High ozone levels have prompted Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials to issue an air pollution advisory for today and Saturday. So if you're visiting the park, you might want to ease back on your physical activity, especially if you already have respiratory problems.

The comment period regarding a proposal to allow national park visitors to carry concealed weapons has been reopened.

As energy prices creep steadily higher, there's a growing segment of America that believes short-term relief can literally be tapped from fossil-fuel resources in the Western states. But many of those resources are found on public lands that buffer national parks, national wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas, and their development could have dire consequences for those landscapes.

Barring a last-minute change of heart, the Interior Department on Monday will close the public comment period on a proposal to allow national park visitors to arm themselves.