Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Episode Date: August 26, 2026

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonight we celebrate Dolly Parton, the country music legend who entertained and inspired Americans for decades has passed away. A special edition of Top Story starts right now. She was an icon, the queen of country music. One of the most beloved American stars ever. We have new details tonight about her passing, her nephew announcing the news. She will always love you, the outpouring of grief across the nation. A true loss to this world. From Hollywood to Nashville and beyond. Tonight, we remember her music.

Tungle out of bed and it stumbled to the kitchen. Her performances. But this is the last drop. And that lightning fast wind. Dash a flash, a dash of trash, and spend the cash to make a splash. How's that sound to you? Plus, her legendary philanthropy, the lives she forever changed.

She's been so good to people, done so much there for people. Tonight, we celebrate Dolly Parton, a true American origin. This is a special edition of Top Story. Remembering Dolly Parton. Here is Tom Yamas. And good evening. Tonight the country is warning the death of music superstar Dolly Parton. Her family announced since she passed away at 80 years old. She was an undeniably an American icon, loved across aisles and generations.

For 60 years, she brought joy to her fans as a country music star in the 60s, a movie star in the 80s, and a cultural icon ever since. Tonight, an outpouring of grief like you rarely see, fans paying tribute at her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and flowers piling up in her home state of Tennessee. Even the president lowering flags to half staff across the country. She touched so many through her music and her generosity, and the tributes from her fellow musicians are pouring in tonight. Kelly Clark's in writing, she had a way of making everyone feel special and seen, Paul McCartney remembering her as a magnificent star who was full of life. We're covering it all tonight, her philanthropy, her sense of humor, and her lasting impact. But we start tonight with her music. The voice, the look, the voice. The voice. The look.

Donnie Parton was an American original. Singer, songwriter, actress, philanthropist. Dolly Parton was so many things. To the world, she was simply iconic. She first hit the country charts in 1966 with the song Dumb Blonde. The flamboyant woman behind the music, anything but. Joshua, what she do to live in here all alone. Four years later, Joshua took her to number one.

one. She racked up 25 number one hits and 11 Grammys over her career. Her first Grammy in 1979 for Here You Come Again. And then two more for the title track in the 1980 Blockbuster movie, 9 to 5. That song becoming an anthem for the performer throughout her decades long songwriting career. It's in my head. Yeah. It comes to me, yeah. When you're a writer and a creative person, but I have my nails, too.

What is that? My acrylic nails. I can make, you know, that's how I wrote 9 to 5 on the set of 9 to 5. Are you kidding? But I make music, you know, out of anything. 9 to 5 also expanded Parton's performing to the big screen. If you ever say another word about me or make another indecent proposal, I'm going to get that gun of mine,

and I'm going to change you for my rooster. to a hand with one shot. Dolly Parton's path to national sensation began in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in 1946, the fourth of 12 children. She described her own upbringing as dirt poor. In those very early days, we didn't have electricity. My coat of many colors. Those modest roots and her actual childhood coat inspired hit songs like coat of many colors.

It's kind of sums up my philosophy about the hard times. It's a real special little song to me. In fact, it means more to me than all the other songs I've ever written and recorded. She started performing at church, and by 13, Dolly appeared at the Grand Old Opry. Her fame growing as a regular performer on the Porter Wagoner Show. She wrote and performed more than 3,000 songs, two of her best known coming from a single burst of creativity. We were looking through my files to get all my old cassettes when they were putting them on the hard drive. guy that was doing it. He said, do you realize that

Jolene and I will always love you? We're on the same cassette. Wow. So that must have been a really good night. And while Parton sang a version of I Will Always Love You that reached number one on country charts, it was Wendy Houston's version of the song that made history, with more than 24 million copies sold. It remains one of the best-selling

singles of all time. This is the romantic part. Now, see, that's what really melts my butter. Parton's film career included hits like Steel Magnolias. And her business interests expanded with her own theme park built in her hometown of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Parton was married to her husband Carl Thomas Dean for 59 years before he died last year. The two never had children, but Pardon gave to kids around the world through her philanthropy, distributing free books inspired by her father who was unable to read. Today, President Trump ordered flags lowered for one week, writing there has never been anyone like her and never will.

When they raised the hood on this old antique, they realized that I need to rebuild my engine and that my transmission is slipping. In recent months, Parton opened up about her health on social media. My immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack over the past couple of three years. Parton's nephew while not revealing the cause of death announcing her passing today in a video. By her example, we believe that anything was possible. She never saw a door she couldn't open, and the doors she opened made and changed history. Even this year, Parton continued her work on projects, including a show coming next year to Broadway based on her life.

