A POPULAR grocery store chain has left shoppers scratching their heads after opening two locations on the same street.

Trader Joe’s quietly launched a brand-new store, right across from one that’s been serving customers for decades.

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Trader Joe’s has stunned shoppers by opening a brand-new store (stock image)[/caption]

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Both stores operate on the same schedule, from 8 am to 9 pm daily (stock image)[/caption]

The strange setup is playing out in Sherman Oaks, California, where both locations now sit steps apart.

The new store opened on June 6 and is already being nicknamed “Sherman Oaks too” by the retailer itself.

Despite being neighbors, both stores have identical hours and are currently operating as usual.

Both stores operate on the same schedule, from 8 am to 9 pm daily.

“We plan to keep both Sherman Oaks stores open,” Trader Joe’s spokesperson Nakia Rohde told Patch.

Locals have been stunned by the decision, with some criticizing what they think is an “insane” setup.

“Want to know something actually insane?” shopper Shauna Green said June 7 on TikTok, pointing to both stores in view.

The video racked up over 65,000 views and over 2,000 likes.

“Literally across the street, still open. And I just asked the worker, I’m like, ‘How long is the other Trader Joe’s gonna stay open?’ and she said, ‘Um, they just signed their lease.’”

She said she might’ve understood if the new store opened elsewhere in the city, but being across the street felt “excessive.”

“It’s not a bad problem to have; it’s just a perplexing situation,” she told TODAY.com.

Online, the decision drew comparisons to Starbucks, known for its clustered store locations in busy areas.

“There are three Starbucks in Westchester by LAX, two Standalone and one in Ralph’s all across from each other,” one user wrote.

Some speculated it was a sign of “chainification” overtaking neighborhoods.

But Trader Joe’s said there’s enough foot traffic to justify both stores, at least for now.

Matt Judd, team lead at the “Sherman Oaks too” location, said the company originally planned to replace the older store, as reported by NBC local affiliate WCAU.

“I think all along we intended to close the one original one that had been there since 1973,” Judd said.

“It’s a bit of an undersized store and then somewhere along the line, we decided maybe we could see how two goes for a little bit.”

He said the chain has had a “great relationship” with local customers for 52 years.

The new store is “about 40% bigger,” he added, with wider aisles, better refrigeration, and more frozen foods.

“I think it’s counterintuitive to a lot of people that we would want to diminish the business in any of our stores,” Tara Miller, Trader Joe’s marketing VP told Patch.

“If there are too many people, customers aren’t having a good time, crew members probably aren’t having a good time, and that just makes the Trader Joe’s experience a little bit less fun,” she added.

Customers have already started noting upgrades at the new site, including a parking garage.

Green said she welcomed the better parking, which has long been a sore spot for TJ’s fans.

Trader Joe’s didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.

A TRAVELER is warning others about this everyday item that nearly got her an $800 fine after being stopped by the TSA.

Content creator Discovering with Dina shared a TikTok of herself at the baggage claim area of an airport with a suitcase and carry-on.

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A TikToker said she was threatened with a hefty fine after making a small blunder at the airport[/caption]

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Discovering with Dina on TikTok said she forgot to declare an apple from Amsterdam in customs[/caption]

“She doesn’t know it yet but a K9 is about to walk up to her and smell the apple that she forgot to declare in customs causing her to almost get fined $500 and get Global Entry revoked,” Dina wrote over the clip.

She explained her situation in the caption, warning others, “DON’T make this mistake!”

Dina said a customs agent told her, “I could fine you $500 right now and revoke your global entry.”

“I was standing there waiting for my luggage and a Customs & Border Control Officer came up to me, saying the K9 is smelling food and asking me if I had anything,” Dina wrote.

“Shoot… I forgot I had an apple on me from Amsterdam that I was supposed to declare at customs.”

After the blunder, Dina said her passport was confiscated and her bags were checked by airport officials.

