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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: balloon boy hoax

balloon boy hoax stories: 27 news summaries

1 - 20 of 27 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Balloon Parents 
 Plead Guilty 

Sentences unclear, but judge assures 'significant' monetary cost

Nov 13, 09 1:40 PM CST
(Newser) - The parents of “balloon boy” Falcon Heene pleaded guilty today to charges related to the hoax that sent police and rescue personnel on a wild-goose chase. Richard Heene pleaded to a felony, Mayumi Heene—a Japanese citizen who risked deportation if she had a felony on her record—to... More »

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parenting • felony • misdemeanor • plea bargain • Colorado • Japanese • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Mayumi Heene

 Balloon Parents 
 Will Plead Guilty 

Guilty pleas for Heenes will likely carry sentence of probation

Nov 12, 09 8:21 AM CST
(Newser) - Richard and Mayumi Heene will plead guilty tomorrow for lying to police and rescuers and sending them on a wild balloon chase for their “missing” son Falcon, who they knew was safe at home. Mayumi will cop to false reporting, a misdemeanor, while Richard will plead guilty to attempting... More »

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probation • guilty plea • plea bargain • Colorado • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Mayumi Heene

frank rich

 Cut Balloon Boy 
 Dad Some Slack 

He's the 'inevitable product' of our era

Oct 25, 09 11:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - A little sympathy for the Balloon Boy dad, please. Yes, he "grotesquely" put his kids through hell, but he’s also a fitting emblem—and the “inevitable product”—of our time, writes Frank Rich. Richard Heene gave us a fake spectacle that reflects our era much as... More »

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reality TV • cable news • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy

Brandon Keim

 Thanks for the Ride, Falcon 


Oct 23, 09 1:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - Just about everyone seems to hate Richard Heene, but the emotion just proves how powerfully the balloon boy hoax gripped our collective imagination. “Had Richard called 911 and reported that he’d last seen his son near a Greyhound bus station, almost nobody would have cared,” writes Brandon... More »

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hot air balloon • hoax • balloon • helium balloons • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • balloon boy

 Be Balloon Boy for Halloween 

Canadian company hawks costume

Oct 22, 09 5:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - It was inevitable: a Canadian model airplane company is selling “Balloon Boy” Halloween costumes on its website. For $19.99, you get a 38-inch mylar balloon with a small gondola. Supply your own helium, cardboard box, and string, notes ABC Denver. "Now you, too, can enjoy all the... More »

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retail • Halloween • costume • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy

OPINION

 Balloon Boy 
 Another Blow 
 to Trust 

Politicians are the ones most lost in forest of fakery

Oct 22, 09 3:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Falcon Heene fiasco sums up the dilemma facing a society riddled with fake news, Photoshop fakes, and even fake Rush Limbaugh quotes, writes Daniel Henninger. "Reality TV" is the perfect metaphor for a world where you need to routinely "ask yourself whether what's in front of you... More »

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reality TV • satire • health care reform • hoax • Falcon Heene • balloon boy hoax

BALLOON DAD

 Heene's 
 Motivation: 
 2012 Apocalypse 

More bizarre background on 'Balloon Boy' dad Richard Heene comes out

Oct 21, 09 9:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - Richard Heene’s totally sensible motivation for his balloon hoax: He “believes the world is going to end in 2012," explained a lawyer for one of Heene’s researchers, who police recently interviewed. "Because of that he wanted to make money quickly, become rich enough to build... More »

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Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy • Mayumi Heene

 FAA Starts Own 
 Balloon Boy Probe 

Flight delays at Denver airport during caper could result in fines

Oct 20, 09 8:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration is the latest agency to start its own investigation of last week’s Colorado balloon circus, with authorities looking into delays at Denver International Airport during the craft’s flight. And while local law enforcement wants criminal charges against the Heene family, any FAA violations would... More »

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Colorado • fines • Federal Aviation Administration • criminal charges • Denver International Airport • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy • Mayumi Heene

BEST OF BALLOON DAD


 Heene Wore 
 a Bra, Wrote 
 Theme Songs 

Internet yields veritable treasure trove of Balloon Boy family background

Oct 20, 09 8:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Richard Heene wanted to make his family famous, so it's no surprise that the Internet yields a wide variety of background info on the balloon boy dad—from the hilarious (Heene wearing a bra) to the not-so-hilarious (former run-ins with the law). Read on for more:
  • TMZ unearthed two
... More »

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Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy • Mayumi Heene

 Sheriff: TV 
 Paid for 
 Balloon 
 Stunt 

Unnamed outlet blurs entertainment-news lines, says Alderden

Oct 20, 09 6:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - A shady TV operation may have already paid the Heenes for its balloon boy stunt, the Colorado sheriff investigating the case has indicated. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the unnamed outlet paid the family for the launch and may be complicit in the hoax. An agreement from the... More »

