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

This morning, the loss of a legend

Dolly Parton dies at 80, the country music star who became something so much bigger

Plus, a big win for President Trump in South Carolina. Darlene Graham beats Ralph Norman for the Republican Senate nomination

after Trump put his political weight behind her. And could the Kennedy Center actually come down

The Trump administration raises the possibility of demolition as its fight over the building heads back to court

The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world

These are your Unbiased Updates from Straight Arrow. Good morning, everyone. I'm Simone Del Rosario

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, something few entertainers ever managed to do

Well, this morning, 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 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 Biden and Trump

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

Dolly spoke openly about how difficult it was without him. But just last week, she was still talking about what's next, telling People Magazine

quote, even though I'm still healing, I'm still working. I still have so many things I want to achieve

So I going to 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 Poets 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

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

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

Now to some of the other stories making the news this morning. U.S. Senator Darlene 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 one the 50% needed to take the nod outright earlier this month

Graham had never held political office before Governor 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 President 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

and our conservative state like South Carolina. 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 Mazai narrowly won the Republican nomination for Oklahoma governor

Trump backed Mazai and attacked his opponent State Attorney General Gettner Drummond in the closing days of the race Mazai also poured millions of his own money into his campaign

He'll face Democratic State Representative Cindy Munson in November. And in Alaska, yes, there will be two Dan Sullivans in the November Senate ballot

Former teacher Dan J. Sullivan has advanced to face Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan

Democrat Mary Peltola and one other candidate not named Dan in the general election

Now some news out of the strait. Oman's foreign minister said Tuesday he's, quote

hopeful a temporary route will be announced soon after a 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

quote, before any action is taken to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. President 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 cleared the

mines already there and that Space Force is now watching the Strait for any attempt to put down

more. The Trump administration is now warning the Kennedy Center could eventually have to be

demolished. That's if it can't move forward with a two-year closure for extensive renovations

The warning came in a new court filing with Justice Department lawyers describing 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

quote, without those efforts, the center will deteriorate further into an unsafe

decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down. Now, 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 Beattie, who's 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 plan changes to the building until September 8th Well three Secret Service

employees are off the job this morning, 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, standard practice, during an internal investigation. The agency has not said what triggered the probe, but 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. Well, finally this morning, one week after becoming the first

French woman to walk in space, Sophie Adeneau was back outside the International Space Station

this time to finish the job. Adeneau and NASA astronaut Anil Minan 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. Now the pair tried to finish

the job during Adano's first spacewalk last week, but stubborn bolts and connectors slowed them down

They managed to remove the failed antenna, but ran out of time before they could install the new one

So Tuesday, they went back out. This time, Manon and Adano 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, and early checks show the new antenna

is working, restoring the backup the station lost when the old one failed

Tuesday's Spacewalk was Adenos' second and Manon's third. Well, Unbiased Updates is the fastest, fairest few minutes of news

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We thank you for making us part of your daily routine. Well, those are your Unbiased Updates for this Wednesday

For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Simone Del Rosario, wearing rhinestones today to remember Dolly

Have a great day, and we'll see you back here tomorrow