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Former WBZ anchor Kate Merrill is pushing back at the Boston station for trying to toss portions of her “reverse discrimination” lawsuit. Merrill — who left the media outlet under a cloud of mystery — is suing WBZ, CBS and others for racial and gender discrimination. She claims that she was illegally pushed out from the station after more than 20 years as WBZ advanced “a DEI agenda.” A couple months ago, WBZ and the other defendants filed a motion to dismiss for many of her claims. Merrill’s lawyers have now responded with an “opposition to the defendant’s motion to dismiss.” WBZ and the other defendants are trying to toss her gender discrimination, defamation, and actual malice claims. WBZ’s lawyers argued that she didn’t “plausibly allege” discrimination because of her gender. “Their argument is unavailing,” Merrill’s lawyers wrote in their response. “In her Complaint, Ms. Merrill alleged and pleaded facts that support that she, a woman, was subjected to disparate treatment in discipline compared to her male peers.” Merrill joined WBZ as a reporter in 2004. The station promoted her from reporter to anchor, and in 2016, she became the lead 11 p.m. reporter and weekend anchor. In 2017, WBZ named Merrill co-anchor for WBZ This Morning and WBZ News at Noon. Then in 2024, Merrill learned that she was being investigated for allegedly treating colleagues differently because of their race. One of those colleagues was Jason Mikell, a Black meteorologist from Mississippi. When he was hired, he reportedly asked Merrill to help him with the pronunciation of local cities and towns. Then last April, she texted him during a commercial break to correct his on-air pronunciation of Concord. “… Defendant Mikell immediately confronted Ms. Merrill, loudly yelling at her on the studio floor and asserting that she was being critical of him,” her suit reads. “His tone was aggressive and unprofessional. Ms. Merrill immediately lodged a complaint with WBZ’s Human Resources department.” The station didn’t investigate her complaint against Mikell, she claims. Instead, she said an investigation was launched into allegations that she treated colleagues differently because of their race. The station concluded that Merrill’s behavior was grounded in microaggressions or unconscious bias, and it led to a “very unwelcoming work environment.” She received a written warning, and she was required to complete unconscious bias training. Merrill was then demoted from co-anchor of the Weekday Morning Show to working weekend nights. She ended up resigning soon after. In her lawyers’ recent federal filing, they argued that she was discriminated against based on her gender because, in part, the station GM did not announce the demotions of any male anchors like he did with Merrill’s demotion. The defendants “did not discipline Defendant Mikell for publicly and aggressively confronting Ms. Merrill on the studio floor, while disciplining Ms. Merrill,” her attorneys wrote. Also, Merrill claims that Mikell while on air made a sexually-charged comment about her. The defendants “did not discipline Defendant Mikell (who is a male) for making an inappropriate sexually-charged comment about Ms. Merrill on air, notwithstanding Ms. Merrill’s (and others’) complaints about same,” the lawyers wrote. “Ms. Merrill’s Complaint alleges Defendants treated her disparately (more harshly) in its investigation into her alleged misconduct and in discipline compared to her male colleagues,” they added. “These are allegations of gender discrimination.” Merrill’s attorneys also pushed back against the defendants for trying to dismiss her defamation claim. Related Articles WBZ and others sued by ex-anchor Kate Merrill try to toss claims in ‘reverse discrimination’ lawsuit Jon Keller teases ‘more to come’ after being let go from WBZ WBZ’s Jon Keller and other employees let go by Boston TV station Kate Merrill, who’s suing WBZ for discrimination, drops claims against former colleague “Immediately…

BRIGHTON, Inglaterra (AP) — El adolescente Charalampos Kostoulas salió del banco y anotó de chilena en el tiempo de descuento para darle el lunes a Brighton el empate 1-1 contra Bournemouth en la Liga Premier. El internacional griego de 18 años recibió un pase de Jan Paul van Hecke, levantó el balón con el pecho y luego ejecutó una perfecta tijera desde unos 10 metros de distancia. Brighton estiró a cinco partidos su racha sin perder y quedó en el 12º lugar en la Liga Premier League, tres puntos y tres posiciones por encima de sus rivales de la costa sur. El equipo de Fabian Hürzeler comenzó bien pero perdió ímpetu. Bournemouth se adelantó con un polémico gol de penal a los 32 minutos. Se consideró que el portero local Bart Verbruggen había cometido una falta sobre Amine Adli en el área y, tras una revisión de video, Marcus Tavernier convirtió el penal. ___ Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

