Dolly Parton Never Lost Sight of Her Appalachian Roots. The People Loved Her for It.

Good morning, and thank you for joining me here with The Morning Brief.

I'm Keegan Billings with The Epoch Times, one of America's largest independent newspapers.

Now, today is Thursday, August 27th.

And like always, I'm going to start with a quick rundown of some of our top stories.

Starting off with the tribute to Dolly Parton, she stood just five feet nothing, yet her music towered over America's country scene for six decades.

As word of the death of the iconic singer, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman circulated, tributes poured in from across the country and beyond as flags were flown at half staff.

In more news, President Trump declared a national emergency August 26th.

That's to secure the national power grid.

He cited unusual and extraordinary foreign cyber and security threats.

Next, in a move that may send ripples through the tech industry for years to come, meta platforms reached a historic multi-billion dollar settlement with 47 states, territories, and the District of Columbia.

With that, Meta is agreeing to overhaul its services after accusations of endangering and addicting children.

Next, a federal judge in Texas said he will not compel the state to turn over an immigration agent whose extradition was sought by Minnesota AG Keith Ellison.

And last, in a very unfortunate sad event, at least 160 people have been reported dead and hundreds remain missing after a wall of water, mud, and rock tore through the Nepal-Tibet border region.