The Brooklyn Paper has an update about the vandalism at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Williamsburg. Because a statue of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus were defaced with what looks like Kiss masks that Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley wear, 94th Precinct Commanding Officer Deputy Inspector Terence Hurson said, “We are looking for a KISS fan." In other words: TOTALLY Kiss Army. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg relived one of his first moments of 2012—specifically, the moments he kissed Lady Gaga in Times Square—with reporters today. According to DNAinfo, Bloomberg said, “First, Lady Gaga is very charming. She’s a young lady who grew up and went to school here in New York City. She’s obviously a great entertainer. She really does have some talent." more ›

Dominique Strauss-Kahn might be back in France, far away from his Big Apple arrest-turned-Law & Order: SVU episode sex assault allegations, but that just means he has to face the French woman who accuses him of trying to rape her in 2002. Now, a French newspaper claims that Strauss-Kahn has admitted to trying to come on to the young woman. more ›

The rock band KISS may be returning to their roots in NYC with... a coffee shop. According to USA Today, the band lent its name to a coffeehouse in Myrtle Beach, and now the owner, Johnny Rock, has plans to open a shop in Vegas, and possibly New York City. Would you order a "Frozen Rockuccino" for $5.75? What if it kept you rock and rolling all night and partying every day? (Apologies.) more ›

While the gas in New Jersey is notoriously cheap, every once in a while you do find yourself a few bucks shy of a full tank's worth. But at one South Brunswick gas station, worker Melad Kaleal was perfectly willing to drop the extra in exchange for some mild sexual favors, namely a kiss from a high school girl. more ›

Nothing quite captures the unique essence of geriatric rock 'n' roll like KISS. They have perfected the art of rock-band-as corporation, whether they're ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange in celebration of Dr Pepper's 125th anniversary, or helping their fans die in dignity with the Kiss Kasket. They should just go ahead and change the word to "klassy." But one former member of the KISS family isn't so keen on letting musicians rock out in an Upper West Side townhouse. more ›

Under at 26-foot statue erected in the middle of Times Square, hundreds of people gathered in costume yesterday to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II—and the anniversary of a very famous kiss. Couples re-enacted the Life magazine photo of nurse Edith Shain being kissed by a sailor on V-J Day at the countdown of "3,2,1, Kiss!" more ›

Earlier this week, Edith Shain—the nurse in the iconic V-J Day kiss photo—died at age 91, never really knowing who the sailor she created the moment with was. However, LIFE magazine now takes a look back at the man who photographed the two. Alfred Eisenstaedt was one of their prolific photographers, covering "everything from post-war Hiroshima, to Ernest Hemingway in Cuba, to Nazi Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels—who famously scowled when he learned that the elegant young man taking his picture was Jewish." Eisenstaedt recalled the Times Square image fondly, writing in his book: more ›

Edith Shain, best known as the nurse kissing a sailor in the iconic photograph, has died at age 91. The photo was taken in Times Square on August 14th, 1945, when thousands converged there to celebrate victory over Japan. (The above photo, a slightly different angle, was taken by Lt. Victor Jorgensen, but the one that came to be a popular image was taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt). more ›

Politico broke the news that former Vice President and presidential candidate Al Gore and his wife Tipper are separating after 40 years of marriage: "In an 'Email from Al and Tipper Gore,' the couple said: 'We are announcing today that after a great deal of thought and discussion, we have decided to separate. This is very much a mutual and mutually supportive decision that we have made together following a process of long and careful consideration. We ask for respect for our privacy and that of our family, and we do not intend to comment further.'" The couple shared a memorable kiss (video) during the 2000 campaign; in recent years, Gore was the subject of a documentary about climate change, shared the Nobel Peace Prize, and is chairman of Current TV. more ›

The “romantic” New Jersey grad student who caused massive delays at Newark airport when he ducked through security to kiss his girlfriend will receive legal help from the Chinese consulate. “Consular official Wang Bangfu said the consulate has been following the case of 28-year-old Haisong Jiang closely since he was arrested and charged with trespassing January 3rd ,” reported the AP. The Chinese citizen's act of love caused delays to over a hundred flights and stranded thousands of passengers in the airport for hours. He faces up to thirty days in prison and will be arraigned on January 28 in Newark. more ›

A grad student, whom friends call "a Romantic," caused massive back-ups when he snuck through Newark security on Dec.3 to get one last kiss goodbye from his girlfriend. Now the airport offender—whom the Daily News says is responsible for shutting down Terminal C for seven hours, causing 100 or more flight delays and inconveniencing thousands of passengers—is facing charges of defiant trespassing for his crimes of the heart. more ›

Okay, by now you've hopefully watched the season premiere of Mad Men—and if you haven't, consider this your spoiler alert. In it, Bryan Batt's character, art director Sal Romano, finally gets some male lovin' from a hotel employee while on a business trip with Don Draper. Batt has talked plenty about the scene (video after the jump), saying he told his on-screen interest, "Close your eyes and pretend I'm Christie Brinkley." We talked to the actor who played that full-service bellhop, Orestes Arcuni, and he told us a little bit more about being transported to the mid-century set. more ›

For two years now, gourmet chocolate maker Jacque Torres has been selling a pink Champagne bon bon called the "Champagne Kiss." But the Hershey Corporation is worried that customers shopping for cheap, proletariat candy might get confused and buy his Kiss instead, which costs $1.50 each, instead of their waxy sugar pellets. So earlier this month their lawyers sent him a C&D, demanding he immediately retire his Champagne Kiss. But Torres won't pucker up! His lawyers have fired back, and in a letter obtained by Grub Street, they argue that the comparing the two products is analogous to "Chevrolet complaining that Rolls Royce is infringing on the Chevrolet trademark." Furthermore! "This is yet another example of a giant, monolithic corporation attempting to take advantage of 'the little guy,' in this case, a world-renowned artisan from France." An irate Torres tells Grub Street, "They don’t own the world! No way am I going to give up on [the kiss]—it’s completely unfair!" Oh merde, it is on! more ›

Two of the more recognizable New Yorkers down in Austin last week for SXSW were Lou Reed and Moby. During a tribute show for...himself, Reed showed up for a 7-minute encore of "Walk on the Wilde Side," which can be seen below. more ›