Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon digest of Puck’s best new reporting. Today, we lead with Eriq Gardner’s exclusive reporting on the looming confrontation between Elon Musk’s Starlink and the Trump administration as Republican senators push to restore the F.C.C.’s authority to auction off wireless spectrum—potentially a major prize for Starlink and a huge loss for Disney, WBD, NBCU, etcetera, who will almost certainly get steamrolled… Plus, below the fold: Julia Ioffe traces the anxieties gripping the Washington professional class, from the military mobilization in L.A. to the curious case of Elon’s father in Moscow. Marion Maneker explores the posthumous resurgence of pop artist Robert Indiana through a new exhibition at Pace Gallery. Sarah Shapiro explains how Abercrombie and Hollister are surviving the tariffpocalypse. And for Inner Circle members, Julia Alexander foreshadows the unraveling of the Zaz-Gunnar alliance as the WBD divorce takes shape. Meanwhile, on the pods: Matt Belloni rings up UTA’s David Kramer to discuss his path to C.E.O. and the headwinds for the agency business. John Ourand and LightShed’s Rich Greenfield process the sports media fallout from WBD’s conscious uncoupling. And on The Powers That Be, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Abby Livingston taxonomize the Republican infighting over the Big Beautiful Bill.

SILICON VALLEY

Buried deep within the 1,116-page reconciliation bill is a provision to auction off spectrum needed for 6G wireless, setting off a wave of anxiety among broadcasters as they prepare to compete in an auction with Elon Musk. Plus, the latest F.C.C. complication in the endless Paramount saga. Read Now

WASHINGTON

News and notes on the fears of the professional class in Washington: the military mobilization in L.A., impending layoffs at State, and the curious saga of Elon Musk’s father in Moscow. Read Now

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

Puck sponsors include Paramount+ THE AGENCY   “Spy thrillers don’t get much better than this. Every element is operating at the highest possible level.”   -   Vulture   Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Richard Gere star in what Newsday calls “One of the Best TV Shows of the Year.” Go deep undercover in a world of shifting loyalties and global intelligence in this high-octane espionage thriller that examines the human cost of putting your whole identity on the line for your country and your career.  Emmy eligible in all categories, including Outstanding Drama Series. Now streaming on Paramount Plus. EXPLORE MORE

ART

As pop art experiences a slow-motion return to the popular imagination, Robert Indiana has been borne along with it. A show at Pace Gallery highlights the artist’s preoccupation with the American dream, far beyond his most famous work, LOVE. Read Now

FASHION

Both Abercrombie and its kid sister, Hollister, are surviving tariff shocks by ignoring the teen striptease of yore (and the toxic culture behind the scenes) and focusing on data to beat Temu and Shein at the TikTok game. Read Now

SPORTS

Now that WBD’s unwieldy marriage of streaming and cable has dissolved, there will likely be instances—most notably, regarding sports—where Zaz’s interests and those of his trusted financial henchman, Gunnar Wiedenfels, who will run the spun-off Global Networks, diverge. Read Now

HOLLYWOOD

Matt is joined by David Kramer, the new C.E.O. of United Talent Agency, to discuss his new position, how the talent representation business has changed, industry challenges like the content slowdown, the transition from linear to streaming, labor unrest, A.I., and the end of packaging. They also discuss whether private equity has been good or bad for the agency business and how the talent pay structure is changing. Listen Now

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

Puck sponsors include Paramount+ THE AGENCY   “Spy thrillers don’t get much better than this. Every element is operating at the highest possible level.”   -   Vulture   Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Richard Gere star in what Newsday calls “One of the Best TV Shows of the Year.” Go deep undercover in a world of shifting loyalties and global intelligence in this high-octane espionage thriller that examines the human cost of putting your whole identity on the line for your country and your career.  Emmy eligible in all categories, including Outstanding Drama Series. Now streaming on Paramount Plus. EXPLORE MORE

SPORTS

LightShed’s Rich Greenfield joins John to break down the myriad implications of Zaslav’s WBD spinoff. With both Comcast and WBD laying down a road map for exiting the linear era, Rich weighs in on whether Disney and Paramount will follow suit. Then they chart the fate of TNT and WBD’s sports rights—and why WBD will likely avoid any major sports acquisitions for the foreseeable future. Listen Now

WASHINGTON

Abby Livingston joins guest host Leigh Ann Caldwell to dig into the G.O.P.’s internal conflict over the Big Beautiful Bill—which Abby deems the thorniest legislation since Obamacare in 2010. Then they discuss the Musk-Trump breakup and highlight which Republicans could actually stand to gain from the feud. Listen Now

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