Federal Executive Branch
Here's a look at documents from the U.S. Executive Branch
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State Dept. Issues Readout of Secretary Rubio Call With Bulgarian P.M. Gurov
WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The U.S. State Department issued the following readout by Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott on Secretary Marco Rubio's call on April 9, 2026, with Bulgarian Prime Minister Andrey Gurov:
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Bulgarian Prime Minister Andrey Gurov to thank Bulgaria for its steadfast support and ongoing security cooperation, including assistance evacuating American citizens and diplomats from the Middle East.
Secretary Rubio also expressed appreciation for Bulgaria's increased defense spending, including purchasing U.S. equipment and supporting
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WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The U.S. State Department issued the following readout by Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott on Secretary Marco Rubio's call on April 9, 2026, with Bulgarian Prime Minister Andrey Gurov:
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Bulgarian Prime Minister Andrey Gurov to thank Bulgaria for its steadfast support and ongoing security cooperation, including assistance evacuating American citizens and diplomats from the Middle East.
Secretary Rubio also expressed appreciation for Bulgaria's increased defense spending, including purchasing U.S. equipment and supportingthe Vertical Gas Corridor, which presents opportunities for U.S. liquefied natural gas exports and will provide an alternative supply of gas to Europe.
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Original text here: https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/04/secretary-rubios-call-with-bulgarian-prime-minister-gurov/
NCUA Chairman Kyle S. Hauptman Statements at the April 2026 NCUA Board Meeting
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, April 10 -- The National Credit Union Administration issued the following statement on April 9, 2026, by Chairman Kyle S. Hauptman at the April board meeting:
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As Prepared for Delivery on April 9, 2026
Opening Statement for the Board Meeting
Thank you for joining us for the Board meeting today. We have four items on today's agenda. First, we'll have a briefing on NCUA's FAQs on brokered and reciprocal deposits. Next, we'll have a presentation on the Deregulation Project. And finally, we'll have briefings on the 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, that's the third item. And
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ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, April 10 -- The National Credit Union Administration issued the following statement on April 9, 2026, by Chairman Kyle S. Hauptman at the April board meeting:
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As Prepared for Delivery on April 9, 2026
Opening Statement for the Board Meeting
Thank you for joining us for the Board meeting today. We have four items on today's agenda. First, we'll have a briefing on NCUA's FAQs on brokered and reciprocal deposits. Next, we'll have a presentation on the Deregulation Project. And finally, we'll have briefings on the 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, that's the third item. Andthen the fourth and final item is 2026 Annual Performance Plan.
I'd also like to provide a few updates before we begin.
As you all know, making it easier to start a credit union is a priority of mine. I'm pleased to announce progress towards that goal.
At the end of March, we updated the Charter Application Guide. This update will allow for easier navigation for potential applicants.
We also updated the system for applying for a charter, known as the Consumer Access Processing and Reporting Information System, or CAPRIS. This CAPRIS update focused on the charter application process. The first phase of this process is focused on Establishing a Field of Membership.
The Office of Credit Union Resources and Expansion, or CURE, has been hard at work to reduce the submission requirements for prospective applicants who are working on the Field of Membership phase of the charter process.
The resulting changes make CAPRIS easier to navigate. Additionally, applicants can now submit their Phase 1 form securely web.
CURE has CAPRIS system user instructions to assist prospective applicants and is in the process of developing demonstration videos to provide further assistance. These videos will be out in the coming months.
Additional updates to other phases of the Chartering Guide are forthcoming. I appreciate the hard work of CURE and supporting offices.
One another note, at the December Board meeting I mentioned the agency's reorganization.
It will take some time to transition from our present state, but we currently expect full implementation of the agency reorganization by December 31, 2027.
This timeline allows our Implementation Team to finalize details, gather input, meet bargaining requirements, and ensure a smooth transition to the new structure.
Later in the Board Meeting, Acting CFO Melissa Lowden will highlight how the reorganization aligns with the agency's future planning.
Statement Following the Brokered and Reciprocal Deposit FAQs Briefing
Frank, thank you for your presentation on Brokered and Reciprocal Deposits FAQs.
My purpose in issuing this set of FAQs was to offer regulatory clarity for federally insured credit unions (FICUs), confirming that participation in brokered and reciprocal deposit networks is permitted.
This was a necessary step to dispel any uncertainty or hesitation among FICUs who may be interested in participating in such networks.
