July 23, 2008

7-23-2008—The richest 1% of Americans in 2006 garnered the highest share of US adjusted gross income in two decades as their average tax rate fell, the IRS said.—WSJA1

--FEMA is requesting immunity from suits alleging hurricane victims were exposed to toic fumes and their trailers. –WSJ A1

--Russian and Venezuela will coordinate energy policies. ... Two nations are expected to sign a $1 billion arms contract. .. Mr. Medvedev said it was still possible that Russia could join with Venezuela and other gas-producing nations to form a cartel similar to OPEC... NYT A11

--Notre Dame has a “federal graduation rate ‘ [FGR] of 79% ... The average FGR for last year’s top 25 Football Bowl Subdivision teams was about 50%. LSU, the 2007 national champion, graduated 38% of its players; runner up Ohio State graduated 48%. (California’s football powerhouses produce mediocre results at best, with USC at 54%, UCLA at 51% and UC Berkeley at 44%) ... perennial powers such as LSU and the universities of Georgia, Florida and Oklahoma have teams with graduation rates in the 35% range. .. Is it merely coincidence that Stanford and Duke, two of the teams the Irish were able to beat in 2007, have FGRs above 90%? ...Even though the [Notre Dame] football team’s average SAT score (about 1050) falls below the university average, it soars hundreds of points above the NCAA’s allowable minimum. SBT B5.