World
Southern California man gets an unwanted housemate: A black bear in his crawl space
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ken Johnson, 63, just got a new roommate last week — a black bear living in the crawl space under his home in Southern California.
The bear was seen on video footage clambering out from beneath his house Tuesday. He had installed a camera near the space back in June when he saw what looked like damage caused by an animal.
Nothing showed up on the camera until last week. And now he’s trying to figure out how to make it leave.
“It’s a huge bear,” Johnson said, describing it as tall as a table and bigger than the trash bins in front of his house. “It’s really unnerving because I don’t know if he’s going to tear everything up under there, I don’t know how to get him out.”
Johnson lives in Altadena, an unincorporated community northeast of Los Angeles that was devastated by the Eaton Fire in January. The fire killed at least 19 people and scorched thousands of structures, but it also tore through the Angeles National Forest, displacing wildlife from their natural habitats and destroying their food supply.
Shortly after the fire, at least two bears were found taking refuge in people’s evacuated homes in Altadena. State officials removed a massive, 525-pound (240-kilogram) adult male bear from a crawl space under a man’s home in January because utility crews could not get in to restore his power.
The bear was too large to be tranquilized, so employees from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife set a bear trap before taking it to the Angeles National Forest to be released with a tracking collar, the state agency wrote on social media. In February, another homeowner found himself with an unwelcome roommate, snapping pictures of a bear lounging by the pool and bringing food back to the crawl space at night, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“In the foothills of bear country, it’s important to close crawl spaces with bear-proof material in advance of winter months to discourage bears from denning and damaging property,” the CDFW wrote on social media after that incident.
While it’s not cold enough in Southern California for bears to hibernate, they will engage in a behavior called “denning,” where they take long naps but may emerge periodically to eat.
Since Tuesday, Johnson’s bear has come and gone from his house several times. He can hear “all kinds of clunking and booming” under the floorboards, and the bear rummaged through his trash cans on Sunday evening before retreating back to its chosen home.
It has dark brown fur with a tan snoot and two tan marks on its chest. Other neighbors have seen the same bear around the area before and call it Barry, although Johnson said he doesn’t know if the bear is male or female.
Johnson reached out to local law enforcement regarding the bear after it growled at him when he was changing his camera batteries. They told him to call state officials, but he was eventually directed to fill a form out online reporting a bear sighting. He checked a box for “Property Damage” and wrote, “It’s living under my house.”
So far, he hasn’t gotten a response.
CDFW spokesperson Cort Klopping said Monday afternoon that field experts were working on two other bear incidents in the region and would hopefully be able to respond to Johnson “soon.” He confirmed that the yellow tag on the bear’s ear indicated it was the state agency’s jurisdiction and not federal.
Bears in crawl spaces are a common occurrence this time of year, with teams potentially responding to five of these incidents in a week, Klopping said.
If the bear isn’t removed soon, Johnson mused, he might have to take matters into his own hands.
“The plan is, I’m going to buy a bunch of dinner rolls, and line them down the street up to the hole, and have some sandbags ready,” Johnson said. “When he comes down the street to get the dinner rolls, throw sandbags in there and cover it with pepper spray, and just hope he stays away.”
World
Video: ‘We Are Orphans’: Shiite Muslims Protest the Killing of Khamenei
new video loaded: ‘We Are Orphans’: Shiite Muslims Protest the Killing of Khamenei
By Nader Ibrahim and Malachy Browne
March 1, 2026
World
3 US service members killed, 5 seriously wounded in Iran operation
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Three U.S. service members were killed and five others were seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Sunday morning.
In addition, several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions and are in the process of being returned to duty, CENTCOM announced.
“The situation is fluid, so out of respect for the families, we will withhold additional information, including the identities of our fallen warriors, until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified,” CENTCOM said.
Smoke rises over the city center after an Israeli army launches 2nd wave of airstrikes on Iran on Saturday. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
World
At least nine killed after Iranian strike on Israel’s Beit Shemesh
BREAKINGBREAKING,
The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service says that 20 others were injured by the impact.
Published On 1 Mar 2026
At least nine people have been killed after an Iranian missile strike on the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, as Tehran continued to launch retaliatory attacks a day after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes.
The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service said on Sunday that nine people were killed and 20 other people were injured by the impact, including two in serious condition.
The Israeli military said in a statement that search and rescue teams, and a helicopter to evacuate those injured are currently operating in Beit Shemesh, with the army’s spokesperson adding that the circumstances of the impact from the Iranian ballistic missile are under review.
More to come …
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