Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. — Governors in Florida and Mississippi signed into law measures that require officials to verify the citizenship of voters, just as similar legislation being pushed by President Trump has stalled in Congress.

The law signed Wednesday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was immediately challenged in court by civil rights organizations that said it will make it harder for Floridians to vote.

The citizenship provision of the law goes into effect Jan. 1. It requires voters to provide a birth certificate, passport or naturalization certificate as proof of citizenship if their eligibility to vote is challenged by government officials through cross-referencing voter registration applications with motor vehicle records.

“Many eligible voters do not have these documents and cannot obtain them for a variety of reasons — including because they were born without a birth certificate in the segregated South, because their documents were destroyed in a hurricane, or because they cannot afford the hundreds of dollars it costs to replace them,” the civil rights groups said in a lawsuit filed in federal court in South Florida.

The voting legislation being pushed aggressively by Trump in Congress would mandate that people provide documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, such as a U.S. passport, citizen naturalization certificate or a combination of a birth certificate and government-issued photo identification. It passed the House but was stalled in the Senate before lawmakers took a spring recess.

Under the Florida law, credit cards, student IDs and retirement community identifications can no longer be used as IDs when voting, and the citizenship status of a driver must be reflected on driver’s licenses starting in July 2027.

DeSantis said the law improves the security and transparency of Florida’s election system.

“In Florida, we will always stand up for election integrity,” the Republican governor said.

The new Mississippi law signed Wednesday requires local officials registering people to vote to run additional citizenship checks if applicants don’t have or can’t provide driver’s license numbers on their voter application. The law, which takes effect July 1, also requires the secretary of state to run annual checks of the voter rolls against an online database from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to flag any potential noncitizens who could be asked to provide proof of their eligibility.

“This is another win for election integrity in Mississippi [and America],” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, said in a social media post. “We will continue to do everything in our power to make it infinitely harder — with a goal to make it impossible — to cheat in our elections!”

The Southern Poverty Law Center has said that the law could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Mississippians who don’t have a passport, lack a birth certificate or whose last names don’t match their birth certificates because of name changes due to marriage.

Four Republican-led states — Florida, Mississippi, South Dakota and Utah — have enacted laws this year to strengthen proof-of-citizenship requirements for voters. In Michigan, supporters of voter citizenship documentation have submitted 750,000 petition signatures in a bid to get a constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

The Republican-led Kansas Legislature also has passed legislation, though it still must go before the Democratic governor. Gov. Laura Kelly has until next week to decide whether she’ll sign the bill and hasn’t said publicly what she will do, though she has regularly vetoed past GOP-election bills. Supporters would need a two-thirds majority to override a veto — and thanks to Republican dissenters, the bill appeared to be a few votes short of that in the House.

Any efforts in Kansas to prevent noncitizens from registering to vote are shadowed by one of the state’s biggest political fiascos in recent memory — a requirement imposed in 2013 that people registering to vote in the state for the first time provide documentation of their U.S. citizenship.

That law ended up blocking the voter registrations of more than 31,000 U.S. citizens who were otherwise eligible to vote, or 12% of everyone seeking to register in Kansas for the first time. Federal courts ultimately declared the law an unconstitutional burden on voting rights, and it hasn’t been enforced since 2018.

Schneider writes for the Associated Press. AP writers David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Mo., and John Hanna in Topeka, Kan., contributed to this report.

In her small shop on Merritt Island, racks of orange, blue and black T-shirts depict hand drawn rockets, mission patches and moonscapes, ready for the crowds who arrive on regular launch days. But this launch is different, she tells us. “We’ve wanted to go back to the Moon since the ’70s. People are excited. People are beyond excited,” she said.

Tiger Woods was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and causing property damage following a rollover car crash Friday afternoon in Florida, authorities said.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said that Woods, 50, had tried to overtake another vehicle when his Land Rover clipped it. Woods climbed out of the passenger side of the car. He showed signs of impairment at the scene and was arrested, authorities said. Woods was driving alone, and neither he nor the driver of the other car were injured in the crash.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office released Tiger Woods’ booking photo on Friday night following the golfer’s arrest.

(Martin County Sheriff’s Office via Associated Press)

Woods was released on bail Friday night, the Associated Press reported.

Woods’ talent agency, Excel Sports Management, did not respond to a request for comment.

A breathalyzer test showed he had no alcohol in his system, but he refused to do a urine test, Martin County Sheriff John M. Budensiek said at a news conference around 5 p.m. local time.

The crash occurred around 1 p.m. local time, the department said in a Facebook post. The Jupiter Island Police Dept. was first to respond to the scene and found a pickup truck that had been pulling a pressure cleaner trailer and Woods’ Land Rover rolled over on the driver’s side door, Budensiek said. Officers talked to Woods and then asked the sheriff’s office for help.

The sheriff’s office determined that the pickup truck was slowing down to make a turn into a driveway off of a two-lane road with no shoulder when the driver looked in his mirror and saw the Land Rover approaching quickly from behind. The pickup driver tried to get out of the way of the approaching car. The Land Rover swerved at the last moment to avoid a crash, clipped the back end of the trailer, listed to the side and rolled onto the driver’s side door.

