Free Republic

NEW YORK (AP) -- Dan Rather, whose network reporting career spanned from the Kennedy assassination to the deadly tsunami, prepared to sign off Wednesday after 24 years as "CBS Evening News" anchorman. Rather was the public face of the legendary news division since replacing Walter Cronkite on March 9, 1981. His first newscast included a story about English girls imitating the hairstyle of Price Charles' bride-to-be, Diana. He's the second of the three men who dominated network news for more than two decades to step down in four months. NBC's Tom Brokaw exited in November, leaving ABC's Peter Jennings remaining...