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Jordan Fisher will star in the Broadway adaptation of “Purple Rain” as “The Boy.”

Oprah Winfrey has selected Mary Lawson's novel "Solace in Winter" for her book club

1. Anthropic seeks $1.4 trillion valuation in highly anticipated IPO amid AI boom  Yahoo Finance
2. We’ve never seen anything like the Anthropic IPO  CNN
3. Anthropic to Seek $1.3 Trillion Valuation in IPO  WSJ
4. Anthropic Filing Snafu Jolts Investors in Run-Up to Mega IPO  Bloomberg.com
5. Anthropic sets price range of $70 to $78 in upcoming IPO as AI lab marches towards Nasdaq  CNBC

1. David Walliams Dropped By Independent Talent Group After Sexual Misconduct Allegations  Deadline
2. ‘It wasn’t long until he asked me if I’d ever had sex before’: David Walliams accused of preying on young women for sex  The Guardian
3. British comedian and children’s author David Walliams accused of sexual misconduct  The Seattle Times
4. BBC Removes ‘Little Britain’ From iPlayer While It Reviews David Walliams Content  Deadline
5. David Walliams named as celebrity who tried to block publication of sexual misconduct allegations  BBC

1. Nvidia CEO’s affair with an alleged Chinese spy could be a problem for the economy  The Washington Post
2. How Jensen Huang’s Affair Spiraled Into a National Security Nightmare  WSJ
3. Rep. Moolenaar speaks to CNBC on congressional investigation into Nvidia CEO Huang's affair with alleged Chinese spy  CNBC
4. Who is Alice Huang, the Chinese businesswoman tied to Nvidia's CEO?  Reuters
5. Big Tech has a spy problem  CNN

1. Eagles News: ESPN says Jordan Davis trade is a disaster for the Jaguars  Bleeding Green Nation
2. Jaguars acquire Eagles DT Jordan Davis in blockbuster trade  ESPN
3. O-Zone: Ultimate Goal  Jacksonville Jaguars
4. First Call: A Steelers AFC rival makes big trades; a Jack Ham update; 2 Flyers have heated exchange on bench  TribLIVE.com
5. Jordan Davis trade grades: Eagles kickstart rebuild, Jaguars push for 2026 AFC and Super Bowl titles  CBS Sports

1. Consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, more than expected  CNBC
2. October inflation data comes in hotter than expected, even as energy inflation fades  Yahoo Finance
3. CPI Live Updates: Inflation Persists in U.S. Economy  The New York Times
4. US consumer prices rise above expectations in October  Reuters
5. Inflation posts slowest rise in three months as gas prices drop  NBC News

1. Amazon's Ring unveils flying drone and robot to patrol homes and businesses  CNBC
2. Ring says its flying indoor security camera is finally shipping  The Verge
3. Amazon Finally Launches The $250 Ring Drone Cam And Also The Ring Rover Cam  Engadget
4. Ring, known for its doorbell cameras, launches a home security drone and an enterprise security robot  TechCrunch
5. Ring’s new drone patrols your home to keep an eye on things – even upstairs  ZDNET

1. Billionaire tax rejected on concern squeezing California's ultra-rich would harm the economy  Los Angeles Times
2. California wealth tax on billionaires fails despite blue wave, in blow to progressives  Fox Business
3. Failure of Billionaire Tax Strikes Blow to Progressive Agenda  The New York Times
4. California voters reject billionaire tax that divided Democrats  The Washington Post
5. Billionaire tax measure on California ballot defeated  Reuters

1. Pete Hegseth decries impeachment push, defends Iran war handling  CNBC
2. Hegseth says impeachment effort is a ‘political spectacle’ driven by ‘policy disagreements’  CNN
3. Pete Hegseth to address reporters after Republican begins impeachment effort - follow live  BBC
4. Factbox-What Are the Impeachment Articles Facing Pete Hegseth?  U.S. News & World Report
5. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth condemns impeachment effort as ‘political spectacle’  AP News

