Randy Travis, the wiry, multi-platinum-selling country crooner with a golden voice that carries enough bass to rattle your silverware, had a tough 2012. In February, he was cited and arrested for public intoxication in front of a Sanger church during the wee morning hours. Later that year, he strode into a Pilot Point convenience store in naught but his skin, purchased cigarettes and shortly thereafter crashed his Trans Am into a construction-zone barricade on a farm-to-market road near his home in Tioga. Another driver came along and discovered a naked Travis sprawled in the middle of the road. He thought the body on the asphalt was a dead deer at first.

"I'm spooked out," the man told a 911 operator. "I don't see a vehicle. There's a couple of cones scattered."

When state troopers responded to the scene, Travis -- a bantamweight at best -- allegedly tried to fight them. On the ride to a local hospital, they claim he threatened to shoot them too. In his mugshot, Travis is indeed sporting a pretty nice shiner, but we'll never truly know what transpired on that deserted stretch of country road -- unless, that is, we see the dashcam video from the squad car.

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Try not to pee here.

Are you excited about the George W. Bush Presidential Center? We're so excited. Not quite excited enough to fight our way through the throng of ex-presidents and "Bush-Cheney Alumni" attending the dedication tomorrow, but pretty goddamn enthused nonetheless.

So, it appears, are a few SMU students and some random non-affiliated individuals, who are celebrating the not-quite-opened center in a style W. himself would have once appreciated: with a little (alleged) drug use, some drinking, and a round of exuberant public urination.

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Four months after his death and mere days after his larger-than-life alter ego J.R. Ewing was laid to rest, Larry Hagman will finally get that which he never had in life: a life-sized Larry Hagman statue in Weatherford.

That's the plan of the Weatherford City Council and The Larry Hagman Memorial Committee, anyway. The City Council voiced support for the idea this week, and the committee is undertaking a $70,000 fundraising campaign to pay for it.

"It will be 6-foot-1-inch -- his size," Sherry Watters, a longtime Hagman friend and committee member told CBS 11. "It will be where he's standing straight up, with his hands in his lapel like he always posed, with his cowboy hat on."

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In 2006, Kinky Friedman -- singer, songwriter, satirist, head Jewboy in charge -- ran as an Independent for governor of Texas. Although he ultimately received less than 13 percent of the vote, it was still a memorable campaign, featuring slogans like, "Why the Hell Not?" and "How Hard Could It Be?" -- both excellent questions, and ones we've often had occasion to consider, watching Rick Perry run things.

He took another shot, equally unsuccessful and slightly less publicized, in 2009. Now, in between hawking his Man in Black tequila and chewing that cigar to a soggy stump, it looks like he's pondering making another run at the big seat next year. For serious this time.

On Saturday, Kinky stopped by Lakewood Medallion Discount Liquors to sign bottles of his tequila. While he was there, he told NBC-DFW that he's considering a possible run. His platform would consist of two main planks, both of them aimed at increasing tax revenue for the state: legalizing casino gambling and legalizing, regulating and taxing marijuana.

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@RebeccaLopez

Randy Travis, going through security this morning at a Plano municipal court.

August was a wild month for Randy Travis, what with the naked arrest in Greyson County followed two weeks later by a scuffle in the parking lot of a Plano church that resulted in a citation for misdemeanor assault.

On that first point, the country singer says he's now sober as a judge. As to the second, Travis stance is that he was merely being chivalrous. Travis' attorney, Larry Friendman, told TMZ that his client had intervened after his fiancee and her estranged husband got into an argument outside Prestonwood Baptist Church.

That news came just before Travis was scheduled to appear this morning in a Plano municipal courtroom, where he entered a plea of not guilty. He also apparently had a few words for his fans.

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Travis, after his arrest in Grayson County earlier this month.

Update at 11:47 a.m.: The AP has a few more details. Travis apparently knew the woman who was arguing with her estranged husband. No one was injured, but Travis and another woman were both ticketed for simple assault, a Class C misdemeanor. The police report does not indicate that alcohol was involved in the incident.

Update at 12:16 p.m.: Plano Police Department spokesman David Tilley called me back and confirmed the above details. No one was taken taken to jail, and all parties refused transport to the hospital. There was no indication that Travis was drunk.

Tilley said that the incident occurred at Prestonwood Baptist between 10 and 10:30 p.m. "Supposedly at that location in the parking lot there was a field trip had dispersed," he said, but had no other details.

