Morning Brew Daily: Dolly Parton Dies at 80, NFL CTE Study, and the AI Writing Debate

Dolly Parton, the best-selling female country music artist of all time, died yesterday at age 80, triggering tributes from Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Eminem, Jeff Bezos, President Trump, and the Democratic Socialists of America — a testament to her uniquely universal appeal. A UMass poll earlier this year found 70% of Americans held a favorable view of Parton, making her twice as popular as Taylor Swift. She rose from poverty in Tennessee to sell more than 160 million albums worldwide, built Dollywood, delivered more than 200 million books to children through her Imagination Library, gave $1 million to Moderna's COVID vaccine research, and created a bald eagle sanctuary. Parton left behind an unreleased final song called "My Place in History," stored in a wooden box at Dollywood that will be opened on her 100th birthday in 2046. A viral letter she wrote to Eminem after his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction resurfaced, in which she told him: "I have always felt some unexplained connection to you. Like I know you somehow. Keep doing what you're doing because you do it so well."

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