Officials warn about a precipitous drop in mail volume as fewer people and businesses send mail because of the coronavirus outbreak that could hasten the decline of the U.S. Postal Service, forcing it to halt operations as early as June, notes Grumpy Editor.
With a negative net worth of $65 billion and an additional $140 billion in unfunded liabilities, the USPS originally expected to run out of liquidity by 2021 without intervention.
Compounding things, hundreds of postal workers have fallen sick during the pandemic and a dozen have died from the virus.
The Postal Service delivers about 1 million lifesaving medications each year and serves as the only delivery link to Americans living in rural areas.
Working with other delivery services like United Parcel Service, the agency supports $1.7 trillion in sales and 7.3 million private sector workers.
“At a time when America needs the Postal Service more than ever, the reason we are so needed is having a devastating effect on our business," says Postmaster General Megan Brennan.
IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…
ANIMAL ADOPTIONS JUMP. The pandemic is inspiring many people to adopt animals. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which reviews reports from 1,200 animal welfare organizations nationwide, says Los Angeles and New York shelters have seen a doubling of requests to adopt dogs.
MUCH OF CNBC'S STAFF WORKS FROM HOME. With the pandemic, most of CNBC’s staff — and 40 on-air contributors — is working from home. To get them airborne, production kits are used based on the Padcaster platform which features a front-end lens for higher quality and adapters for the use of lapel or shotgun mics.
JIGSAW PUZZLES JUMP IN POPULARITY. There’s a boom for jigsaw puzzles with people confined to homes. But it takes time to produce the puzzles. Each puzzle piece must be uniquely shaped to avoid one accidentally fitting into the wrong place. That means 1,000 different shapes for a 1,000-piece puzzle, each drawn by hand.
WHITE HOUSE JOURNALISTS TESTED. Before the White House press briefing last week, journalists were tested for COVID-19. It marks the latest effort by the White House and the White House Correspondents’ Association to keep the coronavirus off the premises.
ASTRONAUTS DEPART WITH LITTLE NEWS COVERAGE. With news columns focused on the virus-plagued planet, there was little coverage of three astronauts — one American and two Russians — who took off for the International Space Station last week.
TRIBUNE CUTS PAY. Tribune Publishing plans a series of permanent 2 percent to 10 percent pay cuts, effective April 19, for non-union staffers with an annual base salary of $67,000 or more.
LOCUSTS INVADE AFRICA. A second wave of voracious locusts — billions of them, some 20 times the size of the first wave — is arriving in parts of Africa, including Uganda. They are winging in from breeding grounds in Somalia in search of fresh vegetation springing up with seasonal rains.
MAJOR LAYOFFS AT YELP. Yelp is laying off about 1,000 employees and furloughing about 1,100 as the coronavirus pandemic closes doors of advertisers.
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