At the scene, Woods appeared lethargic, the sheriff’s office said, and was arrested following “in depth” roadside tests. The sheriff said he does not know exactly what Woods was intoxicated with, but concluded it was likely due to “some type of medication or drug.”

Because Woods refused to submit to a urinalysis, “we will never get definitive results as to what he was impaired on at the time of the crash,” the sheriff said. No drugs or medications were found in Woods’ car.

In addition to DUI and property damage, Woods also was charged with refusal to submit to a lawful test, Budensiek said. All three charges are misdemeanors.

Under Florida law, Woods had to remain in Martin County jail for at least eight hours following the arrest.

Asked if Woods would get preferential treatment, Budensiek said the celebrity would not be with other inmates who could take advantage of his position. Otherwise, it would be just another case.

“We know we arrested a high-profile figure,” Budensiek said. “I’m not trying to dramatize, but it doesn’t matter who you are. If you break the law, we’re going to follow the law. That’s a really easy path to take.”

Woods recently competed at the TGL indoor golf finals but has not confirmed whether he intends to play at the Masters starting April 9 in Augusta, Ga.

Woods was seriously injured in a rollover crash near Rancho Palos Verdes in 2021.

Around Thanksgiving 2009, a report that Woods had been in a car accident near his home erupted into a major scandal involving allegations of affairs with multiple women. It resulted in Woods’ divorce from Elin Nordegren, the mother of his children.

Assistant Editor Christie D’Zurilla contributed to this story.

Clavicular, the social media influencer leading the “looksmaxxing” movement, is out on bond after being arrested in Florida on suspicion of misdemeanor battery.

The manosphere internet celebrity, born Braden Eric Peters, was taken into custody Thursday on a warrant issued by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, according to a Fort Lauderdale Police Department spokesperson.

The sheriff’s office asked Fort Lauderdale police for assistance in arresting Peters, 20, who they alleged instigated a fight between his girlfriend, Violet Lentz, 24, and a 19-year-old influencer in February at a Kissimmee short-term rental.

In the video of the altercation, which was broken into clips and cross-posted across social media platforms, Peters and the woman are hanging out when Lentz arrives, upset. The argument escalates into a physical altercation with the women pushing, punching and pulling hair.

Peters is seen in the video standing to the side for much of the brawl, but at one point, he intervenes and holds the 19-year-old’s wrists while separating the women. While the woman’s wrists are being held to her sides, Lentz punches her several times, the video shows.

“Neither Peters nor Lentz came out of the residence to speak to deputies about the incident when they arrived at the house to investigate,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement to NBC Miami. “Detectives from the Osceola Sheriff’s Office completed their investigation after reviewing videos and talking with witnesses.”

Peters did not respond to reporters’ questions about the battery charges as he left Broward County Jail on Friday.

“I just woke up. I’m a little tired. Maybe next time,” he said.

A representative for Peters declined to comment on Friday.

The face of “looksmaxxxing,” a subculture hyperfocused on taking extreme measures to perfect one’s physical appearance, Peters doesn’t just boast a fit lifestyle, he’s admitted in interviews to using drugs from steroids, peptides and testosterone to methamphetamine and has said he chisels his face by smashing his bones with a hammer.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has also launched a separate investigation into another of Peters’ videos involving an alligator in the Everglades, according to the agency.

In that video, the influencer appears to come across what is seemingly the carcass of an alligator floating in the water and shoots it repeatedly. Peters has not been charged with any crime in that incident.

“Florida’s wildlife and waterways deserve respect, not content farming,” Lt. Gov. Jay Collins said in a statement on X. “Under my watch, anyone who abuses wildlife in Florida will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Peters was previously arrested in February at Casa Amigos nightclub in Scottsdale, Ariz., and charged with forgery and possession of prescription-only pills. But the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office dropped the charges on Feb. 11, citing “no reasonable likelihood of conviction.”

Peters shared the news on X alongside a screenshot of an article with the headline “Men’s facial features may sway criminal sentencing.”

Above the screenshot, he wrote, “You just gotta mog.”

By Friday evening, Peters once again returned to social media, posting a video on TikTok with the caption “I’m back.”

A comment underneath the post read, “Bailmaxxxing.”

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida committed numerous violations of House rules and ethics standards, the House Ethics Committee found Friday in a ruling that could add weight to Republicans’ potential push to expel her from Congress.

After meeting into early Friday morning following a seven-hour hearing, the ethics panel of four Democrats and four Republicans found that Cherfilus-McCormick had committed 25 ethics violations, including breaking campaign finance laws. The panel said it would recommend a punishment in the coming weeks.

The allegations center around Cherfilus-McCormick’s receipt of millions of dollars from her family’s healthcare business after Florida made an overpayment of roughly $5 million in disaster relief funds. Cherfilus-McCormick is accused of using that money to fund her 2022 congressional campaign through a network of businesses and family members.

The congresswoman, who is running for a fourth term representing a southeastern Florida district, has denied wrongdoing, and her attorney stridently criticized Thursday’s public hearing — the first open proceeding in nearly 15 years. But the ruling from the Ethics Committee could fuel a potential vote on her expulsion and divide a Democratic caucus that is trying to make a comeback to power in the November midterm elections.

