Michigan
'Uncommitted' organizers will join campus protesters in Michigan over Gaza
Organizers behind the “uncommitted” political movement against President Joe Biden’s staunch support for Israel’s war against Hamas will travel to the University of Michigan’s campus on Thursday to join students protesting the war.
Student protests in the US over the war in Gaza have intensified and expanded over the past week after police first arrested students at Columbia, with so-called Gaza solidarity encampments established at colleges, including Yale, and New York University. Police have been called in to several campuses to arrest hundreds of student demonstrators.
Uncommitted organizers will travel to the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus, they told Reuters, bringing together a political movement that’s disrupted Biden events and amassed hundreds of thousands of votes in Democratic primaries and a student movement that’s drawn students and faculty of various backgrounds.
Biden won Michigan by less than a 3% margin in 2020.
Democrats have become increasingly uneasy over the US support for Israel as the death toll and destruction climb in Gaza. A growing revolt inside the Democratic base signifies the challenge Biden faces in bringing together the coalition he needs to defeat Republican frontrunner and former President Donald Trump.
“President Biden is choosing to put his hands over his ears and ignore the hundreds of thousands of people who have already come out against the war at the ballot box,” said Abbas Alawieh, a prominent “Uncommitted” organizer, who is going to Ann Arbor with Layla Elabed, another Michigan organizer.
“Signing into law more money for Israel is sending a clear message to uncommitted voters, young voters that he doesn’t care to engage seriously with our demands to end this war,” he said, referring to the $26 billion in new aid Biden recently approved.
Alawieh said the uncommitted movement has not been coordinating with student groups so far. “We have an electoral focus, but we certainly see the demands of student protesters, who are calling for peace,” he said.
Calling for a permanent ceasefire
On campuses where protests have broken out, students have issued calls for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to US military assistance for Israel, university divestment from arms suppliers and other companies profiting from the war, and amnesty for students and faculty members who have been disciplined or fired for protesting.
Biden told reporters on Monday that he condemned both “antisemitic protests” and “those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.” Biden campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt has said the president “shares the goal for an end to the violence and a just, lasting peace in the Middle East. He’s working tirelessly to that end.”
Trump called the campus protest situation “a mess” as he walked into his criminal trial in New York.
The uncommitted movement amassed sizable vote totals in Michigan, Minnesota and Hawaii primaries and had won 25 delegates as of the beginning of April. They are preparing to target the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, where Biden is expected to be nominated.
Polls show Biden and Trump running neck-and-neck ahead of their Nov. 5 election rematch nationally. Biden’s 2020 victory was due to narrow wins in key swing states like Michigan.
Michigan
Michigan’s top school board points ire at ICE with measure to support ‘student safety’
LANSING, MI – Michigan’s top school board is backing state legislation that would limit immigration enforcement in areas affecting students days after a 37-year-old mother of three was shot by a federal officer in Minnesota.
The State Board of Education adopted a resolution this week supporting “student safety, human dignity and humane immigration enforcement practices,” though not without some pushback from the board’s Republican members.
The resolution comes in response to the Jan. 7 death of Renee Nicole Good, who was shot while inside her SUV amid a confrontation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Minneapolis. The incident spurred protests around the country, including in Detroit, against the ongoing ICE crackdowns under President Donald Trump.
During a meeting Tuesday, Jan. 13, several state school board members emphasized the impact the intensifying operations has had on local communities and in Michigan ― a nod to the resolution’s circumstantial mention of children who may fear suddenly losing their parents or caregivers to ICE detainment and deportation while at school.
State Board President Pamela Pugh introduced the resolution and talked about Good.
“She shouldn’t have been called (an expletive) after she was shot and likely killed,” she said, referencing the exact profanity as seen in videos of the incident on social media.
The case has not been fully investigated, but members of the Trump administration have claimed Good disobeyed orders to exit her vehicle before weaponizing it. Opponents and protesters around the country have said they believe she was murdered.
Trustee Nikki Snyder, who unsuccessfully proposed changes to the resolution on behalf of absent member Tom McMillin, said the state school board was propping up the “latest interpretation” of events surrounding Good’s death.
And while she and McMillin, both Republicans, agreed with backing “humane action” in ICE activities, Snyder said they should wait until the FBI has completed an investigation, adding, “I think there is a serious lack of transparency in all of this.”
“This is not OK. There’s a lot of mixing of what we’re talking about,” Pugh replied.
“And we have legislators, senators who have proposed bills because they see the harm,” she added. “Our community should not be facing the fear that they’re facing. Our resources, human resources should not be going toward (ICE operations). … That’s not public safety. We’re talking about two different things to begin with.”
Three bills were introduced by Michigan Senate Democrats last August addressing ICE concerns.
Senate Bill 508 would prohibit immigration enforcement action in sensitive locations like educational institutions, while SB 509 would ban providing an individual’s identifying information without a court order.
As ICE agents have been widely seen wearing face coverings while on the job, law enforcement officers would additionally be prohibited from wearing a mask or personal disguise while interacting with the public on duty under SB 510.
