Colorado sheriff says parents concocted tale of boy's flight in balloon, charges expected
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — The story that a little boy had floated away in a giant helium balloon was a hoax concocted to land a reality television show, authorities said, and the boy's parents will likely face felony charges.
The stunt two weeks in the planning was a marketing ploy by Richard and Mayumi Heene, who met in acting school in Hollywood and have appeared on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap," Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said. The Heenes have reportedly been working on a reality TV deal in Los Angeles.
Six-year-old Falcon Heene may not have even been hiding in the rafters of the family's garage during the intense five-hour search for him Thursday, Alderden said.
"For all we know he may have been two blocks down the road playing on the swing in the city park," the sheriff said.
The stunt temporarily shut down Denver International Airport and caused the National Guard to scramble two helicopters in an attempt to rescue the boy, who was believed to be inside the flying-saucer shaped homemade balloon that hurtled more than 50 miles across two counties.
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Suicide bomber in Iran kills 5 top Revolutionary Guard commanders near Pakistani border
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A suicide bomber killed five senior commanders of the powerful Revolutionary Guard and at least 37 others Sunday near the Pakistani border in the heartland of a potentially escalating Sunni insurgency.
The attack — which also left dozens wounded — was the most high-profile strike against security forces in an outlaw region of armed tribal groups, drug smugglers and Sunni rebels known as Jundallah, or Soldiers of God.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised sharp retaliation. But a sweeping offensive by authorities is unlikely.
Iranian officials have been reluctant to open full-scale military operations in the southeastern border zone, fearing it could become a hotspot for sectarian violence with the potential to draw in al-Qaida and Sunni militants from nearby Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The region's top prosecutor, Mohammad Marzieh, was quoted by the semi-official ISNA news agency as saying Jundallah claimed responsibility for the blast in the Pishin district near the Pakistani border.
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Adviser says Obama holding off judgment on health care proposals until he sees a finished bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House will not commit to health care legislation that would cap insurance premiums or tax benefits, taking a wait-and-see approach as congressional negotiators seek a deal, advisers said Sunday.
President Barack Obama will not demand that a final bill include a government-run plan as a way of driving down costs through competition, though that's his preference, they said.
"There will be compromise. There will be legislation, and it will achieve our goals: helping people who have insurance get more security, more accountability for the insurance industry, helping people who don't have insurance get insurance they can afford, and lowering the overall cost of the system," aide David Axelrod said.
Asked on ABC's "This Week" if Obama would sign a bill that ended the antitrust exemption for the insurance industry and allow caps on premiums, Axelrod said, "We'll see what Congress does."
A 1945 law lets states regulate insurers without federal interference.
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3rd person dies after Arizona sweat lodge ceremony led by self-help guru; lawsuit planned
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The family of a Minnesota woman who died more than a week after being overcome in an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony said Sunday that she prided herself on leading a healthy and active life.
Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake suffered multiple organ damage and was in a coma before she died Saturday at a Flagstaff hospital. She was among dozens crowded into the sweat lodge on Oct. 8 at a resort just outside Sedona, a town 115 miles north of Phoenix that draws many in the New Age spiritual movement.
"She always had a smile on her face, and her positive attitude was contagious to those around her," her family said in statement. "She was loved and will be missed by many."
Louis Diesel, an attorney for her family, said appropriate measures were not taken to prevent Neuman's death and that he was planning a lawsuit on their behalf.
"She left this world way too soon," he said Sunday.
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Obama advisers say all options weighed for creating jobs, let stimulus spending keep working
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is considering all options to create jobs, including another stimulus package, while trying to pull the economy out of a deep recession and deal with a record deficit, White House advisers said Sunday.
With more than half of the $787 billion recovery package yet to be spent, Obama aides said the administration is not ready to commit to additional measures.
"Everything is on the table," senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said.
"You've got this huge national deficit and we've got to do what we can to bring that down. At the same time, it's important to stimulate the economy," Jarrett said. "Let's wait and see. Let's let the recovery bill do its job."
Unemployment stands at 9.8 percent, with more than 4 million jobs lost this year. The deficit has reached $1.4 trillion and the national debt $11.9 trillion.
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Both sides claim success in Pakistan army offensive; Taliban vow fight to 'last drop of blood'
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani troops and the Taliban fought fierce battles Sunday in a militant sanctuary near the Afghan border, with both sides claiming early victories in an army campaign that could shape the future of the country's battle against extremism.
A Taliban spokesman vowed the Islamist militants would fight to "our last drop of blood" to defend their stronghold of South Waziristan, predicting the army would fail in its latest attempt to gain control over it.
