Midwest
Police clear anti-Israel encampment at University of Michigan
An anti-Israel protest encampment at the University of Michigan was removed from campus by police early Tuesday, a public safety official confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Officers with the university’s public safety department began clearing the encampment just before 6 a.m. on the Central Campus, Melissa Overton, public information officer for the University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Protesters demanding the university’s divestment from Israel over the Israel-Hamas war first set up the encampment in the Diag – a large open area with walkways and green spaces on campus – in April.
Overton said officers had provided a handout and issued three warnings over a 15-minute period, asking protesters to leave the encampment voluntarily before being subject to arrest.
COLLEGE STUDENTS LAMENT INTERRUPTED AND CANCELED COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES DUE TO ANTI-ISRAEL UNREST
University of Michigan police broke up an anti-Israel encampment on campus early Tuesday. (FOX2 Detroit WJBK)
“The encampment posed safety risks, both to participants and the community at large, and its presence was in violation of multiple policies and regulations,” Overton said. “Its removal was important to help maintain the safety and security of the U-M campus community.”
A university spokesperson said the encampment broke safety protocols. (FOX2 Detroit WJBK)
It was not immediately clear whether any of the protesters were arrested.
Colleen Mastony, a university spokeswoman, told Fox News Digital in a statement that while the university recognizes the importance of free speech, the institution must also protect students, faculty, staff and visitors on campus.
Mastony said in a statement that the university fire marshal determined during an inspection on Friday that should a fire occur, there could be a catastrophic loss of life.
It was unclear whether any of the protesters were arrested. (FOX2 Detroit WJBK)
Protesters, however, refused to remove fire hazards, prompting the university to remove the encampment, Mastony said.
CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY-LINKED NETWORK BEHIND ‘WELL-FUNDED’ ANTI-ISRAEL CAMPUS PROTESTS, GROUP SAYS
“The disregard for safety directives was the latest in a series of troubling events centered on the encampment,” Mastony said in the statement. “Individuals will continue to be welcome to protest as they always have at the University of Michigan, so long as those protests do not infringe on the rights of others, endanger our community, violate the law or disrupt university operations.”
The university’s decision to break up the protest encampment follows similar moves in recent weeks by other colleges and universities across the country.
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While many of the encampments have been broken up by police, or as part of an agreement between the university and protesters, agitators have continued to disrupt commencement ceremonies.
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The offers come as Iowa transitions oversight of state websites and data to two private companies.
What to know about Iowa’s IT layoffs as it outsources data management
Iowa is laying off roughly 200 state workers as part of a plan that transfers management of state government data and websites from a state agency.
IT employees laid off as Iowa privatizes management of its government data and websites are receiving job offers from a private company contracting with the state, as promised by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Cognizant Government Solutions, the New Jersey-based company tasked with taking over daily IT operations for Iowa’s executive branch, sent offer letters to state workers whose jobs are being terminated as a result of the transition, according to the governor’s office and a state employee who is part of the layoffs.
Reynolds, who initially announced the transition to Cognizant and Amazon Web Services on June 9, maintained that the roughly 200 impacted state employees would receive “individualized, competitive job offers” from Cognizant by June 25.
State employees have until July 10 to accept Cognizant’s offers before the two companies begin providing the state services on Aug. 3.
The governor has touted the transition as a continuation of her administration’s initiative to consolidate and centralize the state’s IT services, which her office says will save taxpayers more than $525 million over 10 years
“This isn’t easy. Nobody likes to make decisions like that. It’s hard. We are so fortunate to have just the workforce that we have at the state,” Reynolds said in a June 19 interview on PBS’s Iowa Press. “They are providing the services every single day. But I also have a responsibility to the taxpayers of Iowa and Iowa, and we can’t keep doing things the way we did 40 years ago.
“This is where industry is going. This is where government is going.”
A state employee who was part of the layoffs and who asked to remain anonymous for fear of jeopardizing their employment, said they received an offer June 25 that included less expansive health and retirement benefits compared to state plans and a salary slightly higher than their state earnings.
Amid the layoff announcement, multiple state IT workers faced confusion and fear over their employment status as they waited for clear confirmation on future work, wages or benefits with Cognizant.
During one of many meetings between employees, state and Cognizant, employees were told if they accept the Cognizant offer, their job descriptions will remain the same for one year, according to the laid-off employee.
