Happy Monday and welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to Puck’s best new reporting. Here’s what you need to know… and stick around for more on the state of WarnerMount.

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Fueling US energy priorities

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Meanwhile, on the pods…

And now, a little more on WarnerMount’s warning signs…

WALL STREET

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that the Paramount Skydance–Warner Bros. Discovery merger won’t close on Wednesday, despite the hopes of executives at both companies. As Bill reports, the best-case scenario is now July 22—the new deadline the E.U. set after PSKY agreed to exit its European distribution partnership with Universal. The deal still needs signoff from some 30 countries (China, Korea, Australia, Brazil, and others have already blessed it), plus the U.K.’s Lisa Nandy, who is “minded to intervene”—which Bill translates as a British euphemism for I am thinking about this and I want some answers. The real wild card remains the state A.G.s, especially California’s Rob Bonta, who sees “red flags” but hasn’t gotten specific.

Meanwhile, the most surprising signal Bill surfaces is the market itself. To wit, WBD closed Friday at $26.60, a 14 percent discount to the $31 cash deal price. If closing were imminent, that spread would be a few points at most. Instead, the arbs appear to be betting the merger doesn’t wrap until the fourth quarter—or, at worst, early 2027. So who’s right: the executives projecting confidence, or the traders quietly wagering against them?

Click here to read Bill’s full story.

MEDIA

Search is dead, A.I. is ripping your site, and no one under the age of 30 is reading. But if you’ve got topical authority, telegenic talent, and a decent relationship with the bots, there may yet be a way out of this, dear publisher.

WASHINGTON

After Graham Platner’s flameout in Maine, Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed is the progressive left’s best—and last—chance to prove they can win a Senate seat in a purple state.

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Investing in reliable refining

bp supports ~300,000 US jobs. Like the people at our refineries who turn oil into fuels and products we all rely on. Whether it’s school drop-off or an overnight flight, bp is helping get you there.

See all the ways bp is investing in America.

FASHION

For all the star power of the just-concluded Couture week, the industry is finding out that fixing brands is far harder than replacing executives.

ART

With Artemis and SpaceX igniting a renewed sense of energy around the great beyond, a new crop of collectors are chasing relics from the space race: mission-flown flags, capsule parts, and even meteorites. Once caught in legal limbo, NASA’s wares are becoming the most-compelling historical objects in Sotheby’s Geek Week.

HOLLYWOOD

Matt is joined by Colleen Bell, the director of the California Film Commission, to check in on the status of film and TV in the state following its recent push to win back productions. They also discuss whether a federal credit is coming, whether a new Los Angeles mayor and California governor will affect the commission, why Netflix built a headquarters in New Jersey, and how to stack on the current momentum.

MEDIA

Jon Kelly and Peter Hamby reunite to exchange notes on this year’s Sun Valley catwalk and the event’s current position in the firmament. Then the pair turn their attention to the media’s role in the Graham Platner fiasco.

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