That life, an inspiring one of a beloved artist. Dolly Parton said she did it all for the fans. I just want to be able to lift up people, if I can, and do something, put some joy out there. Dolly was 80 years old and across the country tonight from the mountains of Tennessee to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and outpouring of love for the woman who left such an unforgettable mark on music and our culture. And Thompson tonight on the fans saying goodbye. for Dolly Parton. A true loss to this world. I just hope that we can all look to her example and do better for this world. Her statue in her hometown of Severeville, Tennessee, a gathering spot for grief, as was her star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. She was the best person in the world.

Do you kidding me? In Nashville, laughter through tears. The face. favorite emotion of Parton's Steel Magnolia's character. She was a beauty. She was, she had energy. She was a humanitarian. She saw the goodness in so many things. Even online. What a sad, sad day for country music. People agreed how much they loved Dolly. Her Steel Magnolia's co-star Sally Field saying if there are truly angels on Earth, then we have just lost one. Reba McIntyre posting, there will never ever be another you. The woman who loved wigs, plastic surgery, and acrylic nails tonight remembered for her genuine heart. Ann Thompson, NBC News.

And Anne was so right about her big heart because beyond her impressive catalog of music, Dolly Parton also leaves behind an incredible legacy of charity. The country star once told People magazine that she was addicted to the feeling of giving. Our Joe Fryer is taking a look back at some of Dolly's philanthropic work over. over the decades. Lookin night. Molly Parton was known for what she wore, but defined by what she gave. Hello, I'm Dolly Parton, the book lady. In the 90s, she created the Imagination Library, a program that mailed free books to kids,

telling me it was inspired by her father who couldn't read or write. And he felt very embarrassed and crippled by that, but he was so smart. And so he got to live long enough to see the Imagination Library do so well. You, of course, have a legacy in music, but this is part of your legacy, too, isn't it? I have to honestly say that I probably am as proud of this as anything I will ever do. In 2016, when wildfires ravaged the Great Smoky Mountains, the place she grew up, Dolly gave $1,000 a month to each family that lost their home. Now, we want to provide a hand up to all those families that have lost everything in the fires.

She was donating again a few years later when Hurricane Holwell. Helene devastated Middle Tennessee, raising awareness by changing the lyrics to one of her legendary songs. Helen, Helen, Helene, Helene, Helene, Helene, Helene, you came in here and broke us all apart. She put a more positive spin on that tune when she got the COVID shot. Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine. A vaccine, she helped fun by donating a million dollars to research. I'm just happy that anything I'd do,

can help somebody else. And when I donated the money to the COVID fund, I just wanted it to do good. A life of good for Dolly philanthropy extended far beyond 9 to 5. Joe Fryer, NBC News. Fans all around the country are mourning the loss of the country music icon in towns across America remembering her brightest moments, including Ringgold, Georgia, where she wed Carl Dean in 1966. Aaron Gilchrest joins us now from just blocks away where the country. couple got married. Aaron, we can see that beautiful mural just behind you there. What have you found since you got there? It really is a beautiful piece of work here, Tom. This mural was painted, I think it was in 2022 on the 56th anniversary of Dolly and Carl's wedding. They came here,

they snuck away from Tennessee down here to Ringgold, Georgia to get married in 1966 with just Dolly, Carl, Carl, and Dolly's mother, apparently to sort of avoid having the big spectacle wedding at that time. They wanted to do something small here when maybe there were some folks in their circle who weren't totally on board with that. And so today we've seen people really coming here hour after hour to this mural and trying to pay their respects to Dolly Parton, a woman whom they loved so much. And that's something we heard over and over again from people here, Tom. I just loved her. That was the refrain that we heard. And she talked, Dolly did talk about her wedding with her marriage with Carl Carl Dean and said that it was a great old love story that she had,

with him. And she talked about the influence that he had on her music over the years. You played some clips there where you heard her singing Jolene or variations of that. That was a song, as a story goes, that was written about a young woman who maybe was a little too smitten with Dolly's husband. And so it became sort of a part of her music library. And he had other impacts. While he wasn't in the spotlight at all, really, during the course of her decades-long career, he was always in the background for Dolly. He was always there with Dolly, in a sense, someone that she talked about loving deeply, and she talked about the fact that their marriage had lasted for so many decades, Tom,

and that he really was a driving force for her, who had his own separate life, his own private life as a business owner in Tennessee as well, Tom. Yeah, they stayed married for all those decades. Aaron, great to talk to you tonight, and thank you for bringing us that story and that slice of life of Dolly's legacy. For more on Dolly Parton's life and story, I want to bring in two people who have delve deep into it from cover to cover, senior music editor at Rolling Stone, Joseph Hudak,

and country singer and songwriter Alison Moore, who also curated the Dolly Parton Journey of a Seeker exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. We thank you both for joining us tonight here in the special edition of Top Stories. So Allison, Dolly's influence spread across so many different branches, right, of the entertainment industry, beyond her music.

