Colorado Sheriff confirms balloon boy incident was hoax

October 19th, 2009 Colo. parents' attorney says Heene boys seem happyNEW YORK — The attorney for the couple whose family is at the center of the now-infamous balloon boy saga says he expects authorities to file charges against the 6-year-old's parents by the end of the day Monday or sometime Tuesday. Attorney David Lane, who appeared on the "Today" show on NBC Monday, says Richard and Mayumi Heene are willing to voluntarily turn themselves in once charges are filed.

October 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Colorado justice officials have said they expect to file criminal charges in the case of the experimental runaway helium balloon thought mistakenly to have been carrying aloft a six-year-old boy. Sheriff Jim Alderden of Larimer County, Colorado, who earlier dismissed the suggestion that the dramatic flight and fears were a hoax, indicated Saturday he would consult with federal officials to find out if more serious charges could be brought.

October 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The 6-year-old boy from Colorado, who raised alarm after he was thought to have floated off in a homemade balloon only to be later found hiding at home, has unknowingly hinted that it was a publicity stunt by his family. During a live interview on CNN, Falcon Heene revealed he could hear his family calling his name as he hid in the rafters of their garage.

October 16th, 2009 LAHORE - Lahore Police has received many hoax calls claiming terrorist attacks in different parts of the city. According to police, such false alarms are raised by collaborators of a terror plot in a bid to divert the attention of police and clear the way for attackers.

October 15th, 2009 Family of balloon boy featured on 'Wife Swap'NEW YORK — The family of a 6-year-old boy who set off a nationally televised scramble when he was thought to be in a balloon over Colorado has been featured twice in the ABC show "Wife Swap." Falcon, the son of Richard and Mayumi Heene of Fort Collins, Colo., was found hiding in a cardboard box in his garage attic. Television viewers knew Falcon's family from "Wife Swap," where they last appeared in March after fans of the show voted to have them featured again in its 100th episode.

October 15th, 2009 LOS ANGELES - A 6-year-old boy was initially feared Thursday to have taken off alone in an experimental balloon, leading authorities and national media on a wild goose chase for several hours, until the child was found hiding safely at home. It appeared he had been hiding to avoid a scolding from his father.

October 13th, 2009 NANNING - Four Dutch tourists, including one woman, died Wednesday when a hot-air balloon caught fire and crashed in Guilin, a popular tourist destination in south China. Five passengers, all from the Netherlands, and two Chinese pilots were aboard when the accident took place in Maling Township of Lipu County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

September 20th, 2009 LONDON - British explorer David Hempleman-Adams has broken the endurance record by spending more than 14 hours in a tiny hot air balloon over the United States. Hempleman-Adams, 52, of Box, Wiltshire, set the record over the US riding in a scaled-down basket.

August 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Astronomers have confirmed that an email promising a "Mars spectacular" event on August 27, when the Red Planet will look as large as the full moon, is nothing but a hoax. According to a report in National Geographic News, the anonymous message from an unknown part of the globe says that the red planet "will look as large as the full moon" in the night sky, and that "no one alive today will ever see this again." The claim has been bombarding people's inboxes worldwide every summer for five years.

August 12th, 2009 Chamber of Commerce ads hit Obama on health careWASHINGTON — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will begin airing 30-second ads in about 20 states Wednesday criticizing the Democratic proposal to offer optional government health coverage.

August 1st, 2009 NEW YORK - Flights in many parts of the US were disrupted after New York's La Guadia airport was put out of action for three hours Saturday following a bomb threat apparently by a drunk man. Police said the man claimed to have a bomb in his bag and threatened security staff.

July 29th, 2009 LONDON - A cheesemaker's stunt to launch a wedge of cheddar cheese into space fell flat on its face after the organisers lost contact with its payload just minutes after lift-off. West Country Cheesemakers, who organised the stunt, attached 300kg chunk of cheese to a weather balloon, which lifted off from Pewsey, Wilts, at 4am on July 28.

July 24th, 2009 SEC charges Kuwaiti trader with hoax schemeWASHINGTON D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged a Kuwaiti trader connected with Citigroup with scheming to make millions off fake offers to acquire U.S.

July 20th, 2009 LONDON - Brit teenager Jamie Neale insists that the 12-day ordeal he went through after he was lost in the Australian bush is not a hoax. Neale, 19, has had to come to his own defence after experts cast doubts on his ability to survive sub-zero winter nights in the rugged Blue Mountains near Sydney without food or water.

May 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Pakistan may have declared an all out war against the Taliban in the Swat and Malakand Division of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), but many believe that it is almost impossible to contain the advancing militia, which they liken to a balloon that can not be stopped from popping up in different directions when subjected to pressure. With Swat and Malakand already under the Taliban's grip, fears are rife that it is almost a matter of time when Mardan, situated just 30 miles away from Swat, would cave in to the extremists.