Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon digest featuring Puck’s best new reporting. First up today, Dylan Byers digs into all the reasons Disney decided to settle the Trump defamation case—from an unfavorable Florida judge to discovery fears surrounding George Stephanopoulos’s “sloppy” electronic correspondence. Plus, the latest hand-wringing at The Washington Post over Will Lewis’s executive editor contingency planning. Then, below the fold: Bill Cohan flies into space (really!) and returns with the incredible financial saga of a Blue Origin alternative. Rachel Strugatz gets Goop’s new turnaround artist to dish about Gwyneth’s biggest challenges and opportunities. Abby Livingston wades into the drama surrounding A.O.C.’s failed Oversight ranking member bid. And on The Powers That Be, Baratunde Thurston connects with Peter Hamby to dissect how A.I. will impact each of the nation’s power corners, and what his research reveals about how tech will restructure society in 2025 and beyond. Finally, a reminder for members to submit your responses for the second installment of our Puck Private Conversation series, powered by Orchestra. It only takes a few minutes, and the data will reveal what our elite readership actually thinks about the most pressing issues of the day. Click here. 

Last Friday, Bob Iger approved the much-debated decision to settle Donald Trump’s defamation suit against ABC News for $15 million, plus an additional $1 million to cover the president-elect’s legal fees. Amid the debate surrounding whether this amounted to a “capitulation” to the incoming administration, Dylan reveals some of the internal calculations made by Disney’s general counsel to stop the proceedings—including fears that George Stephanopoulos’s digital correspondence might expose the anchor, the news network, and the parent company to greater scrutiny. “He is sloppy electronically,” said a source of Stephanopoulos. Then Dylan chronicles the pall over The Washington Post’s annual awards ceremony, and offers the latest news on C.E.O. Will Lewis’s search for a top editor. Read Now

Instagram Teen Accounts: a protected experience for teens, guided by parents Instagram Teen Accounts are designed to address parents’ biggest concerns, providing automatic protections for who can contact their teens and the content they can see. The impact: Built-in limits give parents more peace of mind when it comes to protecting their teens. Learn more

During the predawn hours of December 7, Bill drove to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, was fitted with a modified spacesuit, and was launched over the Atlantic in a modified Boeing jet, where he experienced weightlessness for close to 10 minutes as it traced massive parabolas in the sky. Matt Gohd, the executive chairman of Zero Gravity Corporation, regaled Bill with the surprising backstory of Zero-G, a lower-priced, safer alternative to Blue Origin, which allows tourists and researchers to experience the flavor of space. As it turns out, Gohd’s tenure has been as topsy-turvy as the Zero-G experience, itself—a corporate chronicle of mismanagement, reinvention, and tempered optimism as the business experiences a flush of renewed interest fueled by fascination over space travel and new-age innovations. Read Now

Gwyneth Paltrow’s 16-year-old lifestyle brand, Goop, is undeniably a cultural phenomenon. But the business, itself, endured an awkward adolescence, and still lacks the focus and strong executive leadership required to become an attractive acquisition target. In this refreshingly frank conversation with Julia Hunter—the proven executive problem-solver and former Jenni Kaye C.E.O., who has been tasked with turning things around at Goop—she speaks openly about the company’s headwinds, various pain points, and reasons for optimism. Hunter describes the moment that Goop realized their grow-and-scale-at-all-costs mentality stopped working, how its editorial arm might change, what the business is currently prioritizing, her thoughts on the D.T.C.-versus-wholesale debate, and much more. Read Now

House Democrats, guided by the long arm of Nancy Pelosi, moved to block left millennial icon Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s ascent on the Oversight committee. Indeed, given the post-election skepticism surrounding A.O.C.’s progressive style of politics, many caucus members were afraid that putting her front and center on C-SPAN would frustrate the Dems’ much-needed brand overhaul. Meanwhile, House Democrats voted to appoint Angie Craig, A.O.C.’s relatively unknown 2018 classmate, as ranking member of Agriculture, deposing 79-year-old David Scott and notching a win for younger Democratic lawmakers hoping to supplant the old guard. But as Abby reports, even though A.O.C.’s bid for a leadership role didn’t pan out this cycle, her ascent in Congress feels inevitable, and there are numerous silver linings to be found in her 131-to-84 defeat. Read Now

Baratunde Thurston joins Peter to break down how A.I. is playing a role in each of the nation’s power corners, and what experts are saying about how it will remake our society and politics in 2025 and beyond. Then they discuss the widespread skepticism surrounding the technology, and whether certain industries should adapt or resist. Listen Now

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