She was in films and musicals. She founded theme parks and ran a library of free books. As someone who helped curate Dolly's story, What did you learn because so much of Dolly's life was already out there? The thing that this exhibition, Dolly Parton, Journey of a Seeker, really focuses on, is the points of conflict that Dolly experienced in her career. Looking at it from far out, it would be easy to just assume that she never had any problems because she had 25 number one hit.

She's in the country music Hall of Fame. she's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She has a Kennedy Center medal. She, you know, all of these successes, and she reached heights in so many categories. But the truth is, Dolly had to fight pretty hard to do what she wanted to do. When she first arrived in Nashville, Fred Foster, who signed her to Monument Records, thought that she would do well as a folk pop artist. And so they tried that and tried to tone down her look.

And she ended up saying, look, this just isn't me. I have to be me. what suits me. I know me better than you do. So there were points in her career where she really had to not listen to naysayers and just had to stick to her guns and believe in herself. And she believed in herself so much, most of all. Yeah, Joseph, you know, she stayed on top for so long. And by on top, I mean, you know, top of mind of people of all ages and all types of Americans. She said she had more guts than talent at one point. I don't know if that's true, but she was such a great songwriter. The music is so great. What else do you think it was that sort of always kept her in pop culture?

Well, you know, I think it's authenticity, which is such a favorite word in country music and here in Nashville. Her songwriting was lived in. You know, she was born in Severville in a one-room cabin and took those experiences of growing up in poverty and literally wearing so many. rags to school and turned it into one of her signature songs, Code of Many Colors. That song in particular, I really speaks to what I think Dolly brought people. They saw in her this, I hate to say, a rags to riches story, but it really is that. You know, it was this inspiration that you two can do this and just be determined.

And I think the thing that really expanded her appeal to folks is that she was so focused on inclusion and compassion. And if you ever spent any time around Dolly Parton, and we've been lucky to do that, you just couldn't walk away without feeling that you were really in the presence of someone who listened and gave back to you. Allison, you got to know her. Was she the same person she was behind the camera that she was in front? I mean, she just seemed to be so kind and so loving and just so funny. Absolutely. Dolly was wildly intelligent. She had a fantastic. wit. She was talented in so many areas. She was a teacher. She's a prophet. She's a poet. She's an

entertainer. She's an author. She was a leader and she was a natural at all of it. I think what will stand out about Dolly in the end is how much empathy she had for people. I think that's what made her such a brilliant communicator and entertainer. That's definitely what made her such a brilliant songwriter. I think empathy is one of the most, if not the most important attribute that a songwriter can have. She had an incredible ability to see people and make them feel understood. And when you're talking about a song like coat of many colors, you know, she took that very painful experience that she had of wearing this precious coat that her mother made for her to school. And she was excited about telling the other kids about the story of Joseph in his colorful coat.

and they picked on her. They stripped the coat off of her, broke the buttons, locked her in a closet, and she carried that painful memory with her for a very long time, but she was able to transform it into a song that not only healed her, but healed others. Yeah, I want to talk a little bit more about that. Joseph, you interviewed her about that song, specifically, the coat of many colors. I want to play a bit for our viewers, then I want to talk to you about it on the other end. Though we had no more riches I could be In my coat of many colors

My mama made for me Joseph, what did she tell you about that song? That it was a real life experience. You know, she wanted to be proud of this coat, just as Allison was saying, and it was inspired by the story of Joseph and the amazing technicolor dream coat. And she just didn't, it didn't have

that effect when she went to school. You know, she was picked on. But this was, this was a way for her to really live her experience in that song. And in fact, she wrote that song when she was on the Porter Wagner's bus, her old singing partner, Porter Wagner, they were going on tour. And she had the idea for the song and snatched a receipt off of Porter's dry cleaning bag and wrote the lyrics, a coat of many colors on that. So she wrote a song about a coat off of a dry cleaning bag for one of Porter's coats. You know, she never got involved in politics, Joseph. She did the causes that she really cared about that everyone sort of get behind.

The New York Times famously had a headline. Everyone can agree on one thing. We love Dolly. Something to that effect. Why do you think more musicians and people in show business don't try to emulate that? Well, you know, it's a very slippery slope for folks these days. You know, you lose half of your audience or you risk losing half. of your audience. When you reach the level of Dolly Parton, you're all but unimpeachable.

You know, she could have done anything she wanted to do with her platform and what she used it for, which I find so inspiring, is to bring people together. It was about showing that we could all get along and rally behind something, not just rally behind Dolly, but rally behind, you know, look at what happened during the pandemic. You know, her helping to fund the vaccine brought us at one of our most divisive moments in this nation together, and we all came together around Dolly. That's a great point. Joseph and Allison, I thank you so much for this conversation.

We thank you for joining Top Story tonight. We're going to have much more on Dolly's life and legacy later in the show. But now we're going to turn to another breaking story we're following tonight. The polls just closing in South Carolina where all eyes are on Darlene Graham's runoff battle to secure the Republican nomination for her late brother's seat. Our Steve Kornacki is following that race in primaries across two hours. other states. But first, let's get to Ryan Nobles on the ground in South Carolina for us tonight. Ryan, set the stage for us and walk us through what's at stake here.

