People gather at the statue depicting Dolly Parton in Sevierville, Tenn., her hometown, to mourn her death on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. As the nation mourned the singer-songwriter’s death on Tuesday, the grief was perhaps the most profound in Tennessee. (Will Crooks/The New York Times) By EMILY COCHRANE Before she became a country music icon, Dolly Parton belonged to Tennessee. Her rise to fame started, of course, with her music: an album cover featuring the view from an easter

Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.), right, takes a photo with supporters during a campaign rally in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Aug. 21, 2026. Graham won the Republican Senate nomination in South Carolina on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, relying on the strength of President Donald Trump’s political capital to overcome her inexperience as a first-time candidate in a special primary runoff. (Alex Kent/The New York Times) By PATRICIA MAZZEI Sen. Darline Graham won the Republican Senate nominatio

Utility workers repair power lines as the sun sets in Gary, Ind., Aug. 22, 2026. Gov. Mike Braun of Indiana called for an investigation into the regional power utility on Monday, Aug. 24, after households in Gary and other cities have been left without power for nearly two weeks after a storm. (Jamie Kelter Davis/The New York Times) By JULIE BOSMAN and KIM BELLWARE Gov. Mike Braun of Indiana called for an investigation into the regional power utility earlier this week after h

The United States Postal Service headquarters in Washington, April 6, 2026. The quiet attempt to restructure the leadership of the Postal Service comes as President Trump and his allies are trying to transform the 251-year-old agency into a central player in their quest to overhaul the nation’s elections. (Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times) By ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, ADAM SELLA and NICK CORASANITI Four weeks before President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to res

An aerial view of Manley Hot Springs, Alaska, July 23, 2026. Diesel generators produce the electricity for small towns and hamlets like Manley Hot Springs, Alaska. Prices are soaring with no end in sight. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times) By ANNA GRIFFIN One hundred miles south of the Arctic Circle, at the end of the Elliott Highway in the center of Alaska, Sabie Jervsjo has done everything she can to lower her energy bills. She replaced the incandescent light bulbs in her Ma

State Rep. Angie Nixon, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, campaigns in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. Nixon, a state lawmaker from Jacksonville, shocked Democrats in red Florida by soundly defeating her centrist primary opponent. Now comes the hard part. (Saúl Martínez/The New York Times) By PATRICIA MAZZEI Florida, of all places, just became the stage where Democrats will act out their national existential drama dividing the insurgent left and pra

Hundreds of people line up for donated food in Gary, Ind., Aug. 22, 2026. About 30,000 customers across northern Indiana were still without electricity on Saturday evening, nearly two weeks after thunderstorms flooded neighborhoods and pummeled the region with hurricane-force winds. (Jamie Kelter Davis/The New York Times ) By ROBERT CHIARITO, JACK HEALY and AMY GRAFF It was Day 11 without power in Gary, Indiana, and Pierre Ervin was beyond fed up. He could not eat breakfast i

Jonas Julien, fitted with an ankle monitor, gets help from Betsy Director, a volunteer, to fill out a form asking a judge to authorize removal of the device in Springfield, Ohio on Aug. 19, 2026. Following the termination of a legal protection called Temporary Protected Status that allowed 330,000 Haitians to live and work in the United States, the Trump administration has launched an aggressive electronic monitoring campaign centered on the small city. (Maddie McGarvey/The N

A destroyed home after the Palisades fire in Los Angeles, Jan. 19, 2025. The man accused of setting the blaze that later turned deadly in the Pacific Palisades is now readying for a new prosecution after a previous effort in June failed. (Philip Cheung/The New York Times) By MAIA SPOTO and VIK JOLLY A 30-year-old man accused of starting one of the most destructive fires in California history pleaded not guilty earlier this week after federal prosecutors recast the charges aga

By MICHAEL LEVENSON A driver was charged with vehicular homicide Wednesday after officials said he struck members of a college cycling team, killing two, as they were training on a mountain highway in northeast Tennessee. The crash happened around 9 a.m., when the driver of a passenger car struck members of the Milligan University cycling team on Highway 19 near Simerly Creek Road in Carter County, Tennessee, officials said. Milligan University, a Christian school in Milligan