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media • reality TV • Colorado • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy • Mayumi Heene

 'Swap Wife' 
 Calls Heene 
 Mad Wiz 
 With Temper 

'My dad can really yell,' son told her

Oct 20, 09 2:52 AM CDT
(Newser) - The "swapped wife" who lived with the Balloon Boy's family as part of a TV reality program described dad Richard Heene as a mad scientist with a short fuse. Sheree Silver said Heene screamed at her, and son Bradford said: "My dad can really yell, can't he?" Silver... More »

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crime • TV shows • Colorado • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • Wife Swap • balloon boy • Mayumi Heene

Balloon Family Feels
'Under Siege': Lawyer

Lawyer says stunt has turned into a "nightmare for the family."

Oct 19, 09 4:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Richard and Mayumi Heene are likely regretting the hoax they staged using their 6-year-old son and a balloon: With criminal charges looming and public opinion turning against them, the family feels “under siege,” their lawyer said today. The FAA has opened an investigation into the incident; it has... More »

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Colorado • hoax • Denver International Airport • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy • Mayumi Heene

Balloon-Boy Stunt Not So Strange for Wacky Dad

Unsurprisingly, Richard Heene is a shameless self-promoter

Oct 19, 09 9:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - With the balloon-boy debacle now exposed as a hoax, the spotlight has turned on Richard Heene's wacky and not-so-camera-shy behavior. The 48-year-old amateur scientist/wannabe reality TV star tried his hand at acting and standup comedy in the early '90s in Hollywood. And though that ended up being a "total... More »

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reality TV • tornado • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • Wife Swap • balloon boy

WHOSE FAULT IS IT?

 We All Share 
 Blame for 
 Balloon Boy 

Emotion-ravenous audience devoured fake tale

Oct 19, 09 7:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - Falcon Heene's media-hungry dad isn't the only culprit in the balloon boy hoax that put the 6-year-old at the center of a giant international lie. We may be just as much to blame for our ravenous appetite for more thrilling "reality" TV events, "glued to 40-inch hi-def images,... More »

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Gawker • Gawker Media • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy

first person

How I Helped Plan
the Balloon Boy Hoax

Scheme was a campaign to return to reality TV: researcher

Oct 18, 09 3:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Balloon boy Falcon Heene's father, Richard, planned the hoax because he wanted to return to reality TV, claims a former research assistant. Heene "was often driven by ego and fame," Robert Thomas says in an interview with Gawker, which the website acknowledges it paid him for. "... More »

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Colorado • hoax • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy • Robert Thomas

Balloon Boy Family to Face Charges

Sheriff offers few details, but hints
he suspects a hoax

Oct 17, 09 8:41 PM CDT
(AP) - A Colorado sheriff said tonight that criminal charges are expected to be filed in the balloon boy case. He didn't specify what the charges would be, but he suggested that investigators smelled a hoax. "I think you get the gist," said Sheriff Jim Alderden when asked directly if... More »

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balloon • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy

updated

 Balloon Boy 
 Family 
 Plans 'Big 
 Announcement' 

Heenes have tried twice to get a reality show going

Oct 17, 09 12:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - With skeptics in full throat, the balloon boy family promised a "big announcement" today. "I'd like to speak to everybody about a few things," dad Richard Heene said this morning. He scheduled a 1pm news conference, then postponed it til later in the day after soliciting reporters'... More »

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hot air balloon • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • balloon boy

Child-Protection Office
Eying Balloon Family

Cops to re-interview Heenes as hoax suspicions rise

Oct 17, 09 5:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - Colorado child-protection officers have spoken to the sheriff's office about the Heene family following Thursday's bizarre balloon incident, said Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, who hopes an investigation will follow. Police plan to re-interview the family today following a CNN interview in which 6-year-old Falcon said he hid in an... More »

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Colorado • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • balloon boy throws up • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy

 Balloon Mess No Hoax: Sheriff 

Restitution remains a possibility

Oct 16, 09 2:38 PM CDT
(AP) - The Larimer County, Colo., sheriff's office has no indication the Heene family was carrying out a hoax when the parents reported their 6-year-old son was in a helium balloon that floated away from their home and traveled more than 50 miles. "We believe at this time that it was... More »

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Colorado • balloon • Falcon Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy

OPINION

Balloon Boy Is What's Wrong With Cable News

Popular stories don't need to take up 100% of channels' airtime

Oct 16, 09 1:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The "balloon boy" non-story was just the latest example of how ridiculous cable news has become, writes Alan Sepinwall. With a war raging in Afghanistan, a jobless “recovery,” and a complex ongoing health care debate, the "news" networks spend hours on nothing at all. The problem... More »

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Afghanistan • entertainment • news • fake news • TV industry • Afghanistan war • cable news • Falcon Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • Wife Swap

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