Country music legend Dolly Parton was married to her husband for 60 years, so it's not surprising that she opened up about how hard it is to be without him after his death earlier this year.
According to Fox News, Parton recently reflected on her life with Carl Dean on "Today," and became emotional when she opened up about the difficulties she's experienced in the wake of his passing.
Parton, now 79, held nothing back as she reminisced on her life with Dean, whom she met at 18 and fell in love with quickly.
The Nashville legend admitted that she's "fine" but has to learn how to adjust to new habits and routines now that Dean is gone. He died in March of this year, shocking the country music world.
Parton admitted that she -- understandably -- gets emotional when people bring up Dean's death, but manages to work through it and remember what they had.
"Oh, you know what, I get very emotional when people bring it up," Parton shared as she teared up. "But we were together 60 years. I’ve loved him since I was 18 years old."
She also revealed that she misses him dearly and praised him for being a wonderful husband and partner, especially throughout what one could only imagine to be an extremely hectic -- and successful -- music career.
"It’s a big adjustment just trying to change patterns and habits," Parton continued. "I’ll do fine, and I’m very involved in my work and that’s been the best thing that could happen to me."
She added, "But I’ll always miss him, of course, and always love him. He was a great partner to me."
Fox News noted:
The 10-time Grammy winner went on to express her gratitude for the love and support that she had received in the wake of Dean's death.
"I’m so thankful. I’ve gotten so many cards, letters, flowers, from all over the world," Parton said. "I had no idea Carl Dean was so famous," she joked of her spouse.
Carl Dean might have been married to one of the most recognizable and popular people in the world, but chose to stay far out of the public spotlight.
"My career being separate from my marriage is perfectly natural for us," she said during a 1977 interview. "We like it that way. It’s too right and too natural and too comfortable and too secure for it to ever be anything else."
Dean rarely gave interviews to the press, but when he did, he always spoke highly of his talented wife.
The two met at a laundromat in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1964, and married two years later. The rest was history.
President Donald Trump is nominating Michael Waltz to be America's ambassador to the United Nations, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will take on Waltz's current role of national security adviser, at least for the near term.
"From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress, and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department. Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump added.
Rubio is now the first secretary of State since Henry Kissinger to work simultaneously as national security adviser, although Rubio will hold the second job temporarily.
The stunning shakeup comes weeks after Waltz came under scrutiny for adding the editor of an anti-Trump magazine, The Atlantic, to a sensitive group chat about military strikes in Yemen.
The breach blindsided the White House and caused Waltz to lose favor there, but he appeared to hang on to his job initially as Trump defended him.
“I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation,” Waltz wrote in response to Trump decision to nominate him for the U.N. role.
Waltz is likely to face more questions about "Signalgate" from the Senate, which must vote to confirm him in his new role. Trump pulled his initial nominee for U.N. ambassador, Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY). over concerns about the GOP's narrow House majority.
Waltz's exit is the first major personnel shakeup of the second Trump administration, and it comes just after the end of the president's historic first 100 days back in power.
Compared to his often chaotic first term, Trump's comeback has been marked by remarkable speed and discipline. Trump's opponents have been left scrambling as he transforms domestic and world politics at a furious pace.
The self-inflicted wound of "Signalgate" frustrated Trump and his top aides after the early momentum of his first weeks back in power, but Trump was said to be reluctant to fire Waltz and give the left a perceived victory.
While Waltz is no longer at the White House, he could suffer a far worse fate than getting a prestigious diplomatic post in New York.
To some, Waltz's reassignment is a "soft landing" and a way for Trump to signal that he is in charge, and not the media hounds who demanded Waltz be fired outright. The new arrangements will keep White House insiders on their toes, too.
“It wasn’t anyone’s choice but his because no one asked for this combo of things,” one source told the New York Post. “Today Trump won. Everyone (staff, Israel, Iran, [Secretary of Defense Pete] Hegseth) is left wondering where they sit with him.”
