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NY Dishes Out Punishments for Opting Out of Common Core

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Photo Credit: FOXNEWS.COM / AP

Photo Credit: FOXNEWS.COM / AP

Angry parents, at least one student suspended and — in one school district — children denied ice cream.

Such has been the roll-out of Common Core testing in New York, the first state to implement the test component of the controversial nationalized educational standard.

Seirra Olivero, a 13-year-old student at Orange-Ulster BOCES, claims she was suspended from school last week after telling classmates they could opt out of taking the Common Core English test — a decision few students and parents in the area knew was possible, according to the girl’s mother.

The eighth-grader was suspended for two days for “insubordination,” following the April 1 incident, in which she informed her friends they had a choice whether or not to take the exam on the day of the test. According to Seirra, she had just stepped off the school bus when she encountered a fellow classmate who was “anxious” about taking the test.

“I told my friend he didn’t have to take the test and then a teacher who overheard me told me to shut my mouth and keep walking,” Seirra told FoxNews.com. Once inside the school, Seirra told another friend the test was not mandatory, she says, prompting that same teacher to usher her into the principal’s office. After walking out of the principal’s office following an argument and then threatening to sue an administrator over his handling of the matter, Seirra was given a two-day suspension.

Read more from this story HERE.

Lawsuit: New York’s SAFE Act Allows Police to Seize Firearms Without a Warrant

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New York’s hastily-passed gun control law “mandates that law enforcement personnel seize, without a warrant, probable cause or hearing” some firearms, a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York’s Eastern District alleges.

The lawsuit was filed in March by the La Reddola, Lester & Associates law firm on behalf of Gabriel Razzano. As reported by the Washington Free Beacon, the lawsuit claims the registry process is “essentially secret and results in a mandatory, warrantless Penal Law 400 gun removal visit from police.”

A memorandum of law requesting preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order in regards to the law outlines five key points:

Photo Credit: La Reddola, Lester & Associates

Photo Credit: La Reddola, Lester & Associates

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Why is New York City Bullying Christians?

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

A federal appeals panel has ruled that New York City has a right to ban churches from holding worship services in school buildings. In essence, it means Christians have officially become second-class citizens in the nation’s largest city.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second District is just the latest twist in a legal saga pitting the Bronx Household of Faith against the NYC Board of Education. The court found that New York City’s ban on renting schools to churches for weekend worship services did not violate the First Amendment right to free expression.

“The opinion uses the establishment clause as an excuse to treat people of faith worse than everybody else,” said the Bronx Household of Faith’s attorney, Jordan Lorence of Alliance Defending Freedom.

Circuit Judge John Walker was the lone dissenter in the 2 to 1 ruling on Thursday. He said the board of education “plainly discriminates against religious belief and cannot be justified by a compelling government interest.”

“Shutting the door to religious worship services in such a setting where every other activity is permitted strikes at the clause’s core,” he wrote in the dissent. “Of the 50 largest school districts in the United States, New York city alone entirely excludes religious worship from its facilities.”

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Islamic Group Gets Go-Ahead to Cut Crosses Off NY Church

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

A city board on Thursday gave a Muslim group the go-ahead to remove six crosses from the roof and spires of a century-old former Catholic church so the now-vacant Gothic structure can be used as a mosque.

More than 200 people had signed an online petition calling on the Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board to deny an application by North Side Learning Center, the church’s new owner, to remove the crosses and build a six-foot chain-link fence.

Before the vote to allow the church alterations, Chairman Don Radke said the board cannot interfere with a decision that involves religious freedom.

About a dozen people who spoke at the meeting were evenly divided for and against the church conversion, The Post-Standard reported.

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Keep Calm and Refuse the NYS Tests

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

While her son’s fourth-grade classmates were taking the nation’s first round of tests under the controversial Common Core program, Heidi Indelecato decided to teach her son a lesson in civil disobedience.

