December 25, 2003

The New York Yankees have reported to the baseball commissioner's office that they owe $11.82 million under Major League Baseball’s new luxury tax. ABC News does the math: A tax rate of 17.5 percent this year means the Yankees' final payroll, for tax purposes, was $184.5 million. The other 29 teams all stayed under the tax threshold of $117 million established by baseball's new collective bargaining agreement. $184.5 million versus less than $117 million. It doesn’t look like the tax is helping much to ensure competitiveness throughout the league. 11:26:22 AM

No word from Beagle-2 on Mars (hopefully) yet. The Mars Express orbiter did reach orbit however making that part of the mission more likely to be a success. 11:25:39 AM