Retail locations add to debate about service’s future.

Visitors to the Staples in Lenox Marketplace now can find a special U.S. Postal Service counter, where they can buy stamps and mail packages.

On Tuesday they also found about 50 protesters recruited by the American Postal Workers Union, who say the move is a step toward privatization and are making the Staples deal a front in the fight over the shape of the 21st-century postal service.

Atlanta is one of five test markets around the nation for the partnership between Staples and the Postal Service, an arrangement that began in 82 stores in October and could expand to 1,600 stores nationwide. It’s a potential new revenue stream for the Postal Service, which is grappling with funding shortfalls.

Read more: USPS-Staples deal prompts protest

RadioShack to shut a fifth of locations but does not name them.

NEW YORK — There will soon be about 1,100 fewer places to buy batteries.

RadioShack said Tuesday that it plans to close up to 1,100 stores, about a fifth of its U.S. locations. The news came as the retailer reported a wider quarterly loss after a disappointing holiday season. Its stock tumbled 16 percent.

Read more: 1,100 tech stores to close

Measure heads to Senate after passing 306-91.

WASHINGTON — The House approved legislation Tuesday night to roll back a recently enacted overhaul of the federal flood insurance program after homeowners in flood-prone areas complained about sharp premium increases.

The bill would allow sellers of homes to pass along their subsidized, below-market insurance rates to new buyers and would lower the limit on how much flood insurance premiums can rise each year. The measure was approved 306-91.

Rep. Michael Grimm, a New York Republican who co-sponsored the bill, said it would ensure that families across the country, including those still struggling to recover from Superstorm Sandy, can avoid “a wave of devastating premium hikes and foreclosures.”

Read more: House OKs bill to ease flood insurance hikes