Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Protests continue at an ICE detention center in New Jersey; Immigration judges speak out after mass firings; AFT president urges AI safeguards for Michigan schools; Yosemite overrun with tourists after reservation system scrapped.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, May the 28th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Newark, New Jersey now appears to be ground zero nationwide for protests against conditions at ICE detention facilities.

ABC News notes a hunger strike inside the 1,000-bed Delaney Hall Detention Center has been ongoing since Friday.

After detainees alleged they are not being well-fed or provided sanitary living conditions, The Department of Homeland Security has denied the allegations of a hunger strike inside Delaney Hall, which is currently holding 300 detainees, DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen, that there were only a handful of individuals that were refusing to eat because he said they wanted their ethnic right food.

And former immigration judges are speaking out after more than 200 of them have been fired or forced out of their jobs under the Trump administration.

During an interview last year, President Trump said he wanted judges that wouldn't demand trials for every single immigrant.

Many of the judges fired say they weren't given an explanation.

Some were escorted from courtrooms during hearings.

Former immigration judge Mimi Sandvok says the actions of the administration are putting a strain on the system.

I think people are very concerned about the manner in which judges were fired because it speaks to a broader concern about the institution and how much we can really trust the outcomes of that institution.

The Trump administration says the removals are part of a broader effort to increase deportations, streamline immigration court operations and enforce immigration law more aggressively.

Sandvok is concerned immigrants are not receiving due process under the law.

There have not been any reported firings at the Mississippi Immigration Court in Jetta.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

And research shows that artificial intelligence is becoming a bigger part of education in Michigan and the nation.

One national education leader has developed a plan for schools to put guardrails in place.

Speaking from the National Press Club, American Federation of Teachers President Randy Weingarten has unveiled what she calls a 10-point action plan focused on hands-on learning, stronger safeguards around screens and AI, and increased investment in public education.

I am not calling for an AI ban or a Chromebook bonfire.

What I'm calling for is getting the balance right to harness the benefits of technology while mitigating the harms.

I'm wary of the dangers of AI, but it is here to stay.

A University of Michigan survey finds 78 percent of teachers believe AI can help address classroom challenges, but 85 percent still express concerns about student use of AI.

Weingarten says her plan is based on research and conversations with educators, students, employers and families around the country.

Crystal Blair reporting.

This is Public News Service.

An estimated 130,000 Coloradans expected to lose their health insurance under the Republican signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or H.R.

1.

According to a new Protect Our Care report, state officials are speaking out.

The law passed last summer cuts more than a trillion dollars from Medicaid and assistance through Affordable Care Act marketplaces like Connect for Health Colorado over the next decade.

Lieutenant Governor Diane Primavera says HR1 is making health care even harder to access and afford.

She adds Medicaid is a key safety net program that many Coloradans need at some point in their lives.

So despite the rhetoric that we hear out of Washington, D.C., these cuts don't only impact the ACA expansion population.

They also hit the traditional Medicaid programs for seniors, people with disabilities, pregnant women and children.

HR1 is expected to claw back $14 billion federal dollars for Medicaid in Colorado, a program that provides health coverage to one in five residents.

I'm Eric Galatas.

Next, crop scientists are researching heat-resistant plants in response to an extreme drought gripping the majority of Nebraska.

Sorghum, which has been used in other countries and in the U.S. during past droughts, has many benefits, but farmers are concerned about lower crop yield.

The U.S. Drought Monitor's interactive map shows most of Nebraska in the red, the most dangerous conditions.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center's Andrea Evelyn says sorghum, which is genetically closely related to corn, can help alleviate the threat.

But it is very drought resilient.

It's also very heat resilient and doesn't need as much input, such as nitrogen-based fertilizers, things like that.

Sorghum yields are between 10 and 20 percent lower than corn with average precipitation.

But when fields receive 21 inches of moisture or less per year, sorghum actually outyields corn.

Farmers predict how much annual rain they'll get before deciding what to plant.

I'm Mark Moran.

Finally, this past weekend, visitors reported that Memorial Day crowds overwhelmed Yosemite National Park after the National Park Service got rid of its reservation system.

Staff are having a hard time keeping up with the crowds after the Trump administration slashed almost 25 percent of permanent jobs at the National Park Service since January of last year.

Mark Rose with the National Parks Conservation Association says the chaos is hurting the visitor experience and the environment.

One to two hour long lines to get into the parks and long lines to get on shuttle buses.

A lot of people parking on meadows, on roadsides, on tree roots causing significant resource damage.

Rose notes that morale is down among park staff and worries that the crush of vehicles will affect emergency response times.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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