You want to be very careful when you go on an airplane trip with children.

Remember the famous case of the McCallister family in 1990? In the rush of the family leaving for Paris, a young Macaulay Culkin was forgotten and left "Home Alone." We all had to endure three sequels before that nightmare was finally over.

The Web site travelingwithkids.com has a checklist for the bazillion things you need to remember before you go flying with little ones. A whole three months ahead of time, the site recommends you do everything from visit the travel agent with your child to check with the airlines on their car seat and sky cot policies.

Then, a month before you take off, the site suggests you find a container and create an in-flight first aid kit. Of course, the kit can't contain much more than Band-Aids. Airport security won't allow you to take any of the usual contents of a first aid kit on board, such as tubes of lotion or tiny scissors.

You hear the rooster crow. You see the sun come up.

All hail the chicken god!

That's the problem with observational evidence. It can be very misleading, especially when you're desperately groping for answers to life's most profound mysteries. This is how myths and legends are born.

I understand. Having a son with autism, I bought into much of the folklore swirling around the disorder. It helped that people with initials after their names told me it was caused by mercury in childhood vaccines, food allergies, metal poisoning and just about everything except evil spirits.

Stop the presses. Literally.

Students at Mounds View High School in Minnesota are refusing to put out a school paper if Principal Julie Wikelius insists on approving each issue before it goes to press.

The Student Press Law Center reports student journalists published a story about two classmates who were disciplined after posting a "joke" picture of a teacher on Facebook.

Wikelius confiscated copies of The Viewer, the school newspaper, and insisted on reviewing future issues before they go to press.

Such prior restraint is a violation of the First Amendment in the adult world; the 1931 U.S. Supreme Court case of Near vs. Minnesota specifically addressed the issue.

Students in public schools once enjoyed the same First Amendment rights as everyone else. But in the 1988 Supreme Court case of Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier, justices ruled that public school districts -- as the publishers of their school newspapers -- have a right to censor content.

Someone saw the drowning death of a 21-month-old child as a chance to cash in.

Jessica Struthers and Matt Bock of Blaine, Wash., had been mourning the death of their daughter, Ava, for less than a year when they found out someone stole her identity to claim her as a tax deduction.

Now ABC News reports the grieving couple must prove to the IRS that Ava really was their daughter.

The IRS wants information, but it's a one-way street.

"We were shocked. Who does this?" Struthers tells ABC News. "And of course, we want to know who, and they won't tell you."

You pick up the mail, and it's the same old stuff. Bills, bills, bills, credit card offer, letter from the President of the United States.

What?!

Tiffany Smith did a double take. The last thing the Detroit mother expected when she went to the mailbox last week was a personal note from President Obama.

"And this is our son Hubert. We won him in a raffle."

It could happen.

They're giving away some wild door prizes this weekend -- including in vitro fertilization treatments, two years of storage for frozen embryos and discounts on adoption services -- at the annual family-building conference of the Minnesota chapter of RESOLVE, a national infertility advocacy group.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports sessions will focus on medical and emotional issues associated with infertility and adoption. Topics include new medical treatments, legal issues and parenting options.

Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, who brought kabuki makeup, fire breathing and 7-inch tongues to rock 'n' roll when they founded the rock band Kiss in 1973, have signed a deal with Canada's E1 Television to develop a new kids' program.

The New York Times reports the half-hour comedy will introduce children to the band's music and stage personas. Simmons says in a press statement that this is going be a very special show.

In other words, don't expect the Wiggles.