Residents in South Chicago are up in arms over plans to build a luxury hotel near Barack Obama's presidential center, as locals fear being priced out by soaring rents.
The 26-story hotel would be located a short distance from the Obama Presidential Center - and right next to an affordable housing complex.
The development plans have poor tenants in South Shore and Wood Lawn worried about getting squeezed out by gentrification.
“When you got people’s rent going from $850 to $1,300. You’re telling people you don’t want them in the neighborhood,” said Dixon Romeo, an organizer with the Obama Community Benefits Agreement Coalition.
Obama - a former "community organizer" - has long fought to build a monument to his ego in the city where he launched his political career. His plans have plodded forward over the objections of local community groups concerned about displacement.
After years in limbo, the Obama Presidential Center is due to finally open in 2026. But the worst fears of the locals are already coming true.
One man who attended a protest Tuesday, Philon Green, said he was forced to move after rent nearly doubled.
"The rent went from $850 or $835 to $850 to now $1,300; that ain't right. That ain't right for really to upgrade in the apartment itself," the former Woodlawn resident said.
The investment firm behind the hotel, Aquinnah Investment Trust, wants to put it next to Island Terrace, an affordable housing complex. The hotel would have up to 250 rooms, retail and office space, 118 parking spaces, and 12 bicycle spaces, according to documents filed with the city.
The developer submitted an application in March to rezone the area, which is currently a shopping center.
“When you can fast-track a luxury hotel — while everyone around that hotel lives in blight, knowing that that’ll raise the price to push them out — you’re intentionally trying to gentrify a neighborhood,” Romeo said.
The hotel hasn't been approved by the city yet, but the developer has a powerful connection. Allison Davis, the head of Aquinnah Investment Trust, was Obama’s first boss out of Harvard Law School.
Obam, who now owns multiple homes - including one in Hyde Park, Chicago - has long presented himself as a champion of social justice and fairness for the poor.
But those ideals have proven to be quite shallow indeed, as the former president's notorious vanity takes precedence.
The shocking theft of Homeland Security Krisi Noem's purse is shining a light on the open border policies of the Biden administration - and its residual effects in Democratic "sanctuary" jurisdictions that continue to obstruct immigration enforcement.
Just a few weeks before targeting Noem, Chilean man Mario Bustamante-Leiva was busted in New York for a similar theft - but he was let go because of the city's "sanctuary" policies.
The story begins with Bustamante-Leiva's entry into the United States in 2021, despite his role in a highly publicized $28,000 robbery spree in Britain that led to his imprisonment for three years.
According to the Daily Mail, Bustamante-Leiva was waved into the U.S. legally by Biden officials in 2021 but later violated the terms of his release.
He came to wider public attention after he snatched Noem's Gucci handbag during an Easter meal with her family at a restaurant in Washington D.C. The purse contained $3,000 in cash, Noem's credit card, her DHS badge, and other personal items.
The brazen thug was caught on surveillance footage stealing Noem's purse from under her feet at Capital Burger in D.C. It was his fourth theft in just eight days.
The self-admitted drunk went on to splurge on food and alcohol using Noem's stolen credit card, racking up $200 in charges at an Italian restaurant.
Police busted Bustamante-Leiva in the nation's capital on Saturday, and the next day his accomplice, another illegal alien from Chile, was arrested in Florida.
Despite her public-facing role in the Trump administration, it is believed that Noem was targeted randomly and not for any political purpose. She's far from the only victim of the open borders madness that Biden unleashed.
According to the New York Post, police in the Big Apple arrested Bustamante-Leiva on March 2 for a similar crime at an Indian restaurant in Times Square.
The suspect made off with the victim's fanny pack, and within 20 minutes, had made $1,200 in fraudulent credit card purchases.
The victim, an international student from India, was left shaken and after police let the suspect go with a desk appearance ticket on fourth-degree felony grand larceny charges. Not surprisingly, the suspect never showed up for his court appearance.
“That’s insane. I don’t know how he was let out after that without any reason,” the student said. “I mean, putting in so much effort and then coming to the States and experiencing something like that intrigued my frightened side.”
