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LONDON – A gay man carrying the Olympic torch today on the streets of London was cheered by spectators when he kissed his boyfriend during his stretch of carrying the device that will light the giant Olympic Flame tonight during the opening ceremony that will be telecast by NBC in the U.S. on a tape-delay basis. Chris Basiurski, who chairs Gay Football Supporters Network in Great Britain, was one of thousands of Britons who were chosen to carry the Olympic torch over the past 70 days as part of the Olympic Torch relay that leads up to the lighting ceremony....

U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are shown kissing on the "Kiss Cam" screen during a timeout in the Olympic basketball exhibition game between the U.S. and Brazil national men's teams in Washington, July 16, 2012. U.S. President Barack Obama (R) shares a laugh with his former assistant Reggie Love (L) as he arrives to attend an Olympic basketball exhibition game between the U.S. and Brazil national men's teams in Washington, July 16, 2012. U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and Vice President Joe Biden take their seats for an Olympic basketball exhibition game between the U.S. and...

Back in March, NBC News teamed up with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to launch Hiring Our Heroes, an initiative to get veterans back into the workforce. Among the many organizations to step forward and pledge to hire vets and military spouses was the rock back KISS. KISS's job opening was for a roadie to work their upcoming summer tour with Motley Crue, and more than 1,900 hopefuls applied. And this morning on the plaza, The Demon himself, Gene Simmons was on hand to give veteran Paul Jordan a big surprise: He had been chosen to the new KISS roadie!...

Back in 2008, KISS bassist/demon Gene Simmons cast his vote for Barack Obama in the presidential election. This time, the rocker has had a change of heart, telling FOX News' "Fox and Friends" that he's a Mitt Romney man. "Hindsight is 20/20," he said. "I have some real issues with the economy and how it's being done. America should be in business and it should be run by a businessman."

Adorable Harry the hippopotamus is no stick-in-the-mud when it comes to making friends with humans. The six-day-old pygmy hippo calf is filling the time of his doting carers after being rejected by his mother at birth. The 11lb baby was born last Thursday at a wildlife sanctuary in South Africa and requires round-the-clock care. Read more.

VIRGINIA BEACH It's Wednesday morning around 10:30 when the Oak Hill finally comes into view, its steel-gray bow peeking out from behind a grove of green trees at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. It's been three months since the dock landing ship left home for Central America, and all of the usual fanfare is waiting to greet its crew: crowds of cheering families, toddlers dressed in sailor suits, and the lucky, excited woman who's been chosen to take part in a time-honored Navy tradition - the first homecoming kiss. In this case, that woman is 22-year-old Citlalic Snell. She's a...

Kiss member Gene Simmons and War founder Howard E. Scott unleashed verbal assaults this week on other acts. Gene Simmons Simmons, the bassist and vocalist for the legendary band, said Madonna is not appropriate to perform at Super Bowl XLVI. When asked for his opinion on the matter, Simmons had a sarcastic response. "I love all karaoke singers," he told TMZ. "I like all the girl singers who get up and sing with tapes. Shame on you."

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: I want to read to you a headline. This is from the smokinggun.com. Snerdley, I want you to listen to this. "Cops Summoned To Florida Elementary School After Girl Kisses Boy In Phys Ed Class." Whoa. Let me read that to you again. "Cops Summoned To Florida Elementary School After Girl Kisses Boy In Phys Ed Class." Do you realize how abnormal that sounds given the kind of news that's reported lately? A girl kissed a boy in a gym, and it's so abnormal the cops were called. "A sheriff’s deputy was dispatched last week to a...

A Fort Myers principal involved Lee County sheriff’s deputies in an elementary school crush. Deputies were dispatched Wednesday to Orange River Elementary School in reference to what Assistant Principal Margaret Ann Haring called a “possible sex crime” — two students kissing. “This incident is more of a simple assault, though by definition there would have to be a victim,” Sgt. Stephanie Eller said. Haring told deputies she had two students, both under 12, who kissed while in physical education class, reports said. Haring said one of them was debating about who liked who more. The student then went over and...

