New Year's Eve has long been a celebration of kissing, so in honor of the annual event, HuffPost TV rounded up the best TV kisses from 2012.

From Damon and Elena's very long-awaited hookup on "The Vampire Diaries" to Leslie and Ben's sweet post-engagement embrace on "Parks and Rec" to Ryan and Amber's passionate ocean makeout session on "Parenthood," we've assembled a supercut of those smooches we can't forget.

Watch the video above to see the best kisses from 2012 on TV, from the sweet to the scandalous to the sexy.

Here's to 2013 and the many more TV lip-locks to come!

France's Constitutional Council on Saturday rejected a 75 percent upper income tax rate to be introduced in 2013 in a setback to Socialist President Francois Hollande's push to make the rich contribute more to cutting the public deficit.

The Council ruled that the planned 75 percent tax on annual income above 1 million euros ($1.32 million) - a flagship measure of Hollande's election campaign - was unfair in the way it would be applied to different households.

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the government would redraft the upper tax rate proposal to answer the Council's concerns and resubmit it in a new budget law, meaning Saturday's decision could only amount to a temporary political blow.

While the tax plan was largely symbolic and would only have affected a few thousand people, it has infuriated high earners in France, prompting some such as actor Gerard Depardieu to flee abroad. The message it sent also shocked entrepreneurs and foreign investors, who accuse Hollande of being anti-business.

Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said the rejection of the 75 percent tax and other minor measures could cut up to 500 million euros in forecast tax revenues but would not hurt efforts to slash the public deficit to below a European Union ceiling of 3 percent of economic output next year.

"The rejected measures represent 300 to 500 million euros. Our deficit-cutting path will not be affected," Moscovici told BFM television. He too said the government would resubmit a proposal to raise taxes on high incomes in 2013 and 2014.

The Council, made up of nine judges and three former presidents, is concerned the tax would hit a married couple where one partner earned above a million euros but it would not affect a couple where each earned just under a million euros.
UMP member Gilles Carrez, chairman of the National Assembly's finance commission, told BFM television, however, that the Council's so-called wise men also felt the 75 percent tax was excessive and too much based on ideology.

FRANCE UNDER SCRUTINY

Hollande shocked many by announcing his 75 percent tax proposal out of the blue several weeks into a campaign that some felt was flagging. Left-wing voters were cheered by it but business leaders warned that talent would flee the country.

Set to be a temporary measure until France is out of economic crisis, the few hundred million euros a year the tax was set to raise is a not insignificant sum as the government strives to boost public finances in the face of stalled growth.

Hollande's 2013 budget calls for the biggest belt-tightening effort France has seen in decades and is based on a growth target of 0.8 percent, a level analysts view as over-optimistic.

Fitch Ratings this month affirmed its triple-A rating on France but said there was no room for slippage. Standard & Poor's and Moody's have both stripped Europe's No. 2 economy of its AAA badge due to concern over strained public finances and stalled growth.

The International Monetary Fund recently forecast that France will miss its 3 percent deficit target next year and signs are growing that Paris could negotiate some leeway on the timing of that goal with its EU partners.

The INSEE national statistics institute this week scaled back its reading of a return to growth in the third quarter to 0.1 percent from 0.2 percent, and the government said it could review its 2013 outlook in the next few months.

Saturday's decision was in response to a motion by the opposition conservative UMP party, whose weight in fighting Hollande's policies has been reduced by a leadership crisis that has split it in two seven months after it lost power.

District of Columbia police say they are investigating an incident in which NBC News reporter David Gregory displayed what he described as a high-capacity ammunition magazine on "Meet the Press."

Gun laws in the nation's capital generally restrict the possession of high-capacity magazines, regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm.

"NBC contacted [the Metropolitan Police Department] inquiring if they could utilize a high capacity magazine for their segment. NBC was informed that possession of a high capacity magazine is not permissible and their request was denied. This matter is currently being investigated," police spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump said in a written statement. She declined to comment further on the investigation.

While interviewing National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre for Sunday's program, Gregory held an object, apparently as a prop to make a point, and said it was a magazine that could hold 30 rounds.