1. U.S., Russia and Ukraine begin talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending war in Ukraine  CBS News
2. Russia, Ukraine and US meet for Abu Dhabi talks as Trump says war can 'end soon'  ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
3. U.S. Overture to Russia on European Security Sparks Alarm  WSJ
4. Ukraine war briefing: battlefield gains bolstering Kyiv’s hand in US-led peace talks, Zelenskyy says  The Guardian
5. US asks Russia to agree to NATO-like backing for Ukraine  Politico

Ledger Mann, 9, at home with some of his LGM bags on Oct. 25. —Matt Eich for TIME

The little lost boy in Dinwiddie County could not know about the effort the grownups were making to find him. He hadn’t been gone very long, but the county in Virginia is wooded, with streams and thickets and tangles. Any child could become hopelessly lost there. 

For this boy, who has autism and experiences sensory-processing challenges, the unfamiliar environment could be especially overwhelming. So the grownups mustered the police and rallied the fire department, deployed a drone, and released the dogs, all of them scouring the dense local woods.

To the profound relief of the community—to say nothing of his desperate family—the boy was soon found. He hadn’t gone far—no farther than the back deck of his home, where he had climbed into the storage cabinet below a gas grill and shut the little door behind him. That was where the first responders found him—sitting calmly and cross-legged, insulated from the intrusive buzz and searing light of the world around him.

Sergeant JT Mann of the Prince George County police department was one of the searchers who found the boy. When he came home that evening, he told his wife and two sons what had happened. They would understand better than most, he knew, because the younger of his two children—Ledger, 9—also has autism. Ledger heard the story and sympathized with what the lost boy must have experienced.

“I felt a little sad for him,” he says. “I felt a little bad for him.”

Ledger stands with the flight crew of HCA Virginia’s Air Care Eagle emergency medical helicopter in Hopewell, VA, holding a bag he presented to the crew for the helicopter on Nov. 4, 2025. —Courtesy of the Mann family

Ledger—whose work has earned him recognition as TIME’s Kid of the Year for 2026 and as a TIME for Kids Service Star, our sister publication’s program highlighting young people making a positive impact—approved of the way his father had coaxed the boy out of the cabinet, playing a video on a smartphone to catch his eye and ease his fear. But he also believed that wasn’t enough. 

There are so many things a child on the spectrum might appreciate in a crisis, Ledger thought—a blanket, a plush toy, a book, a fidget spinner to busy their hands, wireless headphones to listen to music or stories, sunglasses to dim the outside glare. If the child is nonverbal, a dry-erase board and a marker would provide a way to write down thoughts or respond to questions. 

“Dad,” he said straightforwardly, “you don’t have those things.”

It was at that moment last year that Ledger resolved to set things to rights. First responders should always have these types of items on hand, he said, so that all children—especially those with autism—can find comfort in traumatic situations, including car accidents and fires, when things move fast and the world seems to be coming unmoored. And, Ledger believed, all of those objects should be carried in a clear backpack so children could see and point to what they need. 

“He came up with that whole concept in a span of 10 minutes,” says Ledger’s mother Amanda, the elected commonwealth’s attorney for Dinwiddie County, Virginia. 

Since then, Ledger, his parents, and his big brother Peyton, 16—along with no shortage of friends, neighbors, first-responder groups and other volunteers—have worked to make his vision a reality. The family has a Facebook page called LGM Bags—for Ledger Greyson Mann—and is looking to register as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Ledger’s bags are distributed in six states, and the family doesn’t plan to stop there. 

Money to support Ledger’s idea started almost immediately, with a round of funding from a very fitting source: Ledger’s piggy bank. As it happened, there was ample cash on hand.

“Ledger saves his money religiously,” says Amanda. “He doesn’t like to spend, so he had about $100.” That was enough to pay for the first four bags and all of the plushies and other goodies needed to fill them. The family delivered them to local police stations and firehouses, and the reaction of the first responders was so enthusiastic and so rewarding for Ledger that he pressed to make and distribute more. But since Ledger’s piggy bank could stretch only so far, JT decided to engage the community.

