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Black bear killed inside Montana home

CHOTEAU, Mont., Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A Montana rancher said he shot and killed a black bear when he arrived home to find the animal wandering around inside of his house.

Lane Yeager of Choteau said he arrived home around 9 p.m. Monday to find the bear, which was tagged, had rifled through his pantry and was exploring his home, the Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune reported Wednesday.

"It was dark out. I was headed for the light switch when it ran across ahead of me," Yeager said. "That's when I knew I had an issue."

"I killed it so someone else wouldn't have to," he said. "We're fat with grizzlies but the black bear was off the beaten path."

Mike Madel, a grizzly bear management specialist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the bear, a young male, had entered the house by breaking through a window screen.

"A screen is not much of a barrier if they can smell food," Madel said.

He said the animal was probably in the home for about an hour before Yeager arrived home.

Police catch robber who fled on bike

MEDFORD, N.Y., Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Police in New York state said they arrested a man who allegedly robbed a bank and attempted to get away on a bicycle.

Medford police said Angel Delgado, 29, used a threatening note claiming he had a gun to rob a Chase bank around 9:20 a.m. EDT Tuesday, and then fled on a bicycle with an unspecified amount of cash, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

Delgado got about 2 miles on the bike before officers chased him down and arrested him in Bellport, police said.

Delgado was charged with first-degree robbery.

Probation for theft of 3,500 Pillow Pets

CARLSBAD, Calif., Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A California man who stole $84,000 worth of Pillow Pets toys from a warehouse was sentenced to three years of probation.

Danny Ray Wright, 42, of Carlsbad, was sentenced Tuesday to three years of probation and 15 days of community service for stealing the more than 3,500 toys from an Oceanside warehouse during the course of several months beginning in January, the North County Times, Escondido, Calif., reported Wednesday.

Prosecutors said Wright, who formerly had a business relationship as a contractor with Pillow Pets manufacturer CJ Products, sold $11,000 worth of the toys on eBay.

Wright pleaded guilty to grand theft of personal property.

Apparent meteor spotted over New England

PEABODY, Mass., Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The American Meteor Society said an apparent meteor spotted over Massachusetts and Maine likely ended up over the ocean.

Mike Hankey, operations manager of the meteor society, said the brightly colored object was spotted in the sky between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday, with witnesses variously reporting it as red, green or yellow, The Boston Globe reported Wednesday.

"Based on the witness reports, it looks like the fireball was headed mostly west to east and probably ended somewhere over the ocean," Hankey said.

Hankey said the object is believed to have been a type of meteor known as a "bolide" fireball, which the society defines as "a special type of fireball, which explodes in a bright terminal flash at its end, often with visible fragmentation."