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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Dolly Parton, Country Music Star and Humanitarian, Dead at 80; Darline Graham Wins South Carolina GOP Senate Runoff; Decoding Dolly Parton: The Inspiration Behind the Music; Fans in Nashville Pay Tribute to Dolly Parton; Canada Details Upcoming Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Goods. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired August 26, 2026 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[00:00:00]

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: Tomorrow I'll be back covering day eight of this trial on CNN All Access. It's also available on Amazon Prime and HLN. You got to follow me on social for all the updates.

Thank you all so much for watching. "THE STORY IS WITH ELEX MICHAELSON" is next.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles.

Coming up, THE STORY IS losing a legend from a tiny Tennessee town to the greatest heights of American music. Dolly Parton became far more than a country superstar. Now we remember an icon whose music, generosity and unmistakable spirit touched the world.

THE STORY IS Senator Darline Graham. President Trump scores a much needed political win tonight. His hand-picked candidate in South Carolina survives a tough Republican runoff. What does her victory mean for the midterms?

And THE STORY IS trade war. America's closest ally is striking back. Canada slapping billions of dollars in tariffs on U.S. goods, escalating a dispute that could affect everything from steel and dairy to clothing and cosmetics. How could it impact you? That's ahead.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.

MICHAELSON: Our top story is tributes pouring in for the legendary country music star and humanitarian Dolly Parton. She died on Tuesday at 80 years old at her home in Nashville. Her publicist says it happened after a brief battle with cancer.

Parton rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most beloved, unifying and philanthropic stars in the country. She was a fixture in pop culture in a career that spanned more than half a century across music, TV and movies. Later in life, she funneled her success into philanthropy, founding the Imagination Library, which has gifted more than 300 million books to kids around the world.

Here's part of the statement Parton's family released announcing her death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYAN SEAVER, DOLLY PARTON'S NEPHEW: Dolly was a farmer just like her daddy. He farmed the soil. She farmed songs and happiness. Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life-wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.

Rest in peace, Aunt Dolly, Aunt Granny, Gigi. May God bless Dolly Parton and may God bless you all. She will always love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Parton's family says at her request, they will hold a small private memorial service. Friends and family are encouraged to share their tributes and memories on social media by tagging @Dolly Parton or leaving a message on her Web site. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Parton's Imagination Library.

Parton had been open about various health issues in the last two years. She spoke with CNN back in 2022.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you tell your younger self?

DOLLY PARTON, COUNTRY MUSIC STAR: Well, that's a tricky question. It was my dream to do it, but I would just probably, looking back, I would just say, girl, you better buckle up because this is -- you're in for the ride of your life. You're going to have to take a lot of stuff. You're going to have to give a lot of stuff and you're going to have to, you know, stand by your guns, believe in yourself, stay true to yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: President Trump has ordered that the American flag be lowered throughout the country for one week in honor of Dolly Parton. He posted the order on Truth Social, where he called Parton's death a true loss for millions of people.

And at exactly 9:25 Eastern Time tonight, New York City honored Dolly by lighting up the Empire State Building with pink sparkly lights, a nod to her iconic song "9 to 5." A statement on social media read, "Dolly was a global cultural icon whose seven decade career reached generations of fans." Her friends and fellow musicians are echoing those statements.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA ETHERIDGE, GRAMMY AND ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING MUSICIAN/ARTIST: She's so sure of herself that she's a woman that feels good. When she did her hair, when she had her makeup on, she loved to feel that way, and she was unapologetic about it. In the last 10 years has navigated these waters of division that we seem to be swimming in. And she just constantly was able to reach across, was beloved by every walk of person internationally.

[00:05:06]

She's -- it's hard to really put into words just what an amazing woman this was on every front.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was so full of light and life and never stopped.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was for everybody and she was an inspiration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She should have run for president. She'd be a shoo in for sure.

MARY DAVIS, RANDY TRAVIS' WIFE: So she just had a way of embracing life and embracing people. And it's not what Dolly got. It's what she built. It's not what she got, but what she gave in life. And for that, we will always be thankful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Joining me now live here on set is Chris Willman, senior music writer and chief music critic at "Variety."

Chris, welcome back to THE STORY IS. You say you first met Dolly some 40 years ago and she flirted with you, right?

