Fans remember Dolly Parton’s remarkable legacy; Darline Graham wins GOP runoff in SC

Fans are mourning Dolly Parton from Nashville to Hollywood, remembering a country music legend whose humor and songwriting connected with audiences for more than six decades.

Plus, Trump-backed Darline Graham has won South Carolina’s Republican Senate nomination, defeating Rep. Ralph Norman in a runoff after the president put considerable political muscle behind her campaign.

And the Trump administration says the Kennedy Center could eventually face demolition if its two-year renovation plan is blocked in court.

These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026.

Dolly Parton’s death unites fans across political divides

For more than 60 years, Dolly Parton built a career that reached well beyond country music.

Her fans crossed generations, politics and just about every other divide. Few entertainers ever manage to do that.

Now, we’re remembering a woman who became a global superstar without ever taking herself too seriously.

She died peacefully Tuesday in Nashville.

Her publicist says Parton died after “A brief battle with cancer.”

She grew up as one of 12 children in the Tennessee mountains, then went on to sell more than 100 million records, build a business empire and write some of country music’s most enduring songs.

She was always in on the jokes, too.

That big hair, the rhinestones, the figure — as Dolly once put it, “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.”

Parton openly supported the LGBTQ community and marriage equality, but she mostly stayed out of partisan politics.

“I have too many fans on both sides of the fence,” she once said. She had also been offered the Presidential Medal of Freedom by both Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump. 

Her husband, Carl Dean, died in 2025 after nearly 60 years of marriage.

Dolly spoke openly about struggling without him, but just last week, she was still talking about what was next. 

She told People magazine, “Even though I’m still healin.’ I’m still workin’! … I still have so many things I want to achieve, so I’m gonna keep on working as long as I can to see everything come to life.”

Less than 10 days ago, Dolly accepted the Academy of Country Music’s Poet’s Award, and talked about what songwriting had meant to her.

“I’ve been able to do many things throughout my life, but at my core, songwriting has always been the most important part of who I am creatively,” Parton said. “Every dream I ever had and all the dreams that I’ve been able to see come true in life, well, they all started with a song. Songwriting has been my therapy; songwriting has been my release, my joy. Songwriting has been a gift from god that has allowed me to touch people with words and music.”

On Tuesday, people lined up in Nashville to sign a book of condolences, while others left flowers at her star in Hollywood.

Dolly Parton was 80 years old and right to the end, she was still writing, still working, still giving and still looking ahead.

Darline Graham wins GOP nomination after Trump backs her candidacy

U.S. Sen. Darline Graham has won the Republican nomination to keep her late brother’s South Carolina Senate seat.

Graham defeated Congressman Ralph Norman in Tuesday’s runoff after neither won the 50% needed to take the nod outright earlier this month.

Graham had never held political office before Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her to serve out the remainder of her brother Lindsey Graham’s term following his death last month.

She’s won the backing of Trump, who campaigned for her in South Carolina last week.

Now, with Norman conceding, Graham quickly turns her attention to November.

“We cannot and must not allow Democratic socialists to gain a foothold in our conservative state like South Carolina,” Graham said. “Liberals believe if they can defeat conservatives in South Carolina, then they can defeat us anywhere. Once again, they’re coming for us. And the South Carolina values we hold dear.”

Graham will face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews in the general.

And Trump’s endorsement paid off in another runoff Tuesday night.

Former state senator and Tulsa businessman Mike Mazzei narrowly won the Republican nomination for Oklahoma governor.

Trump backed Mazzei and attacked his opponent, state attorney general Gentner Drummond, in the closing days of the race.

Mazzei also poured millions of his own money into his campaign.

He’ll face Democratic state representative Cyndi Munson in November.

And in Alaska, yes, there will be two Dan Sullivans on the November Senate ballot.

Former teacher Dan J. Sullivan has advanced to face Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, Democrat Mary Peltola, and one other candidate in the general election.

Iran, Oman move closer to Hormuz deal but include demand that US lift its blockade first

Iran and Oman could be close to opening a safe shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran says the U.S. has to lift its blockade first.

Oman’s foreign minister said Tuesday he’s “hopeful” a temporary route will be announced “soon” after meeting with Iran.

In a joint statement, Iran and Oman said the potential agreement would cover a specific shipping route with a plan to clear dangerous mines.

But Iran’s deputy foreign minister said Wednesday the U.S. must lift its blockade “before any action is taken to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”

Trump, meanwhile, is warning Iran against putting down any new mines.

He says the U.S. will “immediately and systematically” destroy any Iranian ships caught doing it.

Trump says the U.S. has already cleared the mines there, and that Space Force is now watching the Strait for any attempt to lay more.

DOJ says Kennedy Center needs renovations to save building, otherwise it faces demolition

The Trump administration is now warning the Kennedy Center could eventually have to be demolished if it can’t move forward with a two-year closure for extensive renovations.

The warning came in a new court filing by Justice Department lawyers, who described the building as dangerously dilapidated and caught in what they call a “Financial and structural death spiral.”

The administration argues the two-year closure is needed to complete the fixes.

“Without those efforts, the center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down,” they wrote.

There are no official plans to demolish the Kennedy Center.

The filing is part of an ongoing court fight over the center, including the board’s latest effort to put Trump’s name back on the building.

Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who is challenging those changes, calls the filing a “Not-so-subtle threat” to tear down the center if Trump doesn’t get his way.

A federal judge is set to hear arguments in the case Thursday.

For now, the administration has agreed to pause its latest planned changes to the building until Sept. 8.

Secret Service puts 3 employees on leave to investigate alleged misconduct

Three Secret Service employees are off the job Wednesday, but the agency isn’t saying what they’re accused of doing.

One of them is the agency’s chief of communications, Anthony Guglielmi. The other two also work in the communications office.

All three have been placed on administrative leave while the Secret Service investigates what it calls “potential misconduct.”

Their security clearances and access to work devices have also been revoked, which is standard practice during an internal investigation.

The agency has not said what triggered the probe.

It comes weeks after a separate investigation into a member of Vice President J.D. Vance’s security detail over allegations of leaking sensitive information.

 Astronauts finish ISS antenna repair in second spacewalk within a week

One week after becoming the first French woman to walk in space, Sophie Adenot was back outside the International Space Station. This time, to finish the job she started.

Adenot and NASA astronaut Anil Menon spent six and a half hours outside the station Tuesday, replacing a failed communications antenna.

The dish provides a high-speed data link between the station and mission control in Houston.

The pair tried to finish the job during Adenot’s first spacewalk last week, but stubborn bolts and connectors slowed them down.

They removed the failed antenna but ran out of time before they could install the new one.

So Tuesday, they went back out.

This time, Menon and Adenot retrieved the spare antenna, installed it and hooked it up to the station’s power and data systems.

They also moved the failed unit to a storage platform.

Early checks show the new antenna is working, restoring the backup the station lost when the old one failed.

Tuesday’s spacewalk was Adenot’s second and Menon’s third

More from Straight Arrow:

When should children get each vaccine dose? And who gets to decide?

The federal government wants to change the number of times children visit their doctors to receive vaccines, beginning with some of childhood’s earliest shots. 

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order outlining his administration’s “Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations.” The order called for all childhood immunizations to be administered at separate medical visits “to the maximum extent feasible.”

The administration has not yet released a schedule detailing what separate vaccine visits would look like in practice. But if implemented broadly, the policy would dramatically change not just how many times children visit the doctor for vaccines, but when they receive them. 

Separating those vaccines across different appointments raises a fundamental question at the heart of the administration’s proposed overhaul: Why do children get certain vaccines when they do in the first place?

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