Buffalo suspect embraced racist conspiracy pushed by Tucker Carlson, GOP

By Marita Vlachou

Monday, May 16

1 KILLED, 4 CRITICALLY WOUNDED IN CALIFORNIA CHURCH SHOOTING One person was killed and five others injured after a gunman opened fire inside a church in California. Authorities detained an Asian male in his 60s who they don't believe is from the area. This comes amid a string of deadly shootings this weekend, including a racially motivated attack on a Buffalo, New York, supermarket that killed 10 people Saturday. [HuffPost]

BUFFALO SUSPECT EMBRACED RACIST 'REPLACEMENT' CONSPIRACY PUSHED BY TUCKER CARLSON The teenager charged in the fatal shooting at a Buffalo supermarket was haunted in his writing by the "great replacement" conspiracy theory — a viciously racist view of the world that has been touted by Fox News host Tucker Carlson that white Americans are at risk of being replaced by people of color. The No. 3 House Republican, Elise Stefanik, also echoed the racist conspiracy. The accused shooter had threatened a shooting at his high school in June. [HuffPost]

TRUMP BRIEFLY MENTIONS BUFFALO VIOLENCE, JUMPS TO IMAGINED GREAT JOB IN AFGHANISTAN Former President Donald Trump very briefly referred at a political rally to the racist shooting in Buffalo — then instantly switched in a wild non sequitur to Afghanistan, where he falsely claimed there was no loss of life. [HuffPost]

FINLAND ANNOUNCES IT WANTS TO JOIN NATO AMID RUSSIA'S UKRAINE INVASION Finland's government declared a "new era" is underway as it inches closer to seeking NATO membership, hours before Sweden's governing party backed a plan to join the trans-Atlantic alliance amid Russia's war in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin has already warned his Finnish counterpart relations would be "negatively affected." [AP ]

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DEMOCRATIC SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN SUFFERS 'MINOR STROKE'

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) was hospitalized this weekend after a minor stroke. The senator said he experienced a bout of lightheadedness and neck pain while giving a speech in Maryland. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) announced he was also admitted to a hospital after having a stroke amid his campaign for the U.S. Senate. [HuffPost]

NEW YORK GOV URGES SOCIAL MEDIA CEOS TO 'EXAMINE THEIR POLICIES' AFTER BUFFALO SHOOTING New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) wants social media companies to "examine their policies" in the aftermath of the Buffalo massacre. Hochul said social media companies should be doing more to prevent the spread of white supremacist theories that are radicalizing young people on the internet. [HuffPost]

JEFF BEZOS DEMANDS TWITTER PROBE AFTER BIDEN CALLS FOR CORPORATIONS TO PAY FAIR SHARE OF TAXES Amazon founder Jeff Bezos called on Twitter to investigate a message by Joe Biden after the president tweeted wealthier corporations should "pay their fair share" of taxes. Bezos wants Twitter's "Disinformation Board" to probe Biden's message because he claimed the president inaccurately linked higher corporate taxes to lowering inflation. [HuffPost]

MELANIA TRUMP RIPS VOGUE 'BIAS' FOR KEEPING HER OFF THE COVER A miffed Melania Trump spoke in an interview of the "obvious" "bias," apparently political, of people in charge of Vogue magazine that kept her off the cover while she was first lady. "They're biased, and they have likes and dislikes, and it's so obvious," she told Fox News in her first interview since leaving the White House. [HuffPost]

CLARENCE THOMAS' COMMENT ON LIBERAL 'TANTRUMS' RECALL ANTI-ABORTION VIOLENCE Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas clutched his pearls as he regarded Americans so distraught over the prospect of losing human rights in their country that some showed up at justices' Washington-area homes. "You would never visit Supreme Court justices' houses when things didn't go our way. We didn't throw temper tantrums," Thomas said. [HuffPost]