Dina could’ve been hit with another $300 fine for lying about the apple, and she would have gotten “another $500 fine for actually having the apple and Global Entry.”

She shared some tips on how to avoid making the same mistake, like “declaring purchases over $800, cash including travelers checks over $10,000, [and] ALL food, plants, and animal products.”

“When in doubt, declare it to avoid fines and confiscation,” wrote Dina.

Thankfully, Dina was only given a warning since this was her first offense, but she said it was a reminder to take the rules seriously.

“I genuinely forgot about the apple, and declaring it wasn’t top of mind since they stopped having you fill out those forms on the plane,” she wrote.

“I also didn’t know you are supposed to declare all food, even if it’s processed.”

Several other users shared similar experiences in Dina’s comment section.

“Just lost global entry and $500 over a plum that was completely unintentional,” wrote one person.

Another wrote: “I legit declared an unopened can of Diet Coke bc [sic] they made it seem like I’d be sentenced to the electric chair.”

“Yes! I tell people this, bringing in agriculture is like a step away from being a terrorist,” wrote a third person.

“It is a big deal.”

Earlier this month, two Chinese nationals were charged with trying to smuggle a fungus into the US, which is considered a potential agroterrorism weapon.

University of Michigan researcher Yunqing Jian and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, received federal charges after allegedly posing “an imminent threat to public safety,” said  US Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. in a statement.

According to the US Customs and Border Protection, many agricultural products from certain countries are barred from the US “because they may carry plant pests and foreign animal diseases.”

“All agriculture items must be declared and are subject to inspection by a CBP Agriculture Specialist at ports of entry to ensure they are free of plant pests and foreign animal diseases,” the agency said.

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Dina was stopped by a TSA agent, who said she could receive a fine for not declaring the apple and another one for lying about it[/caption]

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Other users shared similar experiences[/caption]

A DESPERATE man has asked for help locating his beloved truck.

After an unlucky trip to the dealership, the driver realized his truck had been stolen and was never returned.

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A driver is offering $1,500 for anyone who can help locate his missing truck[/caption]

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The 1994 ride was stolen from a Ford dealership in Ohio[/caption]

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Surveillance footage shows the truck drove off Sunday evening[/caption]

The Cincinnati man is still looking for his truck, which was stolen from a dealership in Ohio, as reported by Fox affiliate WXIX-TV.

The driver, Alex Derkson, learned that his truck was taken from the Northgate Ford Dealership on Sunday night, as per surveillance video.

The video showed that Derkson’s truck was used to steal a Fairfield trailer only one hour later.

The owner said the truck is deeply personal to him and worth a lot of money, too.

“I am offering a $1500 reward for information that ultimately leads to the truck’s hopefully in one piece return,” Derkson said.

“And obviously, I think that signifies how much this truck means to me.”

Derkson is offering a cash reward, $1,500, for any information that could reunite him with his truck.

“You can imagine that when they called me on Monday and said, ‘We don’t have your truck,’ it was a surreal, just a surreal moment,” he told WXIX-TV.

Derkson landed in this situation after dropping off his 1994 F-250 at Northgate Ford Dealership for service.

A couple of days later, the dealership called Derkson to inform him that his truck was missing.

The dealership revealed that the truck was stolen on Sunday night around 7:50 pm.

“I got a message saying that they couldn’t locate the truck. ‘Hey, we think the truck is stolen,’ which obviously is quite surprising to me,” Derkson said.

Surveillance footage obtained by WXIX-TV showed that the truck was driven to another location, roughly an hour later.

“As far as we know, the truck was driven off the lot in Northgate. It appears the truck may have been used in the commission of another crime out in Fairfield,” Derkson said.

The footage revealed that the truck pulled into a parking lot in Fairfield and then drove off with a Kauffman Tilt Bed trailer.

Derkson and the trailer owner filed a police report about their missing vehicles.

The truck owner also said his DMs on social media are open for anyone who has information about his truck.

