AMNA NAWAZ: We start the day's other headlines in Northern India.

Authorities say at least 30 people were killed and dozens more injured in a stampede during the world's largest religious gathering.

Tens of millions of Hindus have made the pilgrimage to the city of Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh festival.

Hindus believe that a ritual bath at the meeting point of some sacred rivers can wash away past sins and stop the process of reincarnation.

Authorities say the stampede broke out when people tried to jump a line of barricades.

Responders rushed people to hospitals as others tried to escape the crowd.

Some survivors say their family members are still missing.

WOMAN (through translator): We were walking when people started pushing aggressively, which led to everyone falling.

Then people started stepping and walking over us.

Nobody helped us to get up.

My father has gone missing.

AMNA NAWAZ: Officials say the situation is now under control.

The festival happens every 12 years.

More than 400 million people are expected to attend this year over a period of about six weeks.

The State Department raised its travel advisory for the Democratic Republic of Congo to its highest level today, advising Americans not to travel there.

The warning comes as the M23 rebel group is reportedly claiming more towns in the Eastern province of South Kivu.

The Rwanda-backed group had already captured Goma this week, saying they had restored peace to the city.

In the meantime, soldiers fighting for Congo, including foreign mercenaries, laid down their weapons at the border with Rwanda today.

Armed groups have long battled for control of Eastern Congo, which is rich in vital minerals.

Back in this country, federal prosecutors are dropping all criminal proceedings against President Donald Trump's co-defendants in his classified documents case.

Walt Nauta, Mr. Trump's valet, and Carlos De Oliveira, his Mar-a-Lago property manager, were charged with conspiring to obstruct the FBI's investigation into the president's reporting of classified documents.

If approved by an appeals court, today's move would effectively end the entire case.

Separately, Mr. Trump appealed to overturn his conviction in his New York hush money case.

He was sentenced earlier this month to what's known as an unconditional discharge, making him the first person with a criminal record to step into the presidency.

Former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison for his bribery conviction today.

He was found guilty last year of acting as a foreign agent of Egypt and accepting bribes of cash and gold bars in exchange for political favors.

Court sketches showed Menendez in tears as he addressed the judge today.

But the judge told him -- quote -- "You stood at the apex of our political system.

Somewhere along the way, you lost your way, and working for the public good became working for your good."

The longtime Democratic senator maintained his innocence outside court and claimed he was the victim of a political witch-hunt.

FMR.

SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D-NJ): President Trump is right.

This process is political and it's corrupted to the core.

I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system.

AMNA NAWAZ: Earlier today, two of the former senator's co-defendants were also sentenced.

The New Jersey businessmen received prison terms of seven and eight years, respectively.

On Wall Street today, stocks slipped after the Federal Reserve held steady on interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 130 points on the day.

The Nasdaq gave back about 100 points, or roughly half-a-percent.

The S&P 500 also ended in negative territory.

And we are officially in the Year of the Snake, as lunar new year festivities take place across the globe.

In Beijing, people rang bells and lit incense to ward off evil spirits and wish for good fortune as they celebrated what's also called the Spring Festival in China.

In Hong Kong, hundreds of performers took part in a night parade near the city's famous harbor.

And the streets of New York gave way to colorful dragon figures and fireworks to mark the occasion.

The lunar new year is considered a time to wish friends and loved ones good luck and prosperity for the year ahead.

Still to come on the "News Hour": new national test scores paint a bleak educational achievement picture in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic; and we remember more of the victims of California's devastating wildfires.