Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon assortment of Puck’s best new reporting. First up today, Eriq Gardner spotlights the reignited legal feud between former Marvel chairman Ike Perlmutter and Toronto businessman Harold Peerenboom, in which the former alleged that Peerenboom sought to “terrorize” him by leaking a flawed D.N.A. test to The New York Times. It’s a head-spinning, only-in-Palm-Beach case, and with the Florida Supreme Court agreeing to hear Perlmutter’s petition, Eriq charts how the outcome could have major implications on defamation battles nationwide... Plus, below the fold: Peter Hamby gets his hands on exclusive data illuminating why Trump’s popularity is taking a dive. Sarah Shapiro assesses whether Nordstrom’s go-private might expand its retail moat—or shackle its ability to navigate the global marketplace. And in a timely art-world dispatch, Marion Maneker previews two historical exhibitions at David Zwirner gallery that illustrate the rising trend of artist rediscovery. Meanwhile, on the pods: On The Varsity, Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright joins John Ourand for a candid conversation about his legendary career, the upheaval in college sports, and the murky future of the NCAA Tournament. And on The Powers That Be, streaming guru Julia Alexander connects with Peter to break down how YouTube is quietly positioning itself as the most dominant player in the streaming wars.

HOLLYWOOD

More than a decade after it originated, the Ike Perlmutter–Harold Peerenboom saga is heating up again. Ike, the former Marvel chairman, is asking the Florida Supreme Court to let him seek punitive damages over what he describes as Peerenboom’s campaign to “terrorize” him—including leaking to the Times faulty D.N.A. test results purporting to link him to hate mail. The justices have agreed to hear Perlmutter’s petition, and will now decide a crucial question: How much “gatekeeping” should Florida courts do before sending disputes like this to a jury? If judges take on a stricter gatekeeping role, it will likely disincentivize certain types of litigation. But if more cases make it to trial—especially in front of juries that may not be particularly sympathetic to media companies—we can expect to see a lot more cases filed. Read Now

WASHINGTON

Barely halfway through its first 100 days, according to exclusive new polling from Echelon Insights, the Trump administration is quickly and dramatically falling out of favor with American voters on almost every core issue, and most importantly on the issue that was central to Trump’s campaign: the economy. The question is how long voters will continue to trust Trump—and blame Biden—as the economy sputters and prices remain agonizingly high. As one G.O.P. consultant noted to Peter, approval ratings on issues can often be a leading indicator for a president’s overall approval rating taking a hit. Glancing under the hood, it’s clear that not only are voters losing patience with Trump on the economy, but they’re also giving him a noticeably shorter leash on most of the issues that matter. Read Now

FASHION

With Nordstrom going private, the historic department store chain should be able to refocus on longer term growth without the constant pressure of quarterly earnings. But going private also presents challenges, including reduced access to capital markets, less equity with which to attract new senior leadership talent, and the risk of losing the transparency and responsiveness to market conditions that comes with public scrutiny. The gamble, in part, is that this new latitude will allow Nordstrom to double down on creating luxury customer experiences, leapfrogging competitors (like Saks) who are currently hung up on vendor payments issues and store closures. Is this the blueprint for retail survival amid the slow-motion death of the department store? Read Now

ART

Art market trends build slowly, and then sometimes seem to come together all at once. That’s what appears to be happening with the Belgian symbolist painter Léon Spilliaert, who in October had a work on paper sell at auction for $1.3 million—more than twice his previous high price of $559,000, set just the year before. Now, Spilliaert has a show of his haunting early 20th century works up at David Zwirner gallery, organized in collaboration with Agnews, Brussels. Meanwhile, also at Zwirner, gallery partner David Leiber’s other effort, Affinities: Anni Albers, Josef Albers, Paul Klee, is up at the gallery’s West 20th Street location. The show features work by both Anni and Josef Albers, and their teacher, neighbor, and mentor Paul Klee—the first show focusing on these three. Read Now

SPORTS

Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright joins John for a candid chat about the evolution of his legendary career. He explains the moment he knew it was time to retire and discusses how the job changed over his 22 years helming Villanova, including two national championships. He also weighs in on all the massive upheaval in college sports, the notorious transfer portal, and the murky future of the NCAA Tournament. Then, Jay dives into his transition into star CBS analyst. Listen Now

HOLLYWOOD

Streaming guru Julia Alexander joins Peter for a rollicking conversation about the wild state of the industry war in 2025: Netflix’s enduring dominance, Apple TV’s strategic nod to the HBO playbook, and why the Peacocks of the world exist merely as consolidation bait. Then Julia dives deep into how YouTube is flying under the radar as potentially the most dominant streamer in the game… and why Hollywood ignores it at its peril. Listen Now

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