Derkson said he’s been looking for a truck like this one for years and finally found it in October 2024.

“Usually these trucks rust out and they’re not typically in great condition. My ’94 F-250 is a perfect paint job, 77,000 miles, original tape deck,” he said.

Northgate Ford Dealership did not immediately reply to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.

KNEELING on all fours, black mini-dress riding up, Sabrina Carpenter pouts for the camera – her trademark platinum hair in the grip of a man’s fist as her hand lingers suggestively on his leg.

So, little wonder the cover image from the US singer’s up-coming album Man’s Best Friend, which she teased yesterday on Instagram, has sparked outrage.

While the former Disney Channel star has been praised in the past for “owning” her sexuality in a feminist way, it seems this latest display has gone too far for many.

One fan on X labelled it “straight-up Pornhub fantasy”, while a ­domestic violence charity issued a statement saying: “Sabrina Carpenter’s album cover isn’t edgy, it’s regressive.”

The Espresso singer had already caused controversy earlier this year with her eye-popping legs-akimbo performance in red lingerie at the Brits, which prompted more than 900 Ofcom complaints from viewers who thought her scantily clad writhing wrong for a pre-watershed audience.

Now, with her latest racy shot on the album cover, 26-year-old Sabrina is determined to send out a message that she has shed her Disney past in favour of a sexually charged image.

Which is all well and good were it not for Sabrina’s army of pre-teen fans who have helped propel her so quickly to stratospheric stardom.

Her last album Short N’ Sweet spawned a string of No1 singles and her tour sold out in minutes — with many children of primary school age among the concert-goers.

Nicknamed Polly Pocket by fans because of her tiny 5ft stature, Sabrina’s saccharinely sexy stage outfits, which often comprise lacy, pastel underwear, stockings and vintage baby-doll nighties, have been branded Lolita-like in the past.

That comparison to Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 novel about a professor fixated on a 12-year-old girl is one the artist embraced in a shoot for W mag.

She recreated an image from Stanley Kubrick’s film version of Lolita where 14-year-old actress Sue Lyons gets soaked in a garden by water sprinklers.

A friend told me recently how she had treated her daughter to tickets to see Sabrina’s performance at the BST In Hyde Park concert in London next month as a present for doing well in her recent Year 6 SAT exams.

But given Sabrina’s latest imagery, I for one won’t be in a rush to sing along with my 11-year-old to lyrics such as, “I told that boy to sit me down on all fours/I told that boy go faster, now I’m all sore” — a tweaked version of the lyrics to Nonsense, which she sang to an audience in Singapore last year.

The star has even described herself as “vulgar” and “obnoxiously horny”.

On her recent Short N’ Sweet tour it became a fan-favourite segment for her to mime a surprise sex act, while giant confetti cannons erupted in a suggestive way.

Of course, such pornographic posturing is certainly nothing new in the world of pop.

Sabrina’s shocking shenanigans come straight from a playbook used by everyone from Madonna, who famously simulated pleasuring herself on stage, to Christina Aguilera writhing around in knickers and backless chaps in her 2002 Dirrty video.

Britney Spears’ first ever mag cover shot caused a storm when she posed for Rolling Stone in 1999 lying on a bed in a bra, in a teenager-style bedroom, while clutching a Teletubby toy.

But in an age when OnlyFans porn star Bonnie Blue, 26, has become world-famous for depraved stunts such as sleeping with 1,000 men in a day, the overt selling of sex to young girls takes on a more worrying aspect.

Indeed, recent figures estimate close to four per cent of young women aged 18 to 34 are selling content on X-rated platform Only-Fans.

Sure, most won’t be behaving like Blue, but it exposes a trend toward women feeling compelled to sell themselves on the internet.

There are, of course, many fans who praise Sabrina as a woman in control of her own music and performances.

They applaud her sexual frankness and witty lyrics.

