Postal Service losses hit $3.3 billion
Teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, the U.S. Postal Service's loss in the fourth quarter ballooned to $3.3 billion amid declining mail volume and the soaring costs of health benefits for future retirees.
From October through December 2011, losses were $3 billion more than the same period a year ago. The mail agency said that at this rate, it will run out of money by October.
The Postal Service is seeking new leeway from Congress to eliminate Saturday mail delivery, raise stamp prices and reduce other costs.
Mexican army finds 15 tons of pure meth
Mexican troops have made a historic seizure of 15 tons of pure methamphetamine in the western state of Jalisco, an amount equivalent to half of all meth seizures worldwide in 2009.
The sheer scale of the bust announced late Wednesday drew expressions of amazement from meth experts. The haul could have supplied 13 million doses worth more than $4 billion in the United States.
Drone strike kills al-Qaida operative
An apparent U.S. drone strike early Thursday in northwest Pakistan killed a top Pakistani Taliban commander also serving as a key al-Qaida operative, local officials said.
The death of Badar Mansoor, 35, comes as the United States steps up its pace of drone missile strikes following a six-week hiatus after an American airstrike accidentally killed Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border in November.
Get more exercise, doctors tell adults
More and more U.S. adults are being told by their doctor to get out and exercise, according to government survey released Thursday.
Nearly 33 percent of adults who saw a doctor in the previous year said they were told to exercise. That was up from about 23 percent in 2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Giffords aide to run for her seat
A top aide to former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who was shot in the leg and face in the Tucson rampage that also left the congresswoman severely wounded announced Thursday that he will seek to replace her in a special election.
Democrat Ron Barber declared he would run to serve the last six months of Giffords' term.
L.A. school in abuse scandal reopens
Children returned Thursday to an elementary school where the staff was replaced after the arrests of two former teachers on charges of committing lewd acts with students in class.
Students streamed through the doors under the eyes of school police and some 100 protesters, who opposed removing everyone from the principal to the custodian for the rest of the school year.
The protesters, who included parents and students at Miramonte Elementary School, held signs bashing the Los Angeles school district.
From wire reports
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