Cherfilus-McCormick also faces federal charges for allegedly stealing the $5 million in COVID-19 disaster relief funds and using it for purchases like a 3-carat yellow diamond ring. Her brother, former chief of staff and accountant were also charged. She has pleaded not guilty to those charges, and her attorney indicated Thursday that the trial is expected to start in the coming months.

What did the ethics panel find her guilty of?

The congresswoman declined to testify during Thursday’s ethics hearing, citing her 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. Her attorney, William Barzee, sparred with some of the lawmakers on the ethics panel and argued that they should have allowed a thorough ethics trial, where he could present witnesses and evidence to counter the conclusions of House investigators.

Barzee accused the panel of giving further momentum to the effort to “throw a woman out of Congress who was duly elected by her constituents” based primarily on bank records.

Committee investigators laid out 27 violations of House ethics standards and rules in a 242-page report. The report accused Cherfilus-McCormick of winning a 2022 special election by portraying her campaign as self-financed when it was actually funded through the $5-million overpayment her family’s company received from Florida for coronavirus vaccination services.

Barzee had argued that “she was entitled to that money,” pointing to a document that broke down how her family would share the proceeds from the healthcare business. But lawmakers on the ethics panel were skeptical of that argument.

The panel found Cherfilus-McCormick guilty of all but two of the ethics violations proposed by investigators. Lawmakers declined to find her guilty of one allegation of receiving political help from an organization run by an advisor and her husband that received funding from the Haitian government. The panel also did not find her guilty of refusing to cooperate with the ethics investigation.

Will there be a push to expel Cherfilus-McCormick?

The full House Ethics Committee said it would meet after Congress returns from a two-week break in April and consider what punishment to recommend for a vote in the House.

Rep. Greg Steube, a Florida Republican, told reporters Thursday that once the committee makes a determination he “will move on the floor to expel.”

House Democratic leaders have declined to condemn Cherfilus-McCormick and said they wanted to see the ethics process play out. A couple of members of the Congressional Black Caucus, one of the most powerful groups of Democratic members, also showed up to the start of the ethics hearing Thursday in an apparent show of support for Cherfilus-McCormick.

But Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a moderate member from Washington state who often breaks with her caucus, posted on social media Friday morning that “since she was found guilty, she should resign or be removed.”

The last member to be expelled from Congress was Republican Rep. George Santos of New York in 2023. He argued at the time that the House would be “haunted” by the precedent of expelling a member before a criminal trial played out. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) voted against expulsion at the time, expressing the same concern.

It takes a two-thirds majority in the 435-member House to expel a member.

Groves and Kinnard write for the Associated Press. Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Democrats, beaten down by years of Republican domination in what was once the consummate battleground state, claimed new optimism Wednesday after a special election victory in President Trump’s home district.

Emily Gregory will represent the district that includes Mar-a-Lago, the president’s resort in Palm Beach, as a state representative.

Democrats are also hopeful that Brian Nathan will win a state senate seat in the Tampa area; the Associated Press has not yet called that race but he currently has a narrow lead that is within the state’s automatic recount range.

Gregory’s victory is the latest flip of a Republican-held seat since Trump’s second presidency began, giving Democrats fresh confidence in a midterm election year with control of Congress and many statehouses — including Florida’s — up for grabs in November.

“The pendulum swings in both directions,” Florida Democratic chairwoman Nikki Fried told reporters. “Last night it swung hard in the state of Florida.”

She added, “If we can win in Donald Trump’s backyard, we can win anywhere.”

For Gregory, a 40-year-old political newcomer who owns a fitness company, it has been a stunning introduction to the national spotlight.

“I believed in myself the whole time,” Gregory said, describing her political “naiveté” about the district and its Republican leanings as an asset.

She told the AP she did not make her contest about the president specifically, but focused heavily on constituents’ concerns involving the economy and everyday costs — from fast-rising insurance in the hurricane-prone district to groceries and gas.

She described herself as a lifelong “proud Florida Democrat” but said she did not run to be a face of the party or lead the opposition movement to Trump. She said she will go to Tallahassee focused on proposals to limit insurance rate hikes, expand healthcare access and lift “huge, crushing burdens on the average Florida family.”

“I just see myself as very embedded in my community, very representative of District 87,” she said. “And I’m so humbled and proud to be their representative.”

Trump endorsed Gregory’s opponent, Jon Maples, and cast a mail ballot in the contest. The president reiterated his support for Maples on the eve of the election with a social media post saying the Republican candidate was backed “by so many of my Palm Beach County friends.”

As of midday on Wednesday, Trump had not mentioned the outcome of the race.

Fried praised Gregory and Nathan, a 45-year-old veteran and union worker, as quality candidates who could capitalize on the broader political environment.

“The type of person and connection on the issues matters,” Fried said.

Gregory flipped a seat that her Republican predecessor had won by 19 percentage points. Fried said Trump carried the district by 11 points in 2024.

Republicans still dominate the Florida Legislature, and they have been considered heavy favorites to hold the governor’s office in November, four years after Gov. Ron DeSantis won a blowout reelection campaign.