‘ANTI-TAYLOR SWIFT’

One tweet from a fan, following a sold-out concert last year, went viral. It read: “Sabrina Carpenter is a genius for how she embraces her sexuality but still keeps women as her target audience.

“Like, how is she performing in lingerie and I still feel like it’s not for men at all?

“I can’t comprehend it, but I love it.”

But I worry Sabrina’s latest album cover, with its overtones of subjugation, has gone far too far.

Coupled with growing fears about young boys being radicalised by Andrew Tate-style misogynistic bile online, which promotes slapping, hitting and keeping women “in their place”, is this a helpful image to push to young girls?

In a sense, Sabrina is carving out a niche for herself as something of an anti-Taylor Swift.

During Taylor’s smash-hit Eras tour last summer, where Sabrina was the support act, young fans adored her in ever-bigger numbers — but for showing emotional, not sexual, vulnerability.

While Taylor puts on a jaw-dropping show and is no stranger to donning a glitzy corset, by her own admission she has never thought of herself as sexy.

She once said: “In my life I don’t gravitate towards being edgy, sexy or cool.

“I just naturally am not any of those things.

“I’m imaginative, I’m smart and I’m hard-working — and those things are not necessarily prioritised by pop culture.”

But while the two singers may be different, they are also good friends.

Very like Taylor, though, Sabrina has heavily mined her own life for musical inspiration.

Sabrina dated Saltburn actor Barry Keoghan and even writhed with him on screen in the video for her hit Please Please Please, which tellingly included the lyric: “Heartbreak is one thing/ My ego’s another/I beg you don’t embarrass me, motherf***er.”

The star, who also dated singer Shawn Mendes, even took aim at her own dad — the opening track of her album Emails I Can’t Send is penned as an open letter to her father David after she found out he had cheated on her mum Elizabeth.

The couple are still together but in the song Sabrina claims his behaviour has caused her to fear boyfriends will cheat on her — and indeed, it has been rumoured that her split with Keoghan was prompted by his infidelity.

Her father did, though, encourage Sabrina’s talent from a young age.
Growing up in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, she and her three sisters were all home-schooled.

Aged just ten, Sabrina began posting videos of herself singing along to Christina Aguilera songs on YouTube — and soon after that her dad built her a recording studio.

In 2009, she came third in a singing contest run by Miley Cyrus, but her big break came when she was cast in Disney series Girl Meets World in 2013.

Her aunt is Nancy Cartwright, the actress behind the voice of Bart Simpson — another famous on-screen rebel who doesn’t care what the world thinks.

But Sabrina’s latest attempt to shock may have finally backfired.

Her brand of performative sexuality might please, please some — but certainly not me, I’m afraid.

A FORMER Hollywood sitcom glamour puss has been seen out and about in New York looking as chic as ever.

The sultry 60s TV star – who is still turning heads aged 91 – dazzled viewers on the much-loved show in the 1960s.

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Do you recognise this 1960s bombshell[/caption]

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The stunning actress played movie legend Ginger on Gilligan’s Island[/caption]

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TV characters The Skipper, Ginger Grant and Gilligan[/caption]

Her notable comedy character was originally meant for Jayne Mansfield who declined the role.

Ginger Grant actress Tina Louise is still the embodiment of glamour to this day.

The iconic sitcom star played movie legend Ginger on Gilligan’s Island from 1964 to 1967.

Set on a deserted island, she starred on the show about a colourful group of shipwrecked tourists.

The Hollywood pinup was known for her stunning figure and red hot hair.

The Golden Globe-winning actress starred in the 1958 movie God’s Little Acre and bagged the award for New Star Of The Year.

The star has been spotted in New York City’s Upper East Side and still wows with her svelte figure and chic appearance.

Wearing skinny jeans, a black top and jacket, she accessorised with black trainers and dramatic dark shades.

With her shoulder-length red hair still on display, the actress looked fit and healthy as she casually ran errands around Manhattan carrying a brolly and floral shopping bag.

