From the article: "...BALTIMORE — Mail theft continues to be a problem. Thieves are targeting collection boxes, doorsteps, even postal workers - assaulting and robbing them of arrow keys used to open communal mailboxes. ..."
From the article: "...“You just have to rub the stamp here like this with your nails,” Clarisse Briend, a postal worker, told Today. “You can smell the bread, the baguette.” However, Paris’ Leonie Bakery manager Jeanne Barrere says it “smells more like vanilla.” Meanwhile, the bakery’s chief baker, Harlem Gbodialo, likened the scent to a “sugary, fruity aroma” that he couldn’t pin down..."
From the article: "...The portal for millions of Social Security beneficiaries to access their online account is changing.
I received an alert in my e-mail last week from the Social Security Administration. Perhaps you have too.
The gist of it is that you will no longer be able to sign in to your online Social Security account using your existing username and password.
To access Social Security online services, you will need to create a Login.gov or ID.me account. If you have a My Social Security account that started before Sept. 18, 2021, you must..."
From the article: "...The findings are likely to intensify scrutiny of the controversial role played by PBMs in the opaque pharmaceutical pricing system. The report, which was released in March but received little if any public attention, examined drug spending between 2016 and 2021 within the health plan that covers more than 200,000 unionized mail carriers and post office workers, as well as retirees. Notably, nearly half of the overcharges stemmed from drug rebates that Express Scripts negotiated with pharmaceutical companies. But instead of passing back 100% of that money to the health plan, as the contract required, the PBM skimmed millions for itself, according to the audit, which was conducted by the Office of Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management. ..."
From the article: "...Police in Chicago are investigating after a United States Postal Service worker was shot and killed Friday. Police said the woman was delivering mail when someone in a car drove by and shot her. Officials are now looking for the person responsible for killing Octavia Redmond...."
From the article: "...The Postal Service Health Benefits Program is a new program that will provide health insurance to eligible Postal Service employees, annuitants, and their eligible family members starting in 2025. ..."
From the article: "...Plymouth, OH, Postmaster Edward Blum recently came upon an older customer trying to extinguish a lawnmower fire by herself. The equipment was engulfed in flames, which were rising higher than a nearby shed. Blum guided the woman a safe distance away and..."
From the article: "...The video also features comments from employees at the new Atlanta Regional Processing and Distribution Center (RPDC), including a truck driver, mail handler, expediter, surface logistics planner, and supervisors and managers. ..."
From the article: "...U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said he’s strongly opposed to the upcoming postage rate hikes. On Monday, the Democrat called on the United States Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory Commission to reconsider their decision.
The new rate increase, effective July 14, will raise “Forever” stamp postage from 68 cents to 73 cents. This marks the sixth increase since 2021, resulting in a total hike of 23%, which, according to Blumenthal, is nearly 200% above the inflation rate during this period...."
From the article: "...On July 26, 1775, the Second Continental Congress established “a line of posts” from Maine to Georgia, understanding how crucial it was to create a network of communications that kept Colonists’ messages from falling into the British Crown’s hands.
Benjamin Franklin was selected as the first postmaster general. Franklin had served the Crown for decades as joint postmaster general of British North America, but was dismissed in 1774 for being deemed too sympathetic to the Colonies. ..."
From the article: "...The Haletown Volunteer Fire Department and Jasper Fire Department responded to a USPS semi-truck that caught fire at a Loves Travel Stop on Monday. The Haletown VFD said several firefighters suffered from heat exhaustion while extinguishing the fire, but none required medical care. USPS semi-truck fire ..."
From the article: "...According to United States Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Derrell Matthews, 27, to 63 months in prison. Matthews pleaded guilty to conspiracy, paying a bribe to a public official, possession of U.S. Postal Service keys, stolen or reproduced, bank fraud and possession of stolen mail in February. Two other people were previously sentenced in the scheme. Keaundria Gresham, 30, of Pleasant Grove..."
From the article: "...In each instance, two men wearing hoodies, face masks and blue plastic gloves parked near the USPS vehicle, broke the passenger window and stole mail and packages. They took off in a white SUV. ..."
From the article: "...As the introduction to the Study states, the main objectives are to “measure the types and volumes of mail sent and received by U.S. households; track trends in mail usage over time; and compare mail usage by household demographic characteristics.” To produce the study, households are asked to participate a survey (online, by telephone, and on paper) about a variety of topics, including the amount of mail they send and receive, the household’s use of communication technologies like email, their bill payment behavior, and their attitudes towards advertising. ..."
