By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX –
The Federal Trade Commission has signed off on Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s proposed $26.3 billion acquisition of railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.
Warren Buffett's company and BNSF announced the regulatory approval on Monday. The companies said they still expect the deal to close in the first quarter of next year.
Berkshire has also scheduled a special meeting in Omaha on Jan. 20 where shareholders will be asked to approve a 50-for-1 split of Berkshire's Class B stock to complete the BNSF deal.
Buffett's company said it will pay $100 per share in cash and stock for the 77.4 percent of BNSF shares that it doesn't already own to complete Berkshire's biggest acquisition ever. BNSF is based in Fort Worth, Texas.
White brings new governor campaign to San Antonio
Houston Mayor Bill White says he will bring integrity to Austin if elected Texas governor.
White returned to his hometown of San Antonio on Monday in one bof his first campaign stops since announcing last week that he was abandoning his U.S. Senate campaign to run for governor.
The Democrat is the party's strongest gubernatorial candidate heading into next year's election. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison called White a credible candidate Monday after the Republican formally filed her candidate paperwork.
White saved his barbs for Gov. Rick Perry at his sparsely attended event, hitting on the state's high school graduation rates and rising college tuition.
Doctor who attended JFK in Dallas has died
Dr. Malcolm Oliver Perry II, who attended to President John F. Kennedy at Parkland Memorial Hospital after he was shot in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, has died. He was 80.
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the teaching hospital for Parkland, said Monday that Perry died Saturday in Tyler after a battle with lung cancer.
The vascular surgeon also was one of the doctors to operate on presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, who was shot two days after Kennedy's death by Jack Ruby.
After a long career, he retired in 2000 as professor emeritus of surgery at UT Southwestern.
Feds eye unmanned drones for ocean smuggler patrol
Predator aircraft drones will soon be scanning U.S. waters for smugglers.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it's buying two Predator B aircraft for sea patrols. The models to be rolled out Monday at the manufacturer's plant in Palmdale have radar sensors that can detect boats.
Agency officials say one will be tested in the Caribbean, with a base in Florida, but it could be used to aid patrols in the San Diego area. Another will be based in Corpus Christi, Texas, for use in the Gulf of Mexico.
The remote-controlled drones will look for smugglers of drugs and illegal immigrants. A different Predator version is used for land patrols in Arizona and North Dakota.