Tina, who starred alongside Russell Johnson, Dawn Wells, Bob Denver, Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer and Alan Hale, Jr, is the last surviving Gilligan’s Island star.

The programme ran for three seasons and went onto make the 1977 movie Rescue From Gilligan’s Island and The Harlem Globetrotters On Gilligan’s Island.

However, Tina turned down the roles alongside her original cast members.

She starred in classics including The Trap, The Hangman, Day Of The Outlaw and For Those Who Think Young.

Not forgetting The Wrecking Crew, The Happy Ending, The Stepford Wives and alongside Stephen Baldwin, Burt Young, and Joseph D’Onofrio in 2017’s Tapestry.

The former Ginger Grant star said previously about playing the role: “I always enjoyed my work. I left a Broadway show to do it.

“The CBS casting director Ethel Winant called me at the theater, ‘Do you think you could play this Lucille Ball/Marilyn Monroe-type of character?’ I said yes.

“I got there and the director wanted it to be a more sarcastic kind of character. And so, then I didn’t even want to work on it anymore. I told him I wanted to quit.

“The head of the [CBS] organization called me into his office and he said, ‘We hear you want to leave.’ I explained to him that I didn’t want to play it and I didn’t think the show would be successful, changing the original idea of the character.”

She continued: “You just can’t go into people’s homes and dress somebody up like a doll and then have her to be not nice.

“So, he agreed with me and he got rid of the director after only a month, and he hired Richard Donner, who was fantastic.

“He had a great sense of humor and then the writers started writing for what I was supposed to be doing and the show became a hit, and I enjoyed the part.”

The actress became a tutor in 1996. She revealed in her memoir about her difficult childhood: “I didn’t have hugs. I didn’t have loving situations.”

She previously told fans: “I’ve been having fun doing press about my audiobook for the re-release of Sunday, my memoir written from my perspective as an 8-year-old.

“It’s really quite freeing and therapeutic to talk about it. The book is out now in various forms.”

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She enjoyed a rare day out in LA[/caption]

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Golden Globe-winning star Tina Louise in 1958[/caption]

TRAVIS and Jason Kelce have appeared to confirm personal news concerning their mother, Donna.

The Kansas City Chiefs star and Philadelphia Eagles icon shared the news after the NFL mom’s career announcement.

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Donna Kelce gives cookies to her NFL sons, Jason and Travis Kelce, at Super Bowl 57 in 2023[/caption]

Dave Shopland/Shutterstock

On Thursday morning, rumors circulated that Donna Kelce was a potential candidate to appear on season 4 of the TV gossip show The Traitors.

The rumors look to be true after the New Heights podcast account on X shared an old video of Travis and Jason speaking about their love of the program that is broadcast on Peacock.

“Reposting this for no reason whatsoever,” the caption read, along with a smirking emoji.

During the clip, Travis says to Jason, “Dude you would f***ing crush it on Traitors.

“I can’t lie, you know that. I’m an awful liar,” Jason replied.

“I just want to play the game,” Travis then said. “I do think I’d be better as a faithful.”

The Kelce brothers will get to see how their mom performs on the hit show.

Filming for Traitors is expected to begin soon, as the program usually gets released early in the calendar year.

Donna has seen her fame increase tenfold since Travis began his relationship with music icon Taylor Swift in September 2023.

The 14-time Grammy winner sat next to Donna at a Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium during that season.

Swift has appeared at Travis’s games alongside his mother numerous times since then.

Donna also received plenty of attention during Super Bowl 57 in 2023 when it featured both her sons.

Travis’s Chiefs faced Jason’s Eagles at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

She attended the game and rocked a 50-50 jersey to show support for her two boys.

Jason retired a year later, as Donna now has her full attention toward Travis, who contemplated retirement this offseason before returning for his 13th season in the league.

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The TV gossip program The Traitors is shown on Peacock[/caption]

His Chiefs are coming off a disappointing Super Bowl 59 loss to the Eagles after attempting a three-peat.