CHRIS WILLMAN, SENIOR WRITER AND CHIEF MUSIC CRITIC, VARIETY: Yes. You never forget that. Yes, she was promoting an album she did with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, which is still pretty beloved 40 years later called "Trio." But they separated, the three of them, to go into different rooms with different journalists. And so I am lucky I get Dolly first and she says, you're going to put me in a room alone with this handsome man? And so you immediately melt when you hear something like that even if she tells that to all the boys.

MICHAELSON: Yes, yes. You know, there's the Dolly Parton sort of caricature that she created with the fake hair and the fake everything, right? Who is the real Dolly Parton, the person that you got to see up close?

WILLMAN: I asked her that and she literally said there is no real Dolly Parton. But she was joking, of course. And because she loved being artificial and she loved playing that against the realness of what was in her songwriting and what was that really in her heart. So, you know, it was a two-sided approach to entertainment where, I think, you know, you take some of the self-importance out of you by, you don't let people get a chance to make fun of you when you've already sort of parodied yourself your whole career and people have fallen in love with that.

And somehow she broached that dichotomy. No one thought there was this inexplicable split between the heartfelt Dolly, the almost messianic seeming Dolly at times, and then the mischievous Dolly, who said that everything about her was fake and called herself a big phony when I talked to her. And yet there was nothing phony about her. So -- MICHAELSON: And to that point, I mean, Melissa Etheridge sort of

brought this up, this idea of her universal appeal. You say she's the most beloved entertainer on the planet, right?

WILLMAN: That's my contention. Yes. I've tried to think that over and over. Like, you know, who compares? But you think about even in the history of 20th Century entertainment, you know, Elvis, the Beatles, go back to Charlie Chaplin, go forward to Madonna. There are people who hate them, right? There's no one you could ever meet who -- unless they're just trying to be a contrarian who doesn't like, if not love, Dolly Parton.

MICHAELSON: Why do you think that is?

WILLMAN: It's -- wow. That's so wild to think about, but it was -- first off, I mean, the songs were good at the core of it. Before you have persona, before you have artifice. She was one of the great songwriters of the 20th Century. And when I talked to her, she said if she had to pick just one role in life, singer, actress, performer, she would stick with songwriter. And so songs from "Cut of Many Colors" to "Jolene." Certainly "I Will Always Love You," although that came to be identified as a Whitney song, but those songs are meant so much to people.

But then people -- you didn't have to love country music, but you knew you were seeing something authentic. And, you know, she really turned around the whole idea of country bumpkins and made America sort of fall in love with somebody from the south that I don't know anybody had before or since to that degree. And, you know, and she fit in showbiz circles. You know, she was part of like the Studio 54 scene a little bit when disco and country crossed over and these extravagant gowns.

But at the core of it, I think people loved that she embraced show business. She embraced laughs and humor, but there was something really, not melancholy, but something deeply felt and maybe even like a little wound there that she was always healing through all this.

MICHAELSON: Well, and she clearly cared about issues, right? And the work she did with the books. Unbelievable. 300 million books. But yet she found a way to not get into the partisan political divide, you know, endorsing a candidate in a time when so many people are tribal.

[00:10:06]

I mean, you have a day where the Democratic Socialists of America and President Trump are both putting out statements about Dolly Parton. That would happen for almost nobody else on the planet. The way she was able to navigate that divide for 50 years is crazy.

WILLMAN: Yes. I mean, you know, Donald Trump's tweet today on Truth Social, that will probably be the one Truth Social that everyone in America will agree with during his entire time he's alive.

MICHAELSON: Right. WILLMAN: And no one will argue with the half-mast flag order that he

did. And yes, it is completely unusual. And sometimes I saw people, you know, I would always look at social media and like, you know, she did a theme for a trans themed movie not that many years ago. And I remember seeing some tweets and things like, oh, is Dolly woke? Well, maybe she's a little woke, but it's OK, you know?

And of course, the LGBTQ Plus community loved her, but so did the farthest right rednecks in the world. And if they suspected that maybe she was too inclusive for their taste, they were willing to forgive her.

MICHAELSON: Give her a pass for that. Well, what a legacy.

Chris, thank you so much for coming in to talk about it. You can check out more of your writing about this at Variety.com.

Earlier tonight, I met with composer and Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins and the L.A. Philharmonics' outgoing music director Gustavo Dudamel. We were set up to talk about their collaboration on Hopkins' debut orchestral album, "Life is a Dream." We'll have more of that conversation later on this week, but right now we want to bring you their thoughts on the passing of Dolly Parton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY HOPKINS, OSCAR-WINNING ACTOR: Very sad force of nature. I met her just briefly once some years ago, and she was extraordinary.

