5 things you need to know this morning: Sept. 12, 2018

Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.

Five things you need to know

1. NASA watches Hurricane Florence from space

Hurricane Florence is bearing down on the east coast of the United States, forcing over a million people to evacuate. The incredible storm is being monitored and captured by NASA from space and it really puts into perspective how big and powerful it is. The category four storm is expected to make landfall on Thursday.

From space, we have a vantage point of the entire Earth, watching hurricanes form and move across the ocean. Cameras on the @Space_Station captured video of Hurricane #Florence. pic.twitter.com/OOBYoVqYpz

— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) September 11, 2018

2. Great Barrier Reef showing signs of recovery

Two years ago, coral in the Great Barrier Reef started dying off at an alarming rate. Researchers sprung into action to try and save the incredible underwater ecosystem and it appears as if those efforts are working. Some coral is showing “signs of recovery” and researchers are thanking Australia’s mild summer for that.

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is showing “substantial signs of recovery,” after coral started dying off at an alarming rate 2 years ago https://t.co/0TVTddOhlr pic.twitter.com/6J6reJLndt

— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) September 12, 2018

3. Steve Yzerman stepping down as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning

It’s less than a month until NHL teams lace up the skates for another regular season of play and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s front office is undergoing a shake up. Steve Yzerman announced on Tuesday that he’s stepping down as the team’s general manager, effective immediately. He’ll be replaced by Julien BriseBois and Yzerman will stay on as a senior advisor.

Per @JoeSmithTB, Steve Yzerman is stepping aside as Lightning GM to be in an advisory role. pic.twitter.com/t2CRSbALfe

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) September 11, 2018

4. Ariana Grande ‘unbelievably involved’ in Mac Miller’s sobriety, says friend

The world was stunned when news broke of Mac Miller’s death on Friday. Sadly, many people took to social media with their grief to blame the rapper’s ex-girlfriend, Ariana Grande. One of Miller’s good friends, Shane Powers, tried to set the record straight regarding Grande on Tuesday, saying that “there was no one in his life more ready to go to the wall for him when it came to him being sober.”

Mac Miller's friend Shane Powers on Ariana Grande: "...there was no one in his life more ready to go to the wall for him when it came to him being sober. She was an unbelievably stabilizing force in his life.” https://t.co/sBfC2N5K9f

— Perez Hilton (@PerezHilton) September 11, 2018

5. Author of How to Murder Your Husband charged with murdering her husband

The warnings were certainly there. Romance novelist Nancy Crampton Brophy, 68, has been arrested and charged for allegedly gunning down her husband at the Oregon Culinary Institute in Portland in June. In 2011, she wrote an essay titled “How to Murder Your Husband,” which probably should have triggered some alarm bells.

Author of 'How to Murder Your Husband' arrested for allegedly killing her husband https://t.co/v4cT5W7asH pic.twitter.com/TRjz0IkZhS

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) September 12, 2018

Notable Birthdays (via Famous Birthdays)

Jennifer Hudson (37), 2 Chainz (41), Emmy Rossum (32), Andrew Luck (29), Louis CK (51), Hans Zimmer (61), Neil Peart (66), Freddie Freeman (29)