Louisiana
Rapper Mystikal pleads guilty to third-degree rape
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The rapper Mystikal, who received multiple Grammy nominations in the early 2000s, pleaded guilty Tuesday to raping a woman at his Louisiana home nearly four years ago, according to court records.
The 55-year-old performer, whose given name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in an Ascension Parish courtroom, records show.
Tyler’s attorney didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
Tyler faces up to 25 years in jail without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 15.
The rapper has been held without bond at the Ascension Parish Jail since 2022, when he was arrested for allegedly raping and choking a woman at his home in Prairieville, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) from Baton Rouge.
The New Orleans-native rose to national recognition in the 1990s and is known for his 2000 hit “Shake Ya A(asterisk)(asterisk),” which was nominated for a Grammy in the best rap solo performance category.
In 2003, he pleaded guilty to sexual battery and was sentenced to six years in prison. That same year he was a Grammy nominee in two categories: best rap album for “Tarantula” and best male rap solo performance for his single “Bouncin’ Back (Bumpin’ Me Against The Wall).”
West Virginia
Marshall drops plans to eliminate women’s swimming and diving after a student-led lawsuit
Marshall University dropped plans to eliminate its women’s swimming and diving program on Wednesday, citing concerns raised in a lawsuit over compliance questions involving Title IX.
The reversal was announced after a special meeting of the Marshall Board of Governors and came a week after a group of swimmers filed a lawsuit seeking to retain the sport.
“Leadership is about making difficult decisions and tradeoffs, and sometimes those decisions are unpopular,” Marshall President Brad Smith said at a news conference. “But leadership is also about having humility to listen, to learn, and to adjust course if new facts and information emerge. And that’s what we have done here.”
Marshall swim coach Ian Walsh said he was “incredibly proud” of those within his program, especially the athletes.
“How you’ve navigated the past month has been nothing short of exceptional,” Walsh said.
Last month, Marshall announced it would drop swimming and add stunt — a sport that incorporates aspects of cheerleading — to its women’s sports offerings. The swim team found out the day before the start of its conference championship meet that its program would end after 23 years.
Athletic director Gerald Harrison told the Marshall Board of Governors on Feb. 17 that the swim team has a $819,000 annual budget, its facilities don’t meet NCAA competition standards and that the athletic department couldn’t commit the funding needed to upgrade the facilities and sustain the program. Stunt, which could support up to 65 athletes, would cost an estimated $320,000 per year, according to Smith.
Title IX ensures equity between men and women in education and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving federal funds. Compliance can be measured in multiple ways, including whether the overall program’s gender breakdown is proportionate to that of the general student body.
The swimmers’ lawsuit brought to light an independent audit conducted last fall showing Marshall has struggled to meet Title IX requirements for athletic participation opportunities for women. Smith cited the audit Wednesday, saying that eliminating women’s swimming “could potentially place our university outside the safe harbor framework of Title IX.”
Smith said that information was different than the advice it received entering the process. Wednesday’s decision also was influenced by the costs of a potentially lengthy lawsuit, he said.
Marshall will continue plans to add stunt as a varsity sport, Smith said.
Over the past year, a growing number of universities have added or dropped entire sports programs as dramatic changes roll through college athletics under a $2.8 billion NCAA settlement.
Florida
Former ‘19 Kids and Counting’ star Joseph Duggar is arrested on a child molestation charge
Former reality TV star Joseph Duggar is facing a child molestation charge in Florida, almost five years after his brother Josh, who also starred in the TLC show “19 Kids and Counting,” was convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images.
Joseph Duggar, 31, was arrested in Arkansas, where he lives, and was awaiting extradition to Florida on Thursday. Duggar is charged with lewd and lascivious behavior on a child under 12 years old, according to an arrest affidavit from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Panama City, Florida.
Police officers in Tontitown, Arkansas, on Wednesday contacted deputies in Bay County, saying they had interviewed a 14-year-old girl who told them that Duggar had molested her several times during a family trip to Panama City Beach when she was age 9, according to the affidavit.