GUSTAVO DUDAMEL, MUSIC DIRECTOR, LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONICS: She brought the identity of the great music that she made. You know? It was not only for this country. I think she was a reference all around the world, you know, and yes, it's a big loss. But at the same time, we have her spirit, you know, and her artistry eternally with us.

MICHAELSON: What an amazing songwriter.

HOPKINS: Oh, she's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. And then she wrote that song that Whitney Houston --

MICHAELSON: "I Will Always Love You."

HOPKINS: "I Will Always Love You." Beautiful stuff. Great spirit, great energy.

MICHAELSON: I mean, obviously a different kind of music than a lot of what you've done. But did you find her inspiring?

DUDAMEL: Always, always. You know, for me, for me, music is one, you know, and really, I really enjoy, I don't have this kind of walls, this kind of barriers between music. I really enjoy what I listen and I appreciate because there is a creation, there is an effort, there is a talent behind all of that. And Dolly Parton, you know, is a reference artistically for all music.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAELSON: Our thanks to them.

Our other big story tonight, it is election night in America and CNN projects the new U.S. senator from South Carolina, Darline Graham, will advance to the general election in November. She will defeat Congressmember Ralph Norman in the Republican Senate runoff. Graham has held the seat for only about six weeks, appointed after the death of her brother, longtime senator Lindsey Graham.

Darline Graham will face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews in November. You can see the total there. The race is pretty close. Graham up 52.5 to 47.5. But you got to get more than 50 percent. She is over that threshold and she is going to have the chance to be the next senator from South Carolina. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DARLINE GRAHAM (R-SC): I want to thank President Trump for all of his support and his endorsement. Mister President, Lindsey truly loved you and viewed you as one of his closest friends. I appreciate that bond and appreciate all that you've done for our country. Our victory would not have been possible without you, and we are truly grateful.

South Carolina is truly Trump country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: The power of President Trump's endorsement on display there in South Carolina. We will talk about that and the day's other political headlines with our panel Adam Mockler, Katie Zacharia, coming up in a little bit. Plus more on the life and legacy of the one and only Dolly Parton. A music historian weighs in on how a smoky mountain girl became one of the best-selling artists of all time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:19:16]

MICHAELSON: My favorite four words, election night in America. You see the panel standing by.

THE STORY IS Darline Graham. CNN projecting she will defeat Congressman Ralph Norman in a runoff in South Carolina. Political novice Graham was sworn in last month after the death of her brother, longtime Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

Joining me now for more on all of this is Adam Mockler, who is the host of "The Adam Mockler Show" on the MeidasTouch Network, and former Homeland Security spokesperson Katie Zacharia, who now serves as senior communications advisor for Truth Social and Trump Media and Technology Group.

Welcome back, both of you. All right. As the Republican here, let's let you weigh in on the Republican primary first. Senator Darline Graham. What do you make of this? President Trump put a lot of chips in on this. [00:20:03]

KATIE ZACHARIA, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY SPOKESPERSON: Absolutely.

MICHAELSON: Seems like a big win for him.

ZACHARIA: Absolutely. Well, the president's endorsement record is unmatched. He has about a 97 percent, 100 percent in the Senate. 98 percent in the House and 80 percent with the governor's race. And I think that's going to even go higher with Darline Graham tonight. And then also the governor's race in Oklahoma.

So, look, I think this was a great win for Darline Graham. I think the president's endorsement made the difference on this race, and I'm looking forward to seeing her win the Senate race, because it's looking like it's an 88 percent, 89 percent chance she'll take South Carolina.

ADAM MOCKLER, HOST OF "THE ADAM MOCKLER SHOW," MEIDASTOUCH NETWORK: You know, when I look at the criteria that I grade politicians by, it's not their last name or whether or not they were endorsed by Trump, it's generally the merits that they've built their career on.

Darline Graham couldn't answer simple questions about China and Taiwan, but because she has Trump's endorsement, you know, they're trying to turn this into this feudal monarchy where just because she's related to Lindsey Graham, she is unqualified for the position.

Can I ask you, do you find it kind of scary that she didn't know basics about China and Taiwan?

ZACHARIA: Well, if we want to go to qualifications, I look at Jon Ossoff, who was a filmmaker and investigative journalist.

