A Newcastle mail carrier was recently honored for his part in saving a man from the Sheepscot River in March while on his route on Wednesday, Aug. 20. Alex Tomasello received the Hero Award from the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, a labor union within the U.S. Postal Service representing more than 133,000 members in … Read more
Labor Day, the holiday celebrating the contributions of workers to the fabric of American life, is Monday, Sept. 1. The holiday was first celebrated in New York City in 1882. As unions expanded throughout the nation, Labor Day events grew in popularity, and in 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed the bill declaring the first Monday … Read more
President Donald Trump has ordered U.S. flags flown at half-staff to honor the victims of this week’s mass shooting in Minneapolis. Flags should be flown at half-staff until Sunday, Aug. 31, at sunset. To fly the flag at half-staff, hoist the flag to the peak for an instant and then lower it to the half-staff position. The … Read more
ORLANDO, Fla.—The Postal Workers and the Rural Letter Carriers (NRLCA) have launched complementary campaigns against the GOP Donald Trump regime’s threat to privatize the Postal Service. The NRLCA, the smaller of the two, went first, with a mass march of its 500 convention delegates, plus supporters, through downtown Orlando, Fla., on August 18. Speakers at … Read more
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. (DC News Now) — With a new administration in Washington, many federal programs are being targeted for elimination. Mail carriers in rural communities fear they fall into that category. They met in Shepherdstown as the week closed out in hopes that it would not be the case. Letter carriers have been an institution … Read more
Do you have a package coming your way from overseas? (I do, it’s a gift, and I’m very annoyed.) Hopefully it’s not urgent, because it’s going to be a minute before that thing gets to our shores. Questions surrounding the Trump administration’s ongoing tariff regime, including a policy to end an exemption from taxing small … Read more
A couple hundred postal workers and allies rallied outside of Orlando City Hall Monday to protest ongoing concerns about the privatization of the U.S. Postal Service under the corporate-friendly Trump administration. One of four USPS unions, the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, is hosting its annual convention in Orlando this week, and organized the rally. Union members … Read more
Today, a 78-cent postage stamp can send a letter to any address nationwide. But in the early days of the United States Postal Service (USPS), ensuring equal access to mail — even among residents in hard-to-reach places — was more complicated. This year marks the 250th anniversary of the postal service. Historians, postal workers and … Read more
The retailer is investing $4 billion into its rural “last mile” network. Set to triple in size by the end of 2026, the network will deliver one billion additional packages annually, Amazon said in April. It added that an additional 4,000 small towns, cities, and rural communities will get same-day and next-day deliveries by the end of … Read more
President Donald Trump’s latest economic move is to halt the de minimis exemption, a provision that made international shipments of low-value items cheaper. When the exemption ends on August 29, shipments valued at or under $800 will be subject to duty fees when sent by any carrier other than the international postal network, no matter … Read more
The service, which used to rely on the USPS before a breakup this year, posed challenges for UPS in Q2 due to higher-than-expected costs. UPS has “reengaged” with the U.S. Postal Service on a potential delivery arrangement for UPS Ground Saver, a service that once relied on the agency, CEO Carol Tomé said on an … Read more
The Social Security Administration (SSA) was expected to phase out the use of Treasury checks to pay benefits by September 30, 2025, and has now reversed course. The move to end the use of paper checks was a result of an executive order signed by President Trump back in March. While the SSA has decided to continue to issue … Read more
Hundreds of thousands of current and retired federal employees recently received a new wave of IRS notices prompting urgent resolution of their outstanding tax liabilities, a move that a former Tax Court attorney says comes at an interesting time as the administration looks to continue reducing the size of the government workforce. LT36 Notices “According … Read more
The SSA has said it has finished making back payments and increasing ongoing benefits under the law repealing the former government pension offset and windfall elimination provisions, ahead of a schedule that until recently projected that the work would continue until near year’s end. “As of July 7, 2025, we completed sending over 3.1 million … Read more
@Starbucks during COVID everyone & they momma was calling our farm workers and our delivery drivers @USPS @UPS + Hero’s. fast forward and this is how y’all treating them in 2025! Excuse me? OVER WATER. #boycottstarbucks not buying anything until you apologize and make it right pic.twitter.com/CeLIsEuiCN — Maritza (@maritzarosas25) July 15, 2025 A US … Read more
Key takeaways Prime Day 2025 is July 8-11. Prime Day expands to double the days, offering Prime members more time to shop millions of deals. New “Today’s Big Deals” feature will drop themed daily deals from top brands like Samsung, Kiehl’s, and Levi’s. Amazon’s 2025 Prime Day event will start July 8 at 12:01 a.m. PDT … Read more
The TSP has added details to previously announced changes regarding the available lifecycle L funds and an upcoming option for in-plan conversions of funds from traditional tax treatment to Roth status. After the close of markets June 27 the lifecycle L 2025 fund will have its final valuation and it will merge with the Income … Read more