The army said 60 militants and six soldiers had been killed since the offensive began Saturday in the mountainous, remote region that the army has tried and failed to wrest from near-total insurgent control three times since 2004.
The Taliban claimed to have inflicted "heavy casualties" and pushed advancing soldiers back into their bases. It was not possible to independently verify the claims because the army is blocking access to the battlefield and surrounding towns.
Victory for the government in South Waziristan's tribal badlands would eliminate a safe haven for the Taliban militants blamed for surging terrorist attacks and the al-Qaida operatives they shelter there. It would also send a signal to other insurgent groups in the nuclear-armed country of the military's will and ability to fight them.
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University of Connecticut mourns stabbing death of starting cornerback; investigation ongoing
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut football player who was an expectant father was stabbed to death early Sunday after an on-campus dance, just hours after helping his team to a homecoming victory.
Jasper Howard, 20, of Miami, and another student were stabbed during a fight after a fire alarm was pulled during a university sponsored dance at the UConn Student Union just after 12:30 a.m., police said.
Police had not identified a suspect or release the name of the other victim.
Connecticut coach Randy Edsall said the team was heartbroken and devastated over the loss of Howard, a junior and the team's starting cornerback who came to the school to get away from the violence on the streets of his hometown, and became the first person in his family to go to college.
"I know this," Edsall said, his eyes red and welling with tears, "he loved UConn; he loved his teammates; he loved everything about this."
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'Extremely dangerous' Category 5 Hurricane Rick threatens Mexico's Los Cabos resort
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Rick, the strongest eastern North Pacific storm in more than a decade, raged across open seas on Sunday, but forecasters said it could veer into resorts at the tip of the Baja California Peninsula by midweek.
The track of the Category 5 hurricane threatened to disrupt a major sport fishing tournament scheduled to start Wednesday in Los Cabos, where hundreds of fishermen — mainly Americans — were gathering.
The hurricane's winds were still a howling 175 mph (280 kph) Sunday, down slightly from a peak of 180 mph (285 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. But it was projected to move over cooler waters and weaken to around Category 2 status with winds of around 98 mph (156 kph) before hitting land.
The eye was centered about 500 miles (805 kilometers) south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas as of 11 a.m. EDT Sunday (1500 GMT).
Rick was moving toward the west-northwest at about 14 mph (22 kph) and it was expected to begin turning toward the northwest over the coming 48 hours before curving toward the northeast, the center said.
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Adults lead 'Wild Things' $32.5M box-office rumpus; 'Paranormal Activity' climbs to $20.2M
LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Where the Wild Things Are" proved a bigger hit with adult audiences than family crowds as the adaptation of Maurice Sendak's beloved children's book debuted at No. 1 with $32.5 million.
Moviegoers 18 and older accounted for 43 percent of the audience, while parents with children made up 27 percent, according to distributor Warner Bros.
Overture Films earned the No. 2 spot with Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler's vengeance thriller "Law Abiding Citizen," which debuted with $21.3 million.
Expanding into wider release, Paramount's low-budget horror sensation "Paranormal Activity" moved up to No. 3 with $20.2 million.
Shot for a reported $15,000, "Paranormal Activity" outdid the premiere of Sony's fright flick "The Stepfather," which cost $19 million and played in nearly four times as many theaters but managed just a No. 5 opening with $12.3 million.
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Drew Brees burns Giants for 369 yards, 4 TDs as Saints rout Giants 48-27, stay undefeated
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Eli Manning returned to his hometown only to see Drew Brees torch the New York Giants' league-leading defense.
Brees ended his two-game streak without a touchdown throw by completing 23 of 30 passes for 369 yards and four scores Sunday, and New Orleans easily remained unbeaten, 48-27.
The Giants (5-1) came into the game giving up averages of 210.6 yards and 14.2 points. The Saints (5-0) had 34 points and 315 yards by halftime, as Brees threw three TD passes to reach 100 since the Saints signed him as a free agent in 2006.
Manning looked like his father Archie sometimes did when he played for the Saints, fumbling on a sack and throwing an interception under pressure when Ahmad Bradshaw missed a block.
It was Manning's first game in the Louisiana Superdome, but not a memorable one — or for fellow Louisiana natives Brandon Jacobs and Corey Webster. Manning was 14 of 31 for 178 yards. He lost his cool at least once, yelling at Bradshaw and slapping his shoulder pad after the running back's lapse in protection precipitated a rushed throw that Jabari Greer intercepted early in the third quarter, stalling a promising drive.
Source: AP News