Well, what's at stake is the Republican primary nomination for the general election in a deep red state. Whoever wins here tonight is very likely to become the next senator and take this seat for the next six years, replacing the late Lindsey Graham. And his sister, Darlene Graham, has run a very tough race. She made it through the first stage of this primary season. But failed to make that 50% threshold, which led to this runoff here today. And what it's become is a battle of endorsements versus experience. Darling Graham has lined up endorsements from much of the Republican establishment, including President Trump, who's gone all in on this race. He endorsed her. He came here and stumped for her in Myrtle Beach last week. He even threw

close to $800 or more than $800,000 of his political arm into a last push to get her over the finish line. But there were voters here that were concerned about her lack of experience. never held elected office before. There were some that were concerned she was just being handed the seat because it was her late brothers. And that's the argument that Ralph Norman is making, who was a long time congressman served for a long time in Congress and a long time in the statehouse here. His pitch to voters, you know who I am, you know what you're going to get. I deserve to have the seat for the next six years and the Senate is not on the job training. These results are just starting to trickle in too early to call quite yet, Tom. But we'll find out exactly where

the heads of South Carolina voters are by the end of the night. And then Ryan, while we have you there's other elections. You're also keeping an eye on other races. Talk to our viewers about them. Yeah, the other big race of the night is in Oklahoma, and that's the runoff in the governor's race there between Mike Masey and Gettrick Drummond. This is a race that Donald Trump also has skin in the game. He backed Mike Masey, even though this was a very close first stage of this primary. President Trump obviously heavily invested in this race in South Carolina, also invested in this race in Oklahoma. Trump earlier this week in a truth social post, perhaps setting some expectations for tonight and what could potentially be two losses or two

wins, saying that he gets behind candidates sometimes only out of loyalty, not necessarily because he thinks they can win. We'll have to see if that bears itself out tonight. But this is definitely a race where we're going to see if the power of the Trump endorsement, which has been very powerful over the course of Republican primaries holds. All right. Ryan Noble's for us on the campaign trail like he's been the past few weeks. We appreciate it. Steve Kornacki, also in the House. He's already crunching some of the numbers at his big board. Steve, that South Carolina vote coming in right now. I know it's very early.

Walk us through anything you have and what you're seeing. Yeah, it's starting to fill in here pretty quickly. I would say this. We're still waiting for some big counties where we don't have reports yet. The numbers that we've seen so far, especially down here around Myrtle Beach, and sort of in this area of the state right here, this would be the PD region, the 7th Congressional District. And then right here in Lexington County, which is big.

suburban, you know, metro Columbia county here. These numbers are very encouraging for Graham, but they come with a catch. Everything that you're seeing right now is early vote. It was it was cast before election day. They were able to get that all tallied up and report it out very quickly after polls closed. The big question is going to be when they start releasing the vote that was cast today, the election day vote, does it look different? Because we've seen that be the case in so many of these Republican primaries we've been following this year. Does it look different? Is it as good for Graham as she's getting out of some of these reports? Again, particularly around Myrtle Beach right now, she got a really good early vote report out of there. But the question's

going to be the election day vote. Does it continue to be good news for her or does it shift? Because we've seen big shifts with that before. But certainly in the areas I think where Graham wanted to be performing strongly, so far preliminarily, she's getting pretty good numbers out of those places, but we got to see what the election day vote looks like. And then I got to say from Norman's standpoint as well, we expect him to do very well in this part of the state. This is where his congressional, the anchor of his congressional districts. This is York County Rock Hill right outside Charlotte. That's a very good number for him there. This is a big one. Greenville County is probably going to produce more votes than any county in the state tonight. It's just a

scattering of votes that have come in so far. That number from Norman, if he's running at 70 percent, when we start getting some real vote from here. And we'd be saying he's doing quite well in his neck of the woods, too. So preliminarily, we've got more votes in from sort of Graham-friendly areas. Right now, they look like the kind of numbers she'd like to see down there. That could change as the election day vote gets added in. And let's see what happens in Normans' in more friendly territory of the upstate as we get more reports from there.

Yeah, just under 10% in right now. Steve, I know you're going to be watching that map all night. any other races you're getting data on or any other analysis you have of those other races. I know the one in Oklahoma that Ryan mentioned as well. Yeah, polls will close there about 40 minutes from now. Just to remind folks, you've got the report there, but Gettner Drummond, the State Attorney General, Mike Masey, endorsed by Donald Trump. This is a runoff. The preliminary election, these two candidates were almost dead evened.

