A Sydney woman unaccounted for in the Nepal flooding disaster has been safely located as Australian families hope for news of loved ones missing.

Cara Severino, 26, made contact with her parents on Saturday and was safely located by Australian consular officials in Nepal, Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed.

“This is a rare piece of positive news amid a disaster that has brought immense loss and uncertainty,” Senator Wong said in a social media post.

In a statement, Ms Severino said she felt “blessed” to be Australian.

“I feel for the families of those still missing – I know how much my family and friends went through.

“Blessed to be from Australia and have the embassy and Australian government giving so much support.”

Almost 3000 people are unaccounted for, including 41 Australians who have not made contact since a wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river near the Himalayan border with China.

AAP has spoken with family members and friends who have flown to Nepal to search of answers, and to others waiting helplessly in Australia for any word.

Jen Nai has been sharing photographs of her brother-in-law Karan Bhardwaj far and wide since the tragedy unfolded on Wednesday, praying for a miracle.

The Australian defence force member lost all contact with his family while travelling with friends Arpan Mithalal Kothari and Bhavin Raval.

The mates were near the Nepal-Tibet border with Kailash Journeys as part of a tour group when the flooding hit.

“Our family is desperately waiting for news,” Ms Nai told AAP.

NSW mother-of-two Reshma Patel was also making a pilgrimage with the Isha Foundation when the floods hit.

Her last known location was an immigration office along the border, captured in viral footage.

“She was inside the big building, which you can see in all the videos that had been hit hard by the floods,” family friend Chin Valsan told AAP.

Also on the tour was outdoor education leader Michael Keats, who has also been identified as missing, along with mother and wife Sumi Adhikari.

Nava Pandey has steadfastly sought information about Ms Adhikari’s whereabouts since flying to Nepal in the wake of the disaster.

Speaking with AAP on Saturday, he still had no clear or official information about his wife or the other members of her group.

“Based on the CCTV footage that has emerged and their last known location in the Gyirong area, our most urgent request is for an immediate and thorough search operation in that location,” Mr Pandey said.

“Families should not be left without answers during such a critical time. Every hour matters.”

Among the missing are 15 Australians who were on a trek with US travel company Himalayan Glacier Adventures.

Two Australian boys, aged 11 and 14, are also part of the tour group.

Sydney doctor Manoj Dharmaratnam was invited to join the pilgrimage but chose not to.

He prescribed several of his close friends altitude medication and conducted injury assessments before they left Australia.

Included in the Himalayan Glacier group was a Sydney couple with two sons in their 20s and both studying medicine.

“They’re such pioneers in the community of ours. They’re very well known and well respected, so it’s such a shame,” Dr Dharmaratnam told AAP. 

The last contact with the family came at 8.30 local time, when one of the sons informed his girlfriend they were checking out of their hotel in Nepal’s Langtang Valley.

Rescue workers have worked around the clock since the glacier collapse on Wednesday unleashed a huge torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris.

The deluge tore through Himalayan mountain river systems as it swallowed buildings, bridges and power stations in its path.

Iran has condemned the United States’ new economic sanctions as “state terrorism” and says other countries are legally obliged not to implement them while the US Treasury Department announced additional targeted Iran-related measures.

The Iranian foreign ministry’s ‌statement came as mediators stepped up efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which handled 20 per cent of world oil supplies before the war began six months ago and whose status remains the biggest obstacle to a peace deal.

US President Donald Trump’s ‌administration on Monday warned countries to cut their business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions although the Treasury Department stopped short of actually imposing penalties.

Trump reiterated on Thursday that the US was not talking with Iran, while the White House said the US economic campaign would continue until Iran decided to “come to the table in a meaningful way”.

Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement all countries were obligated under international law to refrain from implementing US sanctions against Iran, adding that participation in them amounted to complicity in imposing one state’s unlawful will on independent states.

It branded the new US measures a “crime against humanity” that put the ‌health and livelihood of millions ‌of civilians at serious risk, and ⁠called on other countries and United Nations bodies to uphold the rule of law.

Meanwhile, fears of supply shortages led to long queues at petrol stations in Tehran on Friday.

Motorists were waiting at the petrol pumps in the middle of the night, residents said.

