Happy Monday and welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to Puck’s best new reporting. First up today, Dylan Byers envisions the future for CNN and the rest of Warner Bros. Discovery’s cable networks as David Zaslav appears ready to spin them off from the rest of the portfolio. Then, a look at Joe Biden’s preemptive P.R. campaign against Original Sin, the forthcoming exposé from Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson about “the cover-up of Biden’s decline in the White House.” Plus, below the fold: Bill Cohan measures the green shoots in WBD’s Q1 numbers and explains why Wall Street is still cool on the stock. Julia Ioffe convenes with some of the sharpest minds on Russia to dissect how Putin keeps consolidating power. Marion Maneker digs into David Zwirner’s global ambitions as he expands his gallery’s footprint in Manhattan. And Sarah Shapiro explores the proliferation of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter aesthetic and other pressing retail trends. Meanwhile, on the pods: Matt Belloni and Lucas Shaw reunite on The Town to review the biggest narratives that emerged from Hollywood’s earnings season. On The Varsity, John Ourand is joined by Optimum Sports’s Jeremy Carey to preview New York’s upfronts week. And on The Powers That Be, Peter Hamby and Jon Kelly consider what a WBD-CNN breakup might actually look like—and whether either party will walk away stronger.

The latest news regarding Zaz’s desire to spin out his cable assets, including CNN, raises all kinds of existential questions for the iconic news network as it prepares to walk the plank. Plus, news and notes on Tapper’s battle with the Bidens. Read Now

Days after NBCU announced the name of its SpinCo—ask a doctor if Versant is right for you—David Zaslav kicked the rumor mill into overdrive by announcing that Warner Bros. Discovery, too, had successfully cordoned off its declining cable business—another step, presumably, toward launching a Versant of its own. Read Now

CONGRESS: Protect Community Banks from Credit Card Mandates The Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates will raise costs, limit credit access, and devastate local financial institutions. Credit unions and community banks in all 50 states strongly oppose this bill—and for good reason. It threatens to upend the payments system, harming smaller institutions card programs while corporate megastores like Walmart and Target cash in. Carve-outs don’t work—we’ve seen that before. Congress must reject false promises from retail giants and stand with the nearly 10,000 community-based institutions serving over 140 million Americans. Say NO to Durbin-Marshall.

A conversation with scholars, practitioners, and members of the Russian opposition about why Putin—despite sanctions, war, and isolation—keeps surviving and consolidating power. Read Now

With a new 19th Street space and growing office imprint on 20th, David Zwirner is expanding his claim on Chelsea and offering a glimpse of his global ambitions. Two new shows—the elusive, devastating Michael Armitage, and a group exhibition of ’90s phenoms—mark the occasion. Read Now

News and notes on the festival of denim at Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour, the ’90s nostalgia at The Grove via Gap and Coach, and why the latest beauty pop-ups are having so much success. Read Now

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the announcements and narratives that emerged from the latest Q1 earnings reports, including Disney’s new theme park in Abu Dhabi, a Bob Iger succession check-in, a potential Warner Bros. Discovery split, Paramount in trouble, and other takeaways following streaming’s continued path toward profitability. Matt finishes the show with a prediction surrounding the latest news of Reacher star Alan Ritchson’s fight with manager Dan Spilo. Listen Now

CONGRESS: Protect Community Banks from Credit Card Mandates The Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates will raise costs, limit credit access, and devastate local financial institutions. Credit unions and community banks in all 50 states strongly oppose this bill—and for good reason. It threatens to upend the payments system, harming smaller institutions card programs while corporate megastores like Walmart and Target cash in. Carve-outs don’t work—we’ve seen that before. Congress must reject false promises from retail giants and stand with the nearly 10,000 community-based institutions serving over 140 million Americans. Say NO to Durbin-Marshall.

Jeremy Carey, Optimum Sports’s chief investment officer, joins John for a look ahead at New York’s upfronts week. Jeremy shares the overarching themes he’s watching out for, discusses the health of the TV business, and examines whether recession fears are affecting advertisers who’ve spent years falling over themselves to buy into sports. Listen Now

Jon Kelly joins Peter to dig into the likelihood that David Zaslav will spin CNN out of Warner Bros. Discovery, and whether both companies would be better off solo. They also explore what’s behind Biden’s media tour, as Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson prepare to publish a book detailing “the cover-up of Biden’s decline in the White House.” Listen Now

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