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Calling all motorheads: what is the weirdest, most oddball car, truck, or van that you have ever driven? The "weirdness" can be anything from exterior design, to mechanical features, to the interior. Have at it, FRiends.

And now, for something a bit amusing for a Friday. This is a call to all automotive enthusiasts, motorheads, car nuts, etc. I ask the following question: Of all the vehicles that you have driven, what car (or truck) have you owned that you loved in spite of its faults, quirks, and foibles? As a follow-up question, what made that flawed vehicle so endearing to you?

The Collin County commissioners have decided to stop paying the three attorneys who’ve been prosecuting Attorney General Ken Paxton, citing concerns about the legality and expense of the arrangement, but they’re still paying a fourth attorney who might prove to be even less popular with their conservative voters. Collin County has paid some $82,347 and counting to attorney David Feldman for legal work such as thinking up a reason why the prosecutors shouldn’t have to disclose which reporters they’ve been talking to. Feldman is being paid the same $300-an-hour rate as the prosecutors, on the order of District Judge George...

An anti-smoking poster featuring Barack Obama has appeared on bus stops around Moscow, with the caption: "Don't smoke - don't be like Obama." "Smoking kills more people than Obama, although he kills a lot of people," the ad reads.

Egypt awarded Russian arms vendor Rosoboronexport a contract for 50 Kamov Ka-52 Alligator combat helicopters, according to Russian media reports. Details of the transaction remained scarce, but it is thought that some of the Egyptian helicopters are maritime version Ka-52K Katran, which was unveiled earlier this year. The Katran may equip the two Mistral class landing ships that were built by DCNS/STX France for Russia. France stopped delivery after joining the sanctions regime against Russia for its annexation of Crimea. Almost the same day the Ka-52 deal became public, Egypt was revealed as the buyer of the ships. Russian sources...

The poverty that poor African Americans experience is often different from the poverty of poor whites. It's more isolating and concentrated. It extends out the door of a family's home and occupies the entire neighborhood around it, touching the streets, the schools, the grocery stores. A poor black family, in short, is much more likely than a poor white one to live in a neighborhood where many other families are poor, too, creating what sociologists call the "double burden" of poverty. The difference is stark in most major metropolitan areas, according to recent data analyzed by Rutgers University's Paul Jargowsky...

NDO/VNA - Vietnam and India signed a joint vision statement on bilateral defence relations in the 2015-2020 period following talks between Minister of National Defence Phung Quang Thanh and his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar in New Delhi on May 25. The two ministers also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on coordination between the Vietnamese and Indian coast guards to prevent transnational crime. During their talks, held during Minister Phung Quang Thanh’s visit to India, the two ministers agreed that defence cooperation continues to be one of the key pillars in the strategic partnership between Vietnam and India....

High-ranking officials of Vietnam and Singapore have agreed to strengthen defense cooperation between the two countries in line with their strategic partnership. The agreement was made during the talks between Chief of the Singaporean Air Force Major General Hoo Cher Mou and Vietnam’s Air Defense and Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Phuong Minh Hoa, who paid a visit to the island country from May 13-15, according to the Vietnam News Agency. During their Thursday talk, the two sides agreed to boost defense cooperation to create a model for air force coordination among ASEAN members. Both host and guest pledged to...

Visiting Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force General Harukazu Saito and his Vietnamese host have agreed to intensify air defense cooperation between their two countries. The agreement was made between General Saito and Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, at their talks in Hanoi on May 25, according to the Vietnam News Agency. The Vietnamese official told his guest that the bilateral cooperation can be strengthened through sharing experience in aviation safety, disaster response, and rescue, as well as thorough exchanges of delegations at all levels. He...

The Vietnam People's Navy will soon get their hands on two new Gepard-class 3.9 frigates, the third and fourth of their kind which Russia has built for the Southeast Asian country, as the shipbuilder has just completed them, government website chinhphu.vn reported, quoting Russian media. >> An audio version of the story is available hereRussia has finished the construction of the two frigates for the Vietnamese navy, Russian news website Sputnik quoted Rafi Fatychow, spokesman for the Zelenodolsk shipyard, as saying last week. Weapons will be installed on the two warships soon, Fatychow said at a forum on the maritime...