MOCKLER: Yes.

ZACHARIA: No prior political experience.

MOCKLER: But he knows about Taiwan. He knows about China.

ZACHARIA: I look at what Raphael Warnock, who had no prior political experience and pastor.

MOCKLER: Do you think he knows about China and Taiwan?

ZACHARIA: I think --

MOCKLER: So can you answer the question?

ZACHARIA: I think Darline Graham will -- look, I lived in China, Beijing, China, the whole situation with China is very important to me, very critical for me. So I trust that Darline Graham will absolutely know exactly what she needs --

(CROSSTALK) MOCKLER: Wait. How do you trust that? She didn't know what she was saying on the debate stage. She will be a rubber stamp for all of Trump's worst impulses on going to war, just like we see with Iran right now. So you seem like you know more about China and Taiwan than a wannabe senator.

ZACHARIA: We're not looking -- as a rubber stamp. I mean, what, for Iran.

MOCKLER: In order to be -- in order to be an effective politician, you need to have a base level of knowledge about what you're talking about and what you're voting on. When Donald Trump has taken us to war with Iran and other countries, it feels like Congress and the War Powers Resolution aren't acting as they should. So if Darline Graham is a part of that Congress, she's not going to invoke the War Powers Resolution.

ZACHARIA: Is it not up to the people of South Carolina to determine whether they think she's fit for office?

MOCKLER: It absolutely is.

ZACHARIA: So they will be voting her.

MICHAELSON: And so why do you think she won?

MOCKLER: I think she won because, number one, name recognition in South Carolina. Number two, Trump's endorsement do carry a lot of weight.

MICHAELSON: He was running against a congressman who'd been there for five terms before.

MOCKLER: But Trump --

MICHAELSON: Who had made a clear point about national security.

MOCKLER: Trump's endorsement --

MICHAELSON: Clearly the voters chose somebody else.

MOCKLER: Trump's endorsement carries a lot of weight, and she was basically anointed as a candidate when the entire Republican apparatus got behind her. She wasn't fighting an uphill battle. She was basically just pushed into the position. Right?

ZACHARIA: But that -- President Trump's endorsement record and his endorsement of Darline Graham and the support of South Carolina voters who voted her in, it's the confluence of the events. It's not --

MOCKLER: No, no, that's great.

ZACHARIA: This isn't a rubber stamp.

MOCKLER: No, no, no.

ZACHARIA: He endorses her and she wins. They actually elected her tonight.

MOCKLER: I'm not saying that. He's a rubber stamp on her. I'm saying that Donald Trump endorsed her so strongly because he knows that when she gets into Congress, when she gets in the Senate, she is going to be a rubber stamp on everything that he does. I mean, how is she going to be able to differentiate between China and Taiwan and a good decision and a bad decision?

MICHAELSON: But the Republican voters in South Carolina had a choice to pick Ralph Norman, who clearly was not going to be a rubber stamp. That's the reason that Donald Trump didn't endorse him.

MOCKLER: Yes, yes.

MICHAELSON: And they chose Darline Graham. So maybe that in itself is democracy.

MOCKLER: Well, the Republicans --

MICHAELSON: That's what they wanted.

MOCKLER: I'm not saying it's anti-democratic. I'm just saying that the Republican voter base is wrapped around Trump's finger. His endorsement carries a lot of weight, and it feels like she was not ready for this position yet she was pushed into it. I mean, we have to admit, not being able to answer a simple question on China and Taiwan is quite alarming. Right?

MICHAELSON: Yes. And, well, and saying that national security is not my thing is not.

MOCKLER: It's a little bit alarming.

MICHAELSON: Not necessarily the thing you want to hear from a senator.

MOCKLER: Just a little bit alarming.

MICHAELSON: Let's talk about what's happening in Texas. A new poll we can put up on the screen. The Senate race there is heating up. New poll shows that Democrat James Talarico, with a narrow lead over Republican Ken Paxton. That gap appears wider among independent voters who were polled, 48 percent said they had an unfavorable view of Paxton, compared to just 14 percent who held an unfavorable view of Talarico.

Adam, if Democrats were able to finally win Texas, which has been the white whale for so long, that probably means they've won the Senate because that means you're probably winning in a lot of other places because this tends to go as a wave. What is the biggest difference between a Democratic Senate and a Republican Senate for the average person?

