BALLOON BOY PARENTS PLEAD GUILTY TO HOAX

It seemed like the entire country was watching this thing unfold and almost everyone believed it. The parents were adamant that it was not a hoax and that their child was floating away in a homemade balloon. Turns out they're just great big liars.

Reuters -- DENVER (Reuters) - The parents of a Colorado boy thought to have floated away in a homemade helium balloon will plead guilty to criminal charges of staging the incident in a publicity-seeking hoax, their lawyer said on Thursday.

Richard and Mayumi Heene agreed to the plea deal under threat that prosecutors would seek to deport the boy's mother, a Japanese citizen, if she were convicted of more serious charges in the case, defense attorney David Lane said.

Mayumi Heene will plead guilty on Friday to a misdemeanor charge of false reporting to authorities, while her husband will enter a guilty plea to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant, Lane said in a statement.

Read the rest.