Original post:

TMZ broke the news this morning that Randy Travis, of country music and allegedly-threatening-a-cop-while-naked-fame, was arrested early this morning in front of a Plano church.

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The part about Texas socialites cheating the local transit agency was too racy for the final print.

As promised, the North Texas Tollway Authority published a list of all drivers with 100 or more unpaid tolls, and it's a long one. Some 25,000-plus people owe the agency a total of $12.5 million.

NTTA is billing the posting as a convenient resource for drivers to check and see if they owe any money and if a civil lawsuit might be coming their way. Take Amber Young. I'm sure she had no idea that she had made 8,366 trips down the tollway without paying and owes $179,596.43. One thing the list absolutely is not, the agency swears, is an attempt to publicly shame Young and her fellow scofflaws.

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Turns out, that 2008 appearance on Celebrity Family Feud was three years too early.

​Curious the things that land in the in-box. Like this, for instance: a statement from attorney Larry Friedman on behalf of Pilar Sanders, who, for now at least, is married to Deion Sanders. I say "for now" because not one hour ago TMZ noted that the former Dallas Cowboy has filed for divorce, insisting in court docs that "the marriage has become insupportable because of discord or conflict." To which Pilar responds: Say what now? Let's go to the statement for an excerpt:

"Pilar was heartbroken and surprised when she read on the Internet that Deion announced his decision, on his own, to end their marriage. She was shocked when she learned that Deion filed for divorce without telling her he was doing so. Her sole focus and top priority for the last 12 1/2 years has been her marriage and children ... She has been faithful and devoted to Deion 'for better or for worse' and had wholly supported ALL of Deion's dreams and career choices regardless of how demanding they've been throughout the course of their marriage!"

The whole thing follows. Something about not having "negotiated a settlement" and divvying up "the parties' marital property." And the kids: They have three.More »

Photo by Anna Merlan

How Mayor Mike will end up on E! But, wait, where's Dwaine Caraway going?!

Perhaps you've heard: Famous Person Khloe Kardashian lives in Dallas now. She spent her midday hours today over at Dallas City Hall, collecting toys for Children's Medical Center of Dallas. Joining her were some 2,000 other not-famous people, all of whom stood in an enormous line for a very long time for a chance to meet her. At the very head of that line was Ally Cochran, 20, a cheerleading coach who drove two hours from Mount Pleasant to get here at 5:30 a.m.

"I love the Kardashians," she told us. "Khloe's my favorite. She's 110 percent real and honest. I tend to have the same problem." Cochran stood with Amy Landers, 33, who owns the competitive cheer gym where she works. Both of them clutched a stack of books, some paper airplanes and a Rubik's Cube. They informed us that Khloe has five sisters, a brother and a line of unisex perfume called Unbreakable (they'd brought a bottle along for her to autograph).

A few moments later, a crew member got on the mic to exhort everyone to "Be respectful" and "Move through the line as fast as possible." A snaking line of TV cameras and photographers scurried into place as Kardashian appeared at the top of the escalator, flanked by Mayor Mike Rawlings. As they descended, the lobby erupted into a chorus of ear-piercing, dog-summoning, glass-shattering squeals. Wearing a leopard-print top and leather boots, Kardashian made her way the front of the room, where a table had been set up for her.

"Thanks so much for coming down," she told the crowd, leading to another round of squeals. Dallas, she had "has given us such an amazing warm welcome. The mayor has opened up this amazing City Hall for us."

Rawlings, dressed in a dark suit and looking a lot like he'd just gotten a haircut, handed Kardashian a Dallas Cowboys Monopoly special edition. "We hope you have a great time here in Dallas," he told her. "Go, Mavs."

"I love you!" someone screamed from the balcony.

"She is so pretty," someone else said tearfully.

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Photos by Janis Burklund

​Were this a normal Wednesday, we'd be a couple of hours into a thrilling city council meeting, at which there'd be, oh, 20 or 30 people in the audience, a few just to get warm. But as we noted yesterday, this is not a normal Wednesday: Any moment now Khloe Kardashian and her crew -- as in, her reality-TV camera crew -- will be pulling up to collect gifts for kids who will be spending their holiday at Children's Medical Center of Dallas. And if you were planning on getting in line, well, Dallas Film Commissioner Janis Burklund has sent a few photos that show you may be way too late. "It wraps all the way around the building," she says. "Crazy." Anna's on her way over. Crazy.More »