A black bear repeatedly mauled an 8-year-old boy Monday evening near a popular motor trail on the outskirts of Gatlinburg, and an animal matching its description was later killed by park rangers.
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9:13 p.m. | A young boy has been hospitalized after he was mauled twice by a black bear near Gatlinburg in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (12 Comments) | Full story »

11:08 a.m. | A television station in Knoxville and one in Asheville, N.C., will air a one-hour telethon benefiting Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Full story »

Naturalist Don Holt will direct the Elizabethton butterfly count at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Aug. 3 at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park. Co-sponsored by the North American Butterfly Association. (Rain date: Aug. 9.) 423-543-5808. Full story »

Orders are now being accepted for a new specialty license plate designed to raise money for the Appalachian Trail in Tennessee.
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1:22 p.m. | RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina's public-nuisance lawsuit against the TVA begins Monday in Asheville, putting the coal-fired power plants of the nation's largest utility on trial in the Great Smoky Mountains that the state argues has become a crime scene. (35 Comments) | Full story »

For brook trout in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, even a man with a hook and rod can be a best friend. The Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited has donated $14,000 to help replace rainbow trout with native brook trout in an 8-mile section of a stream in the park. The donation is the most recent installation of approximately $60,000 the organization of conservation-minded anglers has raised for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fisheries.
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6:42 a.m. | NASHVILLE - The minister wears bib overalls as couples jump the broom at Hillbilly Weddings, one of dozens of wedding services available in Sevier County (15 Comments) | Full story »

5:10 p.m. | GATLINBURG - A backpacker found dead in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park died of an apparent heart attack, authorities said today. (2 Comments) | Full story »

Area environmentalists said at a Wednesday rally on Market Square Mall that a decade's worth of air-quality improvements could be reversed if the federal Environmental Protection Agency passes proposed rule changes. (11 Comments) | Full story »

GATLINBURG - As a concept, improved air quality is literally humming along in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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10:57 a.m. | GATLINBURG - The National Park Service is using two new electric vehicles on the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The donated vehicles can be used on public roads with posted speeds of 35 mph or less. One of the vehicles is being used by the Elk Bugle Corps in the Cataloochee Valley. (6 Comments) | Full story »

2:41 p.m. | CHATTANOOGA - Looking to compensate for declining attendance, state officials are marketing state parks to locals looking for cheaper vacation destinations.
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The Confederacy will march on Gatlinburg Friday, get routed by Union forces on Saturday, then the Blue and the Gray will all meet for church on Sunday. Full story »

4:44 p.m. | Saturday is National Trails Day on the Appalachian Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Full story »