US unites in mourning of country star Dolly Parton

Flags across the US yesterday flew at half-staff, as grieving fans gathered in the late country music star Dolly Parton’s hometown in Tennessee and the nation paid tribute to the beloved cultural icon.

Parton, who rose from grinding poverty to become a rhinestone-studded entertainment giant with hits like Jolene and 9 to 5 , has died at 80, her family announced on Tuesday.

Parton was more than a singer — she wrote 3,000 songs, starred in major Hollywood films and donated millions to charities in her home state and beyond.

Parton died after a brief battle with cancer, her third cousin Brent Allen confirmed.

US President Donald Trump called Parton’s death a “true loss for millions of people.”

“There has never been anyone like her, and never will,” Trump wrote on social media.

He ordered flags lowered across the country, while New York’s Empire State Building was to be lit in pink at 9:25pm — a nod to Parton’s hit song and movie 9 to 5 .

As the news of Parton’s death spread, hundreds gathered in Sevierville, Tennessee, to pay tribute.

Mourning fans laid flowers at a statue in the town which depicts Parton strumming an acoustic guitar.

“We’ve always called her our patron saint of Tennessee,” fan Callie Konane Rickards said.

Parton’s death sparked a rare moment of unity in a country often bitterly at odds over Trump’s presidency, the war against Iran and cultural issues.

Former US president Joe Biden called Parton “an American original” who “treated everyone with kindness and respect.”

Former US president George W. Bush praised “her work to promote literacy, advance health, and strengthen communities.”

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised Parton as “an irreplaceable champion of the working class.”

“We are a better country because of her,” he said.

Singer Miley Cyrus took to X to mourn the passing of Parton, who was her godmother.

“So many evil people in this world and we had to lose a pure heart like Dolly Parton,” Cyrus wrote. “Devastating day for humanity.”

Across the world of entertainment there was a palpable sense of loss, but also one of gratefulness for a person whose life was filled with joy and compassion.

Actress Jane Fonda, who performed opposite Parton in 9 to 5 , mourned Parton’s loss.

“Dolly will always be with us because she was so present, so powerful, so generous and playful that she is woven into all our lives and hearts forever,” Fonda said on Instagram.

Beatle Paul McCartney posted on Instagram about meeting Parton early in her career, adding that “she was so bubbly and full of life it is difficult to take in the news that she has passed.”

Even rapper Eminem praised Parton, sharing a letter she had written him after he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“She definitely didn’t have to take the time to do it. Even for a kid who mostly listened to rap music, she was an icon. A superstar in every sense,” he wrote on X.

Ugandan immigration authorities have returned the passports of four Taiwanese after withholding the travel documents at Entebbe International Airport, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said yesterday. After hearing about the incident, the ministry immediately instructed its representative office in Somaliland, which is responsible for affairs involving Uganda, to closely monitor the situation and work with the Uganda Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce to communicate with the authorities there, Hsiao said.

The passports were returned to their holders on Wednesday local time, he said. The incident followed an earlier incident in which Ugandan immigration officials withheld the passports of two Taiwanese at

A fire and subsequent explosion in a residential area in Tainan early yesterday injured 15 people and damaged 68 homes, the Tainan City Fire Bureau said. The bureau said it received a report at 1:12am yesterday that a pile of waste in a vacant lot in Annan District’s (安南) Haidian Road had caught fire and exploded, adding that it dispatched 144 firefighters and 53 firetrucks to battle the blaze and evacuate nearby residents.

It took more than four hours to extinguish the fire, it said. The incident damaged 11 privately owned vehicles, as well as eight fire engines, one ambulance and two disaster

DELUGE: The Tainan City Government requested five mobile water pumps from the central government to supplement the 511 pumps it had already prepared Torrential rain caused by the combined effects of southwesterly winds and a low-pressure belt battered southern Taiwan yesterday, causing widespread flooding across Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County. More than 2,300 people were evacuated as authorities warned of continued heavy rain through tomorrow.

Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County yesterday announced that work and classes would remain suspended today for the second consecutive day amid heavy rain and flooding. Chiayi, Hualien and Taitung counties later last night also announced that work and classes would be canceled today. The Kaohsiung City Government said it expected cumulative rainfall over the five-day period of the low-pressure system to

The much-anticipated domestic travel subsidies, designed to encourage people to travel on weekdays, are to become available on Sept. 1. The expanded domestic tourism subsidy program, which has a NT$3.33 billion (US$104.31 million) budget, was scheduled to launch in April, but was delayed due to the stalled review of the central government general budget. The legislature approved the plan on Friday last week. People can begin registering for accommodation subsidies and birthday travel vouchers from yesterday.

Travelers visiting destinations in Taiwan proper would receive a rebate of NT$800 for the first night and an additional NT$1,200 for the second night. Those traveling to