Fort Worth police searching for missing 18-year-old autistic woman
Maricella Denise Gray was last seen in the 2300 block of Yucca Avenue in Fort Worth around 1 p.m. Tuesday, police said.
Gray is a Black female, is 5 feet, 3 inches tall and has black hair and brown eyes, according to the post. She was last seen wearing a black long-sleeve shirt, black pants, black-rimmed glasses and carrying a black backpack.
Anyone with information about Gray should call the Fort Worth Police Department at 817-392-4222, officials said.
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USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Elina Svitolina ripped bettors for crossing line after Naomi Osaka loss
In case it wasn't already clear, bets you make on any sporting event are your responsibility and YOUR responsibility alone. An athlete is not obligated to follow through and will not tailor their performance based on whatever transaction a complete stranger agreed to behind the scenes (not to mention the ethical and legal concerns). And the moment you start venting out your frustrations to an athlete who "let you down," you've lost the plot entirely. That seems to be what's happened with Elina Svitolina. After losing to Naomi Osaka in the National Bank Open quarterfinals on Tuesday, the No. 13-ranked tennis player in the world took to her Instagram story to share screenshots of a handful of "shameful" messages from bettors filled with vitriol and anger over her failure at the hands of Osaka. Svitolina included messages that invoked death threats. Some mocked Svitolina's Ukrainian heritage amid the country's ongoing war with Russia. Others made racist comments about her husband, Gaël Monfils, a Black fellow professional tennis player. For obvious sensitivity reasons, I will not link out any of the images here. You can find them in Svitolina's story if you're so inclined. To say the least, this is not OK. Not at all. 'To all the bettors: I'm a mom before I'm an athlete,' Svitolina wrote in her Instagram story. 'The way you talk to women – to mothers – is SHAMEFUL. If your moms saw your messages, they'd be disgusted.' Friends, please remember what I'm about to say. Just because you lost a bet over a sports outcome does not mean you get to start harassing the person you think cost you money. Athletes are still, and stay with me here, human beings who deserve common decency like any of us. They're not props. The only person who costs you money in these kinds of situations is you. The betting buck starts and stops with you. Always.
Boston Globe
5 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Former WBZ-TV anchor Kate Merrill sues station, alleging she was discriminated against because she is white
None of the defendants immediately responded to requests for comment on Wednesday morning. Merrill and her attorneys also couldn't be reached. Advertisement In her $4 million suit, Merrill says Mikell, who joined the station in fall 2023, 'made an inappropriate sexual innuendo' about her on the air. 'Specifically, he implied that Ms. Merrill and her co-anchor had sexual relations at a gazebo,' the complaint says. A video clip of the interaction couldn't immediately be located Wednesday. The complaint says Merrill's executive producer complained to the station's news director about the incident, but Mikell 'was not disciplined for his sexually charged remark about Ms. Merrill.' On April 3, 2024, Merrill texted Mikell during a commercial break about his on-air pronunciation of Concord, according to the complaint. 'Hey Boo,' Merrill texted Mikell, according to the complaint. 'For both Concord MA and NH it's Conquered never Con-Chord [smiley heart emoji].' Advertisement 'That's what I said,' Mikell replied. After Merrill said he used the latter pronunciation 'a while ago,' Mikell responded, 'doubtful' and 'but OK,' the complaint says. It says Mikell, a native of Mississippi, had previously asked Merrill to help him with pronouncing unfamiliar town names. Despite that, Mikell 'immediately confronted Ms. Merrill, loudly yelling at her on the studio floor and asserting that she was being critical of him,' the complaint said. 'His tone was aggressive and unprofessional.' The complaint says Merrill immediately 'lodged a complaint' with WBZ's human resources department. The filing also includes screenshots of texts from a colleague who witnessed the encounter and told another coworker that Merrill 'texted [Mikell] I guess, like, how to pronounce Concord cause he said it wrong he literally walks over and freaks out.' On April 10, 2024, the complaint says, Roderick informed Merrill that an investigation was being launched into allegations she treated coworkers differently because of their race, adding that Cole and Mikell, who are both Black, 'simultaneously raised complaints' about her to Paramount's legal department. From that conversation, the filing says, Merrill gleaned that Mikell had reported that she told him he would 'find his