"Here is a magazine for ammunition that carries 30 bullets. Now, isn't it possible if we got rid of these, if we replaced them and said, 'Well, you can only have a magazine that carries five bullets or ten bullets,' isn't it just possible that we could reduce the carnage in a situation like Newtown?'" Gregory asked, referring to the Dec. 14 mass shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut.

LaPierre replied, "I don't believe that's going to make one difference. There are so many different ways to evade that even if you had that" ban.

Items like this can be found on our Rangers blog.

Brad Corbett’s tumultuous six-year run as Rangers owner can be defined by one game.

On July 4, 1977, the Rangers lost, 1-0, to Kansas City at Arlington Stadium. After the game, a tearful Corbett stormed into the Rangers’ clubhouse and loudly proclaimed, “I’m selling this team because it’s killing me. They’re dogs on the field, and they’re dogs off the field.”

Corbett kept the team for nearly three more years. The mercurial owner never changed.

The impulsive Corbett constantly made moves, trading away young talent such as left-hander Dave Righetti and third baseman Bill Madlock for fading veterans. Corbett spent wildly on free-agent busts such as shortstop Bert Campaneris and outfielder Richie Zisk.

The approach never brought Corbett a champion. The Rangers had their first brush with legitimacy during the Corbett era (1974-80) by finishing second three times in the American League West but never reached the postseason.

Corbett, 75, died in his sleep Monday, his daughter Pamela Corbett Murrin told The Associated Press.

Corbett moved from Long Island, N.Y., to Fort Worth in 1968. He quickly parlayed a $300,000 loan from the Small Business Administration into a fortune in the plastic-piping and chemical-tubing businesses.

Corbett realized his dream of owning a major league team by putting together a collection of local investors that purchased the Rangers from Bob Short two days before the 1974 season. The group paid $9.6 million and assumed $1 million in debt.

The brash Corbett took the spotlight. Others held the title, but Corbett served as his own general manager. He reveled in making trades on a whim.

Corbett once famously pulled off a trade during a men’s room conversation with Cleveland executive Gabe Paul. The Rangers in 1978 sent outfielder Bobby Bonds and young right-hander Len Barker to the Indians for infielder Larvell “Sugar Bear” Blanks and right-hander Jim Kern.

The club took on the air of a circus. In 1977, the Rangers employed four managers in a span of eight games. In 1978, Sports Illustrated revealed Corbett consulted his son, Brad Jr., on trades

Settling down to watch the Queen's speech after Christmas dinner, viewers could be transported to Buckingham Palace, almost able to feel the pine needles of the Royal Christmas tree as the speech is broadcast in 3D for the first time.

Behind the scenes footage of the broadcast, recorded on December 7, has been released, revealing the monarch in snazzy 3D glasses.

Not your average plastic iMax frames, the Queen's 3D specs are decorated on each side with the letter Q made from Swarovski crystals. They were first worn by the Queen during a visit to a movie training centre in Toronto in 2010.

The Queen, who has watched her 3D Christmas message, said she enjoyed the experience.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said the monarch thought the broadcast was "absolutely lovely".

She added: "We wanted to do something a bit different and special in this Jubilee year, so doing it for the first time in 3D seemed a good thing, technology-wise, to do.

The Queen recording her Christmas broadcast

"The Queen absolutely agreed straight away there was no need for convincing at all, she was absolutely ready to embrace something new in this year."

The Queen will pay tribute in her Christmas broadcast to the nation's Olympic and Paralympic athletes for inspiring all those who watched their achievements.

The monarch will hail the "splendid summer of sport" and highlight how the sportsmen and women gave the spectators the chance to feel part of the "excitement and drama".

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman outlined the themes of the message: "The Queen's broadcast this year focuses on service, achievement and the spirit of togetherness."

During the address, which will be broadcast in full on Christmas Day, the Queen will say: "As London hosted a splendid summer of sport, all those who saw the achievement and courage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were further inspired by the skill, dedication, training and teamwork of our athletes.

A nurse who was found dead days after transferring a prank call made to the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was being treated for morning sickness, had made two previous suicide attempts, it has been claimed.

Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found dead days after she transferred the call from two Australian DJs to a colleague who then described Kate's condition in detail.

It has now emerged she was being treated with anti-depressants and had made two attempts to take her own life during a family holiday in India, last December.