But Fried insisted the trends suggest a competitive landscape. She noted that Tuesday’s victories followed two congressional special elections in 2025 when Florida Democrats lost but dramatically narrowed the usual margins in heavily Republican districts.

“You’ve seen tremendous overspending by Republicans,” Fried said of the current cycle. “It’s not working.”

A spokesman for Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, whom Trump has endorsed for Florida governor, took at least some notice of the latest results.

“We constantly assess how we execute our strategy — that’s just good campaigns,” said Ryan Smith, Donalds’ chief campaign strategist. “What won’t change is our mission: President Trump endorsed Byron Donalds to deliver real results and defend the Florida Dream, and that’s what voters can expect to see from us.”

Gregory, meanwhile, said she’s ready to get to work for her constituents — even the most famous one who did not vote for her.

“I should have a constituent service office available soon, and I would love to have a conversation,” she said when asked what her message to the president would be. “He’s welcome to call me, as I am his new state representative.”

Barrow and Schneider write for the Associated Press. Barrow reported from Atlanta.

President Trump has cast another mail ballot in Florida as he continues to publicly bash the voting method as a source of fraud and push Congress to curtail the practice.

Palm Beach County voter records show the president voted by mail in a Tuesday special election for state legislative seats and that his ballot has been counted. Early in-person voting in the contest ran through Sunday, when Trump was still at his south Florida estate.

The White House said Tuesday that Trump’s ire is at states using universal mail-in voting, not individual instances of voters needing accommodations to vote by mail. A spokeswoman pushed back specifically at the idea that his voting practice contradicts his push for new federal voting rules.

“As President Trump has said, the SAVE America Act has commonsense exceptions for Americans to use mail-in ballots for illness, disability, military, or travel — but universal mail-in voting should not be allowed because it’s highly susceptible to fraud,” said White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales in a statement.

A report by the Brookings Institution published in 2025 found that cases of mail voting fraud occurred in only 0.000043% of total mail ballots cast, or about four cases out of every 10 million mail votes.

Wales added: “As everyone knows, the President is a resident of Palm Beach and participates in Florida elections, but he obviously primarily lives at the White House in Washington, D.C. This is a non-story.”

Nonetheless, Trump has in the last week called mail-in voting “cheating” and “corrupt as hell.” He is urging Congress to pass the SAVE Act. The sweeping bill would bar universal mail ballots and, as Wales noted, limit the options to a select few voters such as those with disabilities, military commitments or who are traveling on Election Day. The measure faces steep odds in the closely divided Senate even with the president’s pressure.

Trump has fixated on mail ballots since he began falsely claiming that his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden was the result of fraud. Multiple U.S. courts and Trump’s own attorney general have found no evidence of fraud that affected the outcome, despite the COVID-19 pandemic increasing the share of the electorate that cast mail ballots that year.

“We’re the only country in the world that does it that way. Corrupt as hell,” Trump said last week at the White House when hosting Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.

Dozens of countries, including European democracies that are traditional U.S. allies, use some form of mail-in voting.

Trump said last week that the SAVE Act was the “biggest thing” pending in Washington, even as Congress and administration grapple with the Iran war and a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.

Last August, Trump used a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to blast mail voting.

“We’re going to start with an executive order that’s being written right now by the best lawyers in the country to end mail-in ballots because they’re corrupt,” Trump said. “And it’s time that the Republicans get tough and stop it because the Democrats want it. It’s the only way they can get elected.”

The president, who changed his official personal residence and voter registration from New York to Florida during his first term, does not have a standing vote-by-mail request for all elections, according to the county records. That means he has to request a mail ballot for any individual election.

The ballot today includes Florida state House District 87 and Senate District 14.

Trump offered an endorsement late Monday in the House contest via his Truth Social platform.

“There is a very important Special Election tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24th, for Florida State House District 87 in beautiful Palm Beach County. … TO ALL GREAT PATRIOTS IN FLORIDA STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 87: GET OUT AND VOTE FOR JON MAPLES! Polls are open from 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.” Trump wrote, without mentioning that he had voted by mail or at all.

The Florida election comes one day after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a Mississippi case questioning whether states can count mail-in ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but not received until later. Trump has criticized those allowances in 14 states and the District of Columbia.

Barrow writes for the Associated Press.

Two days after reality TV personality Joseph Duggar was arrested on suspicion of molesting a minor, Arkansas police arrested his wife, Kendra Duggar, on misdemeanor child abuse charges.

Kendra Duggar, 27, as well as Joseph Duggar, 31, face four counts each of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree false imprisonment.

According to KNWA, the Tontitown Police Department confirmed that the Duggars’ charges in Arkansas were unrelated to Joseph Duggar’s case in Florida. The news outlet reported that Tontitown police said this separate investigation was “launched on the heels of the alleged incident in Florida.”

People Magazine reported that a source close to the family told the outlet that the arrest was “the result of a home inspection, and the door locks being on the exterior of the doors. “

A spokesperson for the family told People that the charges filed against Kendra Duggar were “totally unrelated” to Joseph Duggar’s case in Florida. “She’s not suspected or accused of participating in his alleged crime.”

Last week, Joseph Duggar, known for the TLC series “19 Kids and Counting,” was arrested in Arkansas by local law enforcement on suspicion of molesting a minor in Florida, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office announced in a statement.

