Postal service out of money?

The United States Postal Service says it needs Congress to pass a five-day delivery plan if it is going to continue to function.  The Postal Service also says it needs to change the way retiree health benefits are funded.  

The Postal Service says it's very close to running out of money and chief financial officer Joe Corbett say without help from Congress, it will be very difficult to pay for everything throughout the year.  

The Postal Service suffered a $297 million loss in the first fiscal quarter of 2010.  This is partially due to a drop in the number of items being sent through the mail - from a high of 212 billion items in 2006, to 167 billion items today.  

If the Postal Service changes from a six-day delivery plan to a five-day plan, it says it will save about $30 billion a year.  

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School board vote tonight

The Fabius-Pompey school board is set to vote tonight on a proposal that would raise teachers' salaries 3.75 percent.  Teachers have already voted in favor of the three-year contract.

The new contract will cover 111 teachers and teachers' assistants, according to the F-P Board of Education.  F-P Superintendent Tim Ryan says the district will spend less on teachers' salaries next year than this year, due to concessions teachers will have to make under the new proposal.  

Teachers will no longer receive bonuses for tenure or for having a master's degree.  Teachers will now also have to teach six instead of the previously assigned five sections of classes.  

The district says it will save about $61,000 the first year, but this number will grow in the following years.  If the contract continues past the initial three-year plan, the district says it expects to save $611,000.

Ellen & Idol

Tonight marks the first time American Idol judge Ellen DeGeneres will appear live on the show.  All previous DeGeneres appearances were edited, but from now on DeGeneres will be unscripted and unplugged.  

American Idol is down to its top 24 contenders.  The top 12 ladies will appear on the program tonight, followed by the top 12 men tomorrow night.