Post offices, beloved community hubs, fight virus-era threat

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - For some of the 2,000 or so year-round residents of Deer Isle, Maine, the fraying American flag outside the post office this spring was a reminder of the nation's mood.

The flag was in tatters. It twisted in the wind from a single hook. But it was stuck in the up position, so the postmistress hadn't been able to replace it.

"I was thinking what a metaphor it is for our country right now," community health director René Colson Hudson said. "It was really important that the flag be replaced, as a symbol of hope."

Colson Hudson, a former New Jersey pastor who moved to coastal...