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Bankruptcy Threat Forces US Postal Service To Cut Next-Day Delivery In 2012

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — It could be the last Christmas for first-class mail here in the Southland.

KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports the U.S. Postal Service is moving ahead with plans to slash $3 billion from its budget that could affect delivery times starting in 2012.

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The USPS cutbacks are aimed at eliminating next-day mail delivery in order to avert a potential bankruptcy filing by the nearly 220-year-old agency.

Postal vice president David Williams acknowledged customers are relying more frequently upon online services to communicate and pay bills.

Others, however, aren't so comfortable with the new schedules.

"We send our mortgages, insurance, car note, those are important things that need to get there," said customer Lori Charles. "There's a lot of late fees that are being charged when they don't get there."

First-class mail volume in the U.S at 78 million after reaching a peak in 2006, but that number is projected to drop by roughly half by 2020, the Associated Press reported.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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