The queues were reportedly in some cases more than 1km long.

At a cabinet meeting this week, President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged problems resulting from the war.

Pezeshkian called on the Iranian government itself to exercise restraint with its fleet of vehicles, the ILNA news agency reported.

The public, too, must co-operate, he said.

On Monday, more petrol was sold in Tehran than at any other time this year, the Khabaronline portal reported, citing authorities.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who was injured and has ‌not been seen publicly ‌since the February 28 attack that killed ⁠his father, said in a written statement on Friday that he had banned officials from “committing anything that harms social cohesion”.

He urged authorities to avoid any “discouraging statements ​that weaken national and public motivation,” amid concern among Iran’s leaders that more financial pressure on its war-battered economy could trigger protests.

Khamenei urged the government to seriously address economic and livelihood challenges including inflation, unemployment, prices and the management of markets for goods and services.

A US official told ​Reuters on Friday the administration plans to impose limits on Egypt’s Banque Misr for doing business with Iran by revoking US financial access to its branches in the United Arab Emirates.

Treasury officials separately issued sanctions targeting one entity based in Hong Kong and one person linked to Iran’s Bank Melli, according to a notice posted on the department’s website.

With the US focused on its economic pressure campaign, others have sought to revive diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said he had stressed during talks with Iranian leaders in Tehran on Thursday the importance of ⁠returning to the pre-war status of open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Minister ‌Abbas Araqchi on Friday ​described the talks with al-Thani as “creative” and he renewed his appeal to the US to stop putting military and economic pressure on his country and to resume negotiations.

“Putting diplomacy back on track isn’t impossible. It hinges on US understanding of one ‌simple fact: pressure doesn’t work,” Araqchi said on X.

Qatar, a US ally, and Pakistan helped broker a memorandum of understanding in June that led to a ceasefire but that quickly unravelled due to disagreements between Iran ​and the US over the Strait of Hormuz.

with DPA

Australians are searching for loved ones missing in floods along the Nepal-Tibet border as aid groups warn of a looming humanitarian disaster. 

At least 580 people have died and more than 2000 are missing, including 38 Australians, after a landslide of ice and rock burst the banks of the Trishuli River on Wednesday.

Chinese and Nepalese authorities have warned further flooding may occur, complicating rescue efforts and posing a risk to communities in the area.

Several Australians with family in the affected region have flown to assist the search for survivors, combing towns impacted by debris and torrents of mud.

Among them is the husband of NSW mother-of-two Reshma Patel, who was due to touch down in Kathmandu on Friday evening. 

Like the majority of the 38 Australians confirmed missing, down from 39 on Friday after one person made contact with family, Ms Patel was making a pilgrimage with a tour group when the floods began. 

Her last known location was an immigration office along the Nepal-Tibet border, which was captured on viral footage being inundated by floodwaters.

“She was inside the big building, which you can see in all the videos that had been hit hard by the floods at the border,” family friend Chin Valsan told AAP.

“After that, there is no contact whatsoever.”

Ms Patel had been travelling with the Isha Foundation for almost two weeks, and was due to catch a flight home to Sydney from Kathmandu on Thursday. 

“That hasn’t happened,” Mr Valsan said. 

While search and rescue operations, aided by Australian officials, are ongoing, charities have banded together to launch a national aid appeal. 

The Nepal Flood Disaster Appeal was established by a coalition of 15 Australian charities including Oxfam Australia and Save the Children Australia. 

The group, known as the Emergency Action Alliance, has warned survivors may find themselves cut off from reliable shelter, food, drinking water and medical care.

It is a fear shared by Kiran Thapa, 46, who told AAP his family in Nepal had survived the floods, but the real “trauma” would come once the dust had settled. 

The paddy fields his family relies on for food had been destroyed while he worried his elderly mother may not have access to medication for weeks. 

“After a few weeks or so, when they come to the realisation that they’ve lost everything …  that may be very hard for them to digest,” he said.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong unveiled a $5 million assistance package for communities affected by the floods, including $1 million to the Emergency Action Alliance.

The Australian Red Cross has announced all donations to its global emergency fund from Thursday would go to Nepal, while World Vision Australia has launched its own dedicated appeal. 

