Fashion Week Murmurs, Obama Ex Machina, McManus’s CBS Handoff

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon memo featuring Puck’s latest reporting.

Today, we lead with Peter Hamby’s candid appraisal of the longshot Biden-Obama swap theory titillating certain corners of the Democratic universe. Plus, notes on the cascading drama surrounding that tinselly R.F.K. Jr. Super Bowl ad.

Then, below the fold: Eriq Gardner weighs the merits of Gina Carano’s Musk-backed lawsuit against Disney. Lauren Sherman turns her gimlet eye to New York Fashion Week. Baratunde Thurston offers a searing rejoinder to D.E.I. skeptics. John Ourand chats with departing CBS Sports boss Sean McManus and his protégé, David Berson, before revealing the NFL’s scramble to assess the new sports super-streamer. And on The Powers That Be, Abby Livingston joins Peter to run the numbers on today’s New York special election to replace the indicted fabulist George Santos.

PETER HAMBY

On the R.F.K. Super Bowl ad family freak-out, Kennedy’s spoiler strategy, and the latest Democratic bed-wetting surrounding Biden’s age—and the magical thinking about how to replace him.

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ERIQ GARDNER

The wrongful termination suit, bankrolled by Elon Musk, over the actress’ firing from ‘The Mandalorian,’ is being portrayed as a battle over free speech. But the real stakes are much more complex—and Carano may be a proxy for political interests who view her as a different kind of star.

LAUREN SHERMAN

This season, NYFW has been a study in juxtaposition between revival-seeking heritage brands, new cool brands, and very new brands that wish they were cool. Unfortunately, none answer the great Fitzgerald question about whether there are second acts in American life.

BARATUNDE THURSTON

An inside look at a revolution in retreat: when and where our collective attention faded, the corporations and well-meaning practitioners who dropped the ball, and how we can still change the culture.