Tag Archives: New York

Woman Adopts Dying Friend’s Four Daughters

When single mother Elizabeth Diamond died in April less than a year after being diagnosed with stage 5 brain cancer, she left this life with one less worry thanks for her friend Laura Ruffino.

Ruffino, who had been friends with Diamond since they were in grade school, adopted Diamond’s four daughters to make sure they had a loving, stable, caring home after their mother’s death.

“She said if anything ever happens to me I want you to take my girls and I instantly said ok,” said Ruffino.

“I would always want someone to do that for me. Her kids and I were so close anyway, because she was my best friend. I wanted to give her peace,” Ruffino added to ABC. “I can’t even imagine what she had to be going through.”

The family has not been forced to accommodate four new family members alone.  The community of Orchard Park, New York and surrounding towns have stepped up to provide the family with money and supplies they otherwise could not afford.

For example, someone donated a large refrigerator so that they could store enough food for the now family of 8.

“I’m in awe of the love and generosity we’re getting,” Ruffino told the New York Daily News. “I feel like Liz has her hand in all this and as a family we’re just getting stronger.”

Diamond’s family has been supportive of the adoption by the Ruffino family.

“I think it’s remarkably generous for Laura and her husband to do that,” Patricia Kaminski, Diamond’s aunt, told ABC. “I know Elizabeth’s family is very happy with that family. The rest of the family believe it’s an excellent outcome for the children.”

New York Stock Exchange Halted By Computer Glitch

Trading at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was suddenly halted around 11:32 a.m. Eastern Time because of what officials termed a “computer glitch.”

The market was down over 200 points (over 1%) at the time of the halt.

“We’re currently experiencing a technical issue that we’re working to resolve as quickly as possible,” Marissa Arnold, an NYSE spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement. “We will be providing further updates as soon as we can, and are doing our utmost to produce a swift resolution, communicate thoroughly and transparently, and ensure a timely and orderly market re-open.”

The Nasdaq reported to problems and said they continue to trade stocks that are listed on the NYSE.

“It’s been a little bit of a bumpy day. We had some technical problems even before the opening,” said Art Cashin, director of floor operations at the NYSE, in a CNBC interview.

“This will not cause a move in any particular direction, so I would kind of wait it out and see what happens,” he added.

The uncertainty about Greece and a massive selling of Chinese stocks were driving the market lower.

The Department of Homeland Security told CNN they found “no sign of malicious activity” at the stock exchange and no sign of a cyberattack.

New York Mayor Allows Churches To Continue To Meet In Schools

The mayor of New York said that he is not going to enforce the Supreme Court’s decision that the New York School System could ban Christian organizations from holding meetings in school buildings.

The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a lower court decision that said the school board could prohibit churches under the Establishment Clause.  It was the third time the Court has sided with the city against churches.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said he will allow churches to continue to meet in public schools despite the ruling.

“The administration remains committed to ensuring that religious organizations are able to use space in city schools on the same terms provided to other groups,” said mayoral spokesman Wiley Norvell. “Now that litigation has concluded, the city will develop rules of the road that respect the rights of both religious groups and nonparticipants.”

“While we review and revise the rules, groups currently permitted to use schools for worship will continue to be able to worship on school premises under DOE guidelines,” he said.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, who represented the church in their case, said that while they welcome the Mayor’s decision, the rules need to be changed to allow equal access to all groups.

Two New York Women Charged With Terrorism Plot

Two female roommates in Queens, New York are charged with plotting a terrorist attack on American soil.

Noelle Velentzas, 28 and Asia Siddiqui, 31, are both U.S. citizens.  The complaint against them was unsealed Thursday at Federal District Court in Brooklyn.

“The investigation has revealed that Velentzas espouses violent jihadist beliefs and has repeatedly expressed an interest in terrorist attacks committed within the United States,” the complaint stated.

A source told Fox News the women were plotting to use pressure cooker bombs similar to the ones used in the Boston Marathon bombings.  They were also in possession of propane tanks along with instructions on how to turn them into bombs.

Both of the women had “repeated contact with members of the foreign terrorist organization al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.”  One of the women said that Osama Bin Laden was her “hero”.

In communications with terrorists, Velentzas asked why they would need to come to the middle east when there were plenty of opportunities for “pleasing Allah” in the U.S.

The women face life in prison if convicted on all charges.

New York Assembly Passes Bill To Kill Third Trimester Babies

A vote shows that 94 members of the New York State Assembly want to make it OK for babies to be killed in the third trimester by shooting poison into their hearts.

The bill, AB 6221, was sponsored by pro-abortion Assemblywoman Deborah Glick.  The bill would allow any woman in New York to kill their baby up to the moment of birth.  The bill also says that a woman could have an abortion at any time for any reason.

Currently, no third trimester abortions are allowed except in the case of the pregnancy endangering the life of the mother.

“Expanding cruel and brutal third-trimester abortions has long been a goal of the anti-life lobby who never met an abortion they didn’t like,” Lori Kehoe, executive director of New York Right to Life, told the Christian Post. “With no regard for the fully developed unborn baby who is violently dismembered, or otherwise killed, the New York State Assembly once again put the abortion lobby above New York State women and their children.”

Kehoe continued: “We now look once again to the Senate to hold the line in defense of the children which happens to also be in accordance with the will of the rest of the people. It is ridiculous that in 2015, with all the technology at our disposal, we are still arguing whether or not an eight month old baby in the womb deserves protection. It is doubtful that our descendants will look kindly upon this period in our history, when we fought for the right to dismember babies weeks, days and even minutes before birth.”