UNICEF is appealing for US$17.2 million to fund its emergency relief and recovery efforts, including for the 17,000 children it estimates have been affected.

“With the death toll still rising, we know this tragedy is far from over,” Alice Akunga, UNICEF’s Nepal representative, said. 

Impacting recovery efforts are fears of possible further flooding, which temporarily halted a Chinese rescue operation on Friday, according to state media. 

Smartraveller updated its travel advice on Friday following reports of a lake barrier bursting, warning of a “high risk” of further severe flooding, landslides and debris flows.

“Conditions can change rapidly with little warning,” the advice reads. 

Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh says inflation is still too high and has suggested the US central bank may have to raise interest rates in the coming months to bring it down.

“We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do,” he said in a major speech on Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 

Warsh said that while recent economic data has shown a slight slowdown, he did not see this as indicating any change in the underlying trend.

In an initial reaction to the speech, the euro fell noticeably against the US dollar.

In July, US inflation fell by 0.1 percentage point to 3.4 per cent but the rate has now remained above the Federal Reserve’s 2.0 per cent target for more than five years. 

This is partly due to the war in Iran and the resulting energy crisis.

“The Fed should therefore prioritise prices at present,” Warsh went on to say, describing the inflation rate as “too high”.

At the last interest rate decision at the end of July, three of the 12 voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee signalled their openness to an interest rate rise later in the year to curb inflation.

Warsh abstained but reiterated that the Fed would guarantee price stability – an indication that he intends to prioritise the fight against inflation. 

The Fed has left the key interest rate unchanged for five consecutive meetings since December 2025, meaning the range remains at 3.5 to 3.75 per cent. 

Warsh has said he does not want to provide what analysts call “forward guidance” about whether the Fed will hike or cut rates or stay on hold at upcoming meetings.

He argues that it limits the Fed’s flexibility by committing it to a specific policy.

Yet some economists have argued that he could say more about his views on Fed policy without tipping his hand about future actions.

Warsh on Friday reiterated his scepticism about providing such guidance or even outlining his broad approach to interest-rate policy.

But he did suggest that interest rates currently are not restricting economic activity, pointing to robust business investment in artificial intelligence equipment and infrastructure and strong consumer spending. 

As a rule of thumb, interest rates often need to be high enough to limit borrowing and spending to cool inflation.

The Fed next meets September 15-16.

with AP

Laws to create an Australian-first legal right for employees to work from home are in limbo after a second pause in as many weeks. 

Victoria’s upper house was expected to debate the legislation on Friday after Premier Ben Carroll earlier in August pushed back its start date to mid-2027 and flagged “sensible amendments”.

A minor party MP was told debate would get under way on Friday but later informed it was no longer going ahead, amid uncertainty over crossbench support.

Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP Jeff Bourman will attempt to refer the work-from-home laws to a committee for examination, which could forestall its passage before the November state election.

The coalition did not oppose the bill in the Labor-controlled lower house and had indicated it planned to move its own amendments.

Under the proposed laws, full-time, part-time and casual employees will get the right to work from home two days a week on a pro-rata basis if reasonably able to.

Business group leaders met with Mr Carroll, who replaced Jacinta Allan as premier in late July, for a second time on Thursday to discuss the legislation.

Australian Industry Group, Victorian head Tim Piper, described the hour-long meeting as “amicable” but said no changes were agreed.

“We’ve explained to the premier there is no middle ground,” Mr Piper told reporters on Friday.

“The premier, at this stage, hasn’t conceded to any amendments, but we’re in discussions with the premier’s office to determine that.”

The second pause in two weeks showed business had made a “compelling” argument, Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Sally Curtain said.

“There is no net benefit to Victorians as a result of this legislation,” she said.

The bill remains on the notice paper ahead of the final two scheduled parliamentary sitting weeks.

The Victorian government maintained it was committed to passing the legislation in 2026.

“But we’ve also been clear we’re listening to business about where commonsense adjustments may be needed,” a Victorian government spokesperson said.

“We’re focused on getting the balance right for business and working people.

“We have met with business groups and we will continue to work through sensible changes to the legislation.”

The right to work from home is being legislated through Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act in a bid to withstand a potential High Court challenge.