MOCKLER: We just pointed it out perfectly. The Iran war could have been stopped with a War Powers Resolution after 60 days, and that helps the American people a lot on affordability, on gas prices, knowing that the Strait of Hormuz is open again would be nice. I also think we need a massive anti-corruption push. We need to be investigating some of the corruption happening. For example, Donald Trump is selling early access to his Truth Social for $100,000 a month, where you can get insider information about stocks and the Iran war.

You're the communications adviser for Truth Social. How do you justify that?

ZACHARIA: It's not insider information. It's what other companies are doing. This is a -- this is what competitors are doing.

[00:25:02]

MOCKLER: Well, $100,000 a month is only able for like --

ZACHARIA: It zeroes in the latency. They're not getting -- they're not getting insider trading information. They're getting early access. And this happens on X. This happens with every other competitor. But to the Talarico point, I would love to be able to answer that. I worked on Senator Cruz's Senate race in 2024 and there was a large hysteria. I don't know if you remember that Senator Cruz was going to lose Texas, and he won by eight and a half points.

And I think we're going to see the same thing in this race with Ken Paxton and Talarico. We've had 189 consecutive GOP statewide wins in Texas. The last senator elected to Texas that was a Democrat was in 1988, and the one that was appointed was in, I think, 1993. This is a very -- this is like saying we're going to have a Republican governor as much as I love Steve Hilton in the state of California.

MICHAELSON: Well, but the polls are much closer in Texas --

ZACHARIA: The polls are closer.

MICHAELSON: -- with the Democrats and Republicans than they are here in California.

ZACHARIA: They are closer. And I haven't seen a lot of momentum out of --

MICHAELSON: Much closer.

ZACHARIA: And I will be, to be fair, out of Ken Paxton's race, his Senate campaign. And I think as we get closer to the November election, we will see a little bit more from him. But Texas is a very traditional state, and Talarico has an incredibly high uphill battle.

MICHAELSON: Adam mentioned the stakes, how he sees it in terms of what would a Democratic Senate be. What is a Republican Senate? What's the stakes for you?

ZACHARIA: Well, for me, it's continuing on President Trump's legacy. And if we are very likely going to lose the House, in my opinion, I think we have some chance to win the House. But it's looking at about a 60-40 that we lose it, that the Republicans lose. And I think that the Senate will hold as a safeguard to continue at least being able to not weaponize the entire next two years against President Trump, tied up in impeachment.

I would also like to continue to see deportations. I would love to see President Trump's continuation of the ability to tariff and make America great again.

MOCKLER: I mean, I don't know what the legacy is that you're protecting. Is it like the Iran war that's failing? Is it the Epstein files? Is it the Truth Social that you kind of just dodged away from? The reality is $100,000 is a very high barrier of entry. If you want to have that barrier of entry, you have to already be some sort of firm or have a lot of money. Other platforms aren't selling access to the president's early Truth Social posts, so I don't know what legacy you're defending, but he's going to go down as one of the most corrupt presidents in American history.

ZACHARIA: Trump Media and Technology Group is a publicly traded company with a fiduciary duty to their shareholders. Early access API, which is what you're talking about, is done by all of the competitors. This is not something that the president has done. This is something that the company has done. And that is --

MOCKLER: Which platforms of the competitors has the president on? Like, is the president making announcements on Twitter or on Instagram?

ZACHARIA: All of his Truth Social posts end up on every other single platform.

(CROSSTALK)

MOCKLER: But you get early access.

ZACHARIA: Even CNN.

MICHAELSON: On Truth Social first, right?

MOCKLER: You get early access, you just beat your own argument.

ZACHARIA: You can subscribe like everybody else to early access.

MOCKLER: OK. Thank you. The communications adviser for Truth Social.

MICHAELSON: All right. Well, there's going to be more to talk about in the next hour, including Canadian tariffs and Dolly Parton, which may bring us together. Let's hope so.

But Adam, Katie, thank you both for being here. We appreciate it. We'll have more in our next hour.

More coming up next, though, about Dolly Parton. You know and love Dolly Parton songs, but did you know what inspired her timeless hits? Our Tom Foreman takes us behind the music, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's heartbreaking, and it's sad. And I think individually, I'm heartbroken. But I -- I think collectively everyone feels the same way.

[00:33:23]

AVERY HARRISON, DOLLY PARTON FAN: If America had royalty, you know -- right? -- she would be one of them. It's like losing our Princess Diana.

