Reba McEntire has revealed that she missed a final phone call from her friend Dolly Parton just weeks before the country music icon died.

Parton, the legendary singer behind “Jolene,” died at 80 on August 25 after privately battling cancer.

“She did call me the last of July, and I was in a meeting and I missed her call,” the 71-year-old actress and country star told Entertainment Tonight.

McEntire said she attempted to return the call but was never able to reach Parton. “And then when my buddy called me and said, ‘Dolly’s gone,’ I thought, ‘I’ll never know why she called me.’”

The “Reba” star added, “I’ll find out one day. What a blessing she was for all of us.”

The Daily Mail has contacted McEntire’s representatives for comment but has not received a response.

Following news of Parton’s death, McEntire paid tribute to her longtime friend in an emotional Instagram post celebrating her life and legacy.

“Well, I just got the news that my buddy Dolly passed onto the higher and greater side,” she wrote.

“Dolly, thank you for all the wonderful things you did for us here on earth. Your love, your music and you gave so much with your huge huge heart.”

McEntire continued, “There will never ever be another you. We will remember and cherish every memory and every note you ever played and sang.”

“Thank you, Lord, for Dolly. She’s gonna have a blast in heaven singing all her favorite songs with all her family and friends who have gone on before her.”

The actress concluded by writing that she would “never forget the first time I met you and I’ll never forget our last conversation. I hold it with love in my heart. I will always love you, Reba.”

Earlier this month, McEntire joined a special tribute to Parton during the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards.

She appeared onstage to perform Parton’s 1983 song “Appalachian Memories” as part of the ceremony’s heartfelt tribute.

An orchestra accompanied McEntire throughout the emotional performance.

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McEntire later took to Instagram to reflect on taking part in the tribute and wrote, ‘I will always love and miss you, Dolly. What an honor to celebrate @DollyParton tonight.’ 

Fans had jumped to X to share their thoughts on Parton’s tribute during the 2026 Emmys, with one penning, ‘The Emmys Dolly Parton section..my heart can’t take it I can’t believe she’s actually gone:((.’

‘#Emmys Reba sounded great paying tribute to Dolly Parton,’ another wrote, and a fan added, ‘Did that #Emmys tribute to Dolly make me cry? Yes. Yes it did.’

Parton passed away at the age of 80 last month on August 25, and her death was confirmed by her nephew Bryan Seaver in an Instagram video. 

Her passing took place after being admitted to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center with autoimmune and kidney problems, according to TMZ.

Parton’s representatives soon revealed she died following a ‘brief battle with cancer’ in a statement to People.

‘Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched,’ the statement read.

‘After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.’

Parton’s sister Stella revealed that the singer had kept her cancer diagnosis hidden from ‘a lot of her family.’ 

She explained that ‘Dolly could not bear negative things and she would not have wanted her fans worried about it,’ during an interview on CBS Mornings with Gayle King. 

Stella further stated that Parton ‘didn’t want a lot of family worried about it’ before sharing that ‘some of us knew, the ones of us that were closer.’ 

The music artist’s sister expressed that Parton ‘did not want people sad and she did not want people worried. 

‘She’d be really happy and delighted that people have shown her so much love because she knew that that would make us feel better as her family.’ 

Stella had reflected on her sister’s positivity and kindness towards others amid her health battle. 

‘What the world saw is exactly who she was, so much so, she told me recently that if there was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future,’ Stella wrote on Facebook.

The Islanders’ final unanswered question involving their forward group was which wingers would play alongside Casey Cizikas. Saturday’s preseason finale offered a strong indication that the answer is now clear.

Earlier in the day, the Islanders placed Mitchell Chaffee on waivers. That left Ondrej Palat and Anthony Duclair on the lineup card for the exhibition matchup with the Devils.

The 11-forward, seven-defenseman setup led to some shifting combinations, but Palat and Duclair appear positioned to join Cizikas on the fourth line for Wednesday night’s season opener in Toronto. Kyle MacLean is expected to serve as the extra forward.

On paper, the trio offers a mix of contrasting styles. Cizikas is a direct, physical straight-line player, Duclair brings speed and offensive creativity, while the 35-year-old Palat is looking to rediscover the form that made him a key contributor during the Lightning’s Stanley Cup runs.

“We all bring something different to the table, which is nice, and it’s a lot about communication,” Cizikas said before Saturday’s exhibition. “It’s a lot about understanding each other and each other’s games.”

With coach Pete DeBoer searching for the secondary scoring the Islanders lacked last season, the combination could give the team one of its most dangerous fourth lines in years. Duclair has yet to produce consistently since joining the Islanders in 2024, but his history of 20-goal seasons remains a source of optimism.