These FAQs are meant only to inform credit unions and other credit union stakeholders about what is permissible. NCUA is not encouraging action (or inaction) and NCUA is not advocating for particular networks or vendors, or the use of a network at all.
Brokered deposits can be a great asset to credit unions by offering large amounts of liquidity while reciprocal deposits allow members to place large balances and still receive full share insurance protection.
The benefits are vast and go beyond these examples, but there are possible disadvantages to consider.
As you mentioned Frank, an overreliance on brokered and reciprocal deposits can increase a FICU's risk profile and lead to higher rates and downgrades in CAMELS ratings.
So, as credit unions explore these options, they should weigh the pros and cons for their specific institutions.
I believe these FAQs will provide greater clarity for credit unions looking to participate in these networks and offer these services.
While I must reemphasize that Field of Membership regulations still apply, credit unions should have a better understanding of what is permissible.
Statement Following the NCUA Deregulation Project Briefing
Amanda, thank you for your Board briefing on the NCUA Deregulation Project.
I'm encouraged by the progress that's been made in just these last months since we announced the Deregulation Project in December.
As you noted, we've already released 29 Notice of Proposed Rulemakings and received more than 200 comments. And we are not done. Just this week, we announced the ninth round of deregulation proposals, which relates to Chartering and Field of Membership eligibility.
We intend to keep moving on Phase 1 of the Deregulation Project while continuing to focus our attention on other regulatory priorities like the implementation of the GENIUS ACT.
Statement Following the 2026-2030 Strategic Plan Briefing
Melissa and Jim, thank you for your presentation on NCUA's 2026-2030 Strategic Plan.
Our strategic plan sets forth NCUA's mission, vision, and values. It also establishes NCUA's goals and objectives for the next remainder of the Administration.
As Melissa noted - this plan wasn't developed in a vacuum. It relied on input from stakeholders internally and externally.
We're proud to have hosted our first-ever Strategic Plan Town Hall where we sought out input from credit unions, CUSOs, leagues, and trades. We also invited the general public and our NCUA employees to provide feedback and recommendations through the AskNCUA tool. Altogether - we received more than 250 responses.
I appreciate the time and efforts of those who provided NCUA with your feedback. Your input has helped shape the next chapter of the NCUA's work. It's truly what the credit union principle of "people helping people" is all about.
I am pleased to publicly release this Strategic Plan today, which establishes NCUA's three strategic goals for the upcoming years.
Statement Following the 2026 Annual Performance Plan Briefing
Melissa and Jim, thank you for your presentation on the NCUA's 2026 Annual Performance Plan.
As you noted, our 2026 Annual Performance Plan establishes the agency's performance priorities for the first year of our 2026 - 2030 Strategic Plan. It provides specific and measurable outcomes to guide our progress and performance throughout the remainder of 2026.
I have a few questions for you about all of these reports, which will hopefully help clarify for the public why we are doing all of this. We've issued a lot of reports lately. Last week, we released the 2025 Annual Report. Today, we're releasing the 2026 - 2030 Strategic Plan and the 2026 Annual Performance Plan.
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Original text here: https://ncua.gov/newsroom/speech/2026/ncua-chairman-kyle-s-hauptman-statements-april-2026-ncua-board-meeting
Fed: India and the Global Economy
WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The Federal Reserve issued the following Fed Notes article:
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India and the Global Economy
Patrice Robitaille
1. Introduction
With a population of 1.4 billion, India is the world's most populous country. It is also now the world's fastest growing economy and is currently the 5th largest economy measured at current exchange rates, poised to overtake Japan and Germany in coming years (Figure 1)./2 Yet its share in the world economy is nowhere near its 20 percent share of the world's population. Even though India has surpassed China in population, its share of global
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WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The Federal Reserve issued the following Fed Notes article:
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India and the Global Economy
Patrice Robitaille
1. Introduction
With a population of 1.4 billion, India is the world's most populous country. It is also now the world's fastest growing economy and is currently the 5th largest economy measured at current exchange rates, poised to overtake Japan and Germany in coming years (Figure 1)./2 Yet its share in the world economy is nowhere near its 20 percent share of the world's population. Even though India has surpassed China in population, its share of globalGDP is only 3 percent, compared to 17 percent for China, and India's share in global merchandise trade is even less (Figure 2). India's government aims to reach high-income status by 2047, the 100th anniversary of its independence./3
Figure 1. World's Largest Economies by Size in 2025
Figure 2. World Shares in 2024
India's economic trajectory has differed markedly from that of earlier high-growth Asian economies. While China, Japan, and Korea grew rapidly by pursuing a manufacturing export-led growth strategy, India's growth has been driven disproportionately by services. As a result, India's integration into global manufacturing supply chains has been limited, even as the country has become a major exporter of information technology, business services, and other professional services.
