1. Keisha Lance Bottoms made history Tuesday night, becoming the nation's first Black female governor. The former Atlanta mayor defeated Republican Rick Jackson to become Georgia's 84th chief executive and the state's first Black woman elected to statewide constitutional office. Her platform centered on expanding Medicaid, lowering housing costs, and fully funding Georgia's schools.
2. Hakeem Jeffries is on track to become the first Black Speaker of the House. Senior Black Democrats spotted his rise early, meeting over dinners a decade ago to plan his path to succeed Nancy Pelosi. With Democrats resurgent, he is set to take the gavel in January, second in line to the presidency.
3. U.S. job postings jumped sharply in September, a hopeful sign hiring could pick up. Openings rose to 7.5 million from 7.19 million in August, the most since May, while layoffs fell. The October jobs report arrives Friday and is expected to show 65,000 new jobs, with unemployment holding at 4.2 percent.
4. Eighteen incarcerated women in Illinois just made history, trading prison uniforms for caps and gowns. They earned bachelor's degrees Oct. 16 through Northwestern's Prison Education Program — the first time a top-rated American research university has awarded degrees to incarcerated women. Nancy Pelosi delivered the commencement address at the Kewanee Life Skills Re-Entry Center.
5. Keziah Lowery, 16, has been missing from Philadelphia since October 26, 2026, last seen near Fox Street and Abbottsford Avenue in the city's 16th district, and the circumstances of her disappearance are unknown. She is Black with a medium complexion, 5-foot-1 and 120 pounds, with brown eyes and long blond-strawberry hair worn with green braids. Anyone with information should contact the Philadelphia Police SW Detective Division or BAMFI through BAMFI.org.