DEANA CACHORA, DOLLY PARTON FAN: It didn't specifically hit just one genre, and it didn't hit just one generation. She is multi- generational. And for me, it just -- her music speaks volumes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: "Jolene," "9 to 5," "Coat of Many Colors." These global hits not only cemented Dolly Parton's status as an iconic singer songwriter, but they also spoke to her power as a captivating storyteller through music.

But where did that inspiration come from? Tom Foreman has more on the meaning behind her legendary lyrics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOLLY PARTON, SINGER/ACTRESS/PHILANTHROPIST (singing): Want to move ahead, but the boss won't seem to let me. I swear, sometimes that man is out to get me.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before the fame, the philanthropy, the dazzling Dolly-ness of it all, Dolly's songs of working people were everything.

PARTON (singing): Here you come again.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Her lyrics told the tales of their struggles on the job, in the home.

PARTON (singing): Mama never seemed to miss the finer things in life.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And of course, in the heart. Many of her most memorable tunes, including her greatest commercial hit, were about failed relationships.

PARTON (singing): I will always love you.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But there was so much more: songs about jealousy and longing.

[00:35:00]

PARTON (singing): Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, I'm begging of you, please don't take my man.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Songs about poverty and pride. PARTON (singing): My coat of many colors that my mama made for me.

Made only from rags, but I wore it so proudly.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Her message could be tough, too. When white supremacists rose in the news, she took the name "Dixie" off an attraction at her amusement park. She supported LGBTQ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement.

PARTON: Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter?

FOREMAN (voice-over): She promoted reading, access to medical care, education. Her career, life and lyrics were a constant campaign for women's rights.

PARTON (singing): My mistakes are no worse than yours just because I am a woman.

FOREMAN (voice-over): She met Richard Nixon, performed for Jimmy Carter, was honored at the Kennedy Center by George W. Bush, and turned down the Medal of Freedom from both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Through it all, she gently pushed away from any partisan claim to her fame.

PARSON: My joke is that my daddy was a Republican, my Mom was a Democrat, and I'm a hypocrite.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Yet, even in tumultuous times, she embraced all who wanted to join her in the kindness and caring of the Dolly party.

PARTON (singing): But I'm perfectly fine now, and I don't miss you. And the sky is green and the grass is blue.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: The thing she was proudest of was her songwriting.

Of course, Nashville, Tennessee is the country music capital of the world, and fans there are paying tribute to Dolly Parton tonight. Our Shimon Prokupecz is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Nashville, where Dolly meant so much to this city, and this city meant so much to her. This is the city that she really became who she was and who she is.

And many of the people out here who are celebrating for different reasons, and partying, and listening to rock and roll and listening to country music, all had the same thoughts.

They were happy. Happy to talk about Dolly and happy to talk about what she meant to them and their families, and what she meant to the world. Take a listen to what some of them told me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are so blessed to be in her hometown tonight. We feel so blessed to be a part of it. Feels a little closer to Dolly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We used to dance a lot in my Mom and Dad's kitchen, and we danced to Dolly.

She was an icon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My Mom is 91. She sent a family text out. She goes, I don't know of any person on the planet that has given more than Dolly Parton, not just to East Tennessee but to the world.

PROKUPECZ: The celebrations and remembering Dolly here, who was really the queen of country, will continue. Flowers placed outside her home. Other vigils planned for all across the city as people continue to remember Dolly Parton.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Shimon Prokupecz in Nashville.

Joining me live right now from Nashville is music historian Don Cusic.

Don, thanks so much for being with us. You actually wrote the liner notes for Dolly for her record, "All I Can Do." What was that experience like?

DON CUSIC, MUSIC HISTORIAN: Well, it was a -- it was just a novel idea I had at the time. And, you know, it starts out, I've spent a lot of nights alone with Dolly Parton, and it talks about listening to her music alone.

The idea came when I was sitting alone, listening to a Dolly Parton album. And, so I wrote it up, sent it to Joe Galante at RCA, and he sent it on. I think he sent it to Porter. And Dolly read it, and they both said, Yes, let's run with it.

MICHAELSON: I know you had an opportunity to interact with her many times, including her thanking you for doing that liner note. And you said every time you'd be with her, she was just Dolly. What do you mean by that?

CUSIC: She was what she was. I mean, she became what she wanted to be. She had a sparkle, and she became a star. That's what she wanted to be.

