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Ghostbusters Halloween getup alarms airport security

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Eric Velleca didn’t even have to don his Halloween costume to garner some explosive attention.

His getup, stashed in a trunk, tripped an explosives detector during a baggage screening at Palm Beach International Airport.

Velleca, 28, was pulled off his United Airlines flight to Chicago and questioned by investigators on Wednesday while a bomb squad inspected the trunk carrying three costumes patterned after the outfits worn in the film ‘‘Ghostbusters.’’

The trunk contained PVC pipes, radios, cell phones, batteries with wires attached and car distributor caps to be used to assemble the ‘‘proton packs’’ for costumes he and two friends wanted to wear for a party.

Officials had discussed blowing up the trunk but decided against it, Velleca said. He said officials briefly considered pressing charges against him, but they were polite and professional throughout the ordeal.

Lauren Stover, regional spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, said officials had no choice but to act as if it were a threat.

Casinos tapped to give vaccines to elderly gamblers

NEW LONDON, Conn. — Want to stay healthy this winter? Try a trip to the casino.

As another flu season starts, several organizations are targeting casinos with their large numbers of elderly visitors as places to administer vaccines.

‘‘It’s an ideal place,’’ said Susan Peak, the wellness coordinator at the Visiting Nurse’s Association of Central Connecticut, which administered flu and pneumonia shots at the Mohegan Sun Casino Wednesday.

Promoting vaccinations for gamblers and employees is also good for business, said casino spokesmen and health care workers.

Kay O’Shea, 73, of Massachusetts, said she typically comes to the casino once a week. The one-stop gambling and inoculation is ‘‘killing two birds with one stone,’’ she said.

Emu leads pest control on a chase through Pensacola

PENSACOLA, Fla. — A 6-foot-tall emu led a half-dozen pest control workers on a 90-minute chase through woods and brush before the flightless bird was snared and then gang-tackled.

Gene Ham has caught raccoons, opossums, coyotes, deer, squirrels, foxes and other critters in his job with Jones/Hill Pest Control, but Tuesday’s chase was his first encounter with an emu, an ostrich-like bird native to Australia.

‘‘That was by far the toughest thing we’ve ever caught,’’ Ham said. ‘‘It was quick, and it put up a tough fight once we caught it.’’

The bird will be quarantined for at least 30 days and get veterinary care before joining other emus at The Zoo, said zoo president Pat Quinn.

It may have escaped from an emu ranch or have been deliberately released, Quinn said. Emus are raised mainly for their lean but beef-like meat.

Emus feed on grasses, insects and sometimes small reptiles in the wild. They can run up to 40 mph and deliver lethal blows with their feet.

Reports from Daily Bruin wire services.