In this note, I review the factors that could promote a larger role for India in the global economy and highlight challenges the country faces in realizing that potential. I first discuss India's growth experience and the policy choices that have shaped India's development path and document the country's relatively limited integration into global manufacturing alongside its rapid expansion in tradable services. I then tackle two key questions about India's economic outlook that these patterns raise: First, can India become more competitive in global manufacturing and follow, at least in part, the export-led development model that powered growth in other Asian economies? Second, in an era of rapid technological change--particularly the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI)--can export-oriented services continue to serve as a major engine of India's economic growth?
2. India's Growth Experience
Catch-up growth and favorable demographics
India has become, by some distance, the world's fastest growing major economy. As shown by the green bars in Figure 3, excluding the pandemic period, real GDP growth has averaged roughly 6-1/2 to 7-1/2 percent since the early 1990s, well above most other emerging market economies./4 By contrast, China's growth has slowed markedly over the past 15 years to now be well below India's.
Figure 3. Real GDP Growth, 1991 to 2025
It is likely that India will continue to grow relatively rapidly. India's relatively low income level suggests considerable scope for catch-up growth, reflecting the idea of economic convergence whereby less-developed countries grow faster. GDP per capita in India is approximately $2,800, about one-fifth of China's level and roughly 4 percent of U.S. per-capita income (Figure 4). Moreover, India faces relatively favorable demographics. According to United Nations projections, India's working-age population is expected to rise for several more decades, whereas China's is projected to decline rapidly (Figure 5). In 50 years, India's working-age population is projected to be more than twice as large as China's.
Figure 4. GDP per capita
Figure 5. Working Age Population
India's relatively young population also means that India will not be facing, at least for some time, the social and fiscal pressures associated with population aging other countries have been confronting. However, India's low female labor force participation rate has limited the extent to which the country could fully benefit from its demographic advantages. Increasing women's participation in the workforce would likely boost economic growth and improve overall welfare./5
Structural Transformation and Manufacturing
Like many rapidly developing countries, India's workforce has gradually shifted out of the low-productivity agricultural sector (green line in Figure 6). But this process has been slower than in other economies with comparable levels of development and had stalled following the pandemic. Moreover, relatively few of India's large mass of unskilled workers have been absorbed by the manufacturing sector (red line in Figure 6)./6
Figure 6. Employment by Sector
The reallocation of workers from agriculture to export-oriented manufacturing firms has been an important driver of productivity growth in countries such as China and other Asian economies that experienced so-called 'growth miracles.' As seen in Figure 7, towards the end of their growth miracle phase, manufacturing accounted for a quarter to a third of GDP in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan--well over India's share.
Figure 7. Manufacturing GDP's Share
By contrast, as seen by the blue portions of the bars in Figure 8, India's growth has been driven largely by services, including its booming business providing financial, professional, and IT services to global companies. Manufacturing (the red portions) has been a minor contribution to growth. India's limited degree of integration in global manufacturing but rapid growth in services raise the two questions I highlighted earlier, which the remainder of this note focuses on.
Figure 8. Contributions to GDP Growth
3. Can India become competitive in global manufacturing?
A long-standing obstacle to manufacturing exports-led growth is India's high trade barriers, which has hurt its ability to benefit from globalization. To be sure, India undertook economic reforms in the 1990s, ending decades of economic isolation, cutting tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers and lowering restrictions to foreign direct investment. India's average tariff rate, which stood at 125 percent on the eve of its balance of payments crisis in 1991, was slashed to 40 percent in the mid-1990s (Srinivasan, 2001; Singh, 2017). As seen by the black line in Figure 9, India's average tariff rate subsequently declined to 13 percent in 2010. But the average tariff rate subsequently moved up somewhat and remains among the highest in emerging market economies. India's tariffs on agricultural products (the gold line) are particularly high, as India has sought to protect agricultural workers and promote food self-sufficiency.