The Sheriff’s Office said it received a report on Wednesday of past sexual abuse involving Duggar and a 14-year-old girl. The girl alleged several incidents of abuse including one when she was 9 years old, police said.

The teenager, according to law enforcement, accused Duggar of molesting her in 2020 while she was vacationing with family and staying at a residence in Panama City Beach.

According to the statement, the victim said Duggar “eventually apologized” for the abuse. Duggar also “admitted his actions to the girl’s father and to Tontitown detectives” in Arkansas, Duggar’s home state, law officials said. The city’s Police Department confirmed Duggar’s arrest in a separate statement, noting it acted on a warrant issued by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

The former reality star was charged with molestation of a victim younger than 12 and “lewd and lascivious behavior conducted” by an adult. Duggar, who is currently jailed at the Washington County Detention Center, awaits extradition to Florida. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

Joseph Duggar, his parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, and his siblings garnered reality TV fame in 2008 with the launch of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting.” The series followed the Christian fundamentalist clan who used their television platform to preach purity, modesty and religious devotion. The family’s facade shattered in 2015 when Josh, the firstborn Duggar child, was accused of molesting five younger girls — four of whom were his sisters — when he was 15. The series was canceled that year.

In a separate case, Josh was convicted on two counts of possessing and receiving child pornography in December 2021. He was sentenced to 12½ years in prison in 2022. The Supreme Court rejected his efforts to appeal his case last June.

Amy Duggar Kind, a cousin of Joseph and Josh Duggar and series regular on “19 Kids and Counting,” released a statement prior to the arrest of Kendra Duggar “praying for Joseph’s wife, Kendra, as she begins to process this, and for the protection of their children,” and then a follow-up statement once news of Kendra’s arrest went public.

“My statement released on Friday, March 20th was written and submitted before I had any knowledge of Kendra Duggar’s arrest,” she wrote.

“When I wrote that I was praying for Kendra ‘as she begins to process this,’ I was speaking to what I believed at the time — that she was a wife and mother blindsided by devastating news about her husband. I want that context to be unambiguous. Those words were written in a different moment, with different information. The world changed a few hours later.

“I have now learned that Kendra Duggar was arrested on Friday on four counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of second-degree false imprisonment. These are serious charges. They are not the same as Joseph’s charges, but they are not small, and I will not treat them as small.

“I am not going to rush to conclusions about what Kendra knew, when she knew it, or what her role was in any of this. That is the job of law enforcement and the courts, and I trust that process to unfold. What I will say is this: the moment a person faces criminal charges for the endangerment of children, my prayers shift. They shift entirely and without apology to the children.

“To the four children in that home — I see you. I pray for you. None of this is your fault, and none of this is your burden to carry.

“To the original victim, who is now fourteen years old and has watched this story explode across every screen in the country: I am so deeply sorry. You did an incredibly brave thing by coming forward. You deserve to have every institution around you work on your behalf — not to protect the people who hurt you, and not to protect the image of a family. You. I am still praying for you and your family above all else.”

Kendra Duggar was booked into the Washington County Detention Center on March 20 and released on a $1,470 bond the same day.

Times staff writer Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.

PHILADELPHIA — After missing its first seven shots, UCLA finally started to click in its NCAA tournament opener against Central Florida on Friday night. The Bruins shook off their early jitters by hitting their next eight shots to quickly build a 13-point lead midway through the half.

From there, the seventh-seeded Bruins, playing without leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau, held off No. 10 Central Florida’s second half comeback bid in a 75-71 win.

UCLA will play the winner of No. 2 Connecticut vs. No. 15 Furman on Sunday in the second round.

With Bilodeau out because of a sprained knee he sustained in the Big Ten tournament, 6-foot-8 guard Eric Dailey Jr. led the way with 20 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Xavier Booker, starting in place of Bilodeau, added 15 points and eight rebounds. Trent Perry also scored 15 points and Donovan Dent scored 10. Jordan Burks and Riley Kugel topped the Knights with 22 and 13 points, respectively.

After a late UCF flurry cut a 14-point Bruins’ lead to 35-27 at the half, UCLA went back to work in the second half, with a Booker jumper helping UCLA take a 46-32 lead. But Central Florida wasn’t giving up.

The Knights responded with an 11-0 run, knocking down three from beyond the arc, making it a one possession game, 46-43.

That was as close as UCF got until the final seconds. A three-pointer by Burks with 10 seconds left made it a three-point score again. Perry then made two free throws before Themus Fulks quickly scored on a driving layup. Skyy Clark, who lost part of a tooth earlier in the second half while battling for a loose ball, then made one of two free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.

UCLA’s Trent Perry, left, shoots over Central Florida’s Themus Fulks during the first half Friday.

(Matt Slocum / Associated Press)

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Another member of the Duggar family, famous for the TLC series “19 Kids and Counting,” faces allegations of child sex abuse.

Joseph Duggar, the 31-year-old son of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and the younger brother of convicted sex offender Josh Duggar, was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Arkansas by local law enforcement on suspicion of molesting a minor in Florida, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office announced in a statement. The sheriff’s office said it received a report on Wednesday of past sexual abuse allegedly involving Duggar and a 14-year-old girl. The girl alleged she was 9 years old during one of several alleged incidents, police said.

