U.S. and world news for Jan. 31

NY criminal investigation of Trump: The New York Times reports that prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office are presenting evidence to a grand jury in a criminal investigation of Donald Trump. The investigation has to do with hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to keep secret an affair with Trump. Former Trump Attorney Michael Cohen was convicted and sentenced to five years in jail for making the payments. Cohen implicated Trump as a co-conspirator.

Covid national emergencies: President Biden has notified Congress that as of May 11 he’s ending the two national emergencies that were declared to deal with Covid. Ending the national emergencies means that government agencies will no longer have special powers to combat the virus. Any federal actions to deal with the virus will have to be taken using whatever powers an agency normally has, rather than special powers.

Colorado River: Six states have told the federal government’s Bureau of Reclamation that they have agreed on a new plan that would cut water usage from the severely depleted Colorado River. The states are Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. California remains a holdout. The states had been told to come up with a plan that would save enough water to cover from two to four million acres with a foot of water.

Suicide bomber in Pakistan: A suicide bomber caused an explosion in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing at least 59 people and injuring at least 150 others. Pakistan’s Taliban at first claimed responsibility for the bombing, then denied having anything to do with it.

Blinken calls for calm: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is visiting Jerusalem, has called on the Israeli government and Palestinian authorities to end the current round of violence and restore calm to the region. Blinken called for security to be restored for both the Israelis and the Palestinians.

More firings in Memphis: Three fire department employees in Memphis have been fired for not providing adequate medical assessment and help to Tyre Nichols after they arrived on the scene where he had been beaten by police. Two additional police officers, both White, have been suspended for taking part in the beating, bringing to seven the number of policemen involved in the case.

Cindy Williams dies: Actress Cindy Williams, who gained stardom in the 1970s sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” died at 75 following a brief illness. Williams began to gain audience attention through films including “American Graffiti” and “The Conversation” before she was cast opposite Penny Marshall as a Milwaukee brewery worker eager for a better life. Williams also starred in the cult film “Uforia” and appeared on Broadway in “The Drowsy Chaperone.”