Figure 9. Average Tariff Rate
India also opted out of the world's largest free trade agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, in 2019, largely to protect its agriculture and industry from competition from China (Schott, 2020). But this step further undermined its ability to gain a foothold in the global supply chain. India was not a major beneficiary of shift in global supply chains following U.S. imposition of tariffs on China in 2017-18 based on data through 2022 (Hoang and Lewis 2024; Freund et al. 2025;).
More recently, though, as seen in Figure 10, India appears to be fast displacing China as a supplier of smartphones to the U.S. As has been the case in countries that have seen an increased share of U.S. imports, India's imports from China have also risen. But a deliberate policy choice by India--its moves to reduce tariffs on smartphone components--may have also made it more attractive to produce smartphones in India./7 India has also been attempting to promote exports in other areas of electronics, semiconductors, and other sectors with the help of fiscal subsidies (IMF 2025b).
Figure 10. U.S. Smartphone Imports
To achieve broader success, India needs to improve the cost of doing business. India is a difficult place to do business, with a complex and unpredictable regulatory environment, restrictive labor laws, and underdeveloped infrastructure. Consequently, as seen in Figure 11, net inward FDI, since its peak before the global financial crisis, has declined and has been very low. India's struggle to attract foreign investment in manufacturing has limited an important channel for technology transfer./8 It has also made it difficult for India to benefit from its potentially large internal market.
Figure 11. Inward FDI
The Modi government, which has been in office since 2014, has taken some steps to address these issues. India introduced an inflation targeting framework in 2016 that has succeeded at bringing inflation down. The 2017 General Services Tax (GST) reform greatly simplified India's tax system and reduced trade costs./9 Under the leadership of the Reserve Bank of India (the country's central bank), banks, which were saddled with bad loans in the 2010s, were also cleaned up. India has been investing heavily in its digital public infrastructure, which has transformed payments and improved access to the financial system. And India has been making major investments in railways, roads, and other physical infrastructure. Moreover, some state and local governments, particularly in India's more prosperous south, have strived to provide a more welcoming business environment, a strategy that appears to be bearing fruit.
4. Can export-oriented services continue to fuel India's overall growth?
India's challenging business environment impinges particularly heavily on its manufacturing sector. By contrast, India has excelled as a provider of global services. Service exports exceeded 10 percent of GDP last year and accounted for almost half of India's total exports (Figure 12). India has been particularly successful not only as the 'back office of the world,' but also in other areas, including semiconductor chip design. But trade in services has not fueled India's development the way manufacturing has done for other countries.
Figure 12. Services Share of Total Exports
Furthermore, the rise of Generative AI could disrupt India's service outsourcing model. Since early 2025, equity returns of India's 6 largest outsourcing firms, the blue line in Figure 13, have underperformed India's benchmark stock market index, the red line, in part reflecting investor concerns about whether India's global service providers will adapt./10 On the other hand, AI could also increase demand for India's huge pool of STEM workers. India is second only to China in producing STEM graduates (Figure 14)./11 And, as in China, this pool of talent can also serve as a domestic engine of growth.
Figure 13. Equity Returns
Figure 14. Number of STEM Graduates, Selected Countries
More generally, unlike manufacturing firms, India's globally competitive service providers require high-skill workers. It seems unlikely, therefore, that a tradable services-driven growth model can absorb India's largely unskilled workforce in the way that manufacturing-led growth has done for other countries.
5. Conclusion
India aspires to become a high-income country by 2047. To reach that goal, India's growth would need to step up markedly from its already-high pace. This will be a challenge. Not only are the domestic hurdles high but the external environment has shifted, and it will be harder for other countries to follow in the footsteps of China, especially one as large as India. Even if only partially successful, however, what is likely is that India, given its size, will consolidate its place among the very largest economies. As China's growth did before it, India's growth could therefore have significant implications for the rest of the world, both economic and geopolitical.
India could become a bigger consumer of commodities. India may also take more of the export markets that China has vacated. And, not least, India's growth could open a potentially large, new consumer market. Geopolitically, India, as the world's largest democracy, has often been seen as a counterweight to China. But India's government has also emphasized that it prefers to preserve policy independence ('strategic autonomy'). India's rise therefore could lead to an increasingly multipolar world, creating both opportunities and instability as the country balances strategic autonomy with global engagement.