Section 109 of the Australian Constitution dictates that if a state law conflicts with a Commonwealth law, the latter prevails.

Researchers will be evacuated from a World Heritage island to protect their mental health amid a worsening bird flu outbreak, as it emerges a dolphin has tested positive for the virus.

The Australian Antarctic Division says it will withdraw staff from the Australian territory of Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean to protect the psychological wellbeing of its scientists.

South Australia – the state hardest hit by bird flu – on Friday reported 46 new events, including the first detection of the virus in a common dolphin.

Other species to succumb to the virus include a fox, a brown falcon – the first Australian detection of the H5 strain in a bird of prey – and an Australian raven.

SA has updated its approach to reporting, with cases now confirmed when laboratory testing in Adelaide detects the virus.

Previously, most samples were sent to the CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong for confirmation.

The government maintains the risk to human health from bird flu remains low.

However, there are fears that a significant mortality event during the upcoming seal breeding season could cause severe psychological distress to expeditioners on Macquarie Island.

The island is home to several species of seals, with more than 80,000 southern elephant seals, and millions of breeding seabirds including multiple penguin species.

While the island is officially yet to be impacted by bird flu, the government’s decision indicates it is taking the likelihood of the virus reaching its shores seriously.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water is predicting a high likelihood of a significant mortality event during the upcoming breeding season.

The island, where 24 expeditioners live and work, was established on the Southern Ocean island in 1948. It is roughly halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica.

The health of expeditioners had to be the highest priority, the department’s deputy secretary Sean Sullivan said.

“Our expeditioners already live and work in one of the world’s most remote and challenging environments,” he said.

“It is important that we minimise any additional risks that could affect the well-being of our people and the safe operation of our stations.”

Elephant seals have proved particularly susceptible to H5 bird flu, with pup mortality rates of more than 90 per cent discovered in some colonies in the sub-Antarctic external territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands.

A bird flu outbreak on Macquarie Island would be devastating, Mr Sullivan said.

“There would be thousands of deaths. You can imagine the impacts that would have in terms of being restricted to base,” he told the ABC.

“Obviously the distress of being around a mass mortality event, as well as impacts with respect to air quality … that would have long-term impacts on staff.”

Australia’s icebreaking research and supply vessel, RSV Nuyina, will travel to the island in early October to pick up workers and essential cargo.

The department said sending the Nuyina to extract its staff from Macquarie Island was a significant undertaking.

It said it was taking the precautionary measure as an unplanned evacuation could take months or disrupt the work being undertaken on other Antarctic stations.

The department said the situation at Macquarie Island was different to Australia’s Antarctic stations, where stringent H5 bird flu preparations can manage risks for expeditioners.

Because of the island’s remoteness and harsh conditions, active control measures for wildlife are not currently planned.

Rabbits, rats and mice have all been eradicated from the island.

Mr Sullivan said the Australian Antarctic Division was exploring options for monitoring the situation on Macquarie Island, with a view to returning expeditioners to the station in coming seasons.

“We remain committed to maintaining a long-term presence on Macquarie Island,” he said.

Air New Zealand says high fuel costs and maintenance constraints pushed ​the airline to its largest annual loss in three years.

The carrier has been dealing with engine maintenance problems since 2023, when Pratt & Whitney recalled more than 1000 engines used on Airbus aircraft for inspections, leading to intermittent groundings in subsequent years.

Engine availability ‌issues ​cut Air New Zealand’s profit by an estimated $NZ190 million ($A173 million) for the year ended ⁠June 30, while the Middle East conflict added $NZ205 million to its fuel bill after hedging, versus expectations at the start of the second half of the year.

CEO Nikhil Ravishankar said the disruption from engine ​issues is easing substantially as Air New Zealand works with Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney to return grounded aircraft ⁠to service ahead of schedule, improving ⁠fleet availability by the end of the financial year.

“There ​are still residual risks and costs to work through, but we ​enter 2027 in a considerably more reliable fleet position,” he ‌said.

Air New Zealand swung to a loss before taxation of $NZ336 million ($A277 million), smaller than the $NZ356.5 million pretax loss forecast by Visible Alpha.

