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Episode Date: September 4, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Gail Snyder. The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to clear the way for a plan by the U.S. Postal Service to restrict mail-in voting for the midterm election. NPR's Hansi-Lewong reports. For now, the U.S. Postal Service is blocked for moving ahead with key parts of its plan. We should note U.S.PS's financial support of NPR. The Postal Service's plan involves delivering mail-in balance only to people on voter lists that the states would have to turn over to the mailing agency. A federal judge in Boston has found that plan is likely illegal because USPS has no authority to control voting by mail. Last month, the Supreme Court ruled on a procedural question about this legal fight.

The High Court has not ruled yet on the legality of the Postal Services plan. And there's a little time left for the plan to be fully carried out before mail-in voting starts for the midterm election. North Carolina set to begin sending out ballots Friday. Anzi Luong, NPR News. The billionaire Leon Black is refusing to speak with lawmakers about his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Sennie. Epstein. Instead, he's filed a lawsuit against the congressional panel running the investigation. Here's MPR's Bill Chapel. Leon Black is refusing to obey two subpoenas from the House Oversight Committee. The panel wants him to share any nondisclosure agreements he might be a party to and to testify

about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein. But Black says the House Committee doesn't have the power to do that. His lawsuit names the committee and its chair, Republican Representative James Comer of Kentucky. In response, Comer says he wants to hold the billionaire investor in contempt. Of all the powerful people interviewed by the committee, Comer said, Leon Black is the first to file a lawsuit. Bill Chappell, NPR News. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrell is applauding a state court's action that paves the way, at least for now, for the return of two NFL players to college football. Merle says the players were not getting a fair shake from the SEC or the NCAA. You know, I want to congratulate the lawyers here for the players. They came to this court asking for a fair and unbiased

forum to decide the agreements that they brought about the way these rules were being applied to them. After an hour's long hearing Thursday, a judge in East Baton Rouge Paris issued a preliminary injunction in that high-profile eligibility case that's working its way through the courts. The judge's order means the two players can join their former coach at Ellis which opens play against Clemson this weekend. Nine days after a huge flash flood in Nepal, all officials say rescuers have pulled two survivors from a tunnel linked to a hydro power plant. The two have been identified as a mechanical foreman and a mechanical supervisor.

Local authorities say some 900 workers are missing from multiple hydropower projects in Nepal, with many believed to be trapped in tunnels. The floods nine days ago killed more than 1,200 people. thousands remain missing. This is NPR. The federal immigration and customs enforcement officer is expected to make an initial court's appearance Friday. NPR has confirmed that ICE officer Christian Castro turned himself in and as in federal custody. Castro is charged with lying to investigators about the events leading up to the shooting of a Venezuelan man during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. The city of Toronto, still cleaning up.

after a powerful storm hit southern Ontario. Dan Carpenshock reports that even Roger Stadium, home of Major League Baseball's Blue Jays, sustained significant damage. Video taken from a house stadium staff are still assessing the damage. Nearby tents and temporary structures were also destroyed. The storm brought almost a month's worth of heavy rain,

golf ball-sized hail, and winds gusting to more than 60 miles an hour. Trees were downed in several major roads, including the north-south Don Valley Parkway and Gardner Expressway were flooded. Some drivers needed to be rescued from the vehicles. Environment Canada also issued weather alerts across southern Ontario, as well as a tornado warning. At the height of the storm,

thousands of people in the city were without power. For NPR News, I'm Dan Carpinchuk in Toronto. Global stock markets are advancing shares in Asia, largely higher in Friday trading after Wall Street gained ground. Stocks in Japan, South Korea and China rising. After the S&P 500 rose more than 1% Thursday, with tech stocks powering much of the gains. Looking ahead, investigators are waiting, rather investors are waiting for the Friday release of the Labor Department's jobs report.