Travis is also coming off a career-worst season in which he posted 823 receiving yards in 16 games.

The 10-time Pro Bowl tight end will hope to bounce back in 2025.

DELIVERY giant UPS has confirmed it will close three of its popular stores in just days — and warned that up to 75 more could be next in line.

The soon-to-close stores are in Dallas, Dickson City and Honesdale, all located in Northeast Pennsylvania.

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A recent deal is said to have collapsed due to financing issues[/caption]

Longtime franchise owner Dave McQueen confirmed the news on Tuesday, but refused to give a reason, instead referring all questions to UPS’ public relations team.

Mia Gonzales, a spokeswoman for UPS, said: “We can confirm that The UPS Store locations in Dallas, Dickson City, and Honesdale are in the process of closing.”

She added the closures were “due to the expiration of the franchise agreements, and the franchisee has elected not to renew.”

The shutdowns come amid growing uncertainty for UPS customers, with the company having already announced in April it plans to cut around 20,000 corporate jobs and shut over 70 facilities in 2025, citing rising tariffs and economic pressure.

The Dallas location, based at 62 Dallas Shopping Center, is set to close on 23 June, according to a staff member.

Workers at the Dickson City site on Main Street and Honesdale’s store on Texas Palmyra Highway declined to give a date.

McQueen, who also once ran several Pet Supplies Plus stores in the region, had reportedly been looking for a buyer for some time.

Despite his efforts, a recent deal is said to have collapsed due to financing issues.

Rob Finlay, landlord of the Dallas site and CEO of Humford Equities, took to Facebook to shed more light.

He claimed the franchisee, McQueen, was asked to sign a 10-year renewal contract with costly refurbishments — a move the 84-year-old was “understandably unwilling” to make.

“He’s been seeking buyers for a couple of years, but a recent deal fell through due to financing,” Finlay said.

“Hopefully, a last-minute buyer can step in… I’ve had the pleasure of using the store myself, and I can attest to their great employees and service.”

Finlay added that UPS had been pressuring McQueen to either sign a long-term agreement or close.

In the meantime, he had been operating on a month-to-month lease while hoping for a buyer to take over.

“The Dallas store has been a great tenant and partner since 1994,” Finlay said.

“The owner has been a complete gentleman throughout this process, and I’m sorry for the employees who will be affected.”

Local reaction has been swift and emotional, with residents and small business owners sharing their dismay on social media.

One Facebook user said: “Loved the Dickson UPS when I had my small shop, they were amazing there and always so helpful!”

Another added: “Wow, sad to see them close.”

The closures are particularly painful for small businesses that rely on UPS Store services for shipping, printing, and mailboxes.

Unlike Access Points or basic drop-off boxes, full UPS Stores provide more comprehensive services and staffed support.

Other UPS Store locations in the region — including Edwardsville, Hazleton, Wyoming, Dunmore and Clarks Summit — will remain open for now.

However, customers are left wondering whether more closures will follow as UPS eyes significant cutbacks in 2025.

Despite Gonzales’ insistence that these closures are unrelated to corporate downsizing, the timing has raised eyebrows.

UPS previously blamed “new or increased tariffs” and “economic conditions” for its dramatic cost-cutting plans announced earlier this year.

For now, residents of Northeast Pennsylvania are bracing for the loss of three long-standing shops, and hoping that someone steps in before the doors shut for good.

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The Dallas location, based at 62 Dallas Shopping Center, is set to close on 23 June, according to a staff member[/caption]

The president and first lady attended a local debut of 'Les Misérables' on Wednesday in Washington, D.C, at the venue he torpedoed and took over in February.

The former Alamo Drafthouse exec replaces Craig Dehmel as he steps down after nine years with the entertainment technology company.

Martin Scorcese, the Duffer brothers, Shonda Rhimes, Martha Stewart, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Spike Lee, Lewis Hamilton and Gordon Ramsay are just a handful of A-list instructors.