Gender news — August 26, 2026

Dolly Parton Dies: Miley Cyrus Mourns Godmother and Mentor

Dolly Parton, the iconic country singer, has passed away at 80 after a brief battle with cancer. She was surrounded by loved ones at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Parton was known for her close relationship with Miley Cyrus, who she considered like her own daughter and was her godmother. Cyrus paid tribute to Parton on social media, expressing her heartache at their loss.

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Aug 26, 2026, 16:41 UTC

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library: Gifting Literacy to Millions

Dolly Parton, the renowned musician and philanthropist, has died at 80. Her legacy includes the Imagination Library, a program she launched in 1995 to provide free books to children from birth until they begin school, regardless of their family's income. The initiative, inspired by her father's inability to read, has distributed over 300 million books to more than 3 million children worldwide. It operates in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, and Australia. Parton's Imagination Library has been recognized as a significant contribution to child literacy, earning multiple awards from the Library of Congress.

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