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    Ace Frehley, Kiss’ original lead guitarist and founding member, dies at 74

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    Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley, right, guitarist Ace Frehley, center, and bassist Gene Simmons play during the band's farewell concert in the Detroit area, Thursday, May 25, 2000, at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich.. (AP Photo/Paul Warner, File)

    By Hannah Schoenbaum

    MORRISTOWN, NJ (AP) --

    Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and founding member of the glam rock band Kiss who captivated audiences with his elaborate makeup and smoke-filled guitar, died Thursday. He was 74.

    Frehley died peacefully surrounded by family in Morristown, New Jersey, following a recent fall, according to his agent.

    Family members said in a statement that they are “completely devastated and heartbroken” but will cherish his laughter and celebrate the kindness he bestowed upon others.

    Kiss, whose hits included “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” was known for its theatrical stage shows, with fireworks, smoking instruments and fake blood spewing from the mouths of band members in body armor, platform boots, wigs and signature black-and-white face paint.

    Kiss’ original lineup included Frehley, singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, tongue-wagging bassist Gene Simmons and drummer Peter Criss. Band members took on the personas of comic book-style characters — Frehley was known as “Space Ace” and the “Spaceman.” The New York-born entertainer often experimented with pyrotechnics, making his guitars glow, emit smoke and shoot rockets from the headstock.

    “We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley,” Simmons and Stanley said in a joint statement. “He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history. He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy.”

    Frehley and his band mates were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

    As the Kennedy Center’s new chairman, President Donald Trump named Kiss as one of this year’s honorees.

    Frehley’s is the first death among the four founding members.

    The band was extremely popular, especially in the mid-1970s, selling tens of millions of albums and licensing its iconic look to sell numerous products. “Beth” was its biggest commercial hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1976.

    Frehley left the band in 1982, skipping the years when they took off the makeup and had mixed success. He performed both as a solo artist and with his band, Frehley’s Comet.

    But he rejoined Kiss in the mid-1990s for a triumphant reunion and restoration of their original style that came after bands including Nirvana, Weezer and the Melvins had expressed their affection for the band and paid them musical tributes.

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    Instagram says it’s safeguarding teens by limiting them to PG-13 content

    Tuesday, October 14, 2025

    Teenagers on Instagram will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default and won't be able to change their settings without a parent's permission, Meta announced on Tuesday.

    This means kids using teen-specific accounts will see photos and videos on Instagram that are similar to what they would see in a PG-13 movie — no sex, drugs or dangerous stunts, among others.

    "This includes hiding or not recommending posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, and additional content that could encourage potentially harmful behaviors, such as posts showing marijuana paraphernalia," Meta said in a blog post Tuesday, calling the update the most significant since it introduced teen accounts last year.

    Anyone under 18 who signs up for Instagram is automatically placed into restrictive teen accounts unless a parent or guardian gives them permission to opt out. The teen accounts are private by default, have usage restrictions on them and already filter out more "sensitive" content — such as those promoting cosmetic procedures. But kids often lie about their ages when they sign up for social media, and while Meta has began using artificial intelligence to find such accounts, the company declined to say how many adult accounts it has determined to be minors since rolling out the feature earlier this year.

    The company is also adding an even stricter setting that parents can set up for their children.

    The changes come as the social media giant faces relentless criticism over harms to children. As it seeks to add safeguards for younger users, Meta has already promised it wouldn't show inappropriate content to teens, such as posts about self-harm, eating disorders or suicide.

    But this does not always work. A recent report, for... Read More

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