References
Acharya, S. (2025) 'India axes import tax on some smartphone parts in boost to Apple, Xiaomi,' Reuters, 1 February.
Bloomberg Finance, LP. Bloomberg Terminals (Open, Anywhere, and Disaster Recovery Licenses), January 4, 2023 to February 27, 2026.
The Economist (2024). 'The mystery of India's female labour-force participation rate.' 21 November.
Freund, C., Mattoo, A., Mulabdic, A., and Ruta, M. (2024). Is US trade policy reshaping global supply chains? Journal of International Economics, 152, 104011.
Government of India, Ministry of Education (2020, 2021). All India Survey on Higher Education 2019-20, 2020-21).
Government of India, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (2026). First Advance Estimates of Gross Domestic Product, 2025-26. Press Note 7 January.
Hoang, T., and Lewis, G. (2024), 'As the U.S. is Derisking from China, Other Foreign U.S. Suppliers Are Relying More on Chinese Imports,' FEDS note, 2 August.
International Monetary Fund (2023). 2023 Article IV Consultation, India. IMF Country Report No. 23/426, December.
--- (2025a). 2024 Article IV Consultation, India. IMF Country Report No. 25/54, February.
--- (2025b). 2024 Article IV Consultation, India. IMF Country Report No. 25/314, November.
Kumar, M. (2022). 'Modi says India aims to become developed nation in 25 years.' Reuters, 15 August.
Oliss, B., McFaul, C., and J. C. Riddick (2023). 'The Global Distribution of Stem Graduates: Which Countries Lead the Way?', Center for Security and Emerging Technology, 27 November.
OECD (2025), "Number of enrolled students, graduates and new entrants by field of education," OECD Education Statistics (database), https://data-explorer.oecd.org/ (Accessed March 10, 2026).
Rajan, R. and Lamba, R. (2023). Breaking the Mould: Reimagining India's Economic Future. Penguin Random House India Private Limited.
Schott, J. J. (2020). 'Has India's Trade Negotiating Strategy Hit a Dead End?' In A Wary Partnership: Future of US-India Economic Relations. PIIE Briefing, 20(2), 70-84.
Shah, A., and D. Pandya (2026). 'India gives 20-year tax holiday to foreign firms using local data centres,' Reuters. 1 February.
Singh, H. V. (2017). Trade policy reform in India since 1991. Brookings India Working Paper 02, March.
Srinivasan, T. N. (2001). India's reform of external sector policies and future multilateral trade negotiations. Yale University Economic Growth Center Discussion Paper. No. 830.
Srivastava, S. Phartiyal, S., and Bhatia, R. (2025). ' India Plans Near $3 Billion Aid, Tariff Cuts for Electronics,' Bloomberg, 6 January.
Van Leemput, E. (2021). A passage to India: Quantifying internal and external barriers to trade. Journal of International Economics, 131, 103473.
Van Leemput, E. and E. A. Wiencek (2017). 'The Effect of the GST on Indian Growth,' IFDP Notes. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 24 March.
World Bank (2025). India - Country Economic Memorandum: Becoming a High-Income Economy in a Generation.
World Bank, World Development Indicators.
