Patti Davis, Rihanna, Fortune MPW 2018: Broadsheet September 24

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Ronald Reagan’s daughter Patti Davis comes out in support of Christine Blasey Ford, Rihanna is an ambassador on behalf of Barbados, and Fortune’s 2018 Most Powerful Women list is here—with a new No. 1. Have a powerful Monday.

EVERYONE'S TALKING

• 2018's Most Powerful. Fortune launched our 21st annual Most Powerful Women in Business list this morning. The 2018 ranking includes seven newbies; two execs who previously dropped off the list—only to return in grand fashion this year; public company CEOs who collectively control nearly $1 trillion in market cap; and, oh yes, Oprah!

But the real headline is our 2018 No. 1: Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson. She lands in the top spot, which was held by GM CEO Mary Barra for the previous three years, at a time when geopolitical threats abound—as does the government spending for combating them. And Hewson has seized the moment, landing roughly $1 billion in contracts so far this year and boosting her company's market value to nearly $100 billion. (Interestingly, she's also leading a cadre of top female defense execs—read more about that in Jen Wieczner's fascinating cover story, linked below).

Here's the full 2018 top 10:

1. Marillyn Hewson, Chairman, President, and CEO, Lockheed Martin
2. Mary Barra, Chairman and CEO, General Motors
2. Abigail Johnson, Chairman and CEO, Fidelity Investments
4. Ginni Rometty, Chairman, President, and CEO, IBM
5. Gail Boudreaux, President and CEO, Anthem
6. Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook
7. Safra Catz, Co-CEO, Oracle
8. Phebe Novakovic, Chairman and CEO, General Dynamics
9. Ruth Porat, SVP and CFO, Google, Alphabet
10. Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, Google, Alphabet

For the full list, click here.

MORE FROM THE MPW ISSUE

• Top gun. You already know Lockheed Martin's Marillyn Hewson is this year's No. 1—now read Jen Wieczner's insightful story on how she got there. Hewson is part of a growing group of women heading the nation's defense contractors. Their rise is so notable that Tom Kennedy of Raytheon, whose peers include Hewson, Boeing's Leanne Caret, and General Dynamics' Phebe Novakovic, is known as the "last man standing." Fortune

• Oprah's back, baby. Oprah was on the Most Powerful Women list for years, but she fell off the top 50 not long after ending her daily show. She's back this year as No. 51—the bonus spot claimed by Reese Witherspoon last year. Read on for the full scoop on why. Hint: It has a lot to do with Weight Watchers. Fortune

• Ones to watch. Every year, the MPW issue includes a group of women who caught our eye—and who we think may one day end up on our list. This year's "Ones to Watch" include Michele Evans, EVP for aeronautics at Lockheed Martin; Jenny Fleiss, the Rent the Runway cofounder now heading up the first startup incubated inside Walmart; Marne Levine, the former Instagram COO who just got a big promotion to Facebook VP; and more. Fortune

• What it takes. If you're curious how the Most Powerful Women sausage gets made, here's the inside scoop. Fortune

• The women behind MPW. Fortune editor-in-chief Clifton Leaf highlights the Fortune staff behind the Most Powerful Women issue in his editor's note. Fortune

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

• Kavanaugh check-in. Christine Blasey Ford has been joined by Deborah Ramirez, a 53-year-old women who remembers alleged sexual misconduct by Brett Kavanaugh during their time together at Yale. The new allegations, reported Sunday by Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow in The New Yorker, say that Kavanaugh exposed himself to Ramirez at a party. Before the allegations from Ramirez, Ford received the public backing of a new supporter: Patti Davis, the daughter of Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan. Davis wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post sharing her own experience of sexual assault and supporting Ford. "That’s what happens: Your memory snaps photos of the details that will haunt you forever, that will change your life and live under your skin. It blacks out other parts of the story that really don’t matter much," Davis writes of any gaps in memory in Ford's story. Thousands more supporters are set to walk out of their jobs, schools, and homes, in a #BelieveSurvivors walkout Monday afternoon.

• Work, work, work. Congrats, Your Excellency: Rihanna is now an official ambassador on behalf of Barbados. The pop star's home country—and its female Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley—appointed her Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, which means she'll promote education, tourism, and investment as an official representative of Barbados. CNN

• Dim the lights. The Empire State Building, Toronto's CN Tower, Dublin City Hall, and more international landmarks are set to turn off half their lights Monday night in a visual metaphor for the "power that is lost" when women and girls are neglected and excluded. The #MorePowerfulTogether campaign comes from the United Nations' HeForShe initiative before the UN General Assembly starts in New York. HeForShe

• Out of fashion. Luxury fashion doesn't always mean ethical fashion. Expensive brands like MaxMara that come with a "Made in Italy" label—seen by some as a sign of better quality and working conditions—employ underpaid, mostly female laborers who sew garments at their homes. That setup is similar to what cheaper fast fashion brands often do—but consumers paying thousands of dollars for clothes might think they're avoiding supporting those practices. New York Times

Today's Broadsheet was produced by Emma Hinchliffe. Share it with a friend. Looking for previous Broadsheets? Click here.