Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: USPS

USPS stories: 18 news summaries

 Mass. Mailman Steals 30K DVDs 

Yearlong 2007 crime was noticed when, well, DVDs started disappearing en masse

Sep 22, 09 1:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - A former Massachusetts postal worker has pleaded guilty to stealing 30,000 Netflix DVDs that passed through the Springfield post office, the Republican reports. Investigators got wise to the crime—which spanned all of 2007—when the company noticed it was losing up to a 100 DVDs a week... More »

MORE ABOUT:
theft • Massachusetts • Springfield • Netflix • USPS • DVDs • stealing • US Postal Service • postal worker • Myles Weathers

(Newser) - The Government Accountability Office has put the struggling US Postal Service on its list of “high-risk” federal programs, the Hill reports. The federal watchdog says the USPS will lose $7 billion this year, and that even the end of the recession will not return business that has migrated to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Congress • mail • deficit • Government Accountability Office • USPS • Federal government • US Postal Service

(Newser) - The eagerly awaited Simpsons postage stamps made their debut today and got an enthusiastic reception from the show's creator. "This is the biggest and most adhesive honor The Simpsons has ever received," said Matt Groening. The stamps go on sale May 7, and the US Postal Service is... More »

MORE ABOUT:
The Simpsons • Matt Groening • USPS • postage stamp • US Postal Service

Post Office Will Stop Wilderness Deliveries

Remote Idaho area too expensive to get to; residents are at a loss

Apr 6, 09 2:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - Neither rain nor sleet nor snow ... but remote location will keep the US Postal Service from delivering mail to the Idaho wilderness starting June 30, NPR reports. Faced with a $6 billion deficit, the mail carrier is cutting back across the board, and that includes the last airstrip service in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Idaho • budget cuts • wilderness • USPS • financial crisis • recession depression • mail plane

Signed, Sealed, D'oh-livered:
Stamp to Feature Simpsons 

Stamps will be previewed April 9

Apr 1, 09 8:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - D’oh! You can stamp your mail with Homer Simpson later this year, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The animated patriarch and his family will appear on 44-cent stamps designed by Matt Groening. The postage also marks the show’s 20th anniversary. “This has been a dream for... More »

MORE ABOUT:
The Simpsons • Matt Groening • USPS • postage stamp

 Post Office Begs 
 for Congress' Help 

We can't pay all the bills this year: chief

Mar 25, 09 12:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Postal Service can’t pay all of this year’s bills, the postmaster general warned Congress today as he proposed shedding $6 billion in costs and Saturday service. He clarified that the agency—which doesn’t get taxpayer subsidies—wants Washington’s help, not a bailout. Due to declining... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Congress • USPS • post office • John Potter • postmaster general

(Newser) - Citing severe losses, the US Postal Service is slashing 1,400 jobs and offering early retirement to 150,000 workers, NPR reports. The post office will also shut down six district offices, but says delivery will not be affected. Hobbled by a 5.2 billion drop in mail volume in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
recession • USPS • job • post office

 Stamps Go Up 2 Cents in May 


Feb 10, 09 5:05 PM CST
(AP) - The price of a first-class stamp will rise 2 cents to 44 cents on May 11, the Postal Service said today. That leaves plenty of time to stock up on Forever Stamps, which will continue to sell at the current 42-cent rate until the increase occurs. They will remain valid... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mail • price increases • USPS • stamps • post office

 Postmaster Wants to Drop
 Delivery 1 Day a Week 

Deficits, declining volume could lead to drastic cut

Jan 28, 09 2:34 PM CST
(AP) - Massive deficits could force the postal service to cut out 1 day of mail delivery per week, the postmaster general told Congress today. John Potter asked lawmakers to lift the requirement that the agency deliver mail 6 days a week. "It is possible that the cost of 6-day delivery... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mail • USPS • budget deficit • financial crisis • John Potter • postmaster general

Bob Hope
Gets Stamp
of Approval

USPS is rolling out homage to the icon
in early 2009

Nov 20, 08 12:19 PM CST
(Newser) - Bob Hope, one of America’s most beloved entertainers, will grace a US postage stamp next year, the AP reports. The British-born Hope, who died in 2003, found success as a singer, actor, comedian, and entertainer of American troops. He benefits from postal rule change that allows non-presidents to be... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • USO • USPS • stamps • post office • Bob Hope

