24. Brontë Wittpenn / San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

The record storms that hit California this past weekend were good news in the short term — and disastrous for the state's future.

While the intense rainfall took a slight edge off California's extreme drought and wildfire season, climate scientists warn it's just a preview for future vicious weather cycles. Droughts and floods are set to intensify in the coming decades due to climate change, as the warmer atmosphere parches the soil and then periodically dumps massive amounts of rain in one go, transported from the tropical Pacific in huge "atmospheric rivers" laden with water vapor.

So what does this mean for California's almost 40 million residents? In the decades to come, drought may force half a million acres of prime farmland out of production. At the same time, the state faces the prospect of a flood of biblical proportions that could surpass the impact of any weather-related disaster yet to befall the US. Without aggressive climate action and policy reform, extreme weather may become the inevitable new norm in California.

THE BABY BRAND INFLUENCER INDUSTRY

How these Instagram baby clothing brands became collector's items

Sol Cotti for BuzzFeed News

In May 2020, Christina Wait was on Facebook when an ad for baby apparel caught her eye. It wasn't the clothing in the ad she noticed first, but the pattern.

"It was a beautiful Hawaiian floral print called 'Maui' and I had to have it," she said.

Soon, the 36-year-old mother was obsessed. Wait now owns over 500 items of Posh Peanut clothing for her five kids and three stepkids.

She's far from the only parent to be swept up in online baby clothing fervor. Over the past few years, Instagram baby brands like Posh Peanut, Kyte Baby, Kate Quinn, and Ryan and Rose have gone certifiably viral for their fashionable, (supposedly) eco-friendly clothing items. A December 2020 report from Fortune Business Insights says that "growing social media influence and changing fashion trends" have pushed "demand for fashionable clothes" for children.

And for many parents, especially during the pandemic, buying from these brands has become about more than clothes. It's a passion.

IT'S THE WEEKEND, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE

Longreads about a changing world

Sleepy school board races? Not in the year of Critical race theory and COVID-19.

They've railed against face masks and COVID-19 vaccines during rowdy school board meetings that have sometimes descended into chaos and violence. They've protested against critical race theory and protections for transgender students. Next week, they're heading to the polls.

Across the country, school board races that had long been sleepy nonpartisan affairs are suddenly contentious, flush with cash, and dominated by right-wing political debates that have swamped the local level.

The phenomenon is no coincidence. Republican officials and right-wing groups around the country are training candidates to run for school board positions, looking to groom future political stars. As Trump adviser Steve Bannon noted on his podcast in May, "The path to save the nation is very simple — it's going to go through the school boards."

Katie Couric is done playing nice

In her often-thoughtful memoir Going There, Katie Couric retraces her arc from America's morning show sweetheart to an evening news anchor to a TV personality and author in a changing media landscape. Self-critical and candid, the book explores Couric's discomfort at being "one of the boys" on TV news, even as she benefited from this reputation.

Toward the end of Going There, Couric laments with self-awareness that it's sad not to be the It girl anymore. But ultimately, the insights in her memoir illustrate how the ways in which she saw the world — including the limitations — allowed her to hold that position for so many people for so long.

I hope your weekend is spooky in only the best ways,

Alexa

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