The teenager, according to law enforcement, accused Duggar of molesting her in 2020 while she was vacationing with family and staying at a residence in Panama City Beach. He is accused of touching the girl’s genitals and rubbing her thighs.

According to the statement, the victim said Duggar “eventually apologized” for the abuse, and he stopped touching her. Duggar had also “admitted his action’s to the girl’s father and to Tontitown detectives in Arkansas, Duggar’s home state, law officials said. The Tontitown Police Department confirmed Duggar’s arrest in a separate statement, noting it acted on a warrant issued by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

The former reality star was charged with molestation of a victim younger than 12 and “lewd and lascivious behavior conducted” by an adult. Duggar, who is currently jailed at the Washington County Detention Center, awaits extradition to Florida. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

Joseph Duggar, his parents and his siblings — whose first names also begin with the letter J — became unexpected reality TV stars with the premiere of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” in 2008. The series followed the giant family, highlighting their Christian fundamentalist lifestyle. The family’s once-charming facade of purity and religious devotion quickly faded in 2015 when Josh, the firstborn Duggar child, was accused of molesting five younger girls — four of whom were his sisters — when he was 15. The series was canceled that year.

In a separate case, Josh was convicted on two counts of possessing and receiving child pornography in December 2021. He was sentenced to 12 ½ years in prison in 2022. The Supreme Court rejected his efforts to appeal his case last June.

Fifteen years after the premiere of “19 Kids and Counting,” the series, the Duggar family and their devotion to the Institute in Basic Life Principles were subject to close scrutiny in the Prime Video docuseries “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets.”

Jill Diillard, the second-eldest Duggar daughter and one of Josh’s victims, spoke out for the 2023 docuseries.

“I believe strongly that victims should always be protected. Victims should always be cared for,” she said. “You’re out there, your story’s out there. … I’d rather have some say in what that looks like.”

FORMER 19 Kids and Counting star Joseph Duggar has been arrested for alleged child sex crimes against a nine-year-old girl.

The 31-year-old from Arkansas allegedly molested the child six years ago on a vacation in Florida.

On Wednesday, the former TLC star was charged with molestation of a victim under 12 years old and with lewd and lascivious behavior of a person 18 years or older, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said.

The girl, now 14 years old, told investigators that the incident took place while she was on family vacation in Panama City in 2020.

Duggar, who was booked into the Washing County jail in Arkansas, is awaiting extradition to Bay County.

It is alleged that Duggar asked the victim to sit on his lap, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said.

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“As the vacation continued, he also asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket,” it has been claimed.

“During this time, Duggar manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals.

“Duggar would also continue to rub his hands on her thighs.”

“The victim stated Duggar eventually apologized for his actions and the incidents stopped after the apology,” the authorities said.

The allegations and arrest come after the victim had a forensic interview due to reports of past sexual abuse.

Her father allegedly confronted Duggar about the allegations and the reality star “allegedly admitted his actions to the father and Tontitown detectives,” and the alleged abuse stopped, per officials.

Duggar is married to his wife Kendra, with whom he shares three young children.

The Duggar family has not issued a statement following the arrest.

Meanwhile, Duggar’s brother Josh, is serving a 12 and a half year sentence after being found guilty in December 2021 of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.

It was also previously reported that Josh, now 38, confessed to molesting several children, including four of his sisters.

The family’s reality television show aired between 2008 and 2015 documenting the lives of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar and their 19 children.

It was taken off air after the molestation claims against Josh Duggar.

ORLANDO, Fla. — College Republicans have sued the University of Florida’s president on free speech grounds over the school’s decision to deactivate its chapter after being notified that at least one member engaged in an antisemitic act.

The University of Florida College Republicans filed the lawsuit Monday in federal court against interim president Donald Landry, asking a judge to stop the enforcement of the school’s decision and to restore access to facilities on the Gainesville campus.

“The University of Florida punitively deactivated and shut down the UFCR, in response to alleged viewpoints expressed by a member of UFCR, and in an effort to silence the club and chill its future speech,” the group said in its lawsuit.

UF spokeswoman Cynthia Roldan Hernandez said in an email that the university doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Officials at the University of Florida said over the weekend that they had been informed by the Florida Federation of College Republicans that the federation had disbanded the Gainesville campus’ chapter after determining that some members had “engaged in a pattern of conduct that violated its rules and values, including a recent antisemitic gesture.”

When the Florida Federation of College Republicans is ready, the university will assist with reactivating the campus chapter under new student leadership, UF officials said in a statement.

The deactivation wasn’t based on any university policy or rule, and it was only based on a member’s expression of a viewpoint “which was alleged to be antisemitic,” the lawsuit said.

The university also didn’t provide the College Republicans with adequate notice and didn’t give the chapter an opportunity to explain its side of the story, according to the lawsuit.

The deactivation effort at the University of Florida campus marks the second time this month that a public university in Florida has taken action against a Republican group accused of being involved in racist or antisemitic behavior.