The girl’s father confronted Duggar about the abuse this week, and the father said Duggar admitted to it. Police officers in Tontitown had the father call Duggar with a detective on the line, and he again admitted to the actions, the arrest affidavit said.
There was no online court docket in Florida for Duggar so it wasn’t known if he had an attorney. Nobody responded immediately to an inquiry made on the Duggar family media request website.
Police in Tontitown didn’t respond to inquiries made by email and phone.
TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” followed the lives of devout Baptists Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar and their 19 children, all of whose names began with the letter “J.”
TLC canceled the show in 2015 following allegations that Josh Duggar had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter years earlier. Josh Duggar’s parents said he had confessed to the fondling and apologized.
He was sentenced in 2022 to about 12 1/2 years in prison on one count each of receiving and possessing images portraying child sexual abuse.
Minnesota
Asylum claim denied for the family of the boy in a bunny hat detained with his father, lawyer says
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An immigration judge has denied the asylum claim of the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old boy photographed in a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack as he was detained with his father during the immigration crackdown that shook Minneapolis earlier this year, a family lawyer said.
They were ordered deported to Ecuador, she said.
The boy and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, who is from Ecuador, were taken into custody in a Minneapolis suburb on Jan. 20 and held for 10 days in a Texas detention center before a judge ordered them released.
The family’s lawyers are appealing the ruling by Judge John Burns.
“We’re just gravely disappointed in the judge’s misguided decision,” said Danielle Molliver. “We’re committed to the family and we’ll fight the appeal, obviously, the best that we can.”
An appeal could take years to move through the courts, though Molliver said she expected the government to push for a speedier process.
“At minimum, I would hope we have a couple months,” she said.
Molliver said Liam is back in his suburban Minneapolis school, but that he and his father were badly shaken by their time in detention.
“They’re scared” now about what could happen, she said.
The arrests and national coverage unfolded during a surge of thousands of immigration officers across the Minneapolis area, leading to daily protests and the shooting deaths of two American citizens by federal officers.
Neighbors and school officials have accused federal immigration officers of using Liam as “bait” by telling him to knock on the door to his house so that his mother would come outside. The Department of Homeland Security has called that description of events an “abject lie.” Officials have said the father fled on foot and left the boy in a vehicle in their driveway. He has denied that.
The government said the boy’s father entered the U.S. illegally in December 2024. The family’s lawyer, however, say he entered legally, requesting asylum, and that his asylum claim allows him to stay in the U.S.
London
Kevin Spacey settles out of court with 3 men over alleged sexual assaults
LONDON (AP) — Three men who alleged that actor Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted them have settled their civil claims before going to trial at the High Court in London, courts document show.
The three men alleged that the Academy Award-winning star abused them at times between 2000 and 2013. Spacey has denied the allegations.
Civil trials were due to start later this year, but case judge Christina Lambert last week ordered the proceedings paused, saying the parties had “agreed to the terms of the settlement.”
“By consent, it is ordered that all further proceedings against the defendant in these actions be stayed upon the terms set out in this order and in the confidential schedule,” the judge said.
The terms were not disclosed and the judge did not make any order about costs.
The order, dated March 13, was made public on Wednesday.
Spacey’s representatives have been approached for comment.
Spacey, now 66, was tried in London in 2023 on nine alleged sex offenses against four men, and acquitted on all counts.
Two of the civil claimants, whose identities are protected by legal orders, gave evidence during Spacey’s criminal trial.
Spacey also successfully defended himself against a $40 million civil lawsuit in New York in 2022 brought by “Star Trek: Discovery” actor Anthony Rapp.
One of the most celebrated actors of his generation until his career was derailed by sex abuse allegations, Spacey starred in films including “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “LA Confidential” and the TV political thriller “House of Cards.” He won a best supporting actor Academy Award for the 1995 film “The Usual Suspects” and a lead actor Oscar for the 1999 movie “American Beauty.”
Spacey was artistic director of London’s Old Vic Theatre from 2004 to 2015.