Only 1,100 votes separated them, and there were a lot of votes for other candidates in there. They each got about a quarter of the vote. So a lot of mystery, a lot of suspense. And again, like South Carolina, a test of Trump's clout here. He's behind Maisie, and he's really attacked Drummond as well. So in Oklahoma, it's a test of Trump's clout. And that certainly is the case here in South Carolina, where he's really pushed hard to try to get Graham across the finish line. Okay, Steve Kornack.

You'll be on the board tonight. We thank you again. Still ahead on Top Story, we have much more special coverage of music legend, Dolly Parton, plus the fast-moving wildfire exploding in Texas as we're getting new, images of the chart destruction in Nevada. And the new threat from Iran, this one targeting President Trump's youngest son. You heard us right. What we're learning.

And the alarming studying about NFL players and CTE, what it reveals about how prevalent the brain disease is among athletes on the football field. Stay with us. We are now with the massive new wildfire burning out of control in Texas. Families urge to evacuate there as we get our first up-close look at the homes destroyed by that fire in Reno, Nevada. Our Liz Croyd's reports from the fire zone. Tonight in Texas, the fast-moving Ross fire exploding in size west of Fort Worth.

It's just flames. Already consuming more than 75 square miles. Firefighters battling extreme heat, temperatures in the triple digits. Powerful wind swirling embers. Hundreds of residents urged to evacuate. This building fully engulfed. And here in Reno, Nevada, where the Hawk Fire has damaged or destroyed more than 50 homes and structures, We're getting a first-hand look at what those flames have taken from families here.

You can see some of the destruction here. This was once a two-story home. The flames just tore through it. The framing of the garage now, the only thing still standing. Two doors down, Scott Hayes forced to flee as the fire approached. Here we are. This is home. What's left of it?

Returning to discover most of his home destroyed by the fire, along with priceless memories. His son Jeremy died of cancer at 30. His room had been preserved just as he left it until the fire consumed it. You know, trying to sit through all that stuff. Because you keep every little note, you know, everything he had. We never got rid of any of it. And now it's gone. Ricardo Arante recorded these harrowing videos as he escaped the flames.

I felt like I was going, I could die. Losing his home of 20 years and now forced to figure out what's next. He says he didn't have insurance. You don't, you're not getting any insurance money. No one's paying me. No one's giving me anything. People in this community reeling, as officials warn fire season is far from over. Liz, those stories are so painful.

The last two that you mentioned there are the people there getting any relief as we see all that destruction behind you? Yeah, Tom, well, the good news is that crews are gaining ground on this fire. It hasn't grown in size over the past 24 hours. And many of the neighborhoods that were evacuated like this one have now. reopen so people are able to come back to their homes. Unfortunately, though, as we just showed you, many people are returning to homes like this. I mean, you can just see the damage. It's hard to even make out really any of these items. And officials also say that they are again expecting this extreme fire weather to pick up again tomorrow through the weekend. And you can even feel it now,

Tom, we're starting to get that wind picking up as well. Yeah, that wind is so dangerous. All right, Liz Kreutz and her team still in the fire zone there. We thank you. We're going to take a turn now to another headline that caught our eye in. alarming new study that's rocking the sports world. Scientists revealing at least 25% of former NFL players who died in recent years had the brain disease known as CTE, but they weren't the real number could be even higher. I want to bring in Morgan Chesky now. Morgan, break down what else is in this study and how the NFL is responding. Yeah, Tom, the numbers are certainly stunning here. And the doctor says that this particular study focused on 900 former NFL players,

roughly 900, where he did find that one in four exhibited signs of that degenerative brain disease known as CTE. And Tom, he feels that number could be even higher. He pointed out to the fact that these players who died within a five-year time span all played with the league more than a decade ago, largely before we've seen some of those recent modifications, including the redesign of helmets that current players take on the field each and every Sunday. Regarding how this study should be perceived by a coach or a parent, the doctor left me with one stunning statistic here, Tom. And he said that of these repeated head injuries that lead to CTE, he believes that roughly about 70% of those head-to-head blows happen not during game time, but during practice time. And it's his hope that football in middle school, high school, and at the collegiate level could adopt a practice schedule similar to the NFL, where they have one day,

of contact in practice, if at all. He says simply by doing that, they can make the game significantly safer without changing a single second of game time. Tom? They're going to have to get those coaches and staff on board with that one. Okay, Morgan, we thank you for that. Just ahead, the CIA director's

secret trip to Moscow. What we're learning about that unannounced meeting in Russia. Plus, we'll take you to the Hollywood Walk of Fame where fans are honoring the late Dolly Parton with an outporn of love and support on her iconic star. That's next. We're back now with special coverage on the passing of Dolly Parton and the new development just in.

