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The Balloon Boy Story
The balloon boy story started to unwind much like a tragedy, but then turned into a strange chain of events. Richard Heene and his wife Mayumi had this big make-shift balloon in their back yard. Since the two are weather chasers, the giant balloon didn't seem so suspicious. It also didn't seem strange that Richard and Mayumi wanted to test the balloon - but that's where the innocence ends. The balloon boy story officially "launched" when Richard Heene pulled the tether to release the balloon. It was only supposed to float 100 feet above the air. Mayumi "forgot" to anchor the tethers and the balloon took off. The balloon story gets better when one of 6-year-old Falcon Heene's brothers exclaims "Falcon is in there!" As Richard Heene scrambles to call the FAA and the media before calling 911, Falcon is assumed to be floating in the sky. The country watched in terror as a silver UFO-like balloon zipped through the sky at 25 miles per hour, thousands of feet above the air. About 50 miles from the Heene's Fort Collins, Colorado home the balloon finally made its descent. The balloon boy story took a turn for the worse when it was determined that there was no 6-year-old boy in the balloon. A couple of days later, it was revealed after much speculation and an awkward interview with Wolf Blitzer that the whole balloon boy story was a hoax played out by a family that wanted their own reality TV show. The balloon boy story was orchestrated so that the family would be in a better position to receive their own reality show.
Tuesday, October 20th 2009 @ 5:33 pm
Rihanna
Rihanna is back with a new album (Rated R, which hits stores on November 23) and a new single in "Russian Roulette," which made its debut this morning. Though many people (especially those of us in the MTV Newsroom) were expecting a hyped-up banger, "Russian Roulette" is actually a slow-burning ballad that puts the confessional lyrics front and center. Still, it retains the same sort of attitude and atmosphere that has made Rihanna such a definitive artist.
Tuesday, October 20th 2009 @ 5:12 pm