MLK Jr. Day events • 5 charged in Ulta Beauty robbery • Opioid settlement in Michigan

MONDAY NEWS HIT - Sixty years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the most famous speeches in U.S. history, declaring "I have a dream" to a massive crowd in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

The content of that speech and the significance it carried in defining the American civil rights era is taught in schools. It's also considered a defining chapter in America as it shaped the conversation around race and equality during a fraught time.

The spirit of that speech and the man who gave it lives on, especially in Metro Detroit, which has a close connection to MLK Jr.

Before King delivered his famous speech, he made a similar argument in Detroit where a crowd of 125,000 people walked down Woodward Avenue to the convention center. There, he'd give a speech titled The Walk to Freedom.

That is just a sliver of the history that Detroit and Southeast Michigan share with the civil rights era. Many of those moments will be on display during a flurry of events honoring both MLK Jr. and the movement he led on Monday. 

Click here to see some of what's going on for MLK Jr. Day.

5 charged in Ulta beauty store robbery

Five women have been charged after prosecutors say they stole thousands of dollars of merchandise from an Ulta store in Livingston County. The scene unfolded around 8 p.m. Thursday in Green Oak Township, which is south of Brighton.

After the suspects fled the store, one of them allegedly drove her get-away car right toward police. Officers fired shots, but no one was hit. According to the prosecutor’s office, one of the suspects charged, Laronda Chase, has 20 outstanding bench warrants and a prior conviction of assault and battery in 2013. Her bond was set at $100,000.

The second suspect, Tirezah Scott, is a convicted felon who was released in January 2022. Her bond was set at $250,000. "This defendant presents with a lengthy record or convictions in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan," said Carolyn Henry, Livingston County prosecutor.

Officials said the third suspect, Shanel Webster, is also a convicted felon with lengthy criminal records in Michigan and Texas. According to authorities, Shanel Webster allegedly used counterfeit money at the Green Oak Ulta — in addition to stealing thousands of dollars of products.

Opioid settlement money to be distributed in Michigan

Several local governments in Michigan can expect to receive their portion of a settlement between the state and companies accused of perpetuating the opioid crisis. The money, about $81 million, had stalled in its journey to governments over a lawsuit brought forward by Ottawa County.

Last week, a judge dismissed the legal challenge. Attorney General Dana Nessel called the suit "frivolous" and said it "delayed millions of dollars from being put to good use to help Michigan residents our communities recover."

Distribution of the money is expected around Jan. 31 and will be the first of three payments. Michigan expects to receive around $1.45 billion in settlement money

The companies involved in the settlements are required to establish independent clearinghouse tasked with seeing money move from three distributors to the states. Suspicious opioid orders will also be prohibited. 

Group now transforming former home of Malcolm X

Construction has started this week at the former Inkster home of Malcolm X. A group called Project We Hope, Dream, and Believe has fought for years to make the former home of the civil rights leader a landmark.

"When we get done with the house, we’ve come to the agreement want to turn the house into a museum, which will symbolize the life of Malcolm X while he lived here in Inkster and further on," said Aaron Sims, founder of Project We Hope, Dream & Believe.

The pivotal civil rights leader lived here for several months in the early1950s with his brother Wilfred and Wilfred’s wife and children. "Everybody questioning us when you gonna do something with the house. Got the grant, it takes time, it takes step, we have this group of brothers in the middle of winter," said Dawon Lynn, co-founder of the non-profit.

The house is now on the national list of historic places — a piece of history few people know about. Because Malcolm X was an advocate for empowerment, the organization believes the renovation should also include a space that helps to empower others. There will be a community center and garden. The project is expected to be completed this summer.

Read more here.

Americans should 'pay attention' to MLK's legacy, Biden says in Ebenezer sermon

President Joe Biden made a historical pilgrimage Sunday to "America's freedom church" to mark Martin Luther King's birthday, saying democracy was at a perilous moment and that the civil rights leader's life and legacy "show us the way and we should pay attention."

As the first sitting president to deliver a Sunday morning sermon at King's Ebenezer Baptist Church, Biden cited the telling question that King himself once asked of the nation.

"He said, 'Where do we go from here?’" Biden said from the pulpit. "Well, my message to this nation on this day is we go forward, we go together, when we choose democracy over autocracy, a beloved community over chaos, when we choose believers and the dreams, to be doers, to be unafraid, always keeping the faith."

In a divided country only two years removed from a violent insurrection, "the battle for the soul of this nation is perennial. It’s a constant struggle ... between hope and fear, kindness and cruelty, justice and injustice," Biden told congregants, elected officials and dignitaries.

Here's what else President Biden had to say.

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

After a chilly weekend, temperatures are expected to rebound near 40 degrees Monday. There's a good chance for rain to begin early evening as Southeast Michigan looks forward to a warm week. 

What else we're watching

1. Gas prices have dropped 2 cents since last week. Michigan drivers are now paying $3.30 a gallon for regular unleaded - about 17 cents higher than this time last year. 
2. Will Anthony Marracco go to prison? The former Macomb County Public Works Commissioner was originally charged with four counts before pleading guilty to a single crime of extortion. His attorney is arguing Marracco shouldn't be sentenced to prison since he's in poor health.
3. An inmate at the Monroe County Jail has died, the sheriff reported over the weekend. Corrections officers found the in-custody death around 11:49 a.m. Sunday. The 48-year-old is believed to have died by suicide.
4. Michigan State Basketball has a big challenge in front of them this Monday. The Spartans will take on the No. 3 ranked Purdue Boilermakers at 2:30 p.m. in East Lansing. 
5. Outgoing Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow made an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, where she called recent discoveries of classified documents contained in the president's home and garage "embarrassing."

FAA investigating near-miss at JFK Airport

Officials are investigating a close call at John F. Kennedy International Airport Friday night between a plane that was crossing a runway and another that was preparing for takeoff.

"(Expletive)! Delta 1943, cancel takeoff clearance! Delta 1943, cancel takeoff clearance!" an air controller said in an audio recording of Air Traffic Control communications when he noticed the other plane, operated by American Airlines, crossing in front. The recording was made by LiveATC, a website that monitors and posts flight communications.

Delta Air Lines' departing Boeing 737 plane then came to a "safe stop" on the runway as the other crossed in front, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.