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A Connecticut bakery had an unwelcome visitor

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

You can already imagine the movie pitch - "Cupcake Bear." Staffers at Taste by Spellbound bakery in Avon, Conn., were loading a delivery van with some of their wares when they heard a scream from an employee - there's a bear in the garage. Miriam Stephens, the bakery owner, wrote in an Instagram post that they tried to scare off the bear with shouts. But hungry bears may be indifferent to verbal intimidation. The bear stayed long enough to eat about 60 cupcakes - no record of what flavors the bear may have favored - and some coconut cake.

Bakery staff say the bear was finally induced to leave when they honked the horn of a car. But how do they know he just wasn't full, and was setting out to find 60 cups of coffee? There is surveillance video of the bear's bakery visit, but no photos on their Instagram post. We do not have video or pictures, wrote Miriam Stephens. That was the last thing on our mind. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.