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1./ Patrice Robitaille is with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The views expressed in this note are my own, and do not represent the views of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, nor any other person associated with the Federal Reserve System. Omar Farrag provided excellent research assistance. I thank several colleagues, especially Shaghil Ahmed, Florencia Airaudo, Michele Dathan, Jasper Hoek, and Eva Van Leemput, for very helpful comments, and Claudia Carr and Michele Dathan for help with the stock price data. Return to text
2./ Throughout this note, I measure GDP at market exchange rates rather than a Purchasing Power Parity exchange rates because I focus on India's role in the global economy. Return to text
3./ This goal was first articulated in 2022 (Kumar 2022). Keep in mind that raising India's to high income country status by 2047 would put India's GDP per capita at about the level of where Chile and Romania are today, indicating still much room for further catch-up growth. As of 2024, GDP per capita for Chile and Romania, both classified as high-income countries by the World Bank, stood at $16,700 and $20,000, respectively. World Bank methodology and data. Return to text
4./ This note was in the final stages when India released its benchmark revision to its national accounts. Incorporating the changes would make no major difference to our narrative. The revision raises India's average real GDP average growth to 6.8 percent over 1993-2007 period and again to 6.8 percent over the 2008-2019 period. For the 2022-25 period, average growth is revised down to 7.3 percent, reflecting the 2-percentage point downward revision to growth in 2023--fiscal year 2023-2024--from 9.2 to 7.2 percent. Return to text
5./ The Economist (2024), IMF (2023, 2025a). Unemployment rates for women also tend to be higher than for men, particularly for the more highly educated. According to the World Bank's WDI, the unemployment rates for both men and women with at least some tertiary education have been trending down since 2020, but in 2024 for women (20.9 percent) was well above that for men (11.0 percent). Return to text
6./ The data in Figure 6 are from the Reserve Bank of India's KLEMS database, which goes through 2022. This is the most recent year for which employment data for the manufacturing sector is available. In more recent data, the agricultural sector still accounted for 43 percent of total employment in 2024 (World Bank Development Indicators, retrieved February 20, 2026). Return to text
7./ India's imports from China grew about 10 and 14 percent in 2024 and 2025, respectively, well-exceeding growth in India's total imports. In February 2025, Indian authorities reduced tariffs on imported intermediate goods (Srivastava, Phartiyal, and Bhatia 2025). More broadly, according to the IMF (2025b), the average tariff rate on industrial products has declined to 10.7 percent from 13.5 percent in 2023. Return to text
8./ India's government recently proposed a tax holiday until 2027 for foreign companies that use data centers built in India to provide global services. One factor reportedly holding back construction of data centers was the fear that the government would impose taxes on future income (Shah and Pandya 2026). Return to text
9./ Van Leemput and Weincek (2017) employ the framework of Van Leemput (2021) to study the potential long-term effects on welfare and GDP of a fall in internal barriers to trade from the GST reform. They found non-trivial positive effects on welfare and GDP. The GST was simplified in the fall of 2025, but that tax reform also amounted to fiscal stimulus, as it was designed as a tax cut to cushion the effects of the U.S. government's 50 percent tariff. Though the simpler tax structure could broaden the tax base by reducing tax evasion (IMF 2025b). Return to text
10./ Outsourcing firms in the rest of the world, not shown, have also seen price declines, especially since early February 2026. Return to text
11./ The 2.6 million STEM graduates for India in Figure 14 from Oliss et al (2023) align with our estimates from the All-India Survey on Higher Education 2019-20 and 2020-21 (2.3 and 2.6 million; Government of India 2020, 2021). A caveat about these figures is that the quality of many of India's higher education institutions is widely seen as low (Rajan and Lamba 2023). Return to text
Please cite this note as:
Robitaille, Patrice (2026). "India and the Global Economy," FEDS Notes. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 08, 2026, https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.4033.
Disclaimer: FEDS Notes are articles in which Board staff offer their own views and present analysis on a range of topics in economics and finance. These articles are shorter and less technically oriented than FEDS Working Papers and IFDP papers.
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Original text here: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/india-and-the-global-economy-20260408.html
City of East St. Louis Consents to Clean Water Act Violations and Agrees to Implement Actions to Address Unlawful Discharges of Untreated Sewage
FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Illinois, April 10 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois posted the following news release on April 9, 2026:
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City of East St. Louis consents to Clean Water Act violations and agrees to implement actions to address unlawful discharges of untreated sewage
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - The Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of Illinois reached an interim agreement with the City of East St. Louis, Illinois to address the City's Clean Water Act violations.
In December 2024, the Justice Department's Environment
... Show Full Article
FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Illinois, April 10 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois posted the following news release on April 9, 2026:
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City of East St. Louis consents to Clean Water Act violations and agrees to implement actions to address unlawful discharges of untreated sewage
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - The Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of Illinois reached an interim agreement with the City of East St. Louis, Illinois to address the City's Clean Water Act violations.
In December 2024, the Justice Department's Environmentand Natural Resources Division's Environmental Enforcement Section filed a complaint against the City due to its failure to operate its sewer system in compliance with the Clean Water Act. According to the complaint, the failure led to hundreds of unlawful discharges of untreated sewage to various locations in the community, including the Mississippi River and Whispering Willow Lake in Frank Holten State Park.
On March 11, 2026, the United States, the State of Illinois, and the City of East St. Louis entered a Stipulation of Judgment on Liability, Stay of Litigation, and Interim Relief. The stipulation was approved by United States District Judge David W. Dugan on March 19. In the stipulation, the City of East St. Louis consented to liability on Counts One through Nine in the Complaint.
