Where will you be on August 21 when the solar eclipse casts its shadow across the United States? At Great Smoky Mountains National Park, officials are planning a party to help you both view and understand the science of the eclipse.

Exemptions to President Trump's hiring freeze for federal employees will allow the National Park Service to address seasonal and short-term positions, but uncertainty remains over the size of the agency's permanent workforce and whether it will be sufficient to manage the more than 400 units of the National Park System, a National Parks Conservation Association official said Wednesday.

Travel in Great Smoky Mountains, Mammoth Cave, and Shenandoah national parks, and no doubt some others, was dicey Friday morning due to a winter storm that was coating roads with ice and snow.

A dozen days after a fire storm swept out of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and across Gatlinburg, Tennessee, leading to 14 deaths and consuming more than 1,000 structures, the national park planned to reopen its western entrance to the public on Friday in conjunction with the reopening of Gatlinburg.