The parents who pulled the balloon boy hoax in hopes of landing a reality TV show were sentenced to jail Wednesday — 90 days for him, 20 days for her — and barred from profiting from their newfound celebrity status for the next four years.

Choking back tears, Richard Heene apologized in court for the frenzy he caused when he claimed his 6-year-old son Falcon had floated away in a giant helium balloon shaped like a flying saucer.

"I'm very, very sorry. And I want to apologize to all the rescue workers out there, and the people that got involved in the community," said the 48-year-old Heene, a UFO-obsessed backyard scientist who turned to storm-chasing and reality TV after his Hollywood acting career bombed.

The sentencing was the culmination of a saga that transfixed the nation in October with the sight of the silvery balloon hurtling through the sky on live television. In the end, it was all a publicity stunt by a family broke and desperate for attention and money after networks kept rejecting their reality TV show pitches.

Karen Cunagin Sypher's attorney, James Earhart, entered the not guilty plea Tuesday, a month after a federal grand jury handed up a second indictment against her.

The new charges stem from a police report Sypher filed accusing Pitino of raping her. The FBI, Louisville police and prosecutors have said there was no basis for her rape allegations.

Sypher entered not guilty pleas in May to charges of trying to extort money from Pitino and lying to the FBI. She is accused of demanding college tuition for her children, her house to be paid off and $10 million.

A lawyer for a Las Vegas woman is calling for criminal charges against hospital officials who he says ignored his client in the emergency room so long that she went home and gave birth to a premature baby who died.

Attorney Jacob Hafter on Tuesday accused University Medical Center administrators and nursing officials of criminal neglect for failing to treat 25-year-old Roshunda Abney. He also accused them of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Abney's premature daughter.

Hafter says he doesn't trust the Clark County district attorney to prosecute because the public hospital is owned by the county.

There was no immediate response Tuesday from state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto.

A UMC spokesman says the hospital is investigating the Nov. 30 incident, and cooperating with ongoing probes by outside agencies.

Michigan asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to sever a century-old connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River system to prevent Asian carp from invading the lakes and endangering their $7 billion fishery.

State Attorney General Mike Cox filed a lawsuit with the nation's highest court against Illinois, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. They operate canals and other waterways that open into Lake Michigan.

Bighead and silver carp from Asia have been detected in those waterways after migrating north in the Mississippi and Illinois rivers for decades.

Officials poisoned a section of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal this month to prevent the carp from getting closer to Lake Michigan while an electrical barrier was taken down for maintenance.

But scientists say DNA found north of the barrier suggest at least some of the carp have gotten through and may be within 6 miles of Lake Michigan. If so, the only other obstacle between them and the lake are shipping locks and gates, which open frequently to grant passage for cargo vessels.

The lawsuit asks for the locks and waterways to be closed immediately as a stopgap measure, echoing a call by 50 members of Congress and environmental groups last week. But the suit goes further, also requesting a permanent separation between the carp-infested waters and the lakes.

The Manhattan federal appeals court on Wednesday reissued its decision upholding the conviction of ex-lawyer Lynne Stewart, saying it has serious doubts whether her sentence of two years and four months is reasonable.

The 70-year-old Stewart was locked up last month after the court said she should begin serving the penalty for her 2005 conviction on charges she let a jailed Egyptian terrorism client's messages reach his followers. The court also directed she be resentenced.

A defense lawyer for Stewart hasn't returned a telephone call from The Associated Press seeking comment. Prosecutors won't comment.

North Carolina's appeals court on Tuesday upheld a statewide ban on video poker machines except those operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in their Smoky Mountains casino.

A three-judge court panel ruled unanimously that a 2006 state law giving the tribe exclusive gaming rights within North Carolina does not violate a federal Indian gaming law as an amusement machine vendor had argued.

The tribe operates Harrah's Cherokee Casino, which attracts more than 3.5 million visitors a year and generates revenues of more than $250 million annually. Tribal members in June received checks for $3,892 in the first of this year's twice-a-year payments.

The ruling overturned a February decision by Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning that sided with the gaming company and could have again legalized video poker machines in all 100 counties.

But the appeals court said the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows states to grant tribes preferential gaming rights in hopes the revenues would expand tribal self-government, economic development, and political stability.

A California appeals court on Monday rejected Roman Polanski's bid to have his 32-year-old sex case dismissed, but cited grave concerns over possible judicial and prosecutorial misconduct.

The California 2nd District Court of Appeal announced it had denied the petition, with justices saying they are "deeply concerned" about the probable misconduct by a now-deceased judge and a retired prosecutor who advised him.

"We encourage all participating parties to do their utmost to ensure that this matter now draws to a close in a manner that fully addresses the issues of due process and fundamental fairness raised by the events of long ago," the court's opinion stated.

While a blow to Polanski's efforts to have the case dismissed and win his freedom from Swiss authorities, the ruling cast serious doubt on how the case was handled.

The new focus ignited public passions, with some angrily calling for Polanski to be imprisoned. Others, including some colleagues in the film industry, have advocated for his freedom.

The appeals court faulted Polanski for fleeing the country rather than seeking legal remedies at the time. But it also said repeatedly it is time for the case to be over.

It raised a number of potential options for Polanski, including seeking sentencing in absentia, but it did not require further action by the trial judge. Polankski is under house arrest at his chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland, fighting extradition.

Attorneys for the fugitive director argued earlier this month that misconduct in the case was grounds for dismissal of a charge of having unlawful sex with a minor. They also contended Polanski didn't need to be present to argue for dismissal.