Everything you need to know about the 2024 Detroit Tree Lighting

Morning 4 is a short collection of stories we think you need to know to start your day. So let’s get to the news.

Detroit Tree Lighting 2024: Everything You Need to Know

The 21st annual Detroit Tree Lighting ceremony returns to Campus Martius Park in November.

The annual event brings thousands of people to downtown Detroit to kick off the holiday season. This year the tree is a 65-foot-tall Norway spruce from Michigan, decorated with ornaments and illuminated with thousands of multicolored LED lights.

People planning to attend the event are asked to arrive early.

Read more.

Former Detroit Lions linebacker charged in connection with rioting on January 6, according to NBC News

According to NBC News, former Detroit Lions linebacker Leander Antwione Williams was charged in connection with the January 6 riot.

Williams was arrested in Georgia on Thursday (November 14) for assaulting police officers during the attack on the US Capitol.

The 31-year-old was selected by the Lions in the fifth round (169th overall) in the 2016 draft.

Read the full story.

A Monroe County man is using Roblox, Discord and Snapchat to sexually exploit children

A Monroe County man was arrested for allegedly sexually exploiting numerous children online.

Sean Antony Stark, of Erie, was arrested for allegedly coercing children and telling them to send sexually explicit photos of themselves to him.

The FBI filed a criminal complaint on November 14, 2024, saying Stark allegedly used several accounts through Roblox to tell children to talk to him on Discord and Snapchat, and sexually exploited them from January 2023 to August 2024.

Read more here.

What you need to know: DOJ launches investigation into Michigan psychiatric hospitals

The Justice Department has launched an investigation under the Americans with Disabilities Act to see whether Michigan is “unnecessarily admitting adults with serious mental illnesses to psychiatric hospitals.”

Officials will investigate whether the state is failing to provide mental health care that helps residents transition from state psychiatric hospitals to stable life in the community once they are ready to go home.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act protects people’s right to mental health care in the community, rather than remaining in hospitals when they are ready to go home,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division the Ministry of Justice. “This study will assess whether Michigan is meeting the ADA’s promise to serve people with disabilities in the most appropriate integrated environment. The Civil Rights Division will continue to advocate for states to provide people with disabilities the services they need to avoid unnecessary institutionalization.”

Read the full story.

Weather: From soggy to foggy with a slightly warmer weekend ahead in Metro Detroit

It’s a gloomy start and it will be a gray day. Because there is a lot of cloud today, some splashes or very light showers cannot be ruled out. There will be a very minimal temperature increase today, so what you wake up to will be close to what it will feel like this afternoon.

Otherwise, mostly dry and mild conditions are expected today through Sunday. Cloudy with highs around 50 this afternoon. Lows will drop to either side of 40 tonight.

Read the full forecast.