Air New Zealand said it ⁠was not yet in ‌a position to provide an earnings forecast for ⁠2027, citing volatile jet fuel prices and continued ​uncertainty ‌around the Middle East conflict.

The airline expects fiscal ​2027 to ⁠be a year of transition and recovery, with operational performance improving even as elevated fuel prices weigh on profitability. 

Air New Zealand did not declare a final dividend.

Home appliance retail giant Harvey Norman is refurbishing many of its stores as part of efforts to lure shoppers back in after a big drop in foot traffic.

The number of shoppers coming into Harvey Norman’s 195 Australian franchise locations is down 10 to 20 per cent, says executive chairman Gerry Harvey. 

“It’s across retail everywhere, except Chemist Warehouse. But discretionary retailers like us, JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys, Bunnings, all the furniture shops, bedding shops, they’re all in the same boat as us.

“When we walk through and talk to our opposition, they’re all saying customer count is down.”

Sales aren’t down to nearly that extent, indicating that when customers do come in they are still buying, Mr Harvey told AAP.

For 2025/26, like-for-like sales were up 4.7 per cent in the first half, but dropped 0.1 per cent in the second half as consumers felt the impact of three interest rate hikes and higher energy costs from the war with Iran.

Consumer confidence softened further following the federal budget in May, resulting in more cautious consumer spending.

Sales were down further in July, falling 3.4 per cent compared to July 2025, although the company said that was related mostly to the timing of some major product launches.

Harvey Norman is trying to lure shoppers back to its stores via refurbishments and a major promotion on outdoor goods that begins on September 1.

“What we’ve done, we spent a lot of money doing up our shops to a state that when they walk in, it’s a very good environment,” Mr Harvey said.

For the 12 months to June 30, his company turned a net profit before tax of $528.46 million, up two per cent from the year before.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were up five per cent to $1.2 billion.

Harvey Norman’s overseas operations contributed $135.7 million to its bottom line, including roughly one-third profit growth in New Zealand and Ireland.

The company lost $31.2 million on its United Kingdom operations, up from $23.4 million a year ago, as the company opened its second company-operated store in the country.

Harvey Norman said it was trying to build a sustainable business in the UK in the long-term, and that required investing ahead of the growth it expects to achieve.

The company declared a fully franked dividend of 27.5 cents per share, up 3.8 per cent from a year ago.

At 1pm, Harvey Norman shares were changing hands at $4.42, down 1.8 per cent from Wednesday’s close.

An intervention from the prime minister on Australia’s refugee intake is not a reflection of Labor’s broader overhaul of migration numbers, a cabinet minister says.

Anthony Albanese confirmed on Thursday the nation’s annual refugee intake would remain at 20,000 people, despite earlier reports suggesting it could be cut by one-third to 13,750 at the next federal budget.

“This intake number remains government policy and will be continued in future years, consistent with Australia’s humanitarian commitments and sits beside our strong border security measures,” he said.

The annual refugee intake was increased to 20,000 in 2023, but was due to revert to the previous level of 13,750 at the beginning of the 2027/28 financial year.

Cabinet minister Tim Ayres said refugee numbers made up a fraction of overall migration levels, and should not be viewed as a sign of further policy changes.

“There’s not a strong argument to move that figure. It’s a small part of the overall migration program,” he told News24 on Friday.

“I wouldn’t single (the refugee intake) program out. Of course, there’s a focus on skilled migration, making sure that works for us.”

Health Minister Mark Butler said keeping refugee targets at their current numbers was “not a backflip” by the prime minister.

Immigration Minister Tony Burke was set to unveil Labor’s overhaul of migration policy at the National Press Club earlier in August.

The speech was cancelled at the eleventh hour after it was not signed off by federal cabinet due to internal disagreement.

The issue of migration has come to the forefront of political debate since One Nation’s rise in opinion polling.

While the minor party had pledged to reduce annual net overseas migration to 130,000 people, there has been confusion over the policy stance from within One Nation.

One Nation MP David Farley said the migration policy would include an extra 100,000 people, such as workers from the Pacific and skilled workers, on top of the 130,000 figure.

The comments prompted an intervention by leader Pauline Hanson on social media.