“We reached out to civic centers—the Moose Lodge, the Fraternal Order of the Police, churches—who donated money toward purchasing the bag and the stuff that goes in it,” says JT. “Nothing in the bag is expensive. Everything is from the Dollar Tree or Dollar General. They’re not $100 headsets. They’re $5 headsets.”

Before long, the Manns’ garage was piled high with the makings for dozens of emergency go bags. Before the work began, much of Ledger’s free time was spent doing homework, practicing jujitsu, and playing organized football—and it still is. But he now spends his remaining time in the garage, packing up the bags in a careful, just-so way. Each item is accounted for so every bag is complete, all carefully arranged so that nothing is hidden from view.

“He’s very particular about how the bag has to be made,” says JT. “He has an assembly line and everything has to be done perfectly.”

The more bags the family assembled, the more widely the Manns distributed them, and they took care to position them strategically. Dinwiddie County covers 286 sq. mi., so the Manns initially distributed bags in central locations before expanding outward to ensure no area was overlooked. The various hospitals, EMS teams, police departments, and fire departments that had bags on hand showed a ready willingness to share the wealth with other responders who didn’t.

“If the fire department’s on one side of the county, our police officer [in the vicinity] wouldn’t have to go all the way back to the police station,” says JT. “The bags are located so that the police officer could pick one up at that fire station.”

Ledger and his father JT, a sergeant with the Prince George County police department. —Matt Eich for TIME

Word of good deeds has a way of getting around—and so it was with the Manns’ efforts. Early this year, a local television reporter approached the family to produce a story that aired well beyond the Dinwiddie County limits. Corporations, private citizens, and first-responder groups from Florida, New York, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, and elsewhere in Virginia reached out to offer support or request bags for their communities.

“We had one individual fly out from Texas,” says JT. “She flew all the way [to Virginia to deliver] bags from her company. She visited our police department over one weekend to meet Ledger because he was such an inspiration to her.”

So far, the Manns have assembled and distributed more than 475 bags—an impressive number that is continuing to grow. 

Ledger the public servant is, of course, still Ledger the kid, with schoolwork and hobbies very much a part of his life. Until this year, he attended a Dinwiddie public school, but, according to his mom, the kind of specialized attention he needs as he’s grown older requires a smaller environment. Now he is one of 10 children attending a private school known as the Learning to Lead Academy. His favorite subject is math; his favorite hobby is Lego; his favorite position in football is on the offensive line. But the day before speaking to TIME, he played defense—and even recorded a quarter-back sack.

Ledger has a long way to go before having to think about what he wants to be when he grows up, but he has some ideas—a couple of them inspired by his father and his brother Peyton, who is eyeing colleges and wants to study architecture. “I want to be a lot of things,” Ledger says. “A police officer, a builder, work with robotics.”

With each bag the family distrib-utes, they discover something new about what kids in distress need for comfort. Children get to keep any item they select from a bag, while the bag and its remaining contents go back to the first responders, who replace the missing items. Far and away the comfort items in greatest demand are the plush animals. Ledger himself has a mountain of them.

“We have a playroom full and a bedroom full of plushies,” says Amanda. “Whether it’s a boy or a girl, a stuffed animal is always a good comfort for any child. They can be in their own little world, where they’re safe and comfortable.”

During weekends or when Ledger is on school vacation, the family visits the towns and counties that have requested the bags, deliver-ing completed ones and helping to assemble others on-site.

“It’s healing to him and beneficial to him to go out to meet all these people,” Amanda says. “And when we go, they welcome him with open arms. They let him meet therapy animals, including horses.”

The only participating locale the family hasn’t visited in person is Ulster County, New York, which committed itself to assembling 100 bags. Instead, the county and the family -arranged a Zoom conversation so that Ledger could explain how the bags should be assembled. As he had been with the other jurisdictions the family worked with, Ledger was all business, keeping a close eye on how the bags were packed. “One place was doing it out of order,” JT says. “He was not a fan of that.” 

