Stuck fliers' prank video prompts airport security questions

The video includes a scene in which two men have fun at an empty American Airlines gate at Dallas-Forth Worth International.Clip posted online shows two men stuck at Dallas-Fort Worth InternationalThey race through empty terminal corridors, pound on computer at gateThey also enter a closed restaurant, and one of the men appears to pour himself a beerAirport: Security was watching but did not feel the need to stop the men

(CNN) -- A viral video showing two men horsing around in an empty airport is getting a lot of laughs and attention online but also raising questions about security at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

The clip, called "STUCK," was posted this week on Vimeo.com by a user identifying himself as Joe Ayala.

"While on our way home from Formula Drift Palm Beach, Larry Chen and I found ourselves stranded over night in the Dallas airport as our flights home were canceled. The following is a brief summary of the events that took place that night," the user writes.

The video shows the men racing through airport's empty terminal corridors in airport wheelchairs while a janitor who is vacuuming gives them a puzzled look.

They also try out the public address system at American Airlines Gate A14 and pound the keyboard of one of its computers. One of the men even does a handstand in the background.

They throw soap at each other in a bathroom and spin on the moving handrails of escalators.

But in one of the video's most talked-about scenes, they enter a closed restaurant, and one of the men appears to pour himself a glassful of beer on tap, which he drinks in one gulp.

Ayala and Chen are automotive photographers who had $30,000 worth of camera equipment with them when they were stuck so they decided to make the most of it, according to Jalopnik.com, a website that covers the automotive industry and interviewed the men.

"It was definitely the most fun I've had in an airport," Chen told the site.

"I wasn't actually going out to steal beer," he said in reference to the restaurant scene. "I washed the cup and put it back in the fridge. I wanted to leave no trace. I didn't want to cause any trouble. Next time we go to that airport I'll get a beer and leave a $20 tip."

The incident took place on June 5 and involved those two men only, said David Magana, manager of public affairs at Dallas-Fort Worth International.

Although it may appear they didn't have any security around them, they were being watched, Magana said.

"It's important to note that security agents observed the two filmmakers at several points during the making of the video. Because the filmmakers were presenting no threat to themselves, to others or to flight safety, and were causing no damage, there was no imperative to curtail their activities," Magana said in a statement.

"DFW Airport, together with its security partners, maintains a high level of security at all times, and at no time did the filmmakers' activities present any level of danger or threat to flight safety. And by the way, they also picked up after themselves, including the restroom."

The video did point out the need to better secure the restaurant seen in the clip, and that issue is being addressed immediately, the airport said.

The two men do not face any legal trouble, Magana added.

Still, a member of airport's board of directors expressed unease about the prank to CNN affiliate KTVT-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth.

"It's not funny. It's not going to happen again as far as I'm concerned. It should not have happened because it gives the perception the airport is sitting out there unguarded and that's why I was concerned, and am still concerned," Betty Culbreath told the station.

CNN

Arsenic scare prompts evacuation in Australia (AFP)

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian officials on Sunday urged residents and visitors to a remote outback cattle station to leave, after a number were found to have high levels of arsenic in their blood.

The Northern Territory coroner has declared Mount Bundy Station, 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of Darwin, a restricted area and called for the 140 residents to be evacuated.

"The evacuation was a precautionary measure to ensure people's safety and limit any further people from being potentially exposed to the arsenic source," Darwin Police Commander Kym Davies said.

A 17-year-old boy from Mount Bundy Station died in May, and while no official cause of death has been identified, arsenic poisoning is thought to have contributed to the death.

Eight other long-term residents of the station have been found to have elevated levels of arsenic in their system, police said, adding that the cattle station would remain closed until the arsenic source was found.

"Prolonged exposure is usually needed to record elevated levels of arsenic," said Northern Territory Chief Health Officer Doctor Barbara Paterson.

"All of the eight people who have recorded elevated arsenic levels have received medical attention and will be offered follow-up attention."

Arsenic is naturally occurring and chronic exposure to the element is linked with cancers of the liver, kidney, bladders and skin, as well as heart disease.

Fatal arsenic poisoning is rare in Australia, with a Royal Darwin Hospital spokeswoman saying there were only two such deaths between 1964 and 2007.

Yahoo! News

Levee breach near the Missouri-Iowa border prompts evacuations

(CNN) -- A levee breach along the swollen Missouri River prompted the evacuation Sunday of about 600 people in the area between the river and Hamburg, Iowa, officials said.

Residents were told they needed to leave within 24 hours.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported the breach occurred Sunday morning on a levee located in Atchison County, Missouri, near Hamburg.

Crews worked furiously to repair the breach, which Gen. Derek Hill, head of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, described as a boil, believed to be less than two inches in diameter.

