NPR is reporting that Sen. Darline Graham won the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina, previously held by her late brother Sen. Lindsey Graham. The outlet also noted that Utah received its first Michelin star, and California’s UCLA introduced the country’s first bachelor’s degree in digital humanities.
NPR is further reporting on the passing of music icon Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday. NPR Music critic and correspondent Ann Powers described Parton as "America's Sweetheart," highlighting her immense musical talent and mainstream success across seven decades. Powers said Parton was a composer of indelible hits that shaped America's cultural life, particularly reflecting the changing experiences of women.
Powers noted Parton's 1967 single "Dumb Blonde" set a tone for her uncompromising version of women's liberation, while 1971's "Coat of Many Colors" offered an expertly embroidered portrait of Appalachian rural life and poor people's dignity. Her 1973 song "Jolene" captured the primal intensity of insecure romantic desire. Powers also highlighted Parton's gothic mode, which explored topics like emotional abuse and stillbirth in early songs. The masterpiece "I Will Always Love You," released in 1974 as a farewell to Porter Wagoner, became a hit for Parton and later a definitive expression of the era through Whitney Houston's 1992 version. NPR said Parton's life story is available in her own words through interview clips from its archive.