From the article: "...According to Inspection Service officials, the size and placement of the postal police workforce at USPS facilities in fiscal year 2023 relied on the 2011 assessment. Inspection Service officials told us that the primary goal of the 2011 assessment was to meet a USPS deadline to reduce the number of authorized postal police. To accomplish this, the Inspection Service limited the 2011 assessment to the existing postal facilities—39 at that time—with authorized postal police staff.” In other words, the size, placement, duties and responsibilities of the Postal Police Force are not based upon the security needs of the Postal Service. ..."
From the article: "...Rural Carrier Matt Tripp was delivering mail in Morganfield, KY, recently when he came upon a cat with her head stuck in a tin can. Tripp was unable to safely remove the can, so he called animal control and stayed with the cat until officers arrived...."
From the article: "...ROCHESTER, NY – Nathan Romar Arnold, a 23-year-old Rochester resident, pleaded guilty to charges of possessing a United States Postal Service (USPS) key and theft of mail, U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today. These charges could lead to a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katelyn M. Hartford, who is prosecuting the case, detailed the incidents that occurred on October 1 and 2, 2023. Arnold, along with accomplices, targeted USPS mail receptacles near the USPS Brighton Station Post Office on N. Winton Road, the Greece Post Office on Latta Road, and the Jefferson Road Post Office. The group used a stolen key from a USPS letter carrier to unlawfully access and steal mail for personal gain...."
From the article: "...On Thursday, Senator Ron Wyden said he is leading Senate colleagues including Senator Jeff Merkley in calling on Postmaster General Dejoy and the U.S. Postal Service to share their plans to accommodate high volumes of mail expected in the upcoming 2024 general election in Oregon and nationwide. ..."
From the article: "Chang Liu is a 22-year-old clinical medicine student at the University of Cambridge who received an erroneous ballot that would have prompted him to claim he was born in 1902. He told The Telegraph: “It is ridiculous that a simple printing error threatens to disenfranchise thousands of young people. ...A bungling council gave voters born after 2000 postal ballots with dates of birth in the 1900s. Cambridge City Council emailed more than 1,000 postal voters aged between 18 and 24, telling them a printing error meant their ballots suggested they were aged between 118 and 124. ..."
From the article: "Lisa Hart, Burleigh County elections coordinator, said the vast majority of the ballots that were missing postmarks were received between June 12-14. Ballots had to be postmarked by June 10 and received within 13 days of the election for the votes to count. ...Howe said he plans to reach out to the Postal Service to ensure that absentee ballots receive postmarks in November. A request for comment directed to the U.S. Postal Service was not immediately returned Monday. ..."
From the article: "The Postal Service will release its Horses stamps on Monday, June 17. ...The stamps feature five individual horses. ...The Forever stamps will be available in panes of 20 at Post Offices and usps.com. The stamps will be dedicated during a ceremony at the National Pony Express Association’s 2024 Re-Ride event in St. Joseph, MO."
From the article: "...The presort discount system, created decades ago, turned over large sections of postal operations to private companies, for private profit. The Postal Service gives companies like Pitney Bowes and other large mailers huge postage discounts, or “corporate welfare,” to presort letters and packages before entering them “downstream” in the postal network. These discounts vary based on how much sorting work the presort companies undertake (how much postal worker work they replace). This “last mile” strategy guts postal processing facilities and bypasses postal truck transportation. Today, private companies sort roughly 80 to 90 percent of all letter mail volume before entering the postal network. Likewise, private parcel “consolidators” presort the majority of parcels delivered by the Postal Service, with many being entered directly at the delivery unit, bypassing nearly the entirety of the Postal Service’s transportation and processing networks. The Postal Service has fully endorsed, promoted and accelerated this presort and last-mile strategy for decades – until now...."
From the article: "... London CNN — The owner of Royal Mail has accepted a £3.57 billion ($4.6 billion) takeover bid from Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský, paving the way for the sale of one of Britain’s oldest and most iconic institutions to a foreign owner for the first time. International Distribution Services, which owns the loss-making postal service, said Wednesday that it had accepted a £3.70-per-share ($4.69) takeover offer from Křetínský’s EP Group. The deal has consequences for thousands of workers and has sparked anxiety about the future of a key piece of national infrastructure, which delivers a vital public service. ..."
