What You Need To Know

1. Congressional Delegate Stacey Plaskett has won the governorship of the U.S. Virgin Islands, becoming the first woman to lead the territory and the first Black woman elected governor of any U.S. state or territory. Plaskett and running mate Milton Potter won 62.8 percent. They take office January 4, before Georgia's Keisha Lance Bottoms.2. Denver voters have elected Melat Kiros, 29, to Congress from Colorado's 1st District, with 78 percent of the vote. Born in Ethiopia and raised in Denver, Kiros is the first Black woman and first self-identified socialist elected to Congress in Colorado history, and the second-youngest woman ever elected to Congress.3. More revenue does not automatically build wealth for business owners. Without a plan, higher income can mean a bigger tax bill and less kept. Experts say entity structure and how owners pay themselves shape taxes, so reviewing structure and planning ahead can protect assets and turn profit into lasting wealth.4. The National Urban League will open the Urban Civil Rights Museum in Harlem this weekend, the first museum of its kind in New York City. The nearly 12,000-square-foot museum in the League's headquarters explores Northern civil rights history and local changemakers. Founding director Jennifer Scott says history is living and unfinished.5. During the Civil War, about 180,000 Black soldiers served in the Union Army and about 18,000 in the Navy, nearly 10 percent of Union forces. Sixty percent had once been enslaved. The 54th Massachusetts Infantry, including two sons of Frederick Douglass, won fame for its bravery at Fort Wagner in 1863.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1. Mississippi's Senate race remains too close to call, with Democrat Scott Colom leading Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 2,574 votes, 467,930 to 465,356, about 97 percent counted. Black Delta organizers helped drive turnout, including in Holmes County, where late votes put Colom ahead by 28. Absentee and affidavit ballots arriving through Tuesday could decide it.2. Three Winston-Salem shootings over the weekend left two people dead, three hurt, and two charged, police say. Jaylin Amir White, 21, died Saturday in a shooting at Hanes Mall Circle that began as a gambling incident inside the mall. Peyton Izaia Patterson, 19, died Saturday night near Winston-Salem State University during homecoming; Ziyaire Antonyo Spinks, 20, is held without bond for murder.3. The IRS has announced 2027 tax changes, adjusting brackets and deductions for inflation, for returns filed in 2028. The standard deduction rises to $16,600 for single filers, $33,200 for married couples filing jointly, and $24,925 for heads of household. Families will also see an increased Child Tax Credit.4. For Ministry Monday, Willie Mae McIver reflects on "In God We Trust," first placed on U.S. currency in 1864 and made the national motto in 1956. She says trusting God means believing wholeheartedly, citing Proverbs 3:5-6: trust in the Lord and He will direct your path. Choosing God over man brings peace and blessings.5. Enslaved and free African Americans fought for both Patriot and British forces in the Revolutionary War. In 1775, Lord Dunmore promised freedom to enslaved people who joined the British, while Black troops served in the Continental Army. The First Rhode Island Regiment, which offered enslaved recruits freedom in 1778, became one of the Army's best units.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1. Mississippi's U.S. Senate race remains too close to call, with Democrat Scott Colom leading Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by just 1,764 votes out of nearly 1 million cast. Officials Thursday continued counting thousands of absentee and affidavit ballots. Both campaigns are preparing for a likely legal fight over the final count.2. Los Angeles has a new mayor-elect. Councilmember Nithya Raman defeated incumbent Karen Bass, widening her lead Thursday to 429,450 votes to 394,796, with 76 percent of the expected vote in. NBC News projected Raman's win Thursday morning, and she thanked voters while paying tribute to Bass's decades of service.3. Sherrena Hogan, founder of RS Beauty Pricing, has released a Business Record Keeping Journal for beauty professionals. The journal doubles as a scheduling book and tracks income, expenses, cancellations, refunds and year-to-date totals. It is designed to help stylists, braiders and estheticians price with purpose and face tax time organized.4. Congresswoman Maxine Waters has won reelection in California's 43rd District and is set to become the oldest member of Congress. Waters, who turned 88 in August, took nearly 82 percent of the vote against Republican Cristian Morales. She is expected to again lead the House Financial Services Committee.5. On November 6, 1901, brothers James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson composed "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which became the Black National Anthem. Its words captured the pain, faith and hope of former slaves and their descendants. First performed by Black children at his Jacksonville school, it was later adopted by the NAACP and sung throughout the Civil Rights movement.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1. Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton has made history, becoming the fifth Black woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate. Her win makes Illinois the first state with two women of color in the Senate at once, alongside Tammy Duckworth. It also guarantees three Black women will serve in the Senate simultaneously for the first time.2. The 2026 midterms made history nationwide, with first Black governors elected in Florida, Wisconsin and Nevada — Byron Donalds, David Crowley and Aaron Ford. In Texas, Gina Hinojosa will become the state's first Hispanic governor. And Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed is set to become the first Muslim senator in U.S. history.3. Oil prices dropped sharply Wednesday, with Brent crude falling below $100 a barrel for the first time since October 7. U.S. crude also fell 8.3 percent in oil's biggest daily decline since April. Analysts say the drop could bring the national average price of gas below $4 in the days ahead.4. Georgia has entered a new era, with women taking charge of the state's top offices. Keisha Lance Bottoms made history as the first Black woman elected governor of a U.S. state. At least eight women won Georgia statewide offices, including attorney general, secretary of state, and insurance and labor commissioner.5. On November 5, 1867, the Alabama Constitutional Convention convened in Montgomery with 100 delegates, including 18 African Americans. African American delegate James T. Rapier, a future congressman, promoted an alliance between freedmen and poor whites. The constitution they drafted protected Black suffrage, guaranteed citizens' rights, and created a free public school system for all.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Millions of Americans have already voted in the midterms that will decide control of Congress. By Saturday night, more than 52.7 million early ballots had been cast nationally, including about 29.1 million in person. Georgia set a midterm record, with more than 2.8 million early votes. History is on the midterm ballot, and Black women candidates are writing it. No state has ever elected a Black woman governor, and no more than two Black women have served in the Senate at once — both could change today. Seventy-two Black women are nominees for Senate, House, and statewide offices. If you own a partnership LLC, you may be paying business expenses the wrong way. Partners who cover costs like software and travel personally can lose the deduction if the partnership agreement does not require it. A clear reimbursement policy is often cleaner, letting the firm deduct the cost and making the partner whole. Notre Dame swept Villanova at the Eternal City Tip-Off in Rome, the doubleheader honoring Pope Leo, the first American pope, that opened the college basketball season Sunday. The men rallied for a 74-72 win, and Hannah Hidalgo led the No. 13 women past the Wildcats, Pope Leo's alma mater, 99-75. Both Notre Dame head coaches, Micah Shrewsberry and Nielle Ivey, are Black. November 3 is the feast day of St. Martin de Porres, the first Black saint of the Americas. Born in Lima, Peru, in 1579 to a Spanish nobleman and a formerly enslaved Panamanian mother, his father refused to acknowledge him. He became a Dominican brother known for humble service and charity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than half of U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens' staff quit Sunday, protesting her endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers for U.S. Senate over Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Former chief of staff Justin German said the team was shocked and heartbroken, and urged voters to back El-Sayed and Democrats. The move came days before Tuesday's election. One person was killed and eight injured in a shooting Saturday night near Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, after the Magic City Classic between Alabama A&M and Alabama State. Police said nine people were hit, one critically, with seven in stable condition, and multiple firearms were recovered. One person was detained. Affordable Care Act open enrollment is underway in most states through January 15, with shoppers warned to expect higher premiums and fewer options for 2027. Marketplace prices are expected to rise about 13 percent, as financial help is restricted for many previously eligible. Experts say people who do not qualify for a subsidy will be hit hardest. In a Ministry Monday message, Willie Mae McIver writes that to rebuke is to criticize, and in the Bible it confronts a person with their sin. She says correcting loved ones should be done softly and from love, with restoration as the goal. She cites Proverbs: an open rebuke is better than hidden love. On November 1, 1910, W.E.B. Du Bois published the inaugural issue of The Crisis as the magazine of the NAACP. Du Bois, a co-founder of the NAACP, edited it until 1934, saying it would show the danger of race prejudice. He called it a record of the darker races. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former President Obama knocked the White House response to his Cheesecake Factory jab at President Trump, calling the administration "not serious people." Campaigning in Georgia for Senator Jon Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms, Obama said officials mounted a government-wide response to a joke, not to inflation, though many families can barely afford to eat out. He had joked Trump's $900 million renovations made the White House look like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory. David Crowley is leading Wisconsin's governor's race, but growing Black political fatigue could threaten it. Polls and voter interviews suggest Crowley may struggle to reach the Black support Democrats usually need to win the divided battleground state. Some Black Milwaukee voters say Democrats have taken their votes for granted for years, voting Democrat simply to keep Republicans out rather than because support was earned. Brennan Williams turned a passion for lemonade that began at age 9 into Brennan's Lemonade, perfecting his "Premium Blend" over years before bottling it in 2021. The Louisiana business is now in 11 stores, and Williams, a junior at Southeastern Louisiana University, plans to bring it to airports next. He says persistence