Task force lists ways to boost Postal Service

WASHINGTON – A task force created by President Donald Trump to evaluate ways to stem billions of dollars in losses at the U.S. Postal Service suggested a range of options Tuesday, including proposals that could significantly boost the cost of sending nonessential mail.

The report recommended that the Postal Service develop a new pricing model that would remove current price caps and charge market-based prices for mail and packages that were not deemed to be “essential postal services.”

That recommendation could raise costs for Amazon and other major businesses that are using the Postal Service to supplement their delivery operations.

terror-related deaths decline, report says

WASHINGTON – Terror-related deaths have fallen for the third consecutive year around the globe, while far-right political terrorism is on the rise in North America and Western Europe, according to a report released Wednesday.

After peaking at about 34,000 deaths in 2014, terrorism-related deaths fell by 44 percent last year to 18,800, according to Steve Killelea, executive chairman of the London-based Institute of Economics & Peace, which publishes the annual Global Terrorism Index.

Scientists see cancer discovery breakthrough

Australian scientists have developed a simple blood test that they claim can diagnose cancer in mere minutes by identifying a unique DNA signature present in all types of the disease.

A genetic pattern in all cancers, researchers said Tuesday, could help make diagnosing cancer more accessible and affordable. The blood test detected cancer with 90 percent accuracy in the University of Queensland’s tests of different human cancers and healthy cells and can be done in only 10 minutes.

Nanoparticles of gold change colors if the cancer DNA is present, using the same technology as pregnancy tests with strip indicators, according to researchers.