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Dolly Parton returned to Dollywood on Friday to kick off the park’s 41st season, reassuring fans about her health while celebrating a major milestone year for both the park and the country.Parton said she has recently stepped back from touring to focus on her health and personal life, but emphasized she remains energized about the future."I have not been touring, as you know," Parton said. "I’ve had a few little health issues, and we’re taking good care of them… I just kind of got worn down and worn out, grieving over Carl and a lot of other little things going on. I just got myself kind of where I needed to build myself back up spiritually, emotionally and physically. But all is good. It didn’t slow me down."DOLLY PARTON $650M EMPIRE: FROM HUMBLE ROOTS TO QUEEN OF COUNTRY MUSIC, MOVIES AND NOW MAKEUPParton also addressed rumors about her personal life, saying she does not plan to remarry following the death of her husband, Carl Dean."Well, I know there’s a lot of rumors going around, but I did not marry Sylvester Stallone," she joked. "And I am not dating anybody. I’m not married. I don’t think I’ll ever be married but once. I think Carl Dean’s waiting for me on the other side."The beloved country music icon appeared at the park as Dollywood launches its new season with celebrations tied to America’s upcoming 250th anniversary, including patriotic décor, new entertainment and demonstrations of traditional Appalachian craftsmanship.DOLLY PARTON SHARES THE ONE PART OF HER BUSINESS EMPIRE THAT SHE'S 'REALLY, REALLY PROUD OF'Park officials say the heritage of the Smoky Mountains remains central to the experience."Here we are in the middle of God’s country," Eugene Naughton, president of The Dollywood Company, told FOX Business. "The love of the Smoky Mountains is one of the things that locks people into wanting to come here, and we’re fortunate to have the No. 1 visited national park just 6 miles away."Dollywood is also unveiling a major new attraction this season, the $50 million indoor adventure coaster NightFlight Expedition, inspired by the bioluminescent synchronous fireflies that light up the Smoky Mountains each summer.The park, ranked Tripadvisor’s No. 1 theme park in the U.S., continues to expand its footprint as tourism in the East Tennessee region grows. The company has already developed two resorts and plans additional lodging."We’ve master-planned a total of five resorts on the property," Naughton… [TheTopNews] Read More.

More than 150 people onboard a Princess Cruises ship became ill with norovirus during a Caribbean voyage this week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).The outbreak occurred aboard the Star Princess during a voyage from March 7 to March 14, according to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP), which monitors illness on cruise ships.Those reported sick included 104 passengers and 49 crew members — out of 4,307 passengers and 1,561 crew members in total, the CDC said.The outbreak was reported to the VSP on March 11, less than a week after the voyage began.BABY FOOD RECALLED NATIONWIDE AFTER DANGEROUS TOXIN FOUND IN FEDERAL TESTING RAISES HEALTH CONCERNSAccording to the CDC, the most commonly reported symptoms were diarrhea and vomiting, which are typical signs of norovirus infection.In response to the outbreak, Princess Cruises increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, isolated sick passengers and crew members, and collected stool samples from ill individuals for testing, the CDC said.GROUND STOP LIFTED AT MAJOR DC-AREA AIRPORTS AFTER CHEMICAL ODOR DISRUPTS AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLShip officials also consulted with CDC health officials about sanitation practices and reporting cases, according to the agency.The VSP is conducting an environmental assessment and outbreak investigation to help the ship control the spread of the illness.The tracking site CruiseMapper showed the vessel docked in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday before continuing its voyage. Its itinerary indicated the ship was scheduled to visit Princess Cays in the Bahamas later Sunday.Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that commonly causes vomiting and diarrhea and can spread quickly in close quarters such as cruise ships, according to health officials.The CDC notes that illness totals reported during a cruise represent the cumulative number of cases across the entire voyage — not necessarily people who were sick at the same time.CLICK HERE TO GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GOCruise ships are required to report gastrointestinal illness cases to the CDC, which tracks outbreaks and works with cruise lines to implement sanitation and containment measures when they occur.FOX Business has reached out to Princess Cruises and the CDC for further comment. [TheTopNews] Read More.

Where Americans live can make a striking difference in what they pay to keep the lights on, with typical monthly electric bills in some states more than triple those in others.The latest figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration put the national average residential electricity price at 17.24 cents per kilowatt-hour, up 6% from a year earlier, based on average residential prices and an assumed monthly household use of 900 kilowatt-hours, a common benchmark for a typical home.AMERICANS HIT WITH SOARING ELECTRICITY BILLS AS PRICE HIKES OUTPACE INFLATION NATIONWIDENorth Dakota has the lowest average residential rate in the country at 11.02 cents per kilowatt-hour, while Hawaii has the highest at 41.62 cents per kWh. But Hawaii’s island geography makes it something of an outlier, leaving California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York among the clearest mainland examples of high electricity costs. Nebraska, Idaho, Oklahoma and Arkansas also rank among the cheapest states.GAS PRICES SURGE, PINCHING AMERICANS AND HANDING THE GOP A NEW MIDTERM HEADACHEThose differences are not spread evenly across the country. Many of the lower-cost states are clustered in the Plains and parts of the South, while some of the highest prices are concentrated in the Northeast and on the West Coast.For households already strained by inflation, those differences can translate into a meaningful monthly burden, especially in places where heavy air conditioning or heating use pushes consumption higher. The wide gap reflects factors that go beyond politics, including fuel mix, weather, regulation, infrastructure costs and household energy use.For consumers, however, the bottom line is simple: where they live can have a major impact on one of the few monthly bills they cannot easily avoid. [TheTopNews] Read More.