“He’s got a nose for the net and he’s as slick as anybody with that puck,” Cizikas said. “So we’re gonna try to do everything we can to get him the puck and get him in positions where he’s able to get an opportunity.”

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The Islanders finished their preseason finale with 11 forwards and seven defensemen after Matthew Schaefer and Brayden Schenn were held out. DeBoer described Schaefer’s issue as an upper-body “tweak” and Schenn’s as a lower-body one.

DeBoer said neither injury is expected to affect Wednesday’s opener, emphasizing that both players were kept out as a precaution.

Mathew Barzal remains day to day with a left kneecap injury. DeBoer did not say whether the Islanders center has resumed skating.

The Islanders also made several roster moves before Saturday’s game, assigning Alex Jefferies, Josh Kotai, Daniil Prokhorov, Matthew Highmore and Marshall Warren to AHL Hamilton. Mitchell Chaffee, Pierre Engvall, Liam Foudy, Daylan Kuefler and Matt Luff were placed on waivers.

With Engvall assigned to Hamilton, his salary-cap charge drops from $3 million to $1.775 million.

A video showing Israel’s U.N. ambassador offering a Starlink device to an Iranian representative has generated roughly 9 million views on social media. Analytics shared with News Media indicate that viewers in Iran made up nearly 40% of the video’s Instagram audience.

A spokesperson for Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said the office was caught off guard by the clip’s popularity in Iran, noting that Israeli diplomatic accounts rarely attract such a large Iranian audience.

“We couldn’t imagine to be the popular,” the representative said while discussing the video’s reach in Iran.

The exchange followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly. During the address, Netanyahu held up a Starlink device as part of a message directed at the people of Iran.

Danon’s representative said Netanyahu had incorporated the device into his prepared remarks and later instructed that it be presented to Iran’s delegation. Danon subsequently approached an Iranian representative with the Starlink device, an interaction recorded on video.

The Iranian official refused the offer.

Danon later uploaded the footage to social media, where it rapidly attracted widespread attention.

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Instagram data shared with News Media show that Iran accounted for 39.9% of the video’s viewers, the highest percentage of any country. Viewers in the United States represented 14.3%, followed by Israel with 12.6%, Canada with 5.9% and Germany with 4.1%.

Danon’s office said the size of the Iranian audience was especially notable because the Starlink gesture was intended to convey a message of freedom and freedom of expression to the Iranian people.

At the same time, Danon’s office said a separate social media narrative began gaining momentum as the Starlink video circulated.

According to the representative, accounts believed to be based in Iran began sharing an older video showing former Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan being escorted out of the General Assembly during a protest involving then-Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

The footage was recorded in September 2023, when Erdan entered the General Assembly holding a photograph of Mahsa Amini as Raisi delivered his speech.

One post that resurfaced the archival footage in recent hours has received hundreds of thousands of views, while presenting the incident as though it were a current clash involving Israel’s ambassador to the U.N.

Danon’s spokesperson described the renewed sharing of the clip as a “disinformation campaign” designed to divert attention from the ambassador’s viral Starlink encounter.

“From our perspective, the Danon video moved something in Iran,” the representative told News Media, alleging that Iran’s government was trying to “change the story.”

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Colin Simmons would not face extreme punishment for his vulgar celebration in front of President Donald Trump, insisting: “I’m not going to give the guy the death penalty over an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.”

Trump attended the SEC showdown at Neyland Stadium after making a dramatic arrival aboard Air Force One, which was greeted by loud cheers from the crowd.

However, the atmosphere shifted when Simmons burst into the backfield and sacked Faizon Brandon on third down, a play that should have left Tennessee facing fourth-and-29.

Instead, the Texas sophomore stood over Brandon and mimicked urinating on the field. The celebration immediately prompted the officials to throw a yellow flag.

The referee then announced over the stadium loudspeaker that Simmons had been penalized for “simulating using the restroom,” wiping out the defensive stop.

The incident sparked an immediate backlash during the ABC broadcast, with Kirk Herbstreit strongly criticizing Simmons alongside play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler.

Herbstreit described the move as “absolutely idiotic,” while Fowler agreed, saying: “It doesn’t get much more vulgar, either.”

Although Sarkisian said the offense did not warrant capital punishment, he made clear that Simmons had been warned such behavior could not continue for the remainder of the season.

“We gotta fix it, though, right?” Sarkisian said. “That can’t continue as we move forward.”

“Can’t happen. That’s a bad football play. We had harped and talked about not getting emotional with the crowd, and that was the emotional play.”

“We had a couple others that were close, too. We had a real talk about it at halftime, about how we needed to play the second half, and we needed to celebrate with one another.”

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Sarkisian said the coaching staff removed Simmons from the game, addressed the issue with him and then sent him back onto the field. The defender responded with a dominant performance, sacking the Tennessee quarterback five times.