Dolly Parton's estate just released a statement, writing in part after bravely facing a brief battle with cancer. Dolly departed her earthly life today at the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, surrounded by loved ones. It comes as the country music star is mourned around the world, and tonight Hollywood is remembering the legend. Our Dana Griffin is on the iconic walk of fame, right near Dolly star in Los Angeles. So Dana, we can see the flowers and the wreaths behind you there. What are you hearing from fans? Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of fans are just taking this moment in. You know, Dolly may have come from the Smoky Mountains, built her country music career in Nashville,

but part of her legacy as an American pop culture icon was built here in Hollywood. And I want to show you, you've got the memorial bouquet right here, Tom. And every hour we are seeing fans just come lay flowers, notes. You've got one that says farewell to a beloved American icon. We will always love you and not to her song. I will always love you that also was made massively successful by Whitney Houston. We even had a guy that came by and dropped off this Taco Bell Mexican pizza. He says that it was Dolly's favorite.

We'll have the fact-checked him on that. You've got the Dolly Parton cookie mix. And I just met Timothy a second ago. He actually biked all the way from Venice, which is like a 45-minute commute here. Yes, ma'am. How are you feeling right now in this moment? Really sad. You know, I grew up in the South.

And we used to go to Gatlinburg for Thanksgiving and go to Dollywood. And I was with a wonderful woman for seven years. We died last year in Dolly was her favorite artist. And she had grown up for in the song, Code of Many Colors, just really spoke to her. And when I heard it on the playlist this morning, I kind of lost it a little bit, you know. And you came in and just saw you take it in this moment right now.

How are you feeling in this moment? seeing this growing memorial for Dolly. It's so beautiful, you know. She was the queen of country, but she transcended to genres. You know, people that love all kinds of music love Dolly Parton, you know. Sure did. One of my best friends is a huge metalhead, and he posted a little tribute to her on Instagram.

You know, I had no idea he loved Dolly Parton like that. And that's just kind of, it speaks to the kind of person she was and just how beautiful her music was. And how many fans she touched, even across the decades, Timothy, thank you so much for taking her. and the time we'll let him be, because I know he's taking in this moment, but there are dozens of flowers here, Tom, and we're seeing more and more people show up.

You've got Dolly playing in the background. And right now, it feels a little somber for some, but also celebratory, knowing that she lived a very incredible life, Tom. Yeah, a moment right now that so many fans want to share with each other. Dana, we thank you for that. On the other side of the country, another makeshift memorial is growing tonight. We showed you that beloved statue of Parton in her Tennessee hometown. Right now a large crowd has gathered there to honor and remember the musician.

I want to bring in Katie Inman from our Knoxville affiliate who's there tonight for us. Katie, thanks for joining Top Story. Parton was so beloved in Tennessee. You interviewed her multiple times. How important was this part of the world to her? In Severe County, the Smoky Mountains are softly crying tonight after the news of Dolly Parton's passing continues to sink in with everyone here. This area was home to her.

These are her people. These are her mountains. There was no other place that meant more to Dolly Parton. And she spoke about that many times. That's why you're seeing so many people here at her statue in front of the Severe County courthouse, her home place, her birthplace. These people who have shown up since the news broke around 2 o'clock this afternoon, there have been waves of people all ages coming to pay their respects and mourn with one another.

We've seen people drop off flowers. Now at the base of this statue honoring this Smoky Mountain songbird is a rainbow of flowers that just really emulates the colorful life that Dolly Parton lived every day. You'll also notice all of the butterfly balloons. If you knew Dolly, you knew she loved her butterflies. Of course, it is a huge symbol of who she. She is and was a big part of the Dollywood branding, which is also here in Severe County. Also, Severe County has marked tomorrow as a day of morning to remember this country music legend and icon.

People that we've spoken to today, they all say that they can't believe the news. At first, they thought it was fake. Everyone thought Dolly was immortal, that she would live forever. She has given back to this area in more ways than one. Number one, 2016, 10 years ago during the Gallenberg wildfire, she created a My People Fund to give back to her people. Then again, during Hurricane Helene in September a couple of years ago, gave back to her people once again. She continues to give back to her people, not only in her life, but in the legacy, she leaves behind now. Tom.

And then, Katie, before you go, I know this is also fresh and new. Have state officials, the governor, I don't know if mayors, have they already made any types of plans to remember her? I know you just mentioned what's going to happen in the county where you are right now or home county. Anything else happening? Not that we know of yet, but I will say on a very local level, there are elementary schools and schools in the Severe County District who have already told their students to wear pink and purple tomorrow to school to remember Dolly Parton. Now, of course, the flags are at half-mast to honor her as well.

And Severe County officials, they are continuing to release more, of course, also. as they continue to mourn who Dolly Parton was and what she meant to this community. But she's truly a treasure. Katie Inman, we thank you so much for joining our special broadcast tonight. We thank you for that report. I want to bring in our entertainment reporter, Chloe Malas, who has been following the outpouring of reactions after Dolly's passing. Chloe, I want to start with the news that just came in,

that she had battled a brief bout of cancer. Do we know anything else? Because she spoke a lot about her health in recent years. Sure. Well, first of all, I mean, she's been very open over the last year or so, about her different health issues. She had revealed to all of us that she had to cancel her Las Vegas residency that was set to start this fall, Tom,

because of kidney issues and kidney stones. Just last week, she talked about feeling dizzy and that she couldn't actually go to something at Dollywood, a ride that was going to open. So instead, she had this video appearance, which is something that she had done at several different things that she was supposed to be at in person over the last year. She also said things like she felt swimming-headed, right?

