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Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Woman wanted since 2023 in alleged murder of her 6-year-old son arrested: FBI
A woman wanted for capital murder in the suspected death of her 6-year-old son has been arrested more than two years after she boarded a flight from the United States to India, FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Wednesday. Cindy Rodriguez Singh, who had been named a top 10 most wanted fugitive by the FBI, faces charges in Texas for allegedly murdering her son, Noel Alvarez, authorities said. Noel had not been seen since October 2022, according to police in Everman, Texas, where the family lived at the time. He was last seen alive around the birth of his twin sisters, "appearing unhealthy and malnourished," police said. Everman police conducted a welfare check for him on March 20, 2023, at the request of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, according to the FBI. During the welfare check interview, Rodriguez Singh allegedly lied to officers about Noel's whereabouts when she said the boy had been living with his biological father in Mexico since November 2022, according to the FBI. Two days later, she boarded a flight to India with her husband and six other children, the FBI said. Not on the flight was Noel, whose mother had applied for passports for all of her children except him in November 2022, local police said. MORE: Missing 6-year-old Texas boy believed to be dead, warrant out for mother's arrest: Police Noel has never been found and is presumed dead, according to state and federal authorities. Rodriguez Singh is not believed to have returned to the U.S. since boarding the flight to India, the FBI said. She was charged with capital murder of a person under 10 years of age in October 2023 in Tarrant County district court, authorities said. A month later, a federal arrest warrant for the charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was issued against her, the FBI said. Rodriguez Singh, 40, was added to the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list in July. The agency had been offering up to a $250,000 reward for information leading to her arrest and conviction. MORE: Body of missing pregnant 18-year-old found, ex-boyfriend confessed to murder: Officials Patel thanked the FBI's local partners in Texas, the Justice Department, and "as well as partners in India for the coordinating." He did not say when or where specifically Rodriguez Singh was arrested. "This is the 4th '10 Most Wanted" fugitive arrested in the last 7 months," he said in a post on X. "That's a credit to tremendous field work, law enforcement partners, intelligence operatives, and an administration who is letting good cops do their jobs." Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said on X that he is "glad to see Rodriguez Singh being brought back to Texas from India, where she will finally face justice for the alleged heinous crime of murdering her child."
Washington Post
14 minutes ago
- Washington Post
State Dept. fires official after internal debates over Israel
The State Department fired its top press officer for Israeli-Palestinian affairs following multiple disputes over how to characterize key Trump administration policies, including a controversial plan to relocate hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip that critics consider ethnic cleansing, according to U.S. officials and documents reviewed by The Washington Post. Monday's firing of c occurred days after an internal debate about releasing a statement to the news media that said, 'We do not support forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.' Ghoreishi drafted the line, which resembled previous remarks made by President Donald Trump and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who said in February the United States would not pursue an 'eviction plan' for Gaza. State Department leadership vetoed the move, instructing officials to 'cut the line marked in red and clear,' according to a memo dated last week. U.S. officials said Ghoreishi's firing has sent a chilling message to State Department employees that communication straying from ardent pro-Israel messaging — even if it's in line with long-standing U.S. policy — will not be tolerated. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters. The State Department did not offer a rationale for Ghoreishi's firing but suggested he had strayed from the White House's agenda. 'We do not comment on leaked emails or allegations,' said State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott. 'Federal employees should never put their personal political ideologies ahead of the duly elected president's agenda.' Ghoreishi told The Post he was not given an explanation for his firing, which the State Department was not required to provide due to his status as a contractor. He said the incident raised troubling questions about the department's position on the potential expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza. 'Despite a strong reputation and close working relationship with many of my colleagues, I was unable to survive these disputes,' he said, noting the language he recommended for the media statement had been previously cleared by the State Department since Trump took office on Jan. 20. Another dispute inside the State Department occurred earlier this month following Israel's targeted killing of Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif and several other journalists in Gaza City. Israel claimed al-Sharif was a Hamas member, a charge denied by Al Jazeera. Israel has not made similar claims about the cameraman and other journalists killed along side al-Sharif. As officials contemplated how the State Department should address the incident, Ghoreishi recommended including a line that said 'We mourn the loss of journalists and express condolences to their families.' State Department leadership objected in an email sent Aug. 10. 'No response is needed,' said the email. 'We can't be sending out condolences if we are unsure of this individual's actions.' A key opponent of Ghoreishi within the department was David Milstein, a senior adviser to Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel. Milstein is known for confronting staff throughout the department in defense of the Israeli government, said officials familiar with the matter. Critics of Milstein within the State Department contend he appears overly eager to please Israeli officials and frequently involves himself in matters that are beyond the scope of his responsibilities. 'Milstein is an adviser to an ambassador,' one official said. 