Earlier this month, Florida International University in Miami launched an investigation into a group chat started by an official with the Miami-Dade chapter of the Republican Party that included violently racist slurs, antisemitic comments and misogynistic language. The chat involved students and several top conservative leaders at Florida International University.

Last fall, New York’s Republican State Committee suspended a Young Republican organization following the release of a group chat that included jokes about rape and flippant commentary on gas chambers.

Schneider writes for the Associated Press.

The 68-team bracket for the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is set. Matchup starting times and broadcast information will be announced later on Sunday.

The men’s First Four begins Tuesday and first-round games begin on Thursday.

First Four

Tuesday-Wednesday (at Dayton, Ohio)
No. 11 Texas (18-14) vs. No. 11 North Carolina State (20-13)
No. 11 Miami (Ohio) (31-1) vs. No. 11 Southern Methodist (20-13)
No. 16 Maryland Baltimore County (24-8) vs. Howard (23-10)
No. 16 Prairie View A&M (18-17) vs. No. 16 Lehigh (18-16)

East Region

FIRST ROUND
Thursday (at Greenville, S.C.)
No. 1 Duke (32-2) vs. No. 16 Siena (23-11)
No. 8, Ohio State (21-12) vs. No. 9 Texas Christian (22-11)
Friday (at San Diego)
No. 5 St. John’s (28-6) vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa (23-12)
No. 4 Kansas (23-10) vs. No. 13 California Baptist (25-8)
Thursday (at Buffalo)
No. 6 Louisville (23-10) vs. No. 11 South Florida (25-8)
No. 3 Michigan State (25-7) vs. No. 14 North Dakota State (27-7)
Friday (at Philadelphia)
No. 7 UCLA (23-11) vs. No. 10 Central Florida (21-11)
No. 2 Connecticut (29-5) vs. No. 15 Furman (22-12)

West Region

FIRST ROUND
Friday (at San Diego)
No. 1 Arizona (32-2) vs. Long Island University (24-10)
No. 8 Villanova (24-8) vs. No. 9 Utah State (25-8)
Thursday (at Portland)
No. 5 Wisconsin (24-10) vs. No. 12 High Point (30-4)
No. 4 Arkansas (26-8) vs. No. 13 Hawaii (24-8)
No. 6 Brigham Young (23-11) No. 11 Texas / North Carolina State
No. 3 Gonzaga (30-3) vs. No. 14 Kennesaw State (21-13)
Friday (at St. Louis)
No. 7 Miami (25-8) vs. No. 10 Missouri (20-12)
No. 2 Purdue (27-8) vs. No. 15 Queens (21-13)

Midwest Region

FIRST ROUND
Thursday (at Buffalo)
No. 1 Michigan (31-3) vs. No. 16 Maryland Baltimore County / Howard
No. 8 Georgia (22-10) vs. No. 9 Saint Louis (28-5)
Friday (at Tampa)
No. 5 Texas Tech (22-10) vs. No 12 Akron (29-5)
No. 4 Alabama (23-9) vs. No. 13 Hofstra (24-10)
Friday (at Philadelphia)
No. 6 Tennessee (22-11) vs. No. 11 Miami (Ohio) / Southern Methodist
No. 3 Virginia (29-5) vs. No. 14 Wright State (23-11)
Friday (at St. Louis)
No. 7 Kentucky (21-13) vs. No. 10 Santa Clara (26-8)
No. 2 Iowa State (27-7) vs. No. 15 Tennessee State (23-9)

South Region

FIRST ROUND
Friday (at Tampa)
No. 1 Florida (26-7) vs. No. 16 Prairie View A&M / Lehigh
No. 8 Clemson (24-10) vs. Iowa (21-12)
Thursday (at Oklahoma City)
No. 5 Vanderbilt (26-8) vs. No. 12 McNeese (28-5)
No. 4 Nebraska (26-6) vs. No. 13 Troy (22-11)
Thursday (at Greenville, S.C.)
No. 6 North Carolina (24-8) vs. No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth (27-7)
No. 3 Illinois (24-8) vs. No. 14 Pennsylvania (18-11)
Thursday (at Oklahoma City)
No. 7 Saint Mary’s (27-5) No. 10 Texas A&M (21-11)
No. 2 Houston (28-6) vs. Idaho (21-14)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The state Senate has passed a bill that says women cannot be charged with indecent exposure or lewd behavior for breast-feeding in public. The House had earlier approved the measure. The bill passed Tuesday now goes to Gov. Lawton Chiles, who is expected to give his approval.

When it comes to high school lacrosse, Loyola has one of its best teams this season and that’s reflected in the margins of victories this past week — 29-0 over Sierra Canyon and 28-1 over Crespi.

“It’s very unusual,” coach Jimmy Borell said of the few goals allowed.

Much of the credit goes to the defense and to Andrew Goldman, a junior who handles face-offs. He’s at 92.4% winning face-offs for the 5-1 Cubs, whose only loss came to San Francisco’s St. Ignatius 12-11.

The top goal scorer has been Tripp King, the reigning Southern Section player of the year and North Carolina commit. He has 22 goals and 17 assists Senior Chase Hellie (Tufts commit) and Everett Rolph have been leading the defense, making things easy for goaltenders Will Russo and Garrett Flynn.