All three were sent to committee in Lansing, where they remain.
Pugh’s resolution states that the bills “seek to increase transparency” and “clarify the role of state and local agencies” in ICE operations.
It also cites Good’s death as an example of “the real and irreversible harm caused by aggressive militarized enforcement practices” from federal authorities.
“The Michigan State Board of Education encourages a fundamental re-examination of the existence, placement, function, and deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the resolution states. “Including whether its enforcement responsibility should be dismantled or re-assigned with the federal government to guarantee real humane solutions that center child safety.”
Snyder also questioned how Pugh’s resolution recounted the history of immigration policy in the U.S., excluding the expansion of detention and deportation under Bill Clinton and other efforts, including family detention programs, under Barack Obama.
“When an American breaks the law, they can be separated from their children because they broke the law,” she said. “… Our country actually tends to be on the side of less punitive and more humane (than others).”
ICE protests have reached Michigan in the wake of Good’s death.
Detroit advocates called for the city to stymie ICE operations in the city hours before Trump appeared to speak before the Detroit Economic Club this week. While in town, ICE was also a popular target for hundreds of anti-Trump protesters nearby.
On Tuesday, Tiffany Tilley, co-president for the state school board, said she understood that “immigration enforcement needs to happen” at large, but that she believes “people are being terrorized” by the manner of enforcement with “cities in the U.S. under siege.”
State Trustee Mitchell Robinson agreed, emphasizing it wasn’t “an abstract issue,” citing instances where ICE is spotted nearby schools in Detroit or around Michigan.
“It’s not happening somewhere else only.”
Michigan
Your votes: Who is the top forward in Division 2 Michigan high school girls basketball?
With the 2025-26 Michigan high school girls basketball season well underway, we’re featuring some of the best players in the state.
Earlier this week we featured the best forwards in Division 2.
Now we’re turning to readers to decide which forward will be the best of the best in Michigan Division 2 girls basketball in 2025-26.
Check out the write-ups on the top forwards in Division 2 and vote in the poll below the list of candidates.
The voting will conclude Friday, Jan. 30, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
We contacted basketball coaches across the state and asked them to fill out a survey requesting information about their team. These lists were compiled primarily based on the information provided by the coaches who chose to respond.
If you are a Michigan high school girls basketball coach who did not receive the survey, email mswanson@advancelocal.com. We will continue to add to these lists throughout the season.
THE CANDIDATES
Alexis Asekomeh, Grand Rapids West Catholic, Junior
Brynna Barnhart, Fremont, Senior
Tessa Bordogna, Notre Dame Prep, Junior
Jaya Chandler, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Senior
Paris Davis, Detroit Southeastern, Senior
Christina Dixon, Haslett, Senior
Sadie Dykstra, Yale, Senior
Nuray Fricke, Big Rapids, Sophomore
Samantha Fuhs, Dearborn Divine Child, Junior
Peyton Hein, Spring Lake, Junior
Maddie Heverly, Brandon, Sophomore
Emma Highfield, Lake Fenton, Senior
Ruby Hughes, Newaygo, Junior
Kaitlyn Johnson, Haslett, Senior
Lillie Johnson, Gladstone, Senior
Maddy Lockard, Northpointe Christian, Senior
Elle Lorente, Eaton Rapids, Junior
Lillian Masters, Bay City John Glenn, Sophomore
Addison McDonald, Gaylord, Senior
Clare O’Donnell, Negaunee, Senior
Abby Prins, Grand Rapids South Christian, Sophomore
Peyton Rhoades, Pennfield, Senior
Aleigha Roberson, Portland, Junior
Emilee Robinson, Kingsley, Senior
Lauren Seeley, Alma, Senior
MaKayla Sykes, Detroit Country Day, Freshman
Caroline Torre, Warren Regina, Senior
Clare Westerlund, Whitehall, Junior
Amarah Zamora-Ledesma, Godfrey Lee, Senior
Michigan
Where to watch Michigan basketball vs. Illinois in Top 25 clash tonight
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The No. 8 Michigan Wolverines will host the No. 25 Illinois Fighting Illini for a Top 25 Big Ten matchup tonight.
Fans can catch the conference action exclusively on Peacock at 7 p.m. ET. Live sports plans start at $10.99 per month and include access to NBC’s live broadcast as well as hundreds of hit TV shows and movies.
The Wolverines are 14-2 overall, 5-1 against conference opponents and they’re also 9-0 at home so far this season. They’re riding a three-game winning streak, which includes an 86-60 victory over Wisconsin on Sunday. Olivia Olson had a team-high 21 points in the win, and Mila Holloway and Te’Yala Delfosse each added 18 points.
The Fighting Illini are 14-3 and 4-2 in Big Ten play. They’re looking to build on the momentum from their 92-76 victory over Penn State on Sunday. Berry Wallace led the team with 28 points and eight rebounds in the win.
NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
No. 8 Michigan (14-2) vs. No. 25 Illinois (14-3)
When: Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026
Where: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, MI
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Streaming: Peacock
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