WEATHER FORECAST
Cairns: 24-30C max, partly cloudy
Port Douglas: 22-28C max, 20% chance of rain
Mareeba: 17-29C max, 5% chance of rain
Innisfail: 20-28C max, 20% rain

TODAY'S TOP STORIES

BUDGET BLUES
The political argy-bargy over today's 2017 Federal Budget isn't confined to the battle of Labor and the Coalition on the floor of parliament in Canberra.
Local leaders are already engaged in a war of words before the ink is even dry on the Budget papers.
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch has hit back at Advance Cairns CEO Kevin Byrne and Mayor Bob Manning for their "chest-beating" over projects he claims are under-cooked. "The first fundamental step for getting funding is to actually put in an application", Mr Entsch told News Corp.
The Budget will be handed at 7.30pm tonight.

STUDENTS (AND PARENTS) BRACE FOR START OF NAPLAN
It's a somewhat nervous, edgy three days ahead for students and their parents across Cairns as Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 begin NAPLAN testing today.
Principals are urging parents to help take the stress out of the tests by adopting a "business as usual" approach to the tests. Educators say regular teaching of the curriculum is enough to prepare students for NAPLAN, with targeted classes now believed to be unnecessary as they can skew the results.

HIGH-RANGE INTERNATIONAL DRUNK-DRIVER
A 25-year-old International tourist was allegedly caught driving over three times the legal limit in Innisfail. Police will allege they observed the vehicle driving along Ernest Street around 2.40am on May 6 without any headlights on.
The driver was intercepted on Edith Street a short time later and officers conducted a roadside breath test, which returned a reading of 0.152 per cent BAC.
His license was suspended and he is scheduled to appear at the Innisfail Magistrates Court on May 22.

NEW CROC ON THE BLOCK AT MACHAN'S
Just days after a large croc was removed from the area around the Machan's Beach boat ramp, local fishos believe another has moved in to take its place. A 3 metre croc was removed by rangers over the weekend to the relief of local residents and boat ramp users. But a new sighting of a smaller croc, estimated at 1 metre, has locals calling for a more proactive approach by authorities.

THURSTON BACK IN ORIGIN
You just can't keep the world's greatest player down. The on-again, off-again appearance of Johnathan Thurston at State of Origin is back on again.
Coach Kevin Walters has declared he will take a gamble on the injured Cowboys star when the first Origin kicks off on May 31. It's been revealed Thurston suffered a minor tear of his rotator cuff during the Anzac Test, but Walters believes the star halfback will be ready for the first Origin clash despite missing the next couple of Cowboys games.