I mean, in a world of hills and valleys, she was a mountain. And she was -- you know, it's hard to say. She was just who she is, but she had a serious -- if you wanted to see her serious side, ask about her songs. And when you talk about her songs, I haven't heard anybody mention "Wildflowers." That's her life story, laid right out, as clear as you can get.

[00:40:03]

MICHAELSON: Mmm. And in terms of -- you also said that, in her early days, when you were first working with her, when -- including on her first album ever, her voice was not necessarily the typical voice that record executives were used to. How so?

CUSIC: Right. Well, she was -- now, I was not working with her. I was working for a record label. And she had left by the time I got there. It was Monument Records.

And her voice was penetrating, let's say. She was 20 years old, and that voice wasn't as mature as it was going to get later on. And as it got, as time went on, her voice became more commercial. And that's -- I think, I think people saw that it was kind of hard for radio to get her on the air at first.

MICHAELSON: As a historian of music who lives in Nashville, what is Dolly Parton's legacy in, like, a sentence or two?

CUSIC: Her legacy really is the -- is the children's books.

In terms of music, she's got a legacy there, certainly. But, you know, it's the things she did outside of music, which music made possible.

Like I said, it was -- she was -- she -- she had a sparkle to her. And people will -- you know, sparkle -- sparkles don't last forever, but I think they will with Dolly.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

CUSIC: She -- I mean, Nashville is just in disbelief, because we never thought she would die.

MICHAELSON: Yes, and not a lot of warning either. Her people didn't want to even see the warning signs, even if they were out there.

Don Cusic, thanks for sharing --

CUSIC: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- your perspective. Really appreciate it. Send our love to everybody in Nashville.

CUSIC: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: President Trump --

CUSIC: Will do.

MICHAELSON: -- is taking his trade war with Canada to a new level by threatening to change the name of Lake Ontario.

CUSIC: Thanks.

MICHAELSON: We'll have the latest on that story ahead.

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[00:46:57]

MICHAELSON: Canada is releasing details about its retaliatory tariffs against the United States, which are set to take effect on September 8.

The duties, which come in response to the 50 percent tariffs the Trump administration slapped on Canada, will cover roughly 6 percent of the goods that the U.S. exports to Canada.

They'll include U.S. steel and aluminum, paper products, and home appliances, among other items.

CNN's Maddie Gannon has more on the tit-for-tat and how the U.S. is responding.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MADDIE GANNON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rhetoric between the U.S. and Canada over this bubbling trade war has rapidly accelerated over the last 24 hours, and it appears the back and forth in jabs and tariffs is just getting started.

GANNON (voice-over): President Donald Trump escalated his criticisms with a series of posts on Truth Social Tuesday morning that started with the post of Trump saying that the U.S. was seriously considering seeking to rename Lake Ontario "Lake America," followed by a map with the name change.

Trump went on to call Canada the most difficult and unreasonable country to work with and accused it of ripping off the U.S. for decades.

GANNON: That's despite his administration working out a new trade deal between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico during Trump's first term.

In response, the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, accused Trump Tuesday of wanting to hurt Americans with new tariffs on Canada.

DOUG FORD, PREMIER OF ONTARIO: President Trump needs to take a couple pages out of Ronald Reagan's book that was dead against tariffs. It just hurts any country when you put tariffs on Canada, especially your No. 1 customer in the entire world.

GANNON (voice-over): Canada is one of America's top trading partners. But the latest trade war was sparked when talks over tariffs fell apart late last week.

As a result, the U.S. allowed new 50 percent tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods to take effect. Trump is now also threatening new 50 percent tariffs on Canadian trucks, cars, and more in the new year.

For Canada's part, officials Tuesday unveiled new dollar-for-dollar tariffs against the U.S. --

GANNON: -- set to take effect September 8, in response. The tariffs range from 15 percent to 50 percent and target over 700 American goods.

At the White House, I'm Maddie Gannon. (END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Marco Mendicino is a former Canadian cabinet minister and former chief of staff to the prime minister, Mark Carney. He's now senior counsel at Cassels Law Firm. He joins us live from Toronto.

Marco, welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.

MARCO MENDICINO, SENIOR COUNSEL, CASSELS: Thanks very much for having me, Elex.

MICHAELSON: So, you know, Mark Carney as well as anybody. You know how this works behind the scenes. What's going on with him behind the scenes? Is he bluffing here?