The Trump administration invoked the Defense Production Act to order an oil company to restart shuttered offshore operations in California, saying the move is necessary to address oil supply disruption risks and reduce reliance on foreign crude.Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Friday directed Sable Offshore Corp., an oil and gas company headquartered in Houston, to restore operations at the Santa Ynez Unit and the Santa Ynez Pipeline System off the coast of Santa Barbara, according to a statement from the Department of Energy (DOE).The order prioritizes restarting oil production and pipeline capacity to move crude through the Las Flores Pipeline System to Pentland Station, a key inland hub for transporting offshore oil to refineries, and into interstate pipelines."California once supplied nearly 40 percent of U.S. oil production, but decades of radical state policies targeting reliable energy sources have driven a decline in domestic output while fuel demand remains among the highest in the nation," the DOE said. "Today, more than 60 percent of the oil refined in California comes from overseas, with a significant share traveling through the Strait of Hormuz—presenting serious national security threats."BURGUM CALLS CALIFORNIA A ‘NATIONAL SECURITY RISK’ AS ENERGY CHIEF WARNS BLUE STATES ARE SKEWING COST AVERAGESThe agency said Sable’s facility can produce about 50,000 barrels of oil per day, roughly a 15% increase in California’s in-state oil production, and could replace about 1.5 million barrels of foreign crude each month."Today’s order will strengthen America’s oil supply and restore a pipeline system vital to our national security and defense, ensuring that West Coast military installations have the reliable energy critical to military readiness," Wright said in a statement.The directive, issued under authorities delegated through the Defense Production Act and related executive orders, also seeks to ensure that oil produced off California’s coast can more efficiently reach domestic refineries.NEWSOM KNOCKED FOR ‘INSANE’ CALIFORNIA GAS PRICES AFTER BLAMING TRUMP FOR RISING COSTSCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the order Friday, calling the Trump administration’s use of the Defense Production Act "reckless and illegal" and pledging to fight the directive.His office argued that restarting the Sable Offshore pipeline would have little effect on global oil prices, citing estimates that its output would represent roughly 0.05% of total oil production.HOUSE GOP URGES TRUMP TO CHOKE OFF IRAN ALLY'S OIL PROFITS AS MIDDLE EAST TURMOIL SPIKES US GAS PRICESThe governor also pointed to the pipeline’s history, noting that a 2015 spill near… [TheTopNews] Read More.

Spring break travelers heading to airports during the ongoing partial U.S. government shutdown should brace for potential delays, with experts warning security lines are already stretching for hours at some airports.Passengers across the country are reporting longer Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wait times, flight delays and crowded terminals — with security lines at some airports topping three hours, according to Eric Napoli, chief legal officer at travel company AirHelp.Airport security lines in Austin, Texas, stretched out the door early Friday, with passengers waiting hours to board flights."For passengers that did not factor in the possibility of longer lines, many are missing their flights as a result," Napoli told FOX Business.GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN WILL DELAY RELEASE OF JANUARY JOBS REPORTThe disruptions come as more than 300 TSA officers have left the agency since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown began. Unscheduled absences — or callouts — have also climbed to roughly 6% nationwide, a TSA official previously confirmed to Fox News Digital."When critical aviation personnel, particularly TSA officers, are working without pay the result is staffing shortages and operational strain across airports throughout the country," Napoli told FOX Business.Global Entry processing — which had been paused earlier during the shutdown — resumed last Wednesday, a move Napoli said could help ease congestion by shifting some travelers out of standard security lines.Napoli advises travelers to plan ahead to avoid disruptions, including arriving earlier than usual and booking early-morning flights, which are less likely to be impacted by cascading delays throughout the day.HOW MUCH DO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS COST AMERICAN TAXPAYERS?Passengers should also pack essential items in carry-on bags in case of baggage delays or overnight disruptions.Napoli urged travelers to understand their rights if flights are canceled or significantly delayed."If the airline informs that passenger that their flight is canceled or that there is a new schedule that makes the flight significantly delayed, the passenger is entitled to reject the new schedule, decide not to take the flight, and obtain a full cash refund," Napoli said.For baggage issues on domestic flights, airlines must reimburse reasonable expenses up to $3,800 per passenger under federal regulations, he added.TRAVEL EXPERT WARNS AMERICANS TO ‘BOOK NOW’ AS OIL PRICES THREATEN HIGHER AIRFARES Travel insurance and certain credit cards may also provide coverage for delays, missed connections or lost luggage.CLICK HERE TO GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO"The best prepared passenger is one that is well-informed on their rights in various flight… [TheTopNews] Read More.