Wayne State moves to remote classes • Man drowns in Belleville Lake • City promises fix for Detroit flooding

TUESDAY NEWS HIT - Protesters at Wayne State University say police are planning to dismantle their encampment soon.

The pro-Palestinian protesters pitched tents last week while demanding the school's divestment from Israel amid the war in Gaza. WSU is one of many colleges across the United States where encampments have been set up for the same reason.

In a letter sent to students by university president Kimberly Andrews Espy on Monday, she said the school supports free speech. With that, she said that the encampment was posing public safety issues at the Detroit school.

"Occupants removed and relocated fencing, traffic safety equipment, and other materials from construction sites and roadways, creating multiple public safety hazards," Espy wrote. "We will always be a university that welcomes free expression of views that enable learning new perspectives through engaging, challenging conversations. At the same time, we must distinguish free speech from actions that violate laws, threaten health and safety, or disrupt campus operations."

Wayne State moved to remote operations Tuesday "due to an ongoing public safety issue," though the school did not specify if the encampment was the reason. 

Man's body found after Belleville Lake drowning

A man's body was recovered from Belleville Lake on Monday evening, hours after he disappeared while swimming.

Patrick Todd, 23, was swimming with a sibling during a holiday BBQ. The sibling made it back to shore, but Todd didn't, leading to a search that started around 4 p.m.

"They went out into the water. One came back and the other lost track of them, so that’s what they’re out there looking for - looking for them at this point," said Van Buren Fire Chief David Mcinally.

Divers battled windy conditions which impacted the current as they did their work. They did so with anxious family members looking on.

"I have a nice-sized boat, and even I was struggling with 25 years out on this lake," said Brian Butzin, a man who helped search for Todd after meeting him earlier that day.

DWSD promises fix after Detroit flooding

Memorial Day weekend flooding left some Detroiters with a mess to clean up.

"My water tank, my washer machine, my dryer, my deep freezer it’s come all the way up to my porch," Diane Lewis said.

Lewis said Monday was the second or third time this year that flooding has impacted her neighborhood, and it's been costly. Others around the city also dealt with flooding this holiday weekend. 

"I mean our taxes went up. They ask for extra money for pipe repair, and we gave it to them this year. We gave it to them last year plus paid our water bill," said Alesia Johnson. "What are they doing for us?"

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department said a remedy is on their list of priorities. 

"We’ve already been in the alley and cleaned out a lot of tree roots that are in our sewer line and we’ve got more to go," said DWSD Director Gary Brown.

Along with removing the roots, DWSD plans to reline the sewers, which should add a permanent solution. He included a request for residents to keep trash out of the sewer lines.

"That’s going to exacerbate the problem. It will get into the sewer, and then it's going to gather with tree roots that are in there and make the sewer completely void of water being able to go through," said Brown.

Detroit Grand Prix road closures begin

Road closures for this weekend's Detroit Grand Prix start today.

Several stretches of roads will be closed today until June 5:

• Atwater from Riopelle to Hart Plaza
• Bates from Jefferson to Atwater
• EB Jefferson from M-10 to Rivard
• WB Jefferson from Rivard to Washington Blvd.
• Woodward from State to Jefferson
• Cadillac Square west of Bates
• Campus Martius

The rest of the closures begin Wednesday and will be in effect until June 3:

• Renaissance Drive West
• Franklin between Rivard and St. Antoine
• Rivard between Jefferson and Atwater
• Antoine between Jefferson and Atwater

Invasive plant threatens Michigan's water bodies

One of the most feared invasive plants in the country is in Michigan, and its presence could be devastating for both bodies of water and the economy.

Routine monitoring of two private ponds with no access to the outside world is what led to the detection of hydrilla. Officials were treating the water bodies for a different invasive species when they spotted the non-native monster.

"It takes six to eight years to control hydrilla. That's why we're so nervous about this plant," said Bill Keiper, who monitors invasive species for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

Sometimes called "one of the most invasive aquatic plant species in the world," hydrilla can spread quickly with ease, requires little resources to grow, and can spawn in most water bodies.

And once established, the aggressive plant spells certain doom for the native species in the rivers and lakes it lives in. Already, it's become a major problem in the states it lives in, causing environmental, economic, and ecological damage in most of the eastern U.S.

It can kill water habitats and interfere with fish populations. The dense mats it creates can disrupt recreation and create major headaches for those that live and enjoy life on the water.

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Daily Forecast

Today will be rainy, with that wet weather carrying over into tomorrow morning.

What else we're watching

1. I-275 lane closures have resumed in Wayne County. Currently, northbound only has one lane open between Ford and M-14, and southbound only has one lane open between Ann Arbor Road and Ford.
2. The trial is slated to begin Tuesday for a man accused of sexually assaulting a Detroit Metro Airport employee in a parking garage.
3. A man was shot and killed by Detroit police on Monday after police say he killed his nephew, shot someone else, and allegedly pointed a gun at officers. 
4. During Memorial Day at Oakview Cemetery in Royal Oak, a bagpiper filled the silence with her music in honor of fallen servicemembers.
5. Michigan gas price averages are up 11 cents from a week ago, according to AAA. Drivers are paying an average of $3.66 per gallon.

22 dead in Memorial Day weekend storms across multiple states

A series of powerful storms swept over the central and southern U.S. over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, killing at least 22 people and leaving a wide trail of destroyed homes, businesses, and power outages.

The destructive storms caused deaths in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kentucky. These regions were just north of an oppressive, early-season heat wave setting records from south Texas to Florida.

In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear, who earlier declared a state of emergency, reported five fatalities in his state. One of the victims, a 54-year-old man, suffered a heart attack while cutting fallen trees in Caldwell County in western Kentucky, according to the governor’s office.

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