Good morning. The Legislature is back and a lot has changed since a short recess began.

Black clothing, a flashlight with a black sock covering and possible entry in a basement in the dark of night. The probable cause statement by police against Sen. Nicole Mitchell doesn’t look good in an alleged break-in at a family member’s house in Detroit Lakes. The Woodbury DFLer disputes ill-intent and instead says her stepmom’s mental state is at issue. Mitchell reportedly told police she was trying to recover some items of her deceased father, including some of his ashes. Her next court appearance is in June.

There will naturally be questions about Mitchell’s ability to participate while the felony case is pending. Many remain unanswered. But she won’t have protection from the state Constitution’s arrest clause for lawmakers, which reads: “The members of each house in all cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace, shall be privileged from arrest during the session of their respective houses and in going to or returning from the same. For any speech or debate in either house they shall not be questioned in any other place.” That’s because of the felony level. Her next court hearing isn’t until after the legislative session. Senate rules allow ethics matters to be deferred while criminal proceedings are in progress. Another big question: If a lawmaker’s standing or ability to vote is called into question, can that lawmaker vote on it?

The serious criminal charge has put the power dynamic and prospects in question for the last four weeks of the legislative session. Senate leaders split over the path forward and whether Mitchell, the 34th Senate DFL vote in a one-seat majority, should keep her seat. DFL Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy called for due process for Mitchell while calling the allegations “upsetting.” Meanwhile, GOP Minority Leader Mark Johnson said she should resign immediately. Other lawmakers, particularly DFLers, could be put on record soon over Mitchell and her ability to participate in the session’s finale. Dana Ferguson and Clay Masters report on the fallout and what policy proposals could be affected by a potentially deadlocked Minnesota Senate.

University of Minnesota police arrested 9 people protesting the Israel-Hamas war and its effect on Gaza via an encampment protest Tuesday morning. Encampment organizers began setting up tents on Northrop Mall at 4 a.m., modeling the protests at Columbia University and a wave of other protests on university campuses across the country. A livestream video showed that authorities removed the tents and detained those involved in the encampment around 7 a.m. The organizers want the university to sever financial ties with companies that do business with the Israeli military, ban companies like Lockheed Martin, Honeywell and General Dynamics from hosting job recruitments on campus, and call for amnesty for any students and faculty members disciplined in the protest. Students were placed in custody at Hennepin County jail for trespassing and at least a dozen protestors gathered outside the jail to protest the arrests. In a statement, the university said the protestors were in violation of both University policy and state trespassing law, and that tents are not allowed on University property for any purpose without a permit. 

In former President Donald Trump’s trial, a longtime tabloid publisher detailed a ‘catch-and-kill’ scheme to bury articles unfavorable to Trump as he ran for president in 2016. David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, took the stand yesterday and told jurors he offered to suppress negative stories about his longtime friend and had an agreement to give Trump’s lawyer a heads-up on negative tips and stories so they could be quashed. Pecker said the National Enquirer applied this ‘catch-and-kill’ tactic to the revelation that Trump allegedly had a relationship with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors allege that Trump’s efforts to suppress unflattering information about him was designed to illegally influence the election. Pecker was the first witness against Trump.

The U.S. Senate gave final approval to an aid bill for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, as well as the proposal requiring major changes at TikTok to avoid a domestic ban. By a count of 79-18, the Senate sent the legislation to President Joe Biden , who has already said he will sign off on the bill. The funding includes roughly $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel and $8 billion for Taiwan and Indo-Pacific security. But also included in that bill is a measure to force Chinese TikTok parent company ByteDance to sell the social media platform or face a national ban of the app.