Hanoi is the first Southeast Asian nation arming its submarines with land attack cruise missiles. Vietnam is in the process of acquiring 50 anti-ship and land attack 3M-14E Klub supersonic cruise missiles for its burgeoning fleet of SSK Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines, Der Spiegel Online reports. According to the article, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) recently updated data on its website, based on information obtained from the United Nations’ register of conventional arms, indicating that Russia has already delivered 28 missiles over the last two years to Hanoi, although the precise number remains unknown. The Klub is a Russian-made...

I’ve broached this subject before, but it’s the anniversary of Natalie Maines speaking out against President Bush. She was, in effect, actually speaking out against the war in Iraq, which at this point pretty much everybody agrees was a bad idea. That was TWELVE (12) years ago last Tuesday, March 10. It would be one thing if everyone gave the office of the President the proper respect, but it’s completely another when I see the same people who were critical of Natalie say much worse things about the current president EVERY SINGLE DAY. The strongest word she used in reference...

It is extremely rare for any reasonable person to ever agree with anything Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says or does. However, one must admit, Bibi did get it right, at least when it came to dealing with Iran. The Israeli PM managed to hit the nail right on the head when he said that Middle Eastern countries are collapsing and that “terror organizations, mostly backed by Iran, are filling in the vacuum” during a recent ceremony held in Tel Aviv to thank outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz for his role during “challenging” times. In just...

INFO LE FIGARO - Un homme une voiture a renversé une dizaine de piétons en fin de journée à Dijon en criant «Allah Akbar» («Dieu est le plus grand», en arabe). Il y aurait onze blessés dont deux graves.

OTTAWA, Dec 12 (Reuters) – The Royal Canadian Navy on Friday imposed an almost total ban on sailors drinking at sea, after a warship had to be recalled from an international exercise because inebriated crew members got into trouble. Sailors had hitherto been allowed to drink off duty. Now, they will only be able to sample alcohol on special occasions such as Christmas, if the captain gives permission.

Japan will give six navy boats to Vietnam to boost its patrols and surveillance in the East Sea (aka South China Sea), Japan's foreign minister said on Friday, in the latest sign of a strengthening of alliances between states locked in maritime rows with China. The used vessels, worth 500 million yen (US$4.86 million), would be accompanied by training and equipment to help the coastguard and fisheries surveillance effort, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said after talks with Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh. The deal represents a notable shift in the two countries' close diplomatic and investment ties towards defense,...

FLOYD COUNTY, TX (KCBD) - A Floyd County Grand Jury has indicted a former Floydada High School Teacher's Aide on a charge of having an improper relationship between an educator and a student. Police say 50-year-old Hope Warren is accused of engaging in sexual acts with a 16-year-old student. Warren resigned from her position with Floydada ISD on Friday, when the district first learned about the allegations. The Floyd County Sheriff's Office tells us that Warren has not yet been arrested.

CLEVELAND COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - A Cleveland County middle school teacher's attorney appeared in court on Wednesday morning after she was arrested for allegedly sending videos of a sexual nature to a student. Caron Blanton, 34, turned herself in to the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office Tuesday around 3 p.m. and was charged with three counts of indecent liberties with a child and six counts of disseminating obscene material to a minor under 16. She posted a $150,000 bond and was released around 6 p.m. Blanton did not appear in court on Wednesday morning, but her attorney was there. He told...

Poland is leading a call for tough measures against Russia at a Brussels summit, Thursday, as the Crimean parliament votes for a referendum to leave Ukraine. Before an emergency summit on the crisis in Ukraine, Prime Minister Donald Tusk had talks with leaders of the Visegrad Group of countries - Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland - on a response to the Ukraine crisis. Tusk also met with President Hollande of France and the UK's PM David Cameron. Poland, alongside other member states from the CEE region and UK and Sweden want a tough response with a promise of sanctions...

Defence minister Tomasz Siemoniak says a 40-strong OSCE delegation, including two Poles, were blocked from entering Crimea by unidentified men wearing military uniform. "The mission has been detained, they cannot go further. They landed in Odessa and they were traveling by car from Odessa towards the Crimean Peninsula, but they were detained by unidentified men in fatigues," Siemoniak said on Wednesday afternoon, adding that they may be allowed to go back the way they came but would not be allowed in to Crimea, Reuters reports. OSCE spokeswoman Natacha Rajakovic has confirmed the observers were blocked from entering the region. The...