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.

J.J. McCarthy’s fiancée Katya Kuropas said goodbye to their college life ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday.

The former Michigan quarterback, who led the Wolverines to a national title in his final season, is projected as a top-10 pick.

“Extremely delayed but… Reminiscing on how amazing this past season was. An abundance of blessings and the best memories,” Kuropas wrote in a post on Instagram. “Feeling so grateful for everything that unfolded & for everyone that was part of it!! Sad to see this chapter go, but excited for the next one.”

Kuropas shared a bunch of photos with friends and her fiancée, including snaps of her tailgating with them at Michigan football games.

One photo featured her leaning over the wall at Michigan Stadium and kissing McCarthy after a game.

“Drop dead gorgeous,” McCarthy wrote in the comments.

The high school sweethearts got engaged in January 2024, as seen in a joint Instagram post.

“Me, You & Marley Forever & Ever,” they wrote in the caption, referring to their English Cream Golden Retriever.

McCarthy and Kuropa’s engagement photos took place on a beach, where she showed off her stunning diamond engagement ring.

The quarterback proposed just two weeks after taking home a national championship when No. 1-seeded Michigan beat No. 2 Washington, 34-13, at NRG Stadium in January.

The couple — who began dating when they both were in high school at Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, Ill. — celebrated their fifth year of dating in October 2023.

McCarthy’s draft stock continued to rise in the days leading up to the draft, with some reports saying he could be selected as high as No. 3.

The 21-year-old explained he was relishing in “the calm before the storm” during an appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Wednesday.

“I’m just trying to soak it all in because you only get to do this one,” McCarthy said from Detroit. “Obviously, making my rounds … going to every coach and telling them how much I appreciate them for how much they’ve done throughout this process.

“We’re just going through this whole process of being a ‘GAM,’ a grown ass man. It’s a fun process but I’m ready to get going, that’s for sure.”

McCarthy said he’s taken personal visits with the Giants, Patriots and Commanders.

New England and Washington have the No. 2 and No. 3 overall picks, respectively, and the Giants pick at No. 6.

The Michigan Legislature voted Wednesday to continue allowing local courts to assess costs on defendants who either are convicted or plead guilty.

Without the extension, that authorization is set to expire May 1. A bill now headed for the governor’s desk would extend that to the end of 2026.

Representative Kelly Breen (D-Novi) supported extending the sunset on that funding mechanism. But she said lawmakers need to come up with a permanent fix, so courts no longer rely on fines for funding.

“We need to ensure that there is no, even an appearance of impropriety that judges are making decisions simply to generate court revenue. We can’t have that. And it results in unequal access to justice,” Breen told reporters after Senate session Wednesday.

Breen sponsors a bill that would require the State Court Administrative Office to propose a new, uniform statewide court funding system to the state Legislature by May 2026.

Breen emphasized it would then be up to lawmakers to decide whether to accept those recommendations or have the office try again.

Republicans, however, were skeptical of the plan.

Representative Andrew Fink (R-Hillsdale) said he doesn’t like how the bill relies on the State Court Administrative Office rather than lawmakers to propose a solution.

“That’s an inherently legislative responsibility to appropriate funds. And so, as we think through the best way to do that is, I don’t like the idea of asking SCAO to think through it, develop it, and just hand us its recommendations, which I believe we’ll then be pressured to adopt,” Fink said.

Fink said he’d prefer the Legislature taking the lead on coming up with a new trial court funding plan.

The issue of trial court funding has been a pressing matter for years.

A 2017 state law passed under then-Republican Governor Rick Snyder created a Trial Court Funding Commission to review concerns and come up with recommendations for lawmakers to pass. The commission issued its final report in 2019.

“Those recommendations were handed to the Legislature in 2019 with the hopes that the Legislature, which is the policymaking branch of government would lead, would take them up, and would have this healthy conversation. Now, for a variety of reasons, that just didn’t happen,” State Court Administrator Tom Boyd said.

That report mentions state and federal court cases in which the issue of how having a court rely on fines it imposes to fund itself could constitute a conflict of interest. While the state’s policy was upheld in a 2019 decision, Michigan Supreme Court Justices noted flaws within the system.

Boyd said a possible fix would still allow courts to assess fines and rely on other sources of local funding aside from fees for criminal proceedings. But creating a new Trial Court Fund to handle revenue from those court costs, as required in Breen’s bill, would add an extra layer of protection to avoid the appearance of a court having a motive to charge high fees.

Originally, the two bills were tie-barred, meaning one couldn’t become law if another didn’t. But, in a move to ensure the sunset extension had enough Republican support in the Senate for the bill to take immediate effect, Senate lawmakers broke the tie-bar.

The changes meant the bills went back to the House of Representatives, for that chamber to concur with the Senate’s actions.

The concurrence vote on the sunset extension, which had been sponsored by Republican Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Springport), passed with wide bipartisan support. But Breen’s bill requiring a new proposal for funding the courts did not receive enough support to continue forward.

House Democrats will likely try again once two new Democratic members are seated next week.