Who's Mariah Carey? Italian journalists to strike after commentator's blunders at opening ceremony

MILAN (AP) — Misidentifying Mariah Carey. Mistaking the Olympics' top boss for the Italian president’s daughter. Confusing the location of the opening ceremony. These gaffes at the Milan Cortina Winter Games by a top Italian broadcaster's commentator so thoroughly embarrassed its staff that they're going on strike.

Journalists from RaiSport announced on Monday that they were adopting protest measures — including strikes after the Games end — following RaiSport director Paolo Petrecca’s blunder-strewn commentary on Friday.

The channel is part of Rai, the Italian state-owned network that is broadcasting free-to-air coverage of its home Games.

A spokesperson for the broadcaster told The Associated Press that Petrecca has been removed from the commentary team for the Feb. 22 closing ceremony after a meeting on Monday afternoon with Rai CEO Giampaolo Rossi.

First among Petrecca's many mistakes, he welcomed viewers to the “Stadio Olimpico” (In English, “Olympic Stadium”), the name of a massive arena in Rome. In fact, he was standing inside the iconic San Siro, known across Italy as the home to legendary soccer clubs Inter Milan and AC Milan.

“The show continues with Mariah Carey,” he said as the camera locked onto Italian actress Matilda De Angelis, who is known throughout the country. Carey is more than 25 years older than her, and a global superstar. (De Angelis has since posted photos of the ceremony to Instagram with the caption: “Please, call me Mariah.”)

And when Italian President Sergio Mattarella walked into the stadium with International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry, Petrecca announced “Mattarella … and his daughter.”

The channel’s Comitato di Redazione — the internal union body that represents its journalists — issued a statement on Monday that all reporters and commentators would withhold their bylines until the end of the Winter Olympics, and that there would be three days of strikes after the Games.

“We have all been embarrassed, no one excluded, and through no fault of our own,” read the statement. “It is time to make our voices heard because we are facing the worst-ever figure of RaiSport in one of the most eagerly awaited events ever.”

Petrecca wasn't supposed to commentate on the opening ceremony, but decided to replace Auro Bulbarelli, who removed himself from the team after spoiling what was meant to be the surprise arrival of Mattarella aboard one of the city’s classic orange trams, driven by former motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi.

Among his other errors during Friday’s commentary was evidently failing to recognize Italy’s male and female volleyball teams. Both are world champions, and the women are also the reigning Olympic champions. Representatives from both carried the Olympic flame toward the end of the ceremony.

Petrecca named only one of the women, while referring to the remaining five champions as “other torchbearers.”

“Thanks to the commentators,” men’s captain Simone Giannelli commented on a post on Instagram, followed by three laughing-crying emojis.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

The Olympic torch is carried during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, left, IOC President Kirsty Coventry, third from left, and Italian President Sergio Mattarella, right, attend the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Italian actor Matilda De Angelis performs during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Singer Mariah Carey performs during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican lawmakers pressed Charlotte-area leaders on Monday about crime-fighting efforts following recent light-rail stabbings in the Democratic-led city, with a committee head citing failures in carrying out criminal justice functions.

The August fatal stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, followed in December by a non-fatal stabbing on the same Charlotte rail system, are among the chief reasons for GOP critiques of area law enforcement. The suspect in each stabbing faces charges in state and federal court.

GOP Rep. Brenden Jones, co-chairman of the state House oversight committee that took testimony from several officials, attributed Zarutska's killing to broad “incompetence.”

Democrats on the committee pushed back on Jones' words, with one lawmaker saying he saw no incompetence among many who testified. City officials and the local prosecutor focused their comments on anti-crime strategies already underway and lower crime rates.

Decarlos Brown Jr., the man accused in Zarutska’s death, had more than a dozen prior criminal arrests before the most recent charge, and concerns had been raised about his mental health. Republican lawmakers, as well as Trump and Vice President JD Vance, blamed Democratic leaders in Charlotte and statewide for soft-on-crime policies they allege allowed Brown to stay out of custody.

Zarutska had “come to America for a better life. She didn’t get that experience,” Jones said at the meeting’s start. “Her life was cut short not by one individual but by a system that allowed a career criminal to roam your streets.”

“Her blood is on your hands,” he added.

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, who was among those testifying Monday, wrote soon after Zarutska’s death that it was a “tragic failure by the courts and magistrates.” She and others have since highlighted additional safety measures for the light rail system.

Most of the committee’s vitriol Monday was targeted at the Mecklenburg County sheriff, who operates the local jail. The committee's past public scrutiny has been useful for Republicans politically on hot-button issues. The panel can seek more documents or could threaten funding losses — although that couldn’t occur without separate action by the full General Assembly.

Despite the harsh opening attack by Jones, committee members were cordial in their questioning of Lyles, new Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Estella Patterson and Mecklenburg District Attorney Spencer Merriweather.

During testimony, Merriweather suggested the need for more assistant prosecutors, earlier mental health interventions and combating more onerous crimes by juveniles.

While calling Jones' statement “strong,” the meeting “really lets me know that the General Assembly cares about Charlotte and they want to work with us to make our city safer," Patterson told reporters.

Still, in a news release after the meeting, Democratic Reps. Eric Ager and Maria Cervania accused the panel of engaging in “cynical partisan theatre to paint Charlotte in a negative light.”

Zarutska’s death has already resulted in a new state law that bars cashless bail for certain violent crimes and many repeat offenders. It also seeks to ensure more defendants undergo mental health evaluations. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein last week issued an executive order designed in part to address mental health treatment for people whom police confront and who are incarcerated.

Sheriff Garry McFadden has clashed for years with lawmakers who accused him of failing to cooperate with immigration agents seeking to apprehend defendants in his jail. A recent state law has now made it mandatory for sheriffs to honor detainers, which are requests by ICE to hold an arrested immigrant so agents can take custody of them. McFadden said Monday that his office has always "followed the law in notifying ICE,” but it’s up to agents to decide “what they do after that notification.”

A federal immigration crackdown that started in November in Charlotte and spread elsewhere in North Carolina resulted in hundreds of arrests over several days.

Brown has been jailed due to the charges. A federal court ordered last month that he undergo a psychiatric examination to determine whether his legal case can proceed. A similar exam was ordered in state court. Brown’s lawyers for the federal case declined comment. His state court lawyer didn’t respond to emails.

The suspect in the second light-rail attack — identified in federal records as Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia and in state court as Oscar Solarzano — is from Central America and had been transported out the country twice since 2018 — having been convicted of illegal reentry into the U.S., according to an FBI affidavit.

Solarzano is also jailed, and an attorney representing him in state court didn't respond to emails. There is no lawyer listed in his federal case.

The story has corrected the district attorney's last name as Merriweather, not Meriweather.

FILE - Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Vi Lyles speaks during a campaign event for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Charlotte, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond, File)

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, left, speaks with state Rep. Eric Ager, D-Buncombe, during a break in the North Carolina House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform meeting at the Legislative Building in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson)

FILE - Community members hold candles as they gather for a vigil honoring the life of Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed on a commuter train last month, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond, File)

FILE - Michael Bermudez of Spartanburg, S.C., holds a sign at a vigil honoring the life of Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed on a commuter train last month, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond, File)