He said the evacuation order was made as a precaution, in case the boil develops into a full-blown breach.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for southwest Iowa Sunday. If the levee fails, Interstate 29 and parts of Hamburg would likely be flooded, it said.

The cause of the breach was not immediately clear.

Crews were using a helicopter to pick up sandbags and fly them out over the levee, Hill said.

"No guarantees, but we certainly hope it will (work)," he said, noting the technique has been used before.

iReport: Are you there? Share photos, video

The levee breach follows weeks of high flows and record releases from dams in Montana and the Dakotas, according to the Corps. Heavy rains and snow pack runoff could result in near-record flooding along parts of the Missouri River this year.

CNN

Bin Laden death prompts questions about legality

GENEVA (AP) — The legality of U.S. forces shooting an unarmed Osama bin Laden hinges on a highly contentious and long-debated question: Is anti-terrorism part of a military campaign or a law-enforcement effort?

German newspapers show pictures Wednesday relating to Osama bin Laden's death. Bin Laden's killing has sparked controversy in Germany whether such an execution-style action was appropriate.

In war, enemy combatants who don't explicitly surrender are considered legitimate targets, international experts said. Bin Laden's killing in a military context would be legal under the scenario officially put out by the White House Wednesday ? that bin Laden was unarmed but tried to resist being taken in.

In contrast, international human rights law dictates that police must use the greatest possible effort to capture suspects alive, barring direct threats to the lives of officers or civilians.

"There is a higher obligation not to use lethal force," said Andrea Prasow, senior counsel in Human Rights Watch's Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program.

The Obama administration strongly emphasized Wednesday that bin Laden's slaying by a Navy SEAL team was part of a legitimate military operation, with Attorney General Eric Holder telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that the shooting was justified as an action of "national self-defense" against a lawful military target. The U.S. position appeared to strengthen during the day as U.S. officials told the Associated Press that the SEALs killed bin Laden after they saw him appear to lunge for a weapon.

The officials, who were briefed on the operation, say several weapons were found in the room where the terror chief died, including AK-47s and personal side arms.

International experts said there was widespread disagreement about whether al-Qaeda members such as bin Laden are legitimate military targets.

The U.N.'s independent investigator on extrajudicial killings, Christof Heyns, said this week that there was "considerable dispute in legal circles as to whether we are dealing with an armed conflict in respect of al-Qaeda in Pakistan."

The International Committee of the Red Cross was holding a meeting on the issue Thursday and declined to comment beforehand.

Louise Doswald-Beck, a former legal chief for the Red Cross said, however, that bin Laden was clearly not an enemy combatant.

"He was basically head of a terrorist criminal network, which means that you're not really looking at the law of armed conflict but at lethal action against a dangerous criminal," she said.

There has been virtually no discussion in international legal circles of launching an investigation into bin Laden's death that could result in the prosecution of anyone involved. In many countries, however, the debate about the legitimacy of the killing could influence perceptions about U.S. foreign policy.

Doswald-Beck, who teaches law at Geneva's Graduate Institute, said only an independent investigation of bin Laden's body would be able to prove exactly how he died, and that had been rendered virtually impossible by the destruction of forensic evidence when he was buried at sea.

A U.S. official said the burial decision was made after concluding that it would have been difficult to find a country willing to accept bin Laden's remains. There was also concern that a grave site could have become a rallying point for militants.

"I think questions should be asked as to why they dumped him at sea, because that makes it impossible to conduct an independent investigation," Doswald-Beck said.

The call for more information on the raid gained added weight with a statement from the U.N.'s top human rights official.

"This was a complex operation, and it would be helpful if we knew the precise facts surrounding his killing," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. "The United Nations has consistently emphasized that all counterterrorism acts must respect international law."

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Salmonella potential prompts cucumber recall

North Carolina's L&M Company issued the recallFederal inspectors found salmonella in cucumbers in FloridaThe cucumbers in question were shipped to nine states

(CNN) -- A North Carolina produce company has issued a recall for cucumbers because they could be contaminated with salmonella.

Raleigh-based L&M Companies, Inc. said it distributed 1,590 bulk cartons of the cucumbers in question between March 30 and April 7 to New York, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Nebraska. Texas and Wyoming.

The recalled cartons are marked Nature's Delight and contain the Lot # PL-RID-002990 on the side of the carton. Only this one lot is being recalled.

The nationwide recall Friday came after the U.S. Food & Drug Administration inspectors in mid-April found salmonella on a randomly selected sample of cucumbers in a cooler at Four Seasons Produce of Central Florida.

"Despite the limited direct distribution of the one recalled lot, L&M Companies is issuing a nationwide recall out of an abundance of caution because the company recognizes the possibility that wholesale customers could have redistributed the product in states beyond those listed above," a company statement said.

Salmonella infection is a common bacterial disease that affects the intestinal tract. People become infected most frequently through contaminated water or food sources.

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