$$$Icahn, Southeastern prepare Dell CEO shortlist [Reuters]

$$$U.S. government shutdown battle looms as budget woes fester [Reuters]

$$$Kid Rock Plans to Change The Economics of Touring [WSJ]

$$$Sweden's Princess Prepares to Wed American Banker [CNBC]

$$$ The Belmont Stakes, which takes place Saturday, is the longest and most-difficult leg of the Triple Crown. Often referred to as the "Test of Champions," it requires its competitors to cover a full 1 ½ miles at top speed, often in the muggy heat. But for all the guts and fortitude this race demands, there's only one trait its winner is guaranteed to possess: It will be a horse. Horses have won the Belmont Stakes a record 144 consecutive times. And with 14 horses in Saturday's field, there's no reason to believe this year will be any different. But what if it was? What if the horse-racing industry dispensed with its long-standing equine bias? According to several of the nation's top zoologists and experts in animal physiology, very few land animals ever have reason to run 1 ½ miles. But even these experts concede that there's no reason they couldn't if they wanted to. So with a heavy assist from science, here's how one might handicap a Belmont Stakes that was open to select members of the animal kingdom. [WSJ]

$$$Rengan Rajaratnam Cuts Own Path in Plea Talks [Dealbook]

$$$Steinbrenner Beats IRS in Refund Suit [Bloomberg]

$$$A Nebraska woman faces charges after she bares it all at a Lincoln Catholic high school. Valerie Dodds, known online as Val Midwest, was cited on suspicion of public nudity after posing outside a Lincoln Catholic school in mid-May. When Valerie Dodds graduated Lincoln East High School, after transferring from St. Pius X High School during her senior year, she took a different path. “It looked like something that I just kind of wanted to try, I guess,” Dodds said. For fun, the 19-year-old started a nude photo business several months ago, but said her classmates did not like it. “That's when all of the Pius kids were saying mean things and that's when I decided to go there and show them that I'm here to stay,” she said. [KETV]