Another glorious morning in culturally diverse North Carolina. Sun shining, babies smiling: all is right with the world. But wait! Someone's filming a bridge! And he looks Middle Eastern! Or, at least, he's not white, and that's Middle Eastern enough. Can fiery death be far behind?

Soon that anonymous tip was called in to the Orange County police. Within moments, an APB was out on a red Chrysler minivan. The van was spotted at a Durham County service station and was quickly descended on by both Durham and Orange County authorities, along with a couple of FBI men.

The van, it turned out, harboured a family from the great Middle Eastern nation of Mexico. While awaiting the arrival of a Spanish-speaking interpreter, authorities reviewed the suspicious videotapes, which included such harrowing images as a sunrise and the van's speedometer. Authorities hauled the family in for questioning, but all were released once it was clear "they were not doing anything wrong."

» Scott Saxon