The White House strenuously objected to a new ad campaign from Italian clothing firm Benetton. The campaign, labeled “unhate,” shows various world leaders kissing. President Obama is featured in two of the ads. In one he is shown kissing Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. In the other his mate is China’s Hu Jintao. “This crass commercialization cheapens the affection and passion the president has exhibited in his quest for world peace,” White House Spokesman Eric Schultz complained. “It also complicates the diplomacy. Feelings could be hurt. Jealousies could be enflamed. Hugo is especially adamant in his expectations of exclusivity.” Schultz also cited...

Photos of (1) POTUS and FLOTUS and his Beard (?) 'kissing'; and (2) pResident kissing a guy (YECH!!) while his Beard and Oprah look on.

The Talk Shows September 25th, 2011 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): White House adviser David Plouffe; Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; University of Miami President Donna Shalala; former Education Secretary William Bennett; Special Olympics chief executive officer Tim Shriver.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, head of the Democratic National Committee; Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee.THIS WEEK (ABC): Plouffe; British Prime Minister David Cameron; Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation...

<p>While many Republicans are still trying to decide which GOP candidate they will support in the primary season, KISS rocker Gene Simmons has already fired his “love gun” at the race’s newest candidate.</p> <p>In two tweets yesterday afternoon, the ostentatious singer predicted that Texas Governor Rick Perry will win the presidency in 2012. While not providing any specific reasoning or argument behind his bold prediction, Simmons touted his previous record of confirmed electoral predictions as undeniable proof that he would be right again.</p>

Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kissing_the_War_Goodbye.jpg Above is the lesser known photo taken by Lt. Victor Jorgensen of a sailor kissing a passing nurse on VJ Day in Times Square. The most famous and iconic picture of this same subject - VJ Day in Times Square - taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt, was published in LIFE in 1945 with the caption, In New York's Times Square a white-clad girl clutches her purse and skirt as an uninhibited sailor plants his lips squarely on hers. August 14, 1945 in New York City was a magical moment - a confluence of history, a place, and everyday people....

It could be said that Newt Gingrich's campaign "problems" of late have put the White House beyond the former speaker of the House's reach. The most recent issue was the defection of Newt's campaign staffers, who believed there was a strategy difference between themselves and Gingrich on how to move forward. But not so fast. The departure of Gingrich's staffers is nothing more or less than a breath of fresh air -- after all, it is Newt himself, and not his campaign advisers, who is running for president. The fact is that Newt Gingrich has a vision on how to...

VIDEO: KISS legend, Gene Simmons, explains on a recent episode of Varney on FOX Business, why he embarrassingly voted for Obama and wants his vote back. Simmons then expressed his viewpoint that government has developed into being our "Mommy and Daddy", and in regard to the government's financial condition, said, "Greece, here we come!".

The huge cache of Sarah Palin's emails released Friday offered not only a chance to see what she was writing about during her uncompleted term as Alaska's governor, but also an opportunity to see how well she writes. AOL Weird News brought samples to two writing analysts who independently evaluated 24,000 pages of the former governor's emails. They came back in agreement that Palin composed her messages at an eighth-grade level, an excellent score for a chief executive, they said. "I'm a centrist Democrat, and would have loved to support my hunch that Ms. Palin is illiterate," said 2tor Chief...

In an interview with CNBC’s Jane Wells, rock n’ roll singer Gene Simmons slammed President Barack Obama on his proposal to weaken Israel in support of the Hamas-Fatah alliance. “How about you live there and try to defend an indefensible border?… He has no f**king idea what the world is like.”

Gore to young advocates: Battle industry lobbyists to turn the tide on climate By Ben Geman - 04/15/11 09:10 PM ET Al Gore told young green energy advocates Friday that progress on global warming must come from a strong grassroots movement that can counter the oil and coal lobbies, which he alleged have “paralyzed” governments. Gore – who compared action on global warming to the Civil Rights movement – was the keynote speaker at Power Shift 2011, a Washington, D.C. conference attended largely by college students. “It’s true that governments by and large have been politically paralyzed because the energy...

The school board in Skövde in western Sweden has backed local teacher Sam Aalto after he was criticised by a local politician, who argued that his surfeit tattoos and spiky hair set a bad example to students. "The media circus round this has surpassed my wildest expectations," Aalto told The Local. Father of five, Sam Aalto, is in his forties and has been teaching at Vasaskolan in Skövde for eight years. He is described by the school as highly competent and is liked by colleagues and students alike. The problems started when pensioner and local politician Sture Grönwall, 70, visited...