The parties further agreed to a stay of discovery and the court proceedings to allow for the preparation of a Long-Term Control Plan. According to their stipulation, the City will submit a revised Long-Term Control Plan no later than June 30, 2027. During the stay, the parties agreed to file bi-monthly status reports with the Court on the last business day of every other month.
"This interim agreement shows a shared commitment between the parties to continue working towards the improvement of health and safety in the local community," said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.
EPA and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency investigated the case.
Attorneys with the Environment and Natural Resources Division's Environmental Enforcement Section and Illinois Attorney General's office are handling the case.
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Original text here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdil/pr/city-east-st-louis-consents-clean-water-act-violations-and-agrees-implement-actions
CPSC Issues Recall Alert Involving Supernova & Typhoon Lighters
WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the following recall alert on April 9, 2026:
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Name of Product: Supernova and Typhoon Lighters
Hazard: The recalled lighters violate the mandatory standard for cigarette lighters because they do not have the required child-resistant mechanism, posing a risk of serious injury or death from fire and burn hazards.
In addition, the lighters failed to meet the pre-market lighter submission requirement needed to demonstrate that the lighters feature child-resistant mechanisms and ensuring their safety and compliance with U.S.
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the following recall alert on April 9, 2026:
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Name of Product: Supernova and Typhoon Lighters
Hazard: The recalled lighters violate the mandatory standard for cigarette lighters because they do not have the required child-resistant mechanism, posing a risk of serious injury or death from fire and burn hazards.
In addition, the lighters failed to meet the pre-market lighter submission requirement needed to demonstrate that the lighters feature child-resistant mechanisms and ensuring their safety and compliance with U.S.regulations.
Remedy: Refund
Recall Date: April 09, 2026
Units: About 4,300
Consumer Contact: Prestige Import Group toll free at 877-977-3022 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, email at salesdept2@prestigeimportgroup.com or online at https://www.prestigeimportgroup.com/recall or prestigeimportgroup.com and click "Recall" on the bottom of the page for more information.
Recall Details
Description: This recall involves two Prestige-branded metal, butane torch lighters. The Supernova gray and black lighters have a rugged, industrial look, a textured grip with a mesh-like metal panel on the side with three horizontal bands and a cap at the top of the flame valve. The Typhoon rectangular lighters are silver, black and black/silver with a metal and matte finish and have the ignition trigger on the side with a cap on top of the flame valve.
Remedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled lighters immediately and contact Prestige Import Group for a full refund or store credit. Consumers will be asked to write "Recalled" in permanent marker and send a photo of the marked lighter to salesdept2@prestigeimportgroup.com. Consumers should then dispose of the recalled product in accordance with state and local waste disposal procedures.
Incidents/Injuries: None Reported
Sold At: Small independent stores nationwide and online at prestigeimportgroup.com from October 2023 through March 2026 for between $7 and $10.
Importer(s): Prestige Import Group, of Deerfield, Florida
Manufactured In: China
Recall number: 26-404
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Original text here: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2026/Prestige-Import-Group-Recalls-Supernova-and-Typhoon-Lighters-Due-to-Risk-of-Serious-Injury-or-Death-from-Fire-and-Burn-Hazards-Violates-Mandatory-Standard-for-Cigarette-Lighters
CPSC Issues Recall Alert Involving Happiness Light LED Lights
WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the following recall alert on April 9, 2026:
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Name of Product: Happiness Light LED Lights
Hazard: The recalled LED lights violate the mandatory standard for consumer products containing button cell or coin batteries because they contain lithium coin batteries that can be accessed easily by children, posing an ingestion hazard. Additionally, the LED lights do not have the warnings as required by Reese's Law. When button cell or coin batteries are swallowed, the ingested batteries can cause serious injuries, internal chemical
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the following recall alert on April 9, 2026:
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Name of Product: Happiness Light LED Lights
Hazard: The recalled LED lights violate the mandatory standard for consumer products containing button cell or coin batteries because they contain lithium coin batteries that can be accessed easily by children, posing an ingestion hazard. Additionally, the LED lights do not have the warnings as required by Reese's Law. When button cell or coin batteries are swallowed, the ingested batteries can cause serious injuries, internal chemicalburns and death.