MENDICINO: No. And he's smart, steady, very strategic. And he's got a professional career dedicated to understanding the economy and how money works.

And I think that's one of the reasons why there's a mutual respect between Mr. Carney and President Trump, something that I saw firsthand when I was with him at the Oval Office for those first bilateral meetings.

[00:50:09]

So, notwithstanding the fact that we are in this escalation -- which is very reluctant on our part, as you pointed out, off the top, a direct response I might add, to the 50 percent tariffs that the United States imposed on Canada on key sectors -- there is mutual respect there.

I would just offer three very quick points to American viewers. Canada is the United States' best customer. We do over $750 billion in two- way trade each year. In 2025, American businesses sold to Canada over $426 billion in goods and services. That's over $1.1 billion each and every day.

No. 2, I mean according to the U.S. Federal Reserve, higher tariffs do tend to lead to higher costs in the United States. And I'll put out one very important example, which directly bears on these negotiations. And that's auto.

Let's say, for simplicity's purposes, that Canada and the United States built roughly 1 million cars every day. Since last year, U.S. auto makers have had to pay out over 100 billion -- $180 billion in U.S. tariffs.

What is the consequence of that? You have seen a 30 percent decline in U.S. auto sales to Canada. You have seen a 7 to $8 billion loss to the auto sector.

And that is a tax on one of the great backbones of both of our manufacturing sectors.

And the last thing I would just say -- MICHAELSON: Yes.

MENDICINO: -- is that Canadians are obviously standing up, you know, for our workers. And that's one of the reasons, again, why we're in this escalation.

But we don't want Americans to pay higher costs at the grocery store, or for their cars, or for their energy, or for anything else. And that's why we do hope that, eventually, we'll be able to get back to the table.

MICHAELSON: Take us inside the room at the Oval Office meeting between Trump and Carney, how that maybe informs where you think this goes from here, too.

MENDICINO: Well, the first thing I want to say is -- I'll come back to President Trump and Mr. Carney -- that having worked with the negotiating teams on both sides. I mean, I know Minister Dominic LeBlanc very well, having worked with him as a colleague for many years. And Janice Charette, who was the chief negotiator for -- for Canada, who was a former clerk of the Privy Council. I mean, that's the head of the public service in the Canadian government. They're very principled and I know that they worked hard.

I also had -- have had the opportunity to meet many of the senior staff of President Trump's administration, including Susie Wiles, and Jamieson Greer, and Secretary Lutnick.

And, you know, look, there is mutual respect there. There's no doubt that there was a lot of effort to try to get a deal done. And I do think that we were trending in a positive direction.

The problem was, as we got to the 11th hour, there were some changes in the positions. That's been reported on. And at the end of the day, Canada assessed that there was not a mutually beneficial agreement that we could sign.

And this takes me back to the dynamic between President Trump and Mr. Carney. I think that that respect is underpinned by their experience in the private sector, their understanding of the business, and how markets work.

And I have to think that, aside from the rhetoric -- and I've seen it and, you know, you report on it that through that the silver lining is that -- that we'll be able to come back to the table and get a deal.

And at the end of the day, this should be a win-win. I mean, NAFTA and its successor, in CUSMA, or what you call the USMCA, has produced millions of jobs, billions, if not more trillions in GDP and prosperity. And that is something worth fighting for, for both of our countries.

MICHAELSON: Well, let's hope that we can get a deal, because if we don't, it just means higher prices for all of us that have to buy stuff.

Marco Mendicino, thank you so much for joining us live from Toronto. Appreciate it.

MENDICINO: Thanks very much for having me.

MICHAELSON: Still ahead, more on the many tributes pouring in for Dolly Parton, who died on Tuesday. We'll look at the life and legacy of the beloved trailblazing music legend. We'll talk to more people who knew her. Some great stories.

But we go to break with live pictures right now from Hollywood. We will hopefully get those later. We'll go to break, and we'll be back with more right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:59:18]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's the American dream. I mean, look where -- look where she started. And she worked hard and believed in herself and what America could do. And she was amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Thanks for watching the first hour of THE STORY IS. The next hour continues with more continuous coverage of the loss of Dolly Parton.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.

MICHAELSON: Top of the hour. I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles. Tonight we are following two big stories. American icon Dolly Parton has passed away, leaving behind a legacy of music, humanitarianism, and so much love. Why she's being remembered as one of America's best.

Plus, President Trump's pick, the late senator Lindsey.