Because of New York's "sanctuary" policy, police were prevented from reporting the suspect to federal immigration agents - enabling him to continue with his crime spree.
After weathering months of divorce rumors, Michelle Obama is wading back into politics with criticism of President Trump's immigration policies.
The former first lady said she is worried for immigrants living in the climate of "fear" surrounding Trump's deportations.
“And that … frightens me, it keeps me up at night,” she told the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast.
“How do you how do you feel comfortable going to work, going to school, when you know that there could be people out here judging you and who could upend your life in a second — that’s who I worry for right now.”
Michelle Obama has been mostly quiet about politics since failing in her efforts to elect Kamala Harris last fall.
Obama avoided naming Trump in her latest remarks, as she persisted in a passive-aggressive protest of Trump's historic comeback.
Her decision to skip Trump's inauguration in January - and Jimmy Carter's funeral - led to speculation of divorce that is ongoing.
Democrats have repeatedly accused Trump of skirting due process for those facing deportation, but Trump has said it is not possible to give trials to the millions of unlawful aliens on U.S. soil. And Trump and his team say Democrats are cozying up to foreign criminals while ignoring their victims.
Like she has often done, Obama attributed Trump's agenda to a supposedly pervasive "racism" in American society that she said has impacted her family, as she suggested immigrants are being targeted because of their skin color.
"And we know that those decisions aren’t being made with courts and with due process,” she said.
“There’s so much bias and so much racism and so much ignorance that fuels those kind of choices,” she claimed. "I worry for people of color all over this country, and I don’t know that we will have the advocates to protect everybody."
Obama pointed to immigration raids in her hometown of Chicago - which was overwhelmed by an influx of immigrants during the Biden-era border crisis - as an example of what she "fears" most about the second Trump administration.
"I drive around in a four-car motorcade with a police escort. I’m Michelle Obama. I do still worry about my daughters in the world even though they are somewhat recognizable,” Obama said.
“So, my fears are for what I know is happening out there in streets all over the city," she said.
Two illegal immigrants have been arrested for stealing Kristi Noem's luxury handbag at a restaurant where she shared an Easter meal with her family.
Cristian Rodrigo Montecino-Sanzana was charged in Miami, one day after Mario Bustamante-Leiva was arrested in Washington D.C. for the brazen theft at Capital Burger.
Noem's bag contained $3,000 in cash, her passport, and her DHS badge. In a recent interview with podcaster Vince Coglianese, Noem said the "professionally done" theft involved some careful footwork.
“It was kind of shocking, actually, because it was sitting right by my feet. I actually felt my purse — he hooked with his foot and drug it a few steps away and dropped a coat over it and took it,” Noem recounted.
Surveillance video of the brazen theft shows a masked man walk past Secret Service agents who were seated at a bar inside the Washington D.C. restaurant. The suspect then sits down next to Noem's table and uses his feet to grab the purse.
Bustamante-Leiva later used Noem's stolen credit card to buy $200 of food and alcohol at another restaurant. He was charged Monday with aggravated identity theft, robbery and fraud.
The man was also charged over two past robberies in which "a suspect approached the victim as they ate in a restaurant, stole their purse from the back of their seat, and fled the scene."
Noem called Bustamante-Leiva a "career criminal" as she thanked the authorities for their swift response.
Thank you to @SecretService @ICEgov and our law enforcement partners for finding and arresting the criminal who stole my bag on Easter Sunday as I shared a meal with my family at a Washington DC restaurant.
This individual is a career criminal who has been in our country…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) April 27, 2025
His accomplice, Montecino-Sanzana, was charged with driver’s license/possession of stolen or fictitious identification in Florida.
He is "implicated in a pattern of thefts and robberies with the primary defendant," according to Secret Service. Both men are from Chile.
According to the New York Post, Montecino-Sanzana was released into the U.S. in January 2021 despite being issued a notice of "expedited removal."
