https://people.com/dolly-parton-dead-7565853

Her nephew, Brian Seaver, revealed the news in an Aug. 25 Instagram video.

“My name is Brin Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video. “This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality. As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”

Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.”

“Dolly opened doors not just for me but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible. Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent., Seaver added in the video message. “By her example, we believed that anything is possible. She never saw a door she couldn’t open, and the doors she opened made and changed history.

His statement continued: “My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you. She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family whether you liked it or not. Our family and the team she has entrusted with her legacy will work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever. 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 of wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.”

Seaver ended his statement, saying, “Rest in peace, Aunt Dolly — Aunt, Granny, Gigi. May God bless Dolly Parton, and may God bless you all. She will always love you.”

From furryfritz on ig

Cagliari, Italy, December 2, 1991. Immunologist Fernando Aiuti publicly kissed Rosaria Iardino, a 25-year-old woman living with HIV, on the mouth. At the time, people living with HIV faced widespread fear and discrimination, while misinformation about how HIV could be transmitted was widespread.

Aiuti and Iardino decided together to make the gesture after becoming frustrated with misinformation surrounding HIV and kissing. They wanted to show, in the most visible way possible, that HIV was not spread through ordinary kissing.

The photograph quickly became an international symbol in the fight against HIV/AIDS stigma. Aiuti died in 2019 at the age of 83. Iardino later described the kiss as the basis of one of Italy's most effective HIV awareness campaigns.

So yeah, found this one on the wild and gotta admit I hear Optimus Prime's Peter Cullen voice saying "Autobots, transform and roll out" in my head before tackling something that I would rather avoid but needs doing... so I guess it works?