Kissing couple: Syria-bound?

Damascus, Syria — The couple photographed kissing during the hockey riots at Vancouver this week has been invited to restage their romantic smooch seen around the world at the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Syria.

Rafar Kayadh, one of many opposition leaders involved in the movement demanding regime change in Syria, said he was immediately inspired after seeing Scott Jones and Alexandra Thomas engaged in an intimate moment amidst the chaos and danger of the riots spurred on by the defeat suffered by the Vancouver Canucks at the hands of the Boston Bruins during the 2011 Stanley Cup final.

"I pitched the idea to other opposition leaders, and they all agreed it would bring great exposure to our cause to have these lovebirds lay scantily clad on the streets of Damascus and demonstrate their love for each other," said Kayadh.

The opposition leader said an email detailing the proposition and a preliminary logistical draft has already been sent to the couple, and they are hoping that they would get a positive response very shortly.

"Having these kissing kids in Damascus may just very well be the thing that helps us bring down Bashar Al-Assad once and for all," said Kayadh, who added that there are no plans to officially invite Richard Lam, the photographer who snapped the photograph of Jones and Thomas.

"We mean no offense to Mr. Lam. His work is good, but we'd rather have someone with a Syrian perspective handle the photography this time," Kayadh added.

Ummmm.

The Heenes: Prettier than the Gosselins

Fort Collins, CO -- The mother of the 6-year-old boy who was feared to have floated away in a home-made helium balloon has reportedly broken down and confessed that the whole thing was a ruse so their family could be on TV again.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source close to the family said Mayumi Heene divulged about the deception following "several Singapore Slings at a girls' night out" after her son Falcon was found safe and unharmed.

"She clearly had a little too much alcohol, and was very candid," said the source. "At one point she just burst into tears and told me they made everyone believe Falcon was on the balloon because they wanted so badly to be on TV again."

The Heene family was featured on two episodes of the reality televison show Wife Swap in 2008. Since then, the source said Mayumi and Richard Heene have been "obsessed and hell-bent" on getting some widespread attention again.

"I think deep down inside Richard and Mayumi are jealous of Jon & Kate Gosselin and want to have the same fame for themselves," the source disclosed. "And I don't blame them. They're a lovely family. They photograph well. Their children look ten times better than the Gosselin kids. So why can't they be on TV just like that other interracial family?"

Falcon Heene's disappearance after his father's helium balloon was accidentally set loose sparked a national uproar as authorities scoured the plains of northern Colorado for any signs of the youngster. The boy later showed up at their house and revealed that he hid in a space above their garage because his father had yelled at him.

During a live interview with CNN Thursday night, Falcon said he had heard his family calling his name but didn't come out of his hiding place because his father "had said that we did this for a show." The comment set off suspicion that the Heenes weren't being entirely truthful.

Richard Heene lambasted speculation that their ordeal was a hoax and dismissed his wife's alleged confession, saying that "she tends to mouth off silly things when she's intoxicated."

"I'm not selling anything. This is what we do all the time," he said. "Now if you'll excuse me, Oprah is calling."