The companies will adjust job descriptions or let workers pick a different contract, the worker said, but there are no guarantees of employment past the first year.
“We are eager to welcome you to the team! You are joining the Company at an exciting time, and we know your fresh thinking and expertise will help us accomplish great things,” a Cognizant offer letter obtained by the Register states.
The state will pay Cognizant and AWS nearly $420 million over the next decade, $80.4 million of which will go to AWS to shift the state’s data from dozens of data centers and thousands of physical servers to a cloud-based system, according to contracts.
Gov. Kim Reynolds: State data is ‘secure’
As Iowa transfers oversight of government websites and data to Cognizant and AWS, Reynolds insisted the information will remain safeguarded.
“It (state data) absolutely is secure,” Reynolds said on Iowa Press. “There are all kinds of contracts and MOU and things that you have to sign. And even when it came to like the HIPAA data, we’ve got a form that you have to sign that you can’t release any of the information. They (Cognizant and AWS) have absolutely no access to any of that data.”
A data privacy framework for Cognizant to deal with customer data and confidential information is laid out in the contract between the company and the state. Under the agreement, the company must keep state data “secure, and not disclose or use it for any purpose other than providing Services under the Agreement,” the contract states.
The company may only retain state data to perform IT services for Iowa or with prior written approval of the state.
Rapid Response Politics Reporter Maya Marchel Hoff can be reached at mmarchelHoff@usatodayco.com. You can find her on X (formerly Twitter) at @mmarchelhoff.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A house fire broke out early Tuesday morning in the 3300 block of Bales Avenue in Kansas City.
Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from a two-story home and two people stranded on the roof. Both were brought safely to the ground.
The fire was under control within about 18 minutes after crews arrived. No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
Utah wildfire burnover kills three firefighters near Colorado border
Three firefighters were killed and two were injured in a Utah wildfire burnover as the Snyder Fire grows past 28,000 acres.
One of three firefighters killing fighting a Colorado wildfire on Saturday, June 27, was a southeast Michigan woman, department of Interior officials announced on Monday, June 29.
Emily Barker, 38, of Clinton Township, was assigned to the U.S. Forest Service Rifle Helitack crew. She died from burns while engaging in the initial attack on the Knowles Fire in Mesa County in western Colorado near the Utah border.
The two other fallen firefighters were identified as Nick Hutcherson, 27, of Glendale, Arizona, assigned to the USFS Kaibab National Forest; and Sydney Watson, 27, Warrior, Alabama, assigned to the USFS Rifle Helitack crew.
“We mourn the loss of three firefighters who answered the call to protect others and made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their fellow citizens,” U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy said in a June 29 announcement. “Our thoughts are with their families, loved ones, friends and crewmates as they face an unimaginable loss. These firefighters embodied the courage, professionalism and selflessness that define the wildland fire service. Please join me and my family in keeping our thoughts and prayers with the families of the fallen and our injured firefighters and their families.”
Barker was a graduate of Grosse Pointe Academy and alumna of Northern Michigan University with a degree in ski area business management, the school said in a 2020 Facebook post.
The firefighters from the U.S. Wildland Fire Service and U.S. Forest Service were battling the Knowles and Gore fires near the Colorado-Utah border June 27 when the incident occurred in Colorado, the U.S. Department of the Interior stated in a June 28 news release.
The firefighters were killed and injured during a burnover, which occurs when fire behavior changes and unexpectedly overtakes firefighters. The firefighters had deployed their protective shelters, according to a U.S. Forest Service news release June 28.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shared her condolences with Michigan firefighter’s family in a Facebook post.
“I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Clinton Township native, Emily Barker, who lost her life while fighting a wildfire in Colorado,” Whitmer said on Facebook on June 29. “My condolences go out to Emily’s loved ones. Her bravery in the face of danger kept people safe and will not soon be forgotten.”
As of Tuesday, June 30, the wildfire, known as the Snyder Fire, had consumed 30,163 acres, according to Map of Fire.
The blaze began Saturday, June 27, during a red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service due to strong winds, low humidity and dry fuel. The fire prompted evacuations.
The state is facing several other wildfires and is covered in red flag warnings as of Tuesday morning, June 30.
Contact Sarah Moore @ smoore@lsj.com
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