“We respectfully refuse to participate in the test,” said Indelecato, whose son Benjamin attends school in Lancaster, N.Y., which on Tuesday became the first state to administer testing under the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

So while other kids sat poised with their No. 2 pencils above Scantron sheets, Benjamin studied with his mother, who documented the occasion with a picture of the pair wearing T-shirts that read: “Keep calm and and refuse the NYS tests.”

Common Core was adopted by 45 states, although Indiana withdrew last month. The set of standards, devised by the nation’s school superintendents at the behest of the National Governors Association, seeks to set a uniform standard for grades K-12, to ensure kids all over the nation reach the same minimum level of learning.

The program involves testing of students in grades 3-8 and high school testing is scheduled to begin next year.New York implemented the standards a year early.

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Republican Running for Governor of NY Plans to Take a Stand for His Kids With ’Symbolic’ Protest of Common Core

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Photo Credit: The Blaze

Photo Credit: The Blaze

A Republican candidate for governor of New York said he and his wife plan to pull their children from Common Core testing in a “symbolic” protest on Tuesday.

In a short campaign video, Rob Astorino says his “family’s protest tomorrow is a symbolic one.”

“But as parents, we think it’s important to take a stand. Our children aren’t guinea pigs, Governor Cuomo, and we want them educated by teachers — not faceless bureaucrats in Washington,” he added.

He claims hundreds of thousands of New York children from third to eighth grade will be subjected to Common Core testing on Tuesday. Astorino said his kids will remain in school but opt out of the test.

New York News

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Obama: I’m Concerned About a Nuke Being Detonated in Manhattan (+video)

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Speaking at a brief news conference in the Hague, President Obama said he’s more worried about a nuke being detonated in Manhattan than he is about Russia:

“With respect to Mr. Romney’s assertion that Russia is our number one geopolitical foe, the truth of the matter is that America has a whole lot of challenges,” said the president.

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WATCH: NY Gun Owners Burn Assault Weapon Registration Forms Mandated by ‘SAFE’ Act

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Photo Credit: benwatts / Creative Commons In the state of New York, hundreds gathered near Sarasota Springs in a fiery act of civil disobedience aimed at gun control lawmakers.

According to the Post Star, “nearly a thousand gun registration forms were turned into ashes Sunday.” Under NY’s SAFE Act, those who possess what the State of New York considers to be military-style “assault weapons” have to register by April 15th.

“Once the Second (Amendment) falls, the rest will go with it. It’s an unconstitutional law, done in the middle of the night with no input from the public,” E.J. Stokes told the Post Star.

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Remington Arms Moving 2,000+ Jobs From NY to Alabama

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Photo Credit: Yellow Hammer NewsHigh level sources have informed Yellowhammer News that Remington, one of the world’s largest gun manufacturers, will on Monday join Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley in announcing that they are bringing over 2,000 jobs to Alabama.

The company is viewing the move into Alabama as an expansion, but it will likely impact their Ilion, NY plant as well. The New York facility currently employees around 1,200 people. It is expected to stay open, but with a reduced workforce.

“The company is making the move as an expansion of capacity, production and research,” a source told Yellowhammer on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. “The demand for Remington products has skyrocketed recently, for obvious reasons, so they need to increase their production capacity. They will be expanding their research capabilities with the Alabama plant, too.”

The initial estimated impact on Alabama’s economy will be roughly $87 million.

According to Remington’s website, the company designs, produces and sells sporting goods products for the hunting and shooting sports markets, as well as military, government and law enforcement markets. Founded in 1816 in upstate New York, the Company is one of the nation’s oldest continuously operating manufacturers. Remington is the only U.S. manufacturer of both firearms and ammunition products and one of the largest domestic producers of shotguns and rifles. The Company distributes its products throughout the U.S. and in over 55 foreign countries.

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Man Found Dead in NY Hospital Waiting Room 8 Hours After Asking to See Doctor (+video)

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

A man was found dead in a New York emergency room eight hours after he asked to see a doctor.

John Verrier, 30, came into Saint Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, complaining of a rash. Hospital officials say he was checked in and asked to wait.

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