Remedy: Refund
Recall Date: April 09, 2026
Units: About 2,800
Consumer Contact: Happiness Light by email at usa@happinesslight.com
Recall Details
Description: This recall involves Happiness Light LED lights. The recalled round lights emit a white light. Each of the 24 LED lights includes two CR2032 lithium coin batteries. The LED lights measure about 1.18 inches in diameter.This recall involves Happiness Light LED lights. The recalled round lights emit a white light. Each of the 24 LED lights includes two CR2032 lithium coin batteries. The LED lights measure about 1.18 inches in diameter.
Remedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled LED lights immediately and place them in an area where children cannot access them. Consumers will be asked to disassemble the lights and submerge all of the components in water. To receive a full refund, email a photo showing the submerged product to usa@happinesslight.com.
Note: Button cell and coin batteries are hazardous. Batteries should be disposed of or recycled by following local hazardous waste procedures.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported
Sold Online At: Amazon.com from March 2024 through February 2026 for about $20.
Retailer: J U Kai Technology Co., LTD, dba Happiness Light, of China
Manufactured In: China
Recall number: 26-403
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Original text here: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2026/LED-Lights-Recalled-Due-to-Risk-of-Serious-Injury-or-Death-from-Battery-Ingestion-Violates-Mandatory-Standard-for-Consumer-Products-with-Coin-Batteries-Sold-on-Amazon-by-Happiness-Light
Bureau of Reclamation: Water Diversions Have Started at St. Mary Diversion Dam
WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation issued the following news release:
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Water diversions have started at St. Mary Diversion Dam
Halls Coulee Siphon reaches final completion
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BILLINGS, Mont. - The Bureau of Reclamation announced that construction at the Halls Coulee Siphon has finished ahead of schedule, marking another major milestone in the ongoing effort to restore and modernize critical St. Mary Project infrastructure. Water diversions at the St. Mary Diversion Dam began Tuesday, April 7.
The St. Mary system is a vital component of Reclamation's
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation issued the following news release:
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Water diversions have started at St. Mary Diversion Dam
Halls Coulee Siphon reaches final completion
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BILLINGS, Mont. - The Bureau of Reclamation announced that construction at the Halls Coulee Siphon has finished ahead of schedule, marking another major milestone in the ongoing effort to restore and modernize critical St. Mary Project infrastructure. Water diversions at the St. Mary Diversion Dam began Tuesday, April 7.
The St. Mary system is a vital component of Reclamation'sMilk River Project in north-central Montana. Water delivered through the St. Mary facilities supports approximately 110,000 acres of irrigated agriculture, approximately 150 individual pumpers, several communities, and the Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge. In an average year, the St. Mary system provides more than 60 percent of the Milk River Project water supply, and in dry years that share can exceed 80 percent.
"This milestone shows what can be accomplished when partners come together around a shared purpose," said Ryan Newman, Bureau of Reclamation Montana Area Office manager. "With the Halls Coulee Siphon complete and diversions resuming at St. Mary, we are restoring a system that is essential to farms, communities, and water users across north-central Montana. It took strong coordination, persistence, and commitment from many partners to reach this point."
The announcement follows extensive work to address aging infrastructure within the St. Mary Unit. The St. Mary Diversion Dam and Canal were originally completed in 1915 as part of the Milk River Project. On June 17, 2024, both barrels of the St. Mary River siphon experienced structural failure, forcing an immediate stop to diversions from the St. Mary River into the Milk River system. Reclamation then made emergency determinations that allowed design, environmental review, and construction activities to move forward on an accelerated schedule for both the St. Mary siphon and Halls Coulee Siphon.
Reclamation completed replacement of the St. Mary siphon in June 2025, restoring a major section of the system and allowing crews to advance work on Halls Coulee. The completion of Halls Coulee now represents another important step in improving reliability across the St. Mary Canal system and supporting continued delivery of water to project beneficiaries.
The broader St. Mary Diversion Dam Replacement Project also continues near Babb, Montana. That work includes replacement of aging diversion and headworks features with a modernized system designed to improve operations, enhance reliability, and provide fish passage and fish protection measures for bull trout in compliance with the Endangered Species Act. Reclamation has stated that the larger diversion dam replacement work began on site in 2024 and is anticipated to continue through 2028.
Reclamation will continue coordinating closely with project partners and stakeholders as work progresses across the St. Mary system.
For more information, visit Reclamation's Montana Area Office website at, www.usbr.gov/gp/mtao/.
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Original text here: https://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/news-release/5314