Rapper Mystikal pleads guilty to third-degree rape
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The rapper Mystikal, who received multiple Grammy nominations in the early 2000s, pleaded guilty Tuesday to raping a woman at his Louisiana home nearly four years ago, according to court records.
The 55-year-old performer, whose given name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in an Ascension Parish courtroom, records show.
Tyler’s attorney didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
Tyler faces up to 25 years in jail without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 15.
The rapper has been held without bond at the Ascension Parish Jail since 2022, when he was arrested for allegedly raping and choking a woman at his home in Prairieville, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) from Baton Rouge.
The New Orleans-native rose to national recognition in the 1990s and is known for his 2000 hit “Shake Ya A(asterisk)(asterisk),” which was nominated for a Grammy in the best rap solo performance category.
In 2003, he pleaded guilty to sexual battery and was sentenced to six years in prison. That same year he was a Grammy nominee in two categories: best rap album for “Tarantula” and best male rap solo performance for his single “Bouncin’ Back (Bumpin’ Me Against The Wall).”
West Virginia
Marshall drops plans to eliminate women’s swimming and diving after a student-led lawsuit
Marshall University dropped plans to eliminate its women’s swimming and diving program on Wednesday, citing concerns raised in a lawsuit over compliance questions involving Title IX.
The reversal was announced after a special meeting of the Marshall Board of Governors and came a week after a group of swimmers filed a lawsuit seeking to retain the sport.
“Leadership is about making difficult decisions and tradeoffs, and sometimes those decisions are unpopular,” Marshall President Brad Smith said at a news conference. “But leadership is also about having humility to listen, to learn, and to adjust course if new facts and information emerge. And that’s what we have done here.”
Marshall swim coach Ian Walsh said he was “incredibly proud” of those within his program, especially the athletes.
“How you’ve navigated the past month has been nothing short of exceptional,” Walsh said.
Last month, Marshall announced it would drop swimming and add stunt — a sport that incorporates aspects of cheerleading — to its women’s sports offerings. The swim team found out the day before the start of its conference championship meet that its program would end after 23 years.
Athletic director Gerald Harrison told the Marshall Board of Governors on Feb. 17 that the swim team has a $819,000 annual budget, its facilities don’t meet NCAA competition standards and that the athletic department couldn’t commit the funding needed to upgrade the facilities and sustain the program. Stunt, which could support up to 65 athletes, would cost an estimated $320,000 per year, according to Smith.
Title IX ensures equity between men and women in education and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving federal funds. Compliance can be measured in multiple ways, including whether the overall program’s gender breakdown is proportionate to that of the general student body.
The swimmers’ lawsuit brought to light an independent audit conducted last fall showing Marshall has struggled to meet Title IX requirements for athletic participation opportunities for women. Smith cited the audit Wednesday, saying that eliminating women’s swimming “could potentially place our university outside the safe harbor framework of Title IX.”
Smith said that information was different than the advice it received entering the process. Wednesday’s decision also was influenced by the costs of a potentially lengthy lawsuit, he said.
Marshall will continue plans to add stunt as a varsity sport, Smith said.
Over the past year, a growing number of universities have added or dropped entire sports programs as dramatic changes roll through college athletics under a $2.8 billion NCAA settlement.
Florida
Former ‘19 Kids and Counting’ star Joseph Duggar is arrested on a child molestation charge
Former reality TV star Joseph Duggar is facing a child molestation charge in Florida, almost five years after his brother Josh, who also starred in the TLC show “19 Kids and Counting,” was convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images.
Joseph Duggar, 31, was arrested in Arkansas, where he lives, and was awaiting extradition to Florida on Thursday. Duggar is charged with lewd and lascivious behavior on a child under 12 years old, according to an arrest affidavit from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Panama City, Florida.
Police officers in Tontitown, Arkansas, on Wednesday contacted deputies in Bay County, saying they had interviewed a 14-year-old girl who told them that Duggar had molested her several times during a family trip to Panama City Beach when she was age 9, according to the affidavit.