Loyola is set to take a trip to Florida and the University of Notre Dame to play top East Coast teams starting Saturday.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — While the U.S. Senate remains deadlocked over President Trump’s call for strict citizenship voting requirements, Republicans in some states are pressing ahead with their own measures that could require documentary proof of citizenship to join or remain on the voter rolls.

Proof-of-citizenship legislation won final approval this week in South Dakota and Utah, already has passed one chamber in Florida and received a committee hearing in Missouri. In Michigan, supporters of voter citizenship documentation submitted 750,000 petition signatures this week in a bid to get a constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

Federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting in U.S. elections, with violators subject to fines, imprisonment and potential deportation.

When people register to vote, they affirm under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens. But Trump contends that’s not enough. He wants prospective voters to show proof of their citizenship.

Democrats and voting rights advocates say the Republican measures amount to voter suppression, as they may prevent many eligible voters from casting ballots. Similar laws have been overturned by courts as an unconstitutional burden on voting rights.

What would the federal legislation do?

The federal Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act, would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote. That could be satisfied with such things as a U.S. passport, citizen naturalization certificate or a combination of a birth certificate and government-issued photo identification.

The federal bill also would require a photo identification to cast a ballot, which some states already mandate. The Republican-led House approved the legislation last month on a mostly party-line vote, but it has stalled in the Senate under a filibuster threat from Democrats.

South Dakota and Utah

Legislation passed in South Dakota and Utah would create a two-tier voting system. People who provide documentation of their citizenship could vote in all elections. Those who don’t could vote only in federal elections for president, U.S. Senate and U.S. House.

The bifurcated voting system is modeled after Arizona, where tens of thousands of voters who have not provided proof of citizenship can cast ballots only in federal elections. Arizona implemented its system after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that the state could not require citizenship documentation for federal elections.

The bills in South Dakota and Utah would take effect upon a governor’s signature, meaning they could be in place for newly registered voters ahead of the November elections.

Utah’s bill also directs election officials to use an online service from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to check the citizenship status of existing voters. Those flagged would be sent notices asking for proof of citizenship to remain eligible to vote in all elections.

Florida and Michigan

Neither the Michigan initiative nor legislation passed by the Florida House would require people to submit proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Instead, the measures would create a behind-the-scenes review that could result in some people being asked for citizenship documentation.

Under the Michigan measure, the secretary of state would review driver’s license records, juror records and federal Homeland Security and Social Security data to determine whether registered voters are citizens. Those flagged would be removed from the voter rolls if they cannot provide proof of citizenship.

The Florida legislation would require election officials to verify the citizenship of all registered voters using the state’s driver’s license database. Anyone whose citizenship could not be verified would be required to submit documentary proof.

Why are some pushing for proof of citizenship?

Trump and some fellow Republicans have complained for years about noncitizens voting in U.S. elections, although evidence of doing so is rare. The few cases found are not nearly enough to affect an election result, studies have shown, and those caught face severe penalty.

In 2024, a student from China was charged with perjury and attempted illegal voting after registering to vote by showing a University of Michigan student ID and signing a document asserting he was a U.S. citizen. He later contacted a local clerk’s office requesting to get his ballot back, and ultimately fled the country.

The case provided part of the impetus for the Michigan ballot initiative, said Paul Jacob, chairman of Americans for Citizen Voting, which is backing the measure.

“We want a system we can have confidence in,” Jacob said. “The way you avoid big problems in elections is to fix the small problems when they rise up and present themselves.”

Voting rights advocates’ concerns

Constitutional amendments limiting voting to “only citizens” have won widespread support when placed on state ballots. But voting rights advocates note that requiring documentary proof can get complicated.

During a recent debate in the Florida House, Democratic state Rep. Ashley Gantt recounted how her aunt was born in a South Carolina home at a time when some hospitals didn’t accept Black patients. As a result, she has no birth certificate and has had difficulty trying to demonstrate her citizenship, Gantt said.

A proof-of-citizenship law “would stop many thousands — if not more — U.S. citizens from voting in Florida,” said Michelle Kanter Cohen, policy director and senior counsel at the nonprofit Fair Elections Center. “It requires documentation that a lot of eligible citizens don’t have, or don’t have access to.”

Nationwide, about 21 million people — 9% of voting-age citizens — lack documentary proof of citizenship or cannot easily obtain it, according to a 2024 report by the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland.

Other states

Legal challenges are common when states pass proof-of-citizenship requirements for voters.

After Kansas adopted a proof-of-citizenship law 15 years ago, more than 31,000 U.S. citizens ended up getting blocked from registering to vote. Federal courts declared the Kansas law an unconstitutional burden on voting rights, and it hasn’t been enforced since 2018.

Two years ago, New Hampshire and Louisiana both passed proof-of-citizenship laws, prompting lawsuits. New Hampshire’s law went to trial last month and is awaiting a ruling. Louisiana’s election commissioner acknowledged in a December court filing that the requirement has not been enforced.

A nonprofit group also filed a legal challenge to a Wyoming proof-of-citizenship law passed last year. But a federal court dismissed that case while ruling the group lacked standing to sue.

Lieb writes for the Associated Press.