While both suspects are illegal aliens, the U.S. attorney in D.C., Eric Martin, says this was a crime of opportunity and does not appear to be related to Noem's government role.
"There is no indication it was because of that. It was frankly, it was a nice looking purse,” Martin told NBC News.
Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City was packed with VIPs last week for the funeral of Pope Francis, who recently passed away after health complications.
According to the New York Post, one of those VIPs was former President Joe Biden and his wife, former First Lady Jill Biden. The former president seemed to be all smiles as he mingled with the crowd, even stopping to smile for selfies with fans.
Bicden, now 82 and looking as frail as ever, was escorted through the crowd to his seats by gripping onto his wife and a priest who seemed to help guide the confused, elderly former president.
The Bidens were reportedly not seated with President Donald Trump, as they are no longer heads of state. Instead, they were seated toward the back of the foreign dignitaries section of the proceeding.
Biden had met with Pope Francis on only a few occasions, with the first time leading the U.S. delegation as vice president during Pope Francis' inauguration in 2013.
The former president also met the pope when he came to America to address a joint session of Congress. Biden sat behind the pope during the session, and is only the second Roman Catholic president to serve, with John F. Kennedy being the first.
Biden seemed to enjoy his time with other mourners before the funeral services began later that morning. He was spotted taking selfies with other mourners.
Why is Former-Disgraced-President Biden wearing a Blue suit and blue tie at the Pope's funeral?!?
OH THE DISRESPECT. OH THE WORLD'S GOING TO END!
(That's what you sound like Democrat NPCs, LOL) pic.twitter.com/vSxgUyhZFG
— Nick Flor 🥋+🇺🇸 (@ProfessorF) April 27, 2025
Biden released a statement on Pope Francis after the funeral, praising him for his leadership of the Catholic Church for over a decade.
"He was unlike any who came before him," Biden said. "Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the most consequential leaders of our time and I am better for having known him."
Users across social media had plenty to say about Biden's selfie-taking at the funeral. Many weren't happy about it.
"Taking selfies at a funeral. Very respectful, right?" one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "Joey's having a party how respectful."
Honestly, President Biden probably forgot where he was and how he got there.
Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his ex-aide Cade Cothren stand trial in Nashville, accused of misusing taxpayer funds in a political mail scheme, the AP reported.
The federal case, unfolding in Tennessee’s capital, centers on allegations that Casada and Cothren orchestrated bribery, kickbacks, and money laundering through a sham company called Phoenix Solutions.
Both men were forced from their leadership posts after a political scandal rocked their tenure in the Tennessee House.
Casada, a Republican heavyweight, served as House Speaker, with Cothren as his trusted chief of staff.
Their troubles began when they allegedly funneled taxpayer money into political mailings, a move prosecutors claim was corrupt.
To conceal their actions, Cothren reportedly created Phoenix Solutions, a front company registered under the alias Matthew Phoenix.
Phoenix Solutions was established in New Mexico, where LLCs can be registered anonymously, shielding Cothren’s identity.
The company offered mail and consulting services to lawmakers, with Casada actively promoting its operations.
Cothren dodged requests for face-to-face meetings, further raising suspicions about the company’s legitimacy.
Former state Rep. Robin Smith, entangled in the scheme, took a plea deal and endorsed Phoenix Solutions’ fictitious owner.
Her involvement helped prosecutors unravel the alleged plot, spotlighting Casada and Cothren’s actions.
The trial, which began Thursday, has drawn attention to the inner workings of Tennessee’s political machine.
In opening statements, Cothren’s attorney, Joy Longnecker, admitted her client used the fake name Matthew Phoenix to attract business.
“Cade may be a sinner, but he’s not a criminal,” Longnecker declared, framing Cothren’s actions as misguided but lawful.
Casada’s lawyer, Ed Yarbrough, called the investigation a politically driven attack, orchestrated by current House Speaker Cameron Sexton.
Donald Trump is stepping up his troll game to a whole new level with "Trump 2028" merchandise -- a move that is certain to anger Democrats who accuse Trump of pushing the United States towards authoritarian rule.
