Last night's sudden replacement of Disney CEO Bob Chapek with his revered predecessor, Bob Iger, is a shocking ending to a bitter power struggle that's been building between the two for the past couple of years.

Why it matters: The move marks one of the messiest corporate succession failures in recent memory, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.

👀 What to watch: The return of Iger, 71, may satisfy anxious investors. But eventually, Disney will need to find another CEO to run the company.

In a statement at 9:49 p.m. ET, Disney said Iger will return as chief executive, effective immediately, for the next two years — and will work with the board to find a successor.

• Susan Arnold, Disney's board chair, said: "The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the Company through this pivotal period."
• Disney's board voted unanimously in June to extend Chapek's contract for three years.

🖼️ The big picture: The announcement sent shockwaves through Hollywood and Wall Street — and was immediately lauded by investors who've grown frustrated with Disney's performance under Chapek.

• Disney's stock saw its biggest drop in 21 years earlier this month, after the company missed Wall Street expectations on revenues and profits for its final fiscal quarter of the year.

Amid recession fears, investors have grown skeptical that Disney's linear television and parks divisions can offset widening streaming losses.

• Last week, Chapek announced layoffs, a hiring freeze and other cost-cutting measures. Similar efforts are underway at rival entertainment companies.

🔎 The intrigue: Tensions between Iger and Chapek ignited on April 12, 2020 — just two months after Iger stepped down — when The New York Times posted a column by Ben Smith revealing that the veteran media mogul wanted to reassert control of the company.

• The column took Chapek by surprise.

The falling-out between the two executives, which has been widely reported, became evident as Iger hesitated to publicly defend Chapek's early blunders.

• Chapek had been a surprising pick, given that the longtime parks and resorts executive had little to do with Disney's biggest bet under Iger — streaming.

Share this story.

President Biden's economic messaging is preparing the country for a soft landing — rather than a dramatic rebound.

• Why it matters: The White House has found a catchy, consistent message that lowers expectations — whether or not the U.S. technically slips into a recession, writes Javier E. David, Axios managing editor for business and markets.
• President Biden used "stable, steady growth" three times in a Wall Street Journal op-ed in May.

During an Axios event last week, White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein referred at least six times to "stable, steady growth."

• "There is a path to … transitioning from a really breakneck growth path to something that's more steady and stable and …very much inconsistent with recession," Bernstein told Axios' Courtenay Brown.

👀 What we're watching: Bond yields are flashing warning signs of a recession — even if Wall Street isn't certain how severe it will be.

• Share this story.

At least two people partying at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs confronted and stopped a gunman who started a rampage Saturday night that killed five, authorities said.

• One of them grabbed a handgun from the attacker — hit him with it — and pinned him down until police arrived, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers told AP.

The individual prevented the Club Q attack, which wounded 25, from becoming "exponentially more tragic," Suthers said.

Go deeper: Club Q a haven for LGBTQ community, by Esteban L. Hernandez of Axios Denver ... More photos.

The number of different electric-car models is on a steady upward march across the globe, Ben Geman writes in Axios Generate.

• China has by far the most options, followed by Europe, according to a report from the research firm BloombergNEF.

But growth has been strong in the U.S.: 84 models were available in mid-2022, up from 59 at the end of 2020.

• Go deeper: Read the 68-page deck.

A new proxy-card format for electing corporate directors — combined with sinking stock prices — are emboldening shareholder activists, The Wall Street Journal's Lauren Thomas reports (subscription).

• Why it matters: Activists increasingly are "pressuring companies to up their game on environmental, social and governance, or ESG, issues."

What's happening: Companies are feeling vulnerable because of new SEC rules requiring a "universal ballot" in corporate-director elections, The Journal reports.

• "In the new format, directors nominated by a company must be listed on the same ballot as those put forth by activists, enabling investors to pick and choose, rather than voting entirely with either the company or the activist."

The bottom line: This proxy season could be the busiest on record — with better chances than ever for activists to gain a board seat.

Zoom — which boomed during COVID shutdowns, and became nearly synonymous with video chat — could get squeezed out despite a push to expand into new areas, Axios chief tech correspondent Ina Fried reports.

• The company, which reports quarterly earnings today, lost more than half its value in 2022 — a steeper drop than the average for tech companies.

Why it matters: Businesses tend to like to get their services from as few vendors as possible.

• That encourages bundling — and makes it hard for ambitious, innovative start-ups like Zoom.

What's happening: Zoom announced it's expanding to email and calendar services, as well as new types of casual collaboration features.

• Early next year, Zoom will launch Spots (image above), a "virtual coworking space" that aims to "bring the fluid interactions of in-person work to distributed, hybrid teams."

🥊 Reality check: Companies already have email and calendar systems.

The bottom line: Analysts say Zoom is doing the right things — but still could be in trouble. Microsoft, Google and Cisco all offer their own video conferencing options that can be bundled with other software.

• Share this story.

When the 2018 World Cup kicked off, three U.S. states (Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware) had legal sports betting markets, Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy write in a special edition of Axios Sports.

• Four years later, that number has ballooned to 31 states, plus D.C.

Above: The 32 countries that have descended on Qatar.

• This is the sixth — and perhaps final — 32-team World Cup, with the field set to expand to 48 teams when the U.S., Mexico and Canada co-host in 2026.

🚨 Today's slate: England vs. Iran (8 a.m. ET, FS1); Senegal vs. Netherlands (11 a.m., Fox); U.S. vs. Wales (2 p.m., Fox).

Taylor Swift swept the American Music Awards last night, winning all six awards for which she was nominated — including the top prize, Artist of the Year, The Hollywood Reporter writes.

• Making a surprise appearance, Swift said she "never expected or assumed" her re-recorded albums would mean much to fans.