So that she didn't really feel like herself. She said that when her husband Carl passed away last year, that she had really put her own health issues to the side. And I think that's something that so many people could really relate to at the time when she said that, that she wasn't prioritizing her health because she was taking care of her longtime husband for decades. And so she made it seem, though, you know, we covered this in May when she was postponing the residency at the time. She hadn't fully canceled it yet when she said, I ain't dead yet, right? She was always trying to reassure her fans that she was okay.

And just last week, she did a phone interview with People Magazine saying that she was still working, still working on her Broadway show that is still going to debut on her birthday, what would have been her 81st birthday in January. She actually did go to an appearance in Tennessee in person. She opened a truck stop to be a bit of a rival to bite. She said she couldn't leave it to the beavers. If you get that, and from the South, I love Buckees. But she opened this truck stop and a coffee shop, Ambition Coffee,

a nod to 9 to 5, and she cut the ribbon. So she did make an appearance two months ago, but clearly things took a turn. And I do want to also point out, I have covered so many deaths of major celebrities and individuals in entertainment and media. And it's very rare that you see this sort of planned video message. You see the statements come out quickly from a family. But to have,

you know, she was very, very organized and had the foresight to have her nephew record that message. He was her head of security, a job that his father had held before. So clearly there was planning involved in true Dolly fashion as to how she wanted all of this to be addressed to her fans and in what way. Yeah, and all of them are just completely impacted by that news. Chloe, we thank you for all your reporting. That was really great. Thank you. We're going to have much more on Dolly's legacy later in the broadcast. Now to Top Stories News Feed, we start with Canada, now hitting back in the trade war with the U.S. announcing retaliatory tariffs on American imports, including dairy products and electronics. President Trump earlier hit Canada with tariffs on items like

hockey sticks and paper, Connor, response to Canadian trade barriers. The president also threatening to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. And the U.S. now marking its first deaths this year from measles. Officials in Pennsylvania reporting two people have died in their state. No word of their ages just yet, but we are told they were not vaccinated. So far, the U.S. has confirmed more than 2,700 cases of measles just this year across 46 states plus Washington, D.C. That is a new threat from Iran. This one, not against the president, but his youngest son. The Secret Service confirming it's aware of a disturbing video broadcast on Iran. in state television, which appears to threaten to kill Baron Trump.

I want to bring in Chief White House correspondent Garrett Haak, who has been following that story. Garrett, NBC News, we're not going to show that video, but walk us through what else we know about this apparent threat. Well, Tom, the video itself has an alarming degree of specifics about Baron Trump's life. It talks about where he comes and goes in D.C., his gaming habits, even names one of his friends, and offers a multi-million dollar bounty on his life. This is pretty alarming for a figure who, you know, well obviously close to his father, the president is not what I would call a real public figure.

He doesn't speak publicly. He's not out in the public eye very often. The White House and his family have done as much as they can to shield him. He's a college student now. But here dragged essentially into this conflict as the target of this new Iranian threat. And then, Garrett, while we have you here, President Trump has previously said he's a top target for Iran. How is the White House responding to all this? And is there any sense of why the threat is coming now?

Yeah, look, neither the White House nor the First Lady's office is responding to this threat at all. They're not saying anything publicly. The Secret Service is only saying that they're aware of the threat. But the general security posture around the president has been and remains quite high. Obviously, we had the incident coming back from Turkey a month and a half ago now, where the president had to switch airplanes to try to be maximally safe from Iranian attack. The area around the White House is more closed off than it typically is. And the White House and the Secret Service have taken this posture that there is sort of this much more elevated threat environment around the president and around his inner circle, in part because of this war.

And I don't see that ending anytime soon. Garrett Hake at the White House for us. Garrett, thank you. Turning now to CIA director John Radcliffe's secret trip to Russia. A source with knowledge of the matter confirming to NBC news that Ratcliffe is holding talks in Moscow. Though the details regarding what is being discussed remains a mystery. For more, I want to bring in NBC News Senior National Security Correspondent, Courtney Kuby. Courtney, I remember the last time we had a conversation like this is when the CIA director made an unannounced a trip to Cuba.