 

Plane Skids Off Icy LaGuardia Runway

The winter storm that shut down most of the eastern United States almost resulted in a horrific tragedy at New York’s LaGuardia airport.

A Delta Airlines flight from Atlanta slid off a runway and smashed through a fence.  The plane, with 125 passengers and five crew, slid to a stop feet from landing in the water.

Authorities reported at least 3 people were hospitalized for their injuries and many other suffered minor injuries.

The airport closed because of the “aircraft incident.”

Authorities on scene said that two planes landed just before the Delta flight without any problems.  The pilots reported “good braking action” for the flight.

The closure of the airport further hampered a day of travel crushed by winter storms.  The Dallas/Fort Worth airport, one of the busiest in America, was shot down because of ice covering the airport.

New York Mayor To Add Muslim Holidays To School Calendar

Easter has to be a “spring break” but the Mayor of New York City thinks adding Muslim holidays to the school calendar is perfectly fine.

New York Mayor Bill deBlasio and Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina announced Wednesday that all schools will close for the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

“We are committed to having a school calendar that reflects and honors the extraordinary diversity of our students,” said Farina.

This is the same school district that is in court to prohibit Christian churches from being able to rent facilities while allowing all other groups to rent them.

“We’re here today to make good on a promise to our Muslim brothers and sisters that a holiday of supreme importance to the Muslim community will be recognized in our school calendar so that children can honor the holiday without missing school,” the mayor said.

The mayor claimed it’s about supporting families.

“Families are the fabric of our city. They’re the core of our city,” the mayor said. “All families deserve respect. Every kind of family deserves respect, and that’s what we’re noting today.”

Three Arrested In New York For Supporting ISIS

Three New York residents have been arrested in connection with support and attempts to join ISIS.

The three men, two with Uzebkistan citizenship and the other Kazakhstan, wanted to “wage jihad” and one said he would attempt to kill the President if he was ordered to do so by ISIS leadership.

The men were identified in the complaint as Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev,  24, a resident of Brooklyn and a citizen of Uzbekistan; Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, a resident of Brooklyn and a citizen of Kazakhstan; and Abror Habibov, 30, a resident of Brooklyn and a citizen of Uzbekistan.

The men were focused upon by federal authorities after making online statements supporting ISIS and calling for others to join with them to support ISIS.  They also posted online in foreign message boards attempting to recruit new ISIS members.

One was arrested at JFK Airport trying to board a plane to Turkey.  The other two men had place tickets for travel to the region within the next month.

The group also had plans to conduct domestic terror attacks if they could not make it to join ISIS in Syria.

“We will vigorously prosecute those who attempt to travel to Syria to wage violent jihad on behalf of ISIL and those who support them,” U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch said in a statement. “Anyone who threatens our citizens and our allies, here or abroad, will face the full force of American justice.”

Prosecutor Refuses To Drop Case of Christian Ticketed For Scripture On Truck

A Christian who was ticked for posting a sign on his truck that quoted Scripture is reporting the prosecutor handling the case refuses to drop it because of the New York protests against police.

“The prosecutor stated that he was not going to drop the case because he wanted to respect the authority of police,” Luis Zapata, whose defense attorney spoke with the prosecution last week, told Christian News Network on Wednesday. “Especially with the events with the police officers in New York City—the protests and the negative view of the officers—he was going to stand by the officer.”

Zapata has been posting scripture on his truck for two years until last August.  He said that he felt God telling him to share the gospel with the word and to place a sign on his truck about the Lord’s return.

Police officer Mark Van Wormer began to harass Zapata when he was parked near an abortion clinic for a protest with other Christians.  Van Wormer told Zapata to take his signs down or he would be ticketed.  Zapata moved the truck at the officer’s approval and then was later ticketed by Van Wormer at the new location.

Zapata said the tickets are part of a harassment campaign by the police against the Christians who protest the clinic.

“I feel that the city of Englewood got together with the abortion mill to try to drive us out of there by giving us petty citations,” he said.

New York City Continues To Fight Church Meetings In Schools

The administration of New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio is continuing a fight to keep Christians from being able to hold meetings in public schools as other taxpayers of the city are permitted to do.

The case of Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education has been in the court system for 17 years.  The Board of Education refused to allow the group to meet inside a school saying that allowing a church to meet in school facilities was a violation of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court refused to hear the case.  However, in 2012 a U.S. District Judge issued a permanent injunction allowing the group to hold services inside a school saying the school was violating the Free Exercise clause of the Constitution in their denial.

The city appealed that decision, getting the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to rule 2-1 that it was Constitutional to discriminate against Christian groups and other religions.  That ruling is now before the Supreme Court.

“The department’s decision to make public schools available to religious organizations for a wide range of activities, but not for worship services or as a house of worship, is constitutional,” the city stated in a brief to the Supreme Court. “The policy does not prohibit, limit, or burden any religious practice; does not entangle the government in matters of religion; and does not impair petitioners’ ability to speak freely.”

The Alliance Defending Freedom is asking the court to uphold the Constitutional right for Christians to use the facilities like any other taxpayer.

“Churches meeting in New York City public schools for worship services have fed the poor and needy, assisted in rehabilitating drug addicts and gang members, helped rebuild marriages and families, and provided for the disabled,” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman. “The churches have also helped the public schools themselves by volunteering to paint the interiors of inner-city schools; donating computers, musical instruments, and air conditioners; and providing effective after-school programs to help all students with their studies.”