Balloon Parents Plead Guilty

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 a misdemeanor. They won't be sentenced until December, but the judge assured the defendants that “the financial consequences will be significant,” the Denver Post reports.

“Don't mess with America's emotions," the couple's lawyer said after the hearing. “America has the emotional instability of a hormonal teenager.” (More Falcon Heene stories.)