Country music sensation Laura Bell Bundy braved the Nashville heat today to record PETA's latest "Hot Dog" TV spot. The public service announcement won't be released until next summer, but for now, you can check out the photos that we grabbed of Laura at the shoot.

Written by Shawna Flavell

After learning that a 9-year-old girl was bitten by a bear at Chief Saunooke Bear Park (CSBP) in Cherokee, N.C., PETA hand-delivered a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) asking that the zoo's exhibitor's license be revoked immediately. According to a USDA inspection report, the girl was scratched and had tooth marks on her wrist bone after being allowed to get up close to the bear to feed the animal Lucky Charms and cat food. Let me get this straight: The bear's diet includes junk food and little girls. The incident was the second documented bite at CSPB in that week. Last December, a 75-year-old caretaker was attacked by a bear at this crummy roadside zoo.

PETA is working to close the filthy bear pits in Cherokee, N.C., and get the animals shipped to sanctuaries. The shoddy enclosures and the lax approach to human-animal interactions pose a threat to humans, and the bears live a miserable life that can't remotely be termed "humane." CSBP was recently cited for risking serious injury to animals by maintaining unsafe enclosures, feeding bears cat food and sugary cereal, reusing filthy food trays, and other violations.

Please ask the USDA to pull the plug on this dangerous and cruel operation.

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

The title says it all really. The country sensation took her rightful place alongside country’s biggest stars this week in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Congratulations, Emmylou, for this well-deserved honor, and thanks again for everything that you do for animals.