Three things for September 15
1. Football returns with 19.3 million viewers on NBC
On Thursday, an estimated 19.3 million fans turned on NBC to watch the NFL’s season kickoff between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans.
According to AP News, this number of viewers is 13% fewer viewers than 2019′s opening game. Last year’s matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears was seen by 22.2 million people.
NBC marked it as the “most-watched sporting event since the Super Bowl.”
On Monday, the NFL reminded team personnel on the sidelines about the COVID-19 requirements for wearing face coverings, saying such carelessness or disregard could put the season “at risk.”
2. Hurricane Sally threatens ‘potentially historic’ floods and fierce winds
Hurricane Sally made its way across the Gulf Coast on Monday with winds of at least 100 mph and heavy rain as forecasters warned of “potentially historic” flooding.
President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration for parts of Louisiana and Mississippi on Monday. This action authorizes federal emergency officials to coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide emergency assistance to the affected areas.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in the Panhandle’s westernmost counties as the hurricane’s outer bands began to lash the area.
With the possibility of Sally becoming a Category 3 hurricane, hundreds of miles of coastline are under storm watches and warnings.
3. Louisville to pay $12 million to family of Breonna Taylor
Months after the fatal police shooting, the City of Louisville has reached a financial settlement in the wrongful death of Breonna Taylor. The city will pay her mother, Tamika Palmer, $12 million and reform police practices.
According to AP News, the settlement is the largest sum paid by a city for a police misconduct cased.
Taylor died in March after police entered her home with a no-knock warrant and shot her eight times. The high-profile shooting — partnered with George Floyd’s death — has sparked an outcry for racial justice and police reform.
To move forward in a positive light, the City of Louisville banned no-knock warrants and named Yvette Gentry, former deputy chief and first Black woman to lead a force of 1,200 sworn officers, as the new interim police chief.
