Britney Spears' dad is out of the conservatorship, but a new battle is underway
 NOVEMBER 2, 2021 THE BIG STORY
One small town's big battle over critical race theory  BuzzFeed News; Philip Keith for BuzzFeed News, Getty Images, Youtube, Random House Residents of Guilford, Connecticut — an affluent seaside town with a 96% white population — are bitterly divided over how to address racism as a community. The feud may come to a head in a pivotal school board election that could change everything.
The Guilford Board of Education ties their elections to party affiliations; the school board can never have more than a slim majority of either political group represented. Ahead of this year's Board of Education election, locals have split into sharply opposing groups: those who see anti-racist education as a necessary step to addressing intrenched inequities, and those who view that as evidence of a Marxist, racist plot against white students and their parents.
What's happening in Guilford is a glimpse at a larger reckoning with systemic racism playing out across the US — even in self-proclaimed "progressive" towns.
"One of the weirdest things about this whole thing is that a lot of this is happening between people who have known each other for years," said Emily Breeze, a playwright who grew up in Guilford. "I think suburbia does a lot to prevent people from talking to each other." STAYING ON TOP OF THIS
Supreme Court justices have big problems with how Texas went about trying to ban abortion The Supreme Court heard two cases on Monday weighing whether it's possible to bring a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Texas's six-week abortion ban SB 8. (To be clear, the court isn't deciding whether the ban itself is constitutional right now. I know, it's confusing. More details on this difference here.)
Most of the critical questions from the court's conservative wing came in the case brought forth by Texas abortion providers, a sign that a majority of justices might be more open to letting that argument go forward.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett repeatedly highlighted that Texas had structured the law so that it could never be struck down completely — that no one, in her words, could get "global relief." Separately, Justice Brett Kavanaugh raised an issue that opponents of SB 8 hoped would get the attention of the court's conservative justices: whether Democrat-led states could pass laws modeled on SB 8 to restrict gun rights under the Second Amendment.
A win for either of Monday's cases would send the fight over SB 8 back down to a federal district judge in Austin. It's not clear when the justices will make a final ruling, and they denied the Justice Department's request to halt the law in the meantime. SNAPSHOTS
"Enough of treating nature like a toilet": The UN leader is fed up with climate inaction. At the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, the UN secretary-general gave a fiery speech urging for immediate climate action, saying that "we face a choice: Either we stop it or it stops us."
As pregnant people lose access to abortion clinic options in Texas, more and more are seeking information about ending pregnancies on their own. According to Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, about 7% of US women will undertake a self-managed abortion in their lifetimes.
HOW #FREEBRITNEY COULD FREE OTHERS
Britney Spears' dad is out of the conservatorship, but the battle over how he spent her money is just getting started  Britney Spears in 2018 Chris Pizzello/Invision / AP On Nov. 12, just weeks before Britney Spears' 40th birthday, a Los Angeles judge is expected to terminate her conservatorship. It's a colossal victory for the pop star, but Spears' legal team is already moving toward the next battle — trying to claw back funds they believe were used for illegitimate purposes while her father controlled her finances.
In addition to his monthly $16,000 salary and $2,000 allowance for office space, Jamie Spears also received 1.5% of the gross revenues from his daughter's four-year Las Vegas residency Britney: Piece of Me, which raked in more than $130 million between 2013 and 2017. And throughout her fight against her conservatorship, Britney Spears has had to pay for both her attorney and her guardians' attorneys.
An LA court is scheduled to consider Spears' financial case this December. If they determine that Jamie Spears misappropriated his daughter's money or engaged in any other misconduct, Britney Spears' attorney has said the pop star will sue.
It's historically very rare for conservatees to have the resources to challenge their conservatorships, according to legal experts. But given the international attention on the #FreeBritney movement, many are hopeful that Spears' case will pave the path for others to pursue legal action against harmful conservatorships.
"There was no accountability before," said one attorney who specializes in guardianship cases. "Maybe, just maybe because of Britney Spears, there will be accountability now." HALLOWEEN WAS TWO DAYS AGO BUT I CAN'T LET GO
A photographer on the prowl captured New York City's most outrageous Halloween costumes Whether you dressed up this past weekend or stayed inside refusing to acknowledge one of America's most delightfully baffling holidays, I now present to you British photographer Adam Powell's photos from New York's 2021 Halloweekend. Take a look, and find the rest of his spooky photo collection here.  Halloween revelers catch the L train into the city on Oct. 30, 2021. Adam Powell for BuzzFeed News
 A group dressed as playing cards makes their way up 6th Avenue. Adam Powell for BuzzFeed News
 Popular drag queen Rify Royalty preparing for her show in the bathroom of 3 Dollar Bill in Brooklyn. Adam Powell for BuzzFeed News Stay real, Alexa 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Alexa Lee and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.
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