'That's it, yet he has his hands in everything.' Milstein did not respond to a request for comment. Milstein and other State Department officials clashed in July when Milstein sought to release a statement under Secretary of State Marco Rubio's name that condemned Ireland for considering legislation that would ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, said officials. The effort alarmed U.S. diplomats in Europe, who viewed the appropriate next step to be consulting with Irish officials in private before publicly condemning the country's actions. Ultimately, U.S. diplomats overseeing Europe and the Middle East prevailed over Milstein and prevented the statement's release. More recently, Milstein and Ghoreishi disagreed over Milstein's push for the State Department to refer to the West Bank as 'Judea and Samaria,' the biblical name for the region that is widely used within Israel. The territory is internationally recognized as the West Bank and Palestinians object to the use of Judea and Samaria as legitimizing Israeli settlements and potential annexation — a concern also shared by advocates of a two-state solution. A Milstein memo reviewed by The Post was drafted in response to questions from the Associated Press about House Speaker Mike Johnson's visit to the territory. The memo praised Johnson (R-Louisiana) for 'making history as the highest-ranking U.S. official and first speaker of the House to ever go to Judea and Samaria.' Ghoreishi managed to cut that line before it was shared with the news media and inserted previously approved State Department language that used West Bank while referring other questions about Johnson's trip to his 'office for further information,' the line said. The question about displacement from Gaza is particularly relevant given reports that Israeli officials are in talks with South Sudan about relocating thousands of Palestinians to the war-torn African nation. Critics say the plan, if implemented, would amount to ethnic cleansing and a war crime. Israeli officials say the plan would amount to 'voluntary migration,' a characterization challenged by those noting the besieged enclave's chronic lack of food and water, and sustained Israeli military campaign. Ghoreishi's supporters in the department rebutted spokesman Pigott's suggestion that he worked against Trump's agenda. One State Department official said Ghoreishi always cleared his recommendations internally and had a 'proven track record of being able to channel President Trump and Rubio in the public talking points' and noted that, 'He's the guy who wrote the Secretary's tweet 'Make Gaza Beautiful Again.'' Ghoreishi said he was not motivated by anti-Trump animus and had been inspired by Trump's May speech about the Middle East, which he said some senior State Department officials continued to resist. 'Trump called out neocons and western interventionists for failing the Middle East, and claimed he wanted to help pave a new path for the region,' he said. 'The hawks on the seventh floor of the State Department do not match that vision.' The department's seventh floor houses Rubio's office and those of other top officials. Other U.S. officials have noted that Trump's language on Israel has ranged from critical to extremely supportive, and contradictory remarks about establishing a 'Riviera of the Middle East' in Gaza have allowed competing ideological camps to stake a claim for the Trump mantle. On Wednesday, Ghoreishi came under attack from Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and unofficial adviser to Trump with a track record of leveling unsubstantiated claims. In a post on social media, she called Ghoreishi a 'Pro-Iranian Regime Jihadi Muslim Tied To NIAC,' a reference to the National Iranian American Council, a group that supported the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Ghoreishi said he was an intern there in the fall of 2013.
CBS News
14 minutes ago
- CBS News
Former Central Michigan University baseball player sues school, claims he was punched by coach
A former student and baseball player at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant has filed a lawsuit against the school, seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages stemming from an alleged punch in the chest from an assistant coach. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, naming Central Michigan University, Aaron Hilt in his role as assistant coach of CMU's baseball team, Jacob Sabol in his role as head coach of CMU's baseball team, and Amy Folan in her role as CMU's Director of Athletics. The former player, Dean Brown, claims assault and battery, negligence, negligent hiring and intentional infliction of emotional distress as he was removed from team chats and barred from the baseball stadium after conversations, reports and communications that took place in the aftermath of the incident. In response, the university said, "CMU does not comment on pending litigation." Brown has since transferred to a junior college with the intention to play baseball, the lawsuit says. Brown said in the lawsuit that he lost a year of college eligibility for student athletics after the circumstances at CMU, which is an NCAA Division I institution. The alleged incident happened on March 2, as CMU was preparing to play against Western Kentucky University. As was their usual routine, the pitchers and the rest of the team were gathered in a group before the game. The usual pregame routine involved lining up in the field's bullpen "to receive first bumps from Defendant Hilt," the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit claims Brown raised his fist as Hilt approached, expecting the usual greeting, but instead Hilt "punched him in the chest with significant force, which knocked the wind out of Brown, who fell backwards." Brown was left with a large dark bruise. "Due to the sheer number of eyewitnesses to the event, word spread quickly throughout the entire team that Defendant Hilt had punched Dean. This resulted in other players sharing messages, GIFs, and memes made in reference to the incident," the lawsuit claims. Dean reported the incident to the head coach on March 3. He further sent an email on March 17 to the athletic director to report the incident. Brown pitched his final game for CMU on March 19; thereafter, he was benched and removed from the opportunity to play during the games." On April 18, the lawsuit claims, Brown sent a teammate a Snapchat message that read, "time to die," intending it to be a reference to the team's hype-up song of the season, "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses. "Instead of replying to the text in a familiar manner," the lawsuit claims, the teammate reported the text to police as a threat. Brown was allegedly spoken to by two police officers the next day, and soon thereafter, suspended from the team. The lawsuit claims Brown was also told he was not allowed on stadium grounds until further notice; both he and his parents were removed from group texts and subscriptions.
