‘60 Minutes’ Rebellion & A Billionaire Secret Service

May 4, 2026

S.B.F.’s Last Stand, Johnson vs. Thune, WaPo’s Dawn of D’Onofrio

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to Puck’s best new reporting. Here’s what you need to know…

In the Room: Veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi used an awards speech to publicly criticize her bosses Bari Weiss and David Ellison—and the “toxic spread of corporate meddling and editorial fear” she sees taking hold at CBS News. Dylan Byers reveals the behind-the-scenes P.R. scramble, and whether Alfonsi’s inevitable ouster will trigger a broader 60 Minutes exodus. [Read More]
The Best & The Brightest: Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are engaged in a barely concealed intraparty feud with no obvious exit ramp before the midterms. Leigh Ann Caldwell chronicles their increasingly frayed relationship and whether the filibuster fight will be a breaking point. [Read More]
Dry Powder: Sam Bankman-Fried’s motion for a new trial was officially denied (with prejudice!) by Judge Lewis Kaplan, who authored a blistering 11-page ruling against the former crypto mogul. Bill Cohan chronicles S.B.F.’s shrinking odds of escaping the clink—and the novel defense his mother just floated on Substack. [Read More]
Wall Power: Sotheby’s is debuting a pair of previously off-menu services this year—an effort to become a one-stop concierge of sorts for personalized luxury services. George Nelson pulls back the curtain on the auction house’s ultra-bespoke strategy to keep high-net-worth clients close by. [Read More]
Wall Power: The 59th Carnegie International just opened in Pittsburgh. Marion Maneker and the Carnegie Museum’s director, Eric Crosby, discuss his four-year planning cycle and what it takes to serve a swing-state art-going audience in 2026. [Read More]
Line Sheet: Clean beauty is out, and algorithm-driven glam is in—where $25 blushes, influencer flywheels, and TikTok-fueled impulse makeup hauls beat out virtue signaling. Sarah Shapiro combs through exclusive data revealing the season’s bestselling beauty products and gadgets. [Read More]

Meanwhile, on the pods…

The Varsity: John Ourand rings up Joe House and Nathan Hubbard, hosts of The Ringer’s Fairway Rollin’ podcast, to weigh in on the myriad misfires that undercut LIV Golf’s lofty ambitions. [Listen Here]
The Powers That Be: Peter Hamby and Jon Kelly trade notes on the spillover from last week’s WHCD melee, before assessing the new Jeff D’Onofrio era at The Washington Post. [Watch or Listen Here]

MEDIA

Dylan Byers

World War Alfonsi

After going toe to toe with Bari Weiss over her “Inside CECOT” story, veteran correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi became the face of fourth-estate resistance at 60 Minutes. But as she prepares a heroic exit, a mass exodus is unlikely to follow. After all, where’s a well-paid TV journalist to go?

WASHINGTON

Leigh Ann Caldwell

The Thune–Johnson Trust Deficit

The Republican civil war isn’t just ideological, it’s institutional, with the House and Senate engaged in an intraparty feud with no obvious exit ramp before the midterms.

WALL STREET

William D. Cohan

S.B.F. Is Out of Options

This week, a thoroughly annoyed Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected, with prejudice, Sam Bankman-Fried’s long-shot bid for a new trial. That leaves his fate in the hands of the Second Circuit—which will almost certainly rule against him—or worse… in the hands of Donald Trump.

ART

George Nelson

Inside Sotheby’s Ultra V.I.P. Strategy

The auction house is now publicly touting previously unlisted, personalized luxury services. Sotheby’s will help you design a “push present” diamond ring for your wife or plan an ultra-exclusive holiday. You can even reupholster your car’s interior in ostrich leather.

ART

Marion Maneker

A Rust Belt Biennale

A conversation with Eric Crosby, the director of Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Art, about the Carnegie International, meeting the political moment, and freeing artists from the financial pressure to produce.

FASHION

Sarah Shapiro

This Week in Shopping: Dirty Beauty and Derma-Devices

Clean beauty is out, and algorithm-driven glam is in—where $25 blushes, influencer flywheels, and TikTok-fueled impulse makeup hauls beat virtue signaling, while $500 LED masks capture the real margin.

SPORTS

John Ourand

LIV to Die?

Joe House and Nathan Hubbard, hosts of The Ringer’s Fairway Rollin’ podcast, join John to weigh in on LIV Golf’s strategic misfires, from its combative marketing to its Saudi entanglements, which they suggest ultimately undercut the golf startup’s lofty ambitions. They also discuss the PGA Tour’s ratings rebounds, the potential return of LIV players to the Tour, the future of TGL, and more.

MEDIA

Peter Hamby

Jon Kelly

The Powers that Be Daily, Starring Peter Hamby

Media Monday: More WHCA Spillover & Bezos’s New Will Lewis

Jon Kelly and Peter reunite to break the fourth wall and discuss their own pivot to video. (Yes, you can now watch The Powers That Be, thank you very much…) The besties also debate some uncomfortable topics lingering from last week’s WHCD melee, and assess the Jeff D’Onofrio era at The Washington Post.

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