So now we're in Russia, and the questions are, is this about the war with Ukraine or about Iran or maybe even something else? Yeah, and we really don't know. So we know that the director of the CIA arrived in Russia earlier this morning. He was only on the ground for about four hours, according to flight tracker data, before he made his way back to Riga, Latvia. That's where he caught this U.S. military C-17 in the first place. He flew back and forth. But we don't even know which Russian officials he went to Russia to meet with. Now, one of the reasons this is getting so much attention is not just the fact that this is the first time we are aware of that he's traveled to Russia as the CIA director in more than 18 months in that

role. Not only the fact that he is one of the most senior, if not the most senior Trump administration official to make that trip during this administration. But this all brings back memories to another CIA director who made a similar trip. That was then CIA director Bill Burns, November 2021, just before Russia invaded Ukraine. And in that case, he traveled to Russia to meet with officials in the Russian working for Vladimir Putin to tell them, look, the U.S. and others know that you are building up a military. We know that you are planning a potential invasion of Ukraine. don't do it. So that is one reason that that's getting so much attention here is, is it possible that the U.S. sees something else that has them concerned enough that the administration

would dispatch John Ratcliffe to go there? Tom, it's not clear if that's the case or not, but that's one reason it's getting a lot of attention. And of course, it comes as talks for a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine remains stalled. It's not clear if it's possible that maybe he's also there for some sort of a breakthrough, Tom. Yeah, while we have you here, You know, the Wall Street Journal and others have been reporting sort of that Russia may be trying to mobilize a new front in this war in Ukraine, number one. They may be trying to test the NATO alliance, we don't know. But I think you kind of framed it in a very smart way in saying that when the CIA director travels, it's because they have intelligence and they like to show, in this case, Russia and sometimes, in other cases, it's our enemies. This is what we know.

So what is going on? Yeah. And we have been watching the very, very earliest indications that Russia may be. interested or willing in testing the NATO alliance. Now, of course, it comes at a time when we have President Trump and many of his senior officials who are also casting doubt on the NATO alliance and whether, in fact, the U.S. would support, if there were a threat to the alliance, would actually follow through and support fellow NATO allies.

We have seen the Putin regime send little messages in the form sometimes of drones or other projectiles into NATO nations. Now, not yet triggering any kind of an Article 5 response or triggering the, if one NATO ally is attacked, others respond. But the concern is that if Russia continues to push those boundaries, it could lead to a real crisis for the NATO alliance here. Again, we don't know what John Ratcliffe went there to talk about, but these are all the sorts of issues that have been existing in advance of this trip. Courtney, Q'd be for us. Courtney, thank you. Thanks. And we will be right back. We were back. Now, there's special coverage of Dolly Parton, the country icon passing away today at the age of 80.

Earlier I spoke with today's show, anchor Carson Daly, about the legacy she leaves behind. Here's some of that conversation. So, you know, they always say the artist that can stand the test of time is the true artist, and that's Dolly Parton. Well, seven decades, 11 Grammys. I mean, Dolly did it all. I think one of the greatest American songwriters, period, outside of even just country. Listen, I mean, she broke the mold for, I think of Taylor Swift today.

None of that happens without Dolly, who was such a great businesswoman, and, of course, had written over 3,000 hits. Speaking of the hits, Jolene, I Will Always Love You, whether it was her fingernails or her guitar. She wrote incredible songs. You know, it's really rare. I Will Always Love You was a song that she wrote for the passing of her mentor. Of course, Whitney came along and made it the juggernaut that we all know that it is today, but it's rare that it's a song that was a big hit for one artist who wrote it, and then it became another defining moment for another huge artist in Whitney Houston. She was a great artist, she was a great person, but she was also this great business woman.

Yeah, she was incredible. She owned, again, all of her own masters. She had Dollywood. She put jobs in Tennessee when they needed it. There's a children's hospital now in Tennessee named after her. 250 million kids in America got their hands on free books because her father couldn't read her right. She was inspired by that in 1995. And our thanks to Carson for that conversation. When we come back tonight, much more of our special coverage on Dolly Parton and a tribute to the country music legend in her own words. Stay with us. That was Dolly Parton, duetting with Sabrina Carpenter, just. last year. Carpenter once described Parton as one of her biggest idols, and that was true for so many. Parton connected people across generations with her music, and tonight we're remembering her in her own words, the country music legend, well known for her wit, and that signature voice. I've been as poor as anybody could be, so I had everything to gain nothing to lose.

So I just kind of work without fear because it's fun for me. flash, a dash of trash, and spend the cash to make a splash. How's that sound to you? Comedy is part of our being because it's kind of what helps you through the hard times growing up. I saw an ad the other day that said, you too can look like Dolly Parton for only $500. Boy, I wish I'd have seen that ad before I dished out the millions. It cost me to look like Dollar Park. I am a girl of many colors.

I really am. that would always be grateful. What do you close with? Well, I actually do it a little bit of I will always love you. That's the way I close all my shows have for many, many years. Thanks so much for watching this special edition of Top Story. I'm Tom Yamis in New York. Stay right there.

Much more of our NBC news coverage on Dolly Park just ahead.