people' in Boston. The complaint says Merrill meant to suggest Mikell would find 'a community of friends' in the Hub, but he 'apparently interpreted [the comment] as racist.' Mikell also reported to Paramount that Merrill 'was 'always' critical of him,' and that she 'did not ask him about his weekends, an omission he also apparently attributed to his race,' even though 'due to the demands on Ms. Merrill's time and extremely busy schedule in the mornings, she did not ask any colleagues about their weekends during that time,' the complaint alleges, adding that Merrill learned this based on 'Roderick's questions' to her. Advertisement The complaint says Mikell also referenced a broadcast where producers prompted Merrill and a co-anchor to make a 'Dirty Job' reference as they bantered about Mikell's 'Do Your Job' segment. Merrill suggested Mikell 'could work as a garbage collector' while her co-anchor said Mikell 'could pick strawberries,' he reported to Paramount, according to the complaint. Merrill 'vehemently challenged the validity' of Mikell's allegations, the complaint says. A written warning from higher-ups had said Merrill, when asked about the 'Dirty Jobs' dustup, had responded ''all my garbage collectors are white,' (or words to that effect), which assertion is categorically false,' according to the complaint. Merrill 'stated that she did not understand how her on-air comment was a racist statement when she does not see, understand, or expect that a garbage collection job is or should be performed by persons of one race or another,' the complaint said. The suit says Cole, meanwhile, complained that Merrill had told her she should go to Nashville, where Merrill used to work, because Cole could 'become the main anchor' in Music City. Cole 'apparently interpreted a suggestion that she go to Nashville because it would be a better racial fit for Defendant Cole (who is Black) rather than a comment about career opportunities and how much she (Ms. Merrill) enjoyed Nashville,' the complaint says. Merrill 'vehemently challenged' Cole's allegations, the complaint says. But on May 17, 2024, Roderick informed her that Paramount had 'corroborated' the complaints against her while being unable to substantiate her complaint against Mikell. Advertisement Days later, at two separate staff meetings, Draper 'publicly announced to all WBZ personnel' that Merrill was being demoted from her coveted weekday morning anchor slot to working weekend nights, 'humiliating her.' Merrill resigned on May 24, 2024, the complaint says, owing to 'the catastrophic damage a demotion would have caused her career, especially in the context of allegations that she was racist.' The complaint says Merrill had long advocated for colleagues of color and alleged she was demoted 'to make an example of her, to attempt to make the point that CBS now took seriously complaints of racism allegedly perpetrated by White employees and was (is) not a racist organization.' None of the defendants had filed responses in court to the lawsuit as of early Wednesday afternoon. A trial date hasn't been set. Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report. This story will be updated when more information is released. Travis Andersen can be reached at
NBC Sports
7 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Elina Svitolina faces hateful abuse after loss, blames ‘shameful' bettors
MONTREAL, Canada — Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has spoken out about the deluge of hateful abuse she received online from frustrated gamblers after losing a match in Canada, including messages wishing her death and celebrating Russia killing her compatriots. Following her straight-sets loss to Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open, Svitolina posted screenshots of the messages on Instagram. The abuse was directed at her, while other racial slurs also targeted her husband, the French tennis player Gael Monfils, who is Black. One abuser hoped that Russia 'kills all you (expletive) Ukrainians' in the war raging in Svitolina's country. 'To all the bettors: I'm a mum before I'm an athlete,' Svitolina wrote in her Instagram story. 'The way you talk to women — to mothers — is SHAMEFUL. If your mothers saw your messages, they'd be disgusted.' Earlier this year, British player Katie Boulter said she received death threats during the French Open targeting her and her family, while the WTA and ITF called on betting companies to do more to stem the flood of online abuse players face on social media. Boulter told the BBC in an interview that online abuse has become the norm and that she thinks many of the messages are sent by people who are placing bets on tennis matches. Her comments coincided with the WTA and ITF publishing a first season-wide report into online abuse, showing that 458 tennis players were targeted by more than 8,000 abusive comments and posts on social media in 2024. The report said 40% of the abuse came from 'angry gamblers.'