CARACAS (AP) — Un grupo de legisladores opositores, entre ellos el excandidato presidencial Henrique Capriles, pidió el lunes “libertad plena” para los detenidos por razones políticas que fueron liberados en semanas recientes en Venezuela y exhortó a las autoridades del país sudamericano a seguir con las excarcelaciones. “Todavía faltan muchos” esperando ser liberados, pero contrario a los que ya están en las calles, las libertades de estos y las nuevas liberaciones “tienen que ser plenas”, dijo Capriles en una rueda de prensa, acompañado por los también diputados Antonio Ecarri, Stalin González, Luis Emilio Rondón y Tomás Guanipa. Luego del audaz ataque militar estadounidense en la madrugada del 3 de enero, el gobierno de la presidenta encargada Delcy Rodríguez anunció la liberación de venezolanos y extranjeros como un gesto para consolidar la paz y la convivencia en el país. Durante la operación militar estadounidense Nicolás Maduro (2013-2026) fue sacado del poder y capturado junto a la entonces primera dama Cilia Flores. Capriles afirmó que todavía los legisladores no han tenido a su disposición la lista de los excarcelados. El proceso de excarcelación enfrenta críticas de familiares y organizaciones civiles que alegan falta de celeridad e información. Según la organización civil Foro Penal, que monitorea la situación de los presos en Venezuela, hasta el domingo en la noche 143 personas habían sido excarceladas, de las más de 800 que se encontraban detenidos en la última semana de diciembre. Las liberaciones han continuado a cuentagotas, aseguró. “Las liberaciones tienen que seguir, porque la única manera de poder construir la paz, de la que tanto nos dicen… es que no haya persecución, es que haya libertad”, agregó. El 14 de enero, la presidenta encargada negó que el gobierno haya incumplido el anuncio realizado por su hermano y presidente de la Asamblea Nacional, Jorge Rodríguez. El miércoles pasado, indicó que “podemos decir que ya van, ya suman, 406 liberaciones previstas en estos días”. Acotó que continuarán las liberaciones. Las autoridades niegan que existan “presos políticos” y acusan a los detenidos de conspirar para desestabilizar al gobierno. Las autoridades no han dado a conocer el nombre ni el número de presos que tienen pensado liberar, lo que ha dejado a grupos defensores de los derechos humanos en busca de pistas e información, provocando una angustiosa espera de sus familiares, muchos de ellos a las puertas de las cárceles.

After another disappointing season, the Cleveland Browns are making changes. In the wake of a 4-13 campaign, head coach Kevin Stefanski has lost his job, with the Atlanta Falcons quickly swooping in to hire him. Since then, the Browns have launched yet another head coaching search, but before they found a new leader, they ended up losing another member of their coaching staff.Typically, whenever a head coach is fired, that forces the rest of their staff to scramble to find another job, as the incoming coach will likely bring in their own guys to make up their coaching staff. Wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea got ahead of the curve, as reports indicate he has landed a new gig with Stefanski no longer being in charge of Cleveland.Chad O’Shea Latches on with Chiefs After Kevin Stefanski’s Firing The Chiefs are hiring Chad O’Shea as their wide receivers coach, per source. O’Shea got into the NFL as a volunteer assistant with Kansas City in 2003. Over two decades later, he’s back as Andy Reid remodels his offensive staff. pic.twitter.com/BW7koHxbi3 — Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 19, 2026 Despite winning Coach of the Year twice during his time with the Browns, a poor 2025 campaign was enough to cost Stefanski his job. While he’s landed with the Falcons as noted above, that has left the rest of his prior staff in limbo. Some will join him in Atlanta, some will stay in Cleveland, and some will have to latch on elsewhere.For O’Shea, the third option on that list appears to be the answer. After spending 10 years working as the New England Patriots‘ wide receivers coach, O’Shea worked as the Miami Dolphins’ offensive coordinator for one year in 2019 before finding his way to the Browns. Since 2020, O’Shea has worked as the team’s wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator.With Stefanski gone, though, there’s no guarantee that O’Shea will have a job in Cleveland next year. As a result, he began exploring other opportunities across the league, and he has landed with the Kansas City Chiefs, who he previously spent three seasons with from 2003 to 2005. Similar to his previous stints, O’Shea will be working as the team’s new wide receivers coach.“The Chiefs are hiring Chad O’Shea as their wide receivers coach, per source,” Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported in a post on X. “O’Shea got into the NFL as a volunteer assistant with Kansas City in 2003. Over two decades later, he’s back as Andy Reid remodels his offensive staff.”Browns Hoping to Find New Head Coach Soon GettyThe Browns have lost Chad O’Shea to the Chiefs after firing Kevin Stefanski Finding a new head coach isn’t exactly an easy process for NFL teams, but the Browns may need to act with a sense of urgency in the wake of O’Shea’s departure. Other coaches could be on the move soon, too, and if they don’t act quickly enough, their new head coach may have a difficult time when it comes to filling out their staff.To this point, it remains to be seen which way Cleveland is leaning when it comes to its head coach search. Several candidates have earned second interviews with the team, but it’s tough to tell who is the frontrunner at this stage of the game. As a result, this week will be important for the Browns as they attempt to rebuild their coaching staff in the wake of Stefanski’s departure. Like Heavy Sports's content? Be sure to follow us. This article was originally published on Heavy SportsThe post Former Browns Coach Lands New Job with Chiefs After Kevin Stefanski Firing appeared first on Heavy Sports.