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AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - The City of Amarillo is asking for help identifying a strange figure seen on surveillance camera at the Amarillo Zoo. Security cameras captured the image around 1:25 a.m. on May 21 inside a perimeter fence at the Amarillo Zoo. The zoo staff discovered the odd photo while going through security cameras. The city is encouraging the public to submit ideas for what the figure could be in the spirit of fun and curiosity. “We’d love to hear feedback from the community on what they think it might be. It’s a very unique picture, and we’re excited...

South Korea scrambled fighters on Friday as Russian and Chinese warplanes on a joint exercise briefly entered its air defence identification zone, military chiefs in Seoul said. However, "there was no invasion of airspace", the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. "Our military received a reply from the Chinese side that it was... normal training through the South Korea-China direct communication network."

The Chinese military has deployed long-range bomber planes to its border with India in a move to deter conflict between the two nations. During the celebration of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force's 72nd anniversary last Thursday, state-run news channel China Central Television (CCTV) reportedly aired footage of H-6K bombers flying near the Himalayas. While typically based closer to Beijing, the jets were moved to Xinjiang province sometime last year, close to a region contested by China and India, the South China Morning Post reported. These particular bombers are usually outfitted with CJ-20 long-range missiles for land and sea...

U.S. Marine F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters will operate off a Japanese warship later this year, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger said on Wednesday. In November, the Marine F-35Bs will embark on one of the two 24,000-ton Izumo-class helicopter destroyers in an exchange that could lead to a similar program in which a U.S. Marine JSF squadron embarked aboard U.K. Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) this year. “We’re not going to go on deployment but we’re actually going to fly U.S. Marine Corps F-35s off of a Japanese ship,” Berger said on Wednesday during a...

Russian shipbuilders consider a possibility to create a universal sea complex (UMK) and a line of projects on a unified platform. The Nevsky Design Bureau told TASS about the project and its significance for the Russian Navy. After the Cold War, universal amphibious assault ships developed from support means of major Navy formations into independent units capable of combat and humanitarian missions. They demonstrate the flag, deliver troops, engage in patrol and support bigger warships. The Russian shipbuilding industry has focused on such naval hardware of late. One of the projects is Varan designed by Nevskoe Bureau. It is a...

In an unmistakable sign of the growing internationalization of the South China Sea disputes, France has just confirmed the deployment of a nuclear attack submarine and naval vessel to the hotly contested waters. In a tweet earlier this week, France’s Defense Minister Florence Parly announced that the European power has deployed the nuclear attack submarine Émeraude along with naval support ship Seine to the maritime area to “affirm that international law is the only rule that is valid, whatever the sea where we sail.” “This extraordinary patrol just completed its passage in the South China Sea,” declared the French defense...

Chile is likely to place an order for Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) Block IIIA missiles to arm the Navy’s Adelaide-class frigates formerly used by Australia. The U.S. State Department today approved Chile’s request to buy Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) Block IIIA missiles from Raytheon. The contract is estimated to cost $85 million. It would cover 16 SM-2 Block IIIA missiles, 2 MK 89 Mod 0 Guidance Sections; and 1 Target Detection Device Kit (including shroud), MK 45 Mod 14, and related support. This sale would support Chile’s anti-air warfare capabilities for the two recently transferred former Adelaide-class frigates to the Chilean Navy,...

To complement our recent article about "Ice-strengthened hulls for the US Navy" here is the same issue addressed from a United States Coast Guard (USCG) perspective, with input from the NAVSEA PEO Panel at SNA 2021 virtual symposium. Admiral Karl Schultz, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard responds to a question submitted by Naval News on the possibility of ice-strengthened Cutters for Arctic Operations. When asked by Naval News at the Surface Navy Association (SNA 2021) Virtual Symposium on January 11, 2021 on if any of the future-built USCG Cutters such as the National Security Cutter (NSC) or Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC)...

The Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) is set to drill with Japanese maritime forces in the Pacific during its maiden deployment this spring, the U.K. Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday. In the readout of a call between defense and foreign ministers from Tokyo and London, the two countries discussed the deployment and the U.K. Royal Navy’s plans to operate with the Japan Self-Defense Forces during the U.K. Carrier Strike Group 2021 deployment. “Japan and the U.K. have forged a close defense and security partnership that is being elevated to new heights this year when the U.K. Carrier...

STANLEY — It was the early 1990s when longtime Santa Fe real estate agent Pat French was trying to find property in the area suitable for a billionaire financier from New York named Jeffrey Epstein. One day while Epstein was in Santa Fe, French was headed toward Colorado with her middle school-age daughter and one of her daughter’s friends. Before leaving town, she stopped at the tony Rancho Encantado resort, where Epstein was encamped. “When I went to the door where he was staying, it was filled with teenage girls,” French recalled this month, adding the politically connected tycoon had...

Much time has passed since I last called FReeper motorheads together for a good garage chinwag. Tonight's discussion: Your first motor vehicle project. When was the fist time that you got your hands dirty working on a car, truck, motorcycle, etc.?

It's a strategy to tighten ideological control. And it is happening around the world. n July 2017, a group of nine Chinese students and faculty from Huazhong University of Science and Technology participating in a summer program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) formed a Chinese Communist Party branch on the third floor of Hopkins Hall, a campus dormitory. The group held meetings to discuss party ideology, taking a group photo in front of a red flag emblazoned with a hammer and sickle, according to a July 2017 article and photos posted to the Huazhong University website. The...

Calling All Freeper Gearheads! Let's talk about first cars! What was you first vehicle? What did you like most about the car? What drove you nuts? Do you wish that you still had it?

Calling all FReeper gearheads! Last week, I skipped my usual Friday gearhead post (I had a heck of a lot on my plate). Anyway, I thought that since we had Halloween a few days ago that this would be a good opportunity to swap spooky automotive stories. I think that most of us have had some travels that included some strange, bizarre, or spooky things. Also, I know that many of us are eager to share some spooky stories about vehicles that we have owned or those that friends and family have owned. So, in the spirit of this post,...

Calling all Freeper Motorheads! Have y'all ever owned a vehicle that you could just swear was possessed on some level? Was there some puzzling quirk that vexed you, and seemed to defeat every attempt to remedy? Let's talk vehicles that seemed to be possessed.

Calling all Freeper gearheads! What is the most fun that you have ever had in a motor vehicle? Was it a marathon road trip with family or friends? Was is a Saturday afternoon drive along a twisting, winding road? What was it and what was the vehicle?

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - Lubbock police confirm that a Texas Tech police officer has been shot and killed at Texas Tech Police Headquarters. It happened around 7:45 p.m. on Monday night at the Texas Tech Police building at 413 Flint Avenue. The suspect, identified as 19-year-old freshman Hollis A. Daniels, was taken into custody at 9:28 p.m. according to officials with the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office. He was located near Jones AT&T Stadium. Officials with Texas Tech University say since the Daniels was taken into custody, the lockdowns at Texas Tech University and University Medical Center have been lifted. Officials...

Calling all Freeper motorheads! Have any of your ever truly coveted a car, truck, SUV, or van? If so, lets talk the objects of your desire.

This is a continuation of last night's thread on your favourite car for road trips. Tonight. I ask y'all to share stories of your most memorable road trips. These trips could be memorable for all the best reasons, for all the wrong reasons, or for the most amusing reasons.

Calling all FR motorheads! It is time once again for some car talk. Tonight, I ask the following question: What was/is your favourite vehicle for road trips?