Post Office
Lost $1B in
3rd Quarter

Rising fuel costs, decline in volume add
to US mail's woes

Aug 6, 08 4:21 PM CDT
(AP) - The Postal Service recorded a net loss of more than $1 billion in the third quarter of the fiscal year, the agency said today. Officials blamed reduced mail volume in the slowed economy, coupled with rapidly rising transport costs because of high fuel prices. More »

MORE ABOUT:
mail • USPS • post office

 Mailman Wants to Wear a Kilt 

Carrier advocates for the right to wear a MUG

Jul 21, 08 2:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Dean Peterson likes kilts. In fact, the 48-year-old Air Force vet and mail carrier owns 15 of them, and he's on a one-man crusade to persuade the USPS to allow carriers to wear kilts on the job, the Boston Globe reports. He’s contacted every postal union branch in the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
uniforms • unions • mail • labor unions • clothing • postal • USPS • kilt • comfort • National Association of Letter Carriers

Stamp Price to Hit 42 Cents on Monday

First hike under a new law makes USPS more 'business-like'

May 10, 08 2:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - There’s a run on the post office today as Americans snap up first class stamps before they cost a penny more on Monday, the Los Angeles Times reports. If the 42-cent price seems insignificant, just think of Netflix, which sends and receives nearly 2 million parcels a day,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mail • price increases • USPS • free markets • stamps • forever stamp

Workers Charge Laptops to Lingerie on Fed Credit Cards 

Audit: Nearly half of purchases broke rules

Apr 9, 08 8:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Millions of dollars government employees charged to federal credit cards went for less-than-appropriate perks ranging from digital cameras to dating services, sexy lingerie, laptops, and a $13,000 postal party, reports the Washington Post. An investigation by the Government Accountability Office found that 48% of major purchases on federal credit... More »

MORE ABOUT:
State Department • Department of Homeland Security • Department of Defense • Norm Coleman • Government Accountability Office • USPS • Department of Agriculture • purchase cards • Forest Service • Debra K. Durfey • Office of Management and Budget • Government Credit Card Abuse Prevention Act

USPS Defends Its 'Life Blood:' Junk Mail

Postmasters, big mailers have helped stall state legislation

Mar 19, 08 12:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US Postal Service, dependent upon junk mail, appears to be successfully fighting efforts to staunch its flow, the Washington Post reports. Though 18 states have introduced do-not-mail bills, none has passed, thanks in part to resistance from postmasters nationwide. "The post office and the business groups are pretty... More »

MORE ABOUT:
USPS • Natural Resources Defense Council • junk mail • bulk mail • standard mail • Thomas R. Carper • Center for a New American Dream • National Do Not Call Registry • National Wildlife Foundation

1st-Class Stamp Price to Rise 1¢

Postal service hikes cost more easily under new system

Feb 11, 08 4:45 PM CST
(Newser) - First-class snail mail will cost a penny more starting May 12, the US Postal Service announced today. Stamps are going up to 42¢, as is the Forever stamp, which was billed as a hedge against future first-class rate increases when it was introduced last year. The 41¢ Forevers will still... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mail • price • cost • price increases • USPS • stamps

'Jenny' Stamp Sells for $825K

Prized misprint may be most famous collectible stamp

Dec 28, 07 7:24 AM CST
(Newser) - An inverted "Jenny stamp," one of philately's most sought-after collectibles, just sold to a private collector for $825,000, slightly less than a record price. The stamp is a 1918 misprint, which shows a Curtis JN-4 (Jenny) biplane flying upside-down. Only 100 were printed. The buyer is a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
USPS • stamps • collectible

Volunteers Must Sign Santa Clause

Even at the North Pole, liability's an issue, US Postal Service says

Nov 23, 07 1:17 PM CST
(Newser) - Volunteers who answer letters to Santa Claus through the US Postal Service will have to sign a waiver, reports USA Today. The Postal Service has operated a Christmas letter-answering campaign for almost a century, with donated gifts and aid often going to needy children. “We were giving out information... More »

MORE ABOUT:
liability • Santa Claus • USPS

18 Stories


from our news partners