The girl’s father confronted Duggar about the abuse this week, and the father said Duggar admitted to it. Police officers in Tontitown had the father call Duggar with a detective on the line, and he again admitted to the actions, the arrest affidavit said.
There was no online court docket in Florida for Duggar so it wasn’t known if he had an attorney. Nobody responded immediately to an inquiry made on the Duggar family media request website.
Police in Tontitown didn’t respond to inquiries made by email and phone.
TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” followed the lives of devout Baptists Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar and their 19 children, all of whose names began with the letter “J.”
TLC canceled the show in 2015 following allegations that Josh Duggar had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter years earlier. Josh Duggar’s parents said he had confessed to the fondling and apologized.
He was sentenced in 2022 to about 12 1/2 years in prison on one count each of receiving and possessing images portraying child sexual abuse.
Minnesota
Asylum claim denied for the family of the boy in a bunny hat detained with his father, lawyer says
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An immigration judge has denied the asylum claim of the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old boy photographed in a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack as he was detained with his father during the immigration crackdown that shook Minneapolis earlier this year, a family lawyer said.
They were ordered deported to Ecuador, she said.
The boy and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, who is from Ecuador, were taken into custody in a Minneapolis suburb on Jan. 20 and held for 10 days in a Texas detention center before a judge ordered them released.
The family’s lawyers are appealing the ruling by Judge John Burns.
“We’re just gravely disappointed in the judge’s misguided decision,” said Danielle Molliver. “We’re committed to the family and we’ll fight the appeal, obviously, the best that we can.”
An appeal could take years to move through the courts, though Molliver said she expected the government to push for a speedier process.
“At minimum, I would hope we have a couple months,” she said.
Molliver said Liam is back in his suburban Minneapolis school, but that he and his father were badly shaken by their time in detention.
“They’re scared” now about what could happen, she said.
The arrests and national coverage unfolded during a surge of thousands of immigration officers across the Minneapolis area, leading to daily protests and the shooting deaths of two American citizens by federal officers.
Neighbors and school officials have accused federal immigration officers of using Liam as “bait” by telling him to knock on the door to his house so that his mother would come outside. The Department of Homeland Security has called that description of events an “abject lie.” Officials have said the father fled on foot and left the boy in a vehicle in their driveway. He has denied that.
The government said the boy’s father entered the U.S. illegally in December 2024. The family’s lawyer, however, say he entered legally, requesting asylum, and that his asylum claim allows him to stay in the U.S.
London
Kevin Spacey settles out of court with 3 men over alleged sexual assaults
LONDON (AP) — Three men who alleged that actor Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted them have settled their civil claims before going to trial at the High Court in London, courts document show.
The three men alleged that the Academy Award-winning star abused them at times between 2000 and 2013. Spacey has denied the allegations.
Civil trials were due to start later this year, but case judge Christina Lambert last week ordered the proceedings paused, saying the parties had “agreed to the terms of the settlement.”
“By consent, it is ordered that all further proceedings against the defendant in these actions be stayed upon the terms set out in this order and in the confidential schedule,” the judge said.
The terms were not disclosed and the judge did not make any order about costs.
The order, dated March 13, was made public on Wednesday.
Spacey’s representatives have been approached for comment.
Spacey, now 66, was tried in London in 2023 on nine alleged sex offenses against four men, and acquitted on all counts.
Two of the civil claimants, whose identities are protected by legal orders, gave evidence during Spacey’s criminal trial.
Spacey also successfully defended himself against a $40 million civil lawsuit in New York in 2022 brought by “Star Trek: Discovery” actor Anthony Rapp.
One of the most celebrated actors of his generation until his career was derailed by sex abuse allegations, Spacey starred in films including “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “LA Confidential” and the TV political thriller “House of Cards.” He won a best supporting actor Academy Award for the 1995 film “The Usual Suspects” and a lead actor Oscar for the 1999 movie “American Beauty.”
Spacey was artistic director of London’s Old Vic Theatre from 2004 to 2015.
