Periods of religious zealotry and an unsettled professional career were intertwined for years before he was accused of murder.

Nicole Mitchell, a Democrat, was charged with felonies and accused of breaking into her stepmother’s home. Her party holds a slim majority in the Minnesota Senate.

© Jerry Holt/Star Tribune, via ZUMA Press Wire

Hundreds of emergency personnel were searching for stranded people, using 14 helicopters, though crews were struggling to navigate flooded roads, officials said.

© Carter Johnston for The New York Times

The authorities confirmed that 20 girls were still missing as a result of the flooding along the Guadalupe River, but the full scope of the disaster was not clear.

The man faces federal and state murder charges over shootings that killed a state lawmaker and her husband and wounded another couple. He told a judge he was “looking forward to court.”

© Tim Gruber for The New York Times