Trump has declined to rule out seeking a third presidential term, raising concern among critics who say it would violate the Constitution.
The cheeky product description for the Trump Organization's new "Trump 2028" MAGA hat encourages Trump fans to "rewrite the rules."
"The future looks bright! Rewrite the rules with the Trump 2028 high crown hat. Fully embroidered with a snap closure in the back, this will become your new go-to hat," the description reads.
The 22nd Amendment limits presidents to two terms. The measure was enacted as a guardrail after President Franklin Roosevelt's tyrannical 12-year reign.
In a March interview with NBC News, Trump said he is "not joking" about running again and alluded to "methods" to bypass the two-term limit, but he didn't go into detail.
The president identified one pathway: switching roles with his current vice president J.D. Vance.
The 22nd Amendment reads, in part, "No person shall be elected to the office of the President [emphasis added] more than twice."
Pro-Trump House Republican Andy Ogles (TN) has introduced a measure to lift the two-term limit, but amending the Constitution would be exceedingly difficult in the polarized political climate. Indeed, there doesn't appear to be much demand even among Republican voters for Trump to seek another term.
Meanwhile, Trump appears to be getting a kick out of teasing his critics.
In a new TIME magazine interview published Friday, Trump again pointed to "loopholes" that would allow him to stay in power past 2028, but he said he has no interest in exploiting them... at least for now.
“I’d rather not discuss that now, but as you know, there are some loopholes that have been discussed that are well known,” the president said. “But I don’t believe in loopholes. I don’t believe in using loopholes.”
When asked about the Vance scenario, Trump demurred and started touting his recent physical exam, which described him as being in "excellent" health.
"I don’t know anything about, what, look, all I can say is this, I am being inundated with requests,” Trump said in the interview, published Friday. “I’m doing a good job. Great physical exam, and unlike every other president, I took the cognitive test, and I aced it 100% and I bet you guys couldn’t get 100% on that exam.”
A leftist protester vandalized President Trump's golden "45" plaque at Trump Tower in New York, prompting police to shut down the iconic Fifth Avenue building.
Nathaniel Smith, 36, spray-painted "USA" in graffiti over the presidential insignia inside the lobby before kneeling on the floor and closing his eyes, as onlookers filmed on their smartphones.
Moments later, Smith unfurled a banner that read, "Game Over," as a security guard approached and told him to leave.
The man started shouting about global warming as he was led away by a group of police officers in suits.
The scene caused mixed reactions. One man swore in disgust and shook his head, while another man in a backpack told officers not to touch Smith and repeatedly asked them to share their names and badge numbers.
After the protester was led out, a police officer told the crowd that the building would be closed.
The protester was with the radical environmental group Extinction Rebellion, which is known for vandalizing landmarks to draw attention.
Smith, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, was arrested and charged with making graffiti, possession of a graffiti instrument and criminal tampering. According to the New York Post, he has a prior arrest for criminal trespass at Columbia University.
Climate protester arrested after spray painting over presidential insignia at Trump Tower https://t.co/hDJvx41oJw pic.twitter.com/aY9EAIc2Gu
— New York Post (@nypost) April 23, 2025
Secret Service was not involved in the arrest, but they said they are "aware of an incident involving a person spray painting graffiti inside the public lobby of Trump Tower in New York City.”
“There are no disruptions to protective operations,” spokesperson James Byrne said. “We thank the NYPD for their immediate response and unwavering partnership.”
Trump Tower was Trump's main residence and business headquarters for decades before he entered politics. The building houses Trump's opulent penthouse and the headquarters of the Trump Organization.
While Trump no longer lives there full-time, the iconic Midtown skyscraper continues to attract Trump fans, as well as protesters looking to start trouble.
Dozens of pro-Palestine protesters were arrested in March for occupying the Trump Tower lobby in support of Columbia graduate and activist Mahmoud Khalil.
Trump famously declared his historic 2016 presidential campaign in the lobby of Trump Tower after a ride down his golden escalator.