Postal Service backs down on cutting Saturday mail

The beleaguered U.S. Postal Service backed down from its cost-saving plan to eliminate Saturday mail delivery, acknowledging that Congress barred a move that supporters said was essential to addressing the agency's dire financial condition.

Despite the retreat, the governing board said Wednesday that it's not possible for the Postal Service to meet its goals for reduced spending without altering the delivery schedule. Delaying "responsible changes," the board said, only makes it more likely that the Postal Service "may become a burden" to taxpayers.

The Postal Service said in February that it planned to switch to five-day-a-week deliveries beginning in August for everything except packages as a way to hold down losses.

But that announcement was a gamble. The agency essentially was asking Congress to drop from spending legislation the longtime ban on five-day-only delivery. Congress did not do that when it passed a spending measure last month. Read more >>

763K in California Lose Long-Term Unemployed Benefits

Next Saturday California's chronically unemployed will be cut off from the nation's jobless benefits. A drop in the state's unemployment rate to 11 percent – its lowest mark in three years – is triggering the federal cutoff of emergency, long-term unemployment pay to at least 93,000 Californians.

But in the state's agricultural heartland, where Callahan-Johnson runs the Merced County Community Action Agency, a jobless rate of more than 20 percent – two and a half times the nationwide average of 8.2 percent – makes it difficult for some to believe an economic recovery has begun.

With just two weeks' notice, those 93,000 people will join 670,000 other unemployed Californians whose benefits, averaging $292 a week, already have run out. "This is a hard cut-off. It's not like you get to finish out your 20 weeks," said Maurice Emsellem, policy co-director of the National Employment Law Project. "This is a very dramatic impact with this latest wave of workers ... who once were gainfully employed who have run out of everything." More...

Kimmel to Obama: “Remember when the country rallied around you in hope for a better tomorrow? That was a good one”

 Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

The 98th annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, held Saturday evening at the Washington Hilton, is intended to celebrate those journalists who inform the American public about important events and discussions in the nation’s capital.

But the focus eventually ends up being the self-deprecating speech by the president and the subsequent address by a notable comedian. This year was no different, with President Obama and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel cracking wise about Republicans, Democrats, the media and more. More...

40,000 join credit unions in bank dumping protest

Image via WikipediaMore than 40,000 people joined credit unions during the "Move Your Money" and "Bank Transfer Day" movements this past Saturday, continuing the exodus of customers fed up with big banks.

The new customers were the latest in a surge of members credit unions have signed up in recent weeks, as public anger over proposed fees at Bank of America and elsewhere has boiled over, the Credit Union National Association said Tuesday.

"Since Sept. 29 -- the day Bank of America announced its now-rescinded monthly $5 debit card fee -- average estimated membership increases nationally were around 20,000 new members each day, " CUNA President and CEO Bill Cheney said in a statement. "On Saturday, consumers doubled the pace. It's clear that consumers kept up their interest in credit unions."

In a previous survey, released late last week, the industry group said an estimated 650,000 consumers had joined credit unions between September 29 and the first week of November, bringing with them an estimated $4.5 billion in new savings accounts. More...