“But five sacks was pretty cool,” Sarkisian added.

Simmons later apologized to reporters, saying: “I apologize for the celebration. I was definitely in that mode, feeling myself. It happens.”

Sarkisian also suggested that broader social trends had influenced Simmons’ decision to make the vulgar gesture as he expanded on his criticism.

“Unfortunately, in our society right now, we live in the ‘look at me’ society,” Sarkisian said. “All of you guys have your Twitter accounts, and as fast as you can type something because you want everyone to look at your account, and you get clicks.”

‘Well, that’s the world that we live in. So we’ve got to get to – it’s about the team and focus on the team, and not so much ‘look at me.’ So we’ll try to improve upon that.’ 

The game went down to the final play as Texas held on while Simmons’ antics went viral online in the aftermath. 

Teammate Justin Cryer saw the incident unfold having also been right on the scene from his position at linebacker. 

‘I tried to run over there and grab him,’ Cryer said. ‘I seen where it was going, and I tried to go grab him before we got a penalty, but it was too late. 

‘After the play, I just told him, ‘Look, man, we got to just keep our head.’ I know he’s having fun, he’s excited, but at the end of the day, we don’t want to let those plays, those penalties, dictate how the game’s going to go.’

Texas is now 4-0 after handing Tennessee their first loss of the season. The Longhorns head to rivals Oklahoma in Week 6 on October 10 after a bye week.  

USC dealt Oregon a crushing blow before halftime Saturday, knocking Ducks quarterback Dante Moore out of the game on a controversial hit.

As Oregon rallied around its injured teammate in an increasingly heated atmosphere at the Coliseum, the Ducks produced a response that changed the game.

In the process, they may have delivered a major setback to USC’s hopes of putting together a special season.

With backup quarterback Dylan Raiola leading an offense that became nearly unstoppable after halftime, No. 20 Oregon defeated No. 12 USC, 41-27, in front of a season-high crowd of 75,500. The Coliseum emptied noticeably during the final minutes.

Raiola stole the spotlight from USC starter Jayden Maiava, guiding Oregon to scoring drives that produced 34 points over a little more than a half.

After the Trojans tied the game early in the fourth quarter, Raiola found Dakorien Moore in the front corner of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown. USC cornerback Elbert Hill IV closed too late on the play.

Unable to slow Oregon, USC gambled on fourth down near midfield on its next possession. Maiava’s pass for Zacharyus Williams fell incomplete after being broken up, turning the ball over on downs with 7 minutes, 15 seconds remaining.

Oregon answered by converting a fourth down of its own near midfield, extending the drive and draining valuable time. Jordan Davison later took a pitch and was pushed into the end zone by his teammates on a 2-yard run with 1:55 left, putting the Ducks (3-1 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) in position to secure their fifth straight win over the Trojans (4-1, 1-1).

For USC coach Lincoln Riley, the loss represented a stunning failure in a defining moment. After four frustrating seasons that ended without a College Football Playoff appearance, Riley needed to show that he merited the program’s massive investment and considerable patience.

The result also strengthened the growing belief that Riley has been unable to match Oregon coach Dan Lanning, who has now won all three meetings between the two coaches.

Riley will face difficult questions about the direction of his team, a defense that surrendered 504 yards and the way USC players handled the situation surrounding Moore’s injury.

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In a disturbing moment late in the first half, the rivalry between Oregon and USC intensified dramatically.

Moore escaped the pass rush and sprinted beyond the USC 15-yard line before attempting to protect himself by sliding.

Instead, Trojans linebacker Desman Stephens II delivered a jarring forearm to Moore’s head, triggering a chaotic confrontation on the field.

Moore remained motionless as several flags flew, while players exchanged words and shoved one another. Assistant coaches stepped between the teams during the heated scrum. The situation grew even more contentious when Stephens appeared to gloat on the sideline alongside teammates who celebrated the hit.

Stephens was penalized for targeting and ejected, with USC leading 7-3 at the time. Officials also assessed offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties to both teams.

Following a lengthy delay, medical personnel placed Moore on a stretcher and carried him from the field before he was taken to an ambulance at the bottom of the tunnel. The stunned crowd applauded. Raiola entered in relief — the same quarterback whose season ended last year while playing for Nebraska after he suffered a right ankle injury against USC.

Raiola’s first pass was a 3-yard touchdown, giving Oregon a 10-7 advantage.

He completed 19 of 25 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. Maiava finished 23 of 42 for 326 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw an interception in the end zone with four seconds remaining.

With Penn State, Ohio State, Indiana and a surging UCLA still on the schedule, the defeat leaves USC with little room for error before the end of September.

The cheer that could be heard in the final seconds said it all.

“Let’s go Ducks!”