Parents of “Balloon Boy” to plead guilty

The parents of the boy who was thought to have floated away in a silver helium balloon last month are expected to plead guilty in a Larimer County court in Colorado on Friday, npr.org reports.

Richard Heene, the father, will plead guilty to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant. His wife, Mayumi Heene, will plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of making a false report. Lawyer for the parents, David Lane, said that Mayumi Heene is a citizen of Japan and could have faced deportation if she pleaded guilty to a felony. To keep that from happening, Richard Heene agreed to take responsibility.

Neither the Larimer County district attorney’s office nor the sheriff’s office has confirmed the settlement. If the court approves, the father could face up to 90 days in jail and the mother up to 60 days.

All three of the Heenes’ sons knew of the hoax, but will not likely face charges because of their young ages.

My take: This story was all over the news in October. You could not watch a national or local news station without seeing the coverage of this hoax. It concerned many people as they watched the balloon speed through the sky thinking a little boy was stuck inside. Once it was confirmed that it was a hoax, it seems only right to have the parents pay in some way for concerning the public.

Lou Dobbs quits CNN

Lou Dobbs, CNN’s most outspoken anchor, abruptly quit midweek, nytimes.com reports.

Dobbs was offered a choice months ago by the president of CNN, Jonathon Klein. He could either vent his opinions on radio and anchor an objective newscast on television, or leave CNN. On Wednesday, Dobbs chose opinion and left CNN.

Lou Dobbs told viewers that he would be resigning from his CNN job immediately.  People inside the network have speculated for months that he would pick up and move to a different network, but there have been no discussions as of yet.

Dobbs quit CNN once before in 1999. He left midweek as well, but returned to the network two years later

My take: Lou Dobbs is known for being outspoken. It does not really surprise me that he decided to voice his opinions on another outlet rather than staying with CNN and having his views censored.

Syracuse man unfazed by Taser

A man was struck by three Taser probes Wednesday after he pushed an officer while drinking malt liquor. However, the Taser probes had no effect through the man’s layers of winter clothing, Syracuse.com reports.

According to police reports, Angel Castro was charged with resisting arrest and violating the city’s open container ordinance. 

Officer Brian Novitsky told Castro he was under arrest for violating the ordinance and asked Castro to put the bottle down. After Castro refused, Novitsky attempted to take the liquor. Castro then proceeded to push the officer while still drinking.

Novitsky fired three probes into Castro’s left bicep, left flank, and left thigh, but the Taser had no effect.

The Taser did distract Castro enough for the officers to handcuff him.

My take: The fact that a Taser did not work shows that there needs to be a change in the equipment. Syracuse can be cold in the winter and people will wear thicker clothes. If the Taser does not work through the thick clothes, then something needs to be done to fix it. Also, this story is important to show that police are using Tasers more in arrests.