Senator Hanson said the 130,000 number would be separate to the amount of Pacific workers coming in to Australia, who largely work in regional areas.

“They’re provided accommodation, usually by those on the farms. They’re not taking up the housing. So that’s a totally different matter,” she told the Bush Summit on Thursday.

The varying policy stances on migration from One Nation meant they could not be taken seriously on the issue, Senator Ayres said.

“There’s a lot of noise as One Nation and the Liberals and the Nationals kind of compete with each other,” he said.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the coalition would consider lowering the refugee intake as part of its migration policy, but any numbers would be unveiled closer to the federal election due to be held by May 2028.

“When we see what the housing construction looks like, we’ll announce the number, and the visa classes will align with that,” he told News24.

“We’re a very generous country, but charity starts at home, and we’ve got to do the right thing by Australians first.”

Mr Taylor has indicated the overall net overseas migration number will be below 200,000, but that the final figure would be tied to the number of homes completed.

The refugee debate was creating concern in communities, Greens senator David Shoebridge said.

“Supporters of those people seeking asylum were in absolute tumult, desperately concerned about what was happening, getting within less than 24 hours two totally different messages out of the government,” he told ABC Radio.

“(Immigration Minister Tony Burke) wouldn’t have presented those savage cuts unless he’d been through a process, and then it’s turned on its head by the prime minister in less than 24 hours.”

A ‌judge has blocked the US Postal Service from implementing core parts of a new rule it adopted at President Donald Trump’s ‌direction that would tighten mail-in voting requirements ahead of the November midterm elections.

US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston issued a temporary restraining ‌order at the behest of Democratic-led states and voting rights groups after the US Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling that led to the lifting of earlier injunctions blocking Trump’s plans to restrict mail-in voting.

That decision led to a frantic effort by dozens of Democratic state attorneys general and voting rights groups including the League of Women Voters to renew their legal fight and ‌secure an order ‌that would prevent ⁠the USPS from enforcing a rule that was allowed to take effect on Wednesday.

In Thursday’s ruling, Talwani said the rule risked preventing citizens from casting ‌ballots by mail unless ‌states secure the Postal Service’s ⁠sign-off on the envelopes used for that purpose and upload information on each voter into an electronic portal ​run by the agency.

The judge said the agency had presented no evidence regarding fraudulent mail-in voting that would necessitate such a rule, which she said likely was unlawful and adopted in violation of the US Constitution, which gives states the authority to administer elections.

“USPS’s interest in correcting an unsubstantiated problem through likely unconstitutional means is dwarfed by the overwhelming risk of pervasive disenfranchisement of citizens who need access to mail ballots in order to vote,” she wrote.

The ​restraining order Talwani issued will remain in place while she considers whether to issue a longer-term preliminary injunction blocking the rule. The judge, an appointee of Democratic president Barack Obama, plans to consider whether to do so during a September 3 hearing.

Under the rule, states must supply the USPS with lists of mail ballot recipients, and all outbound and return ballot envelopes must bear unique barcodes.

The White House and USPS did not immediately respond to requests for comment. ⁠

The USPS, under the rule, may refuse to deliver ballots that do ‌not comply ​with the new standards or are associated with voters who do not appear on the lists.

It issued the rule to implement ​an executive order ‌the Republican president signed in March after years of Trump calling for tighter rules on voting by mail and pushing ​the false claim that his 2020 presidential election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden was the result of widespread voter fraud.

All 50 states allow for some form of mail-in voting, with 29 allowing voters to ask to cast ballots ​that ​way without providing a reason and eight conducting ​their elections entirely by mail.

During the 2024 election, the USPS says ‌it processed nearly 100 million ballots, and about 30 per cent of voters nationwide cast ballots by mail, according to the states.

They argue the new federal restrictions risk disenfranchising voters and would unduly burden states in the weeks running up to the election, forcing them to buy new envelopes and equipment, establish new systems and train staff.

The plaintiffs argue the USPS lacks authority to issue the rule ​and by issuing it usurped the authority states and Congress were given under the US Constitution to regulate elections. They ​contend the rule also undermines ⁠the USPS’ role as a neutral mail carrier and violates federal laws protecting voters’ rights.