is key, using failures as motivation. Fifteen-year-old Phillip Mullin of Alexandria, Louisiana, rang the bell at Manning Family Children's Hospital in New Orleans after a treatment his team called a functional cure for sickle cell disease. Hospitalized more than 100 times, he became Louisiana's first pediatric patient to receive the LYFGENIA gene therapy, and the second person in the state to get it. Sickle cell affects about 100,000 Americans, disproportionately Black Americans. On October 30, 1979, Richard Arrington was elected the first African American mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. His run followed the killing of 20-year-old Bonita Carter, shot by a Birmingham police officer though she had committed no crime; a citizen review board ruled the shooting justified. Carter's death changed Birmingham politics and pushed Arrington to run for mayor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1. History is on the line in this year's Senate races: since 1789, only one of every 400 U.S. senators has been a Black woman. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware recently became the first two Black women to serve at the same time. Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton is set to join them, and if Florida's Angie Nixon wins, four Black women would serve together.2. Black farmer Jamie Davis is running to become Louisiana's next U.S. senator, traveling farm to farm to shake hands with voters. The Democrat from Waterproof is challenging Representative Julia Letlow, who has President Trump's endorsement. If Davis wins, he would be the first Black person to hold the seat since P.B.S. Pinchback, who was elected in 1873 but never allowed to take it.3. The cost of the Iran war to American taxpayers has grown to an estimated $47.1 billion. The Pentagon's latest figure to Congress, as of October 16, is up $3.5 billion since early September, and the cost has become a key issue in the midterm elections. With the war now eight months old, most voters say they want Congress to prioritize ending it.4. Beyoncé's BeyGOOD Foundation has awarded $25,000 to Camp HBCYouth, a summer camp that introduces young children to HBCUs. The seven-week program has served 2,000 children in kindergarten through fifth grade, with HBCU students and alumni as mentors, and partners including Spelman, Morehouse, Clark Atlanta and Tennessee State. Founder Reagan Fresnel says the grant will put more children on HBCU campuses and keep the camp affordable for families.5. On October 29, 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education that school segregation had to end "at once," replacing Brown v. Board's "all deliberate speed." The case was led by Beatrice Alexander Ross, a Mississippi ninth grader. Her stand forced Southern districts into immediate desegregation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1. Angie Nixon Urges National Investment in Southern Black Voters Florida Democratic Senate nominee Angie Nixon is calling on national party leadership to increase investments in Southern races and stop taking Black voters for granted as a guaranteed constituency. Nixon expressed frustration among grassroots organizers and community members who feel the political establishment often seeks Black labor without supporting Black leadership. Her remarks reflect a broader push ahead of the midterm elections for sustained campaign funding and genuine engagement across Southern battleground states. 2. Alabama Senate Nominee Everett Wess Navigates Uphill Campaign Democratic nominee Everett Wess is mounting an uphill campaign for the U.S. Senate in Alabama, seeking to become the state’s first Democrat elected to the upper chamber in a general election in over three decades. Facing Republican nominee Barry Moore, Wess contends with significant fundraising disparities and limited national party investment in a reliably conservative state. Despite facing long odds, Wess remains committed to grassroots voter outreach, focusing his platform on local economic concerns and the needs of working families. 3. Regulators and 20 States Sue Dollar General Over Deceptive Pricing Federal consumer protection regulators alongside twenty states filed a joint lawsuit against Dollar General, alleging long-running deceptive pricing practices at stores nationwide. The complaint states that the discount chain routinely charged shoppers higher amounts at checkout registers than the prices displayed on shelves and in promotional ads. Officials emphasized that failing to correct these known pricing discrepancies causes significant financial harm to working-class families and low-income communities trying to make every dollar count. 4. Viral Outpouring Supports 3-Year-Old Soccer Phenom After League Incident A viral video sparked widespread public support for three-year-old Nevada after local police were summoned to a Florida youth soccer game where the toddler was dominating play and scoring repeatedly. The organization subsequently removed the child from the league and issued a refund to his parents, sparking national conversation around youth athletic policies. Children’s educator Ms. Rachel stepped into the situation on social media, encouraging professional soccer players to rally around the toddler with positive mentorship and memorable experiences. 5. Black and Missing: Samuel Spencer Jr. Samuel Spencer Jr., 20, has been missing from Mobile, Alabama since October 16, 2026; his car was found abandoned on the Cochrane Bridge, still running, with his wallet, ID, and phone inside. His family later got a threatening text from someone claiming to have him. He is Black, medium complexion, 5-foot-8, 150 pounds, short black hair, brown eyes — call Mobile Police at 251-208-7211 or BAMFI at 877-97-BAMFI.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.