Free Republic

Early this morning, it has been reported, first by the “Day of New London” and “WTIC AM 1080″ sports news reported that Robert G. Burton, of Greenwich, CT, USA, and a printing company magnate, sent a six-page letter to the University of Connecticut Athletic Director Jeff Hathaway, reasons being that there was a number of major disagreements by Mr. Burton of the managing style of Mr. Hathaway. In other words, a major donor family calls it QUITS.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Monday morning that actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway will host the 83rd annual Oscar telecast Feb. 27 on ABC -- a move that certainly seems designed to help the academy achieve its long-held goal of attracting a younger viewing audience. The 32-year-old Franco is currently receiving rave reviews for his work in Danny Boyle's "127 Hours" and the 28-year-old Hathaway, currently starring in the new romantic drama "Love & Other Drugs," earned a best actress nomination for 2008's "Rachel Getting Married." "James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation...

Hawker Beechcraft announced Monday that fractional ownership company NetJets has canceled a "significant" number of aircraft it had on order. The cancellations will reduce Hawker Beechcraft's backlog by $2.6 billion and represent 90 percent of the aircraft that NetJets has on order with Hawker Beechcraft. The planes were to have been delivered over several years beginning in 2011. So far this year, NetJets has canceled 12 aircraft it had on order and deferred delivery of all jets it was scheduled to receive this year and next until the end of 2010. Hawker Beechcraft has said that NetJets wasn't expected to...

The White House is having trouble filling its "cyber- security czar" slot? Big surprise. Sometimes being the guy "in charge" just means having a big target painted on your back. The last Russian czar, Nicholas II, was slaughtered along with his family in a melee of gunfire and stabbing bayonets.

The White House's senior aide on cybersecurity has decided to resign following delays in the appointment of a coordinator to spearhead the government's efforts to protect the nation's computer networks. Melissa E. Hathaway, who also served as a cybersecurity aide during the Bush administration, had been a contender for the position of cybersecurity coordinator. But in an interview Monday, she said she had withdrawn her application. "I wasn't willing to continue to wait any longer, because I'm not empowered right now to continue to drive the change," she said. "I've concluded that I can do more now from a different...

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is reaching into its deep pockets to give a steadying hand to Constellation Energy Group Inc. and, at the same time, grab a bargain. Berkshire's MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. said Thursday it will buy Baltimore-based Constellation for $4.7 billion and give it an immediate $1 billion infusion after shares of the nation's largest wholesale power seller plummeted and liquidity concerns had analysts worried it would go out of business. "Obviously we're in unprecedented times," MidAmerican President and CEO Gregory Abel said. "Liquidity and solvency issues are a top priority for many companies. We don't have...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Former Gov. Stan Hathaway, who spearheaded creation of a trust fund to harness Wyoming's mineral wealth and established the state's first environmental restraints on mineral development, died Tuesday evening. He was 81. Hathaway died at home, according to his law partner, Brent Kunz, who declined to provide details. Hathaway had been hospitalized for several days last month for an undisclosed condition. Hathaway served two terms as Republican governor from 1967 to 1975. He enacted the state's first severance tax on minerals mined and pumped from Wyoming, and created a permanent trust fund where severance tax money was...

<p>WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) A last-ditch attempt to save the nation's last major shirt manufacturing plant ran out of steam as sewing machines came to a halt Friday at the plant whose shirts were made world-famous by the man-with-an-eyepatch logo.</p> <p>C.F. Hathaway, which has been making shirts in Maine for 165 years, will go the way of Arrow and Van Heusen, once strong competitors whose shirts are now being made overseas.</p>

The "mass hallucination" that gripped the world's stock markets during the tech boom is ending, the US investment guru Warren Buffett has told the BBC. He said the markets were now "more realistic" compared with the share bubble of a few years ago, when investors ignored common sense and started "dreaming". Mr Buffett added that the hallucination had led to an erosion of accounting standards, which erupted so damagingly over the past few months. And he said investors should take a long-term view with their money if they wanted to be successful. Track-record Warren Buffett has become one of the...