During the family’s travels to various states, the first responders give Ledger challenge coins and patches, which he collects. At his suggestion—and following his design—LGM Bags now has its own patch and coin.

Ledger’s passion and attention to detail continue to fuel the project—one that the family hopes to take nationwide. 

“I want to have this go everywhere,” says Ledger. “To all of America!”

1. SteelSeries Rival Pro Review: Rock Solid Connectivity, Speed And A Nifty Battery System  Engadget
2. SteelSeries Brings Sensei Pro & Rival Pro to 14 Emart Stores  Inven Global
3. SteelSeries Rival Pro Mini Gaming Mouse (Hardware) – Review  MKAU Gaming
4. SteelSeries Sensei Pro & Rival Pro Series Review: Comfortable Clicking  BGR
5. Steelseries Rival Pro Mini review: S-tier performance in a compact package  TechRadar

1. Boebert says ‘fat lady hasn’t sung yet’ in her House race  The Hill
2. GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert will lose reelection to Democrat Eileen Laubacher in Colorado, CNN projects  CNN
3. Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert says "make sure every vote counts" as Laubacher claims victory  CBS News
4. Eileen Laubacher nears victory in Congressional District 4 race, attends orientation in Washington, D.C.  Colorado Public Radio
5. Election results: Why hasn't the Boebert vs. Laubacher race been called?  9News

1. Kenyan Domestic Worker Sentenced to 100 Lashes in Saudi Arabia  The New York Times
2. Saudi Arabia sentences Kenyan woman to 100 strokes of cane for being babymama  Peoples Gazette Nigeria
3. Saudi Court Sentences Kenyan Domestic Worker to 100 Lashes for Birth Outside Marriage  streamlinefeed.co.ke
4. Saudi Court Sentences Kenyan Mother to 100 Lashes  Demokratis.co.id
5. Saudi Arabia sentences mother to 100 lashes for birth outside marriage  Deccan Herald

1. Congo sentences 66 soldiers to death for cowardice and mutiny after they allegedly fled fighting with rebels  CBS News
2. DR Congo conflict: At least 66 Congolese soldiers sentenced to death for cowardice  BBC
3. Congolese soldiers sentenced to death for being ‘cowards’  The Telegraph
4. DR Congo sentences 66 soldiers to death for fleeing rebel fighting  Africanews
5. DR Congo: 66 soldiers sentenced to death for cowardice in conflict with FRN rebels  Deutsche Welle

1. Eating less protein could slow aging, review of 350 studies finds  Science Daily
2. Eating less protein could have surprising health benefits, new study finds  Scripps News
3. Less protein, longer life?  Peter Attia MD

1. David Walliams, Former ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ Judge, Accused of ‘Grooming Fans’ as Young as 15 After Failing to Get Injunction  Variety
2. ‘It wasn’t long until he asked me if I’d ever had sex before’: David Walliams accused of preying on young women for sex  The Guardian
3. British children's author David Walliams accused of sexual misconduct  kare11.com
4. David Walliams named as celebrity who tried to block publication of sexual misconduct allegations  BBC
5. David Walliams accused of preying on teenage girls as young as 15 | ITV News  ITVX

1. Florida’s dengue outbreak is now the largest in a U.S. state in decades  CTV News
2. Her Death From Dengue May Signal That the Disease Is Here to Stay  The New York Times
3. How dropping temperatures could impact Tampa area's record dengue spread  Yahoo
4. More than 500 people have gotten dengue in Florida this year. What to know  Tampa Bay Times
5. Dumped tires, record deluge fuel dengue threat in Brevard  Florida Today

1. U.S. moves military aircraft from British base amid Iran threats  NBC News
2. U.S. aircraft abruptly depart a second U.K. base  The Washington Post
3. Britain says its bases are safe after US refueling planes evacuated  Defense News
4. Exclusive | U.S. Aircraft Evacuated From Second U.K. Base Due to Iran Threat  WSJ
5. US military aircraft leave second UK base  BBC