Jacintha Saldanha had made two suicide attempts previously, it is claimed

According to the Daily Mail, she was rushed to hospital after an overdose of pills, but tried to commit suicide again just nine days later by jumping from a building.

She was treated for depression and admitted to a psychiatric ward at Father Muller Medical College Hospital in
Mangalore, India, The Sun said.


Her brother Naveen Saldanha, 42, told the newspaper: “We didn’t know about the first incident, but we knew about the second.”

The news comes as it emerged Scotland Yard has submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service relating to the prank call.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will now consider whether any potential offences may have been committed, Scotland Yard said.

Ms Saldanha, a mother-of-two, was found dead in her nurses' quarters at London's King Edward VII's Hospital by a colleague and a security guard on 7 December.

king edward hospital
Saldanha worked at the King Edward VII hospital, where the Duchess was staying

Three days earlier she put through a call from DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian, believing they were the Queen and the Prince of Wales.

Ms Saldanha left two notes in her room and was found with marks on her wrist when her body was discovered, Westminster Coroner's Court in London heard as an inquest was opened and adjourned.

Greig and Christian spoke of their grief on Australian television soon after the nurse's death.

They said their prank had prompted "a tragic turn of events no-one could have predicted or expected".

A Scotland Yard spokesman told the Press Association: "Following the death of Jacintha Saldanha, officers have liaised with the CPS as to whether any criminal offences had been committed in relation to the hoax call made to King Edward VII Hospital in the early hours of Tuesday 4 December.

Police were reportedly called to the Barbados villa where Rihanna is currently vacationing after a man allegedly trespassed onto the property.

It’s alleged that police received a telephone call from the villa after the man, who is believed to be a German national, entered the private residence.

TMZ reports that by the time the police arrived on the scene the stranger had already left.

It’s believed officers are still investigating the incident and want to question the man.

According to the Daily Mail, the unknown man — who was wearing a pair of swimming trunks — was removed by Rihanna’s security team before any serious disturbance occurred.

Rihanna was later seen looking through a pair of binoculars as she walked outside on the villa’s terrace.

Rihanna Pictured In Her Barbados Villa On Holiday

As previously reported by TheInquisitr, the “Diamonds” singer recently donated $3.5 Barbados dollars (US $ 1.75 million) to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown, Barbados in honor of her late grandmother, Clara “Dolly” Braithwaite.
At the donation ceremony on Saturday, the 24-year-old said:

    “This was my way of giving back to Barbados in a form of philanthropy, by assisting the QEH in its continued modernization programme.”


    “I believe that this will have a huge impact on the people of Barbados this was all done to save lives or at least extend it. I thank you all for being a part of it. Thank you. I’m really excited about it.”

After a hectic year of record breaking success, a rumored reconciliation — and breakup — with singer Chris Brown, the songstress is holidaying with girlfriends in her native Barbados to see in the season.

Ashton Kutcher was spotted with Mila Kunis in Iowa just days after he officially filed for divorce from his estranged wife, actress Demi Moore.

Kutcher’s lawyers filed the divorce papers on Friday, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the termination of their marriage, reports Sky News.

Meanwhile, the two former That 70s Show actors were spotted in Kutcher’s hometown of Cedar Rapids shopping and eating frozen yogurt.

An inside source close to Kutcher revealed:

    “Ashton was really excited about bringing Mila home to hang out with his family. He couldn’t wait to get back to Iowa because people don’t bother him there and said he was looking forward to chilling out.”

Mila Kunis is reportedly already close to Kutcher’s family. They have known each other for 14 years since the pair met on the set of the comedy series. Kutcher and Kunis were spotted together picking up some last minute gifts for friends and family at Bed, Bath & Beyond. A member of the store’s staff stated:

    “They were picking out gifts for his family. They bought robes, slippers and candles. It’s really cold in Iowa right now, so I’m sure it will come in handy.”

Yahoo! News adds that the pair were also spotted at Fruitzen Frozen Yogurt in Cedar Rapids on Saturday night and they appeared to be enjoying themselves. A source revealed that Ashton ordered peach yogurt, while Mila had orange sorbet.

Kutcher and Kunis have been dating for around nine months, though they only officially announced they were dating this fall. It is not clear how long Kutcher’s divorce with Demi Moore will take.

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