NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASSESSMENT CREWS ARE IN WESTERN KENTUCKY TODAY ASSESSING DAMAGE FROM STORMS WHICH CAME THROUGH THE AREA MONDAY.  A CREW IS AT THE TGASK INDUSTRIAL PLANT NEAR PEMBROKE ROAD WHERE A REPORTED TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN JUST AFTER 12 NOON MONDAY.  SEVEN PEOPLE WERE TREATED FOR INJURIES.   AN ASSESSMENT CREW IS ALSO IN MUHLENBERG COUNTY AFTER THREE HOMES AT THE NOLEN MOBILE HOME PARK NEAR GREENVILLE WERE DESTROYED.  AN ADULT AND TWO CHILDREN WERE INJURED.  AN N-W-S SENIOR FORECASTER--DAVID HUMPHREY IN PADUCAH--SAYS TWO TORNADOES TOUCHED DOWN IN BALLARD COUNTY MONDAY INCLUDING AN EF-2 TORNADO WITH PEAK WINDS OF 120 MILES PER HOUR.

CLARKSVILLE RESIDENTS WERE NOT ABLE TO HEAR WEATHER WARNINGS ON THEIR WEATHER RADIOS DURING MONDAY'S STORMS.  THE LEAF CHRONICLE REPORTS THE TOWER WHICH SENDS OUT WEATHER WARNING WAS KNOCKED DOWN, NOT BY THE WEATHER, BUT BY A WASTE TRUCK RUNNING INTO IT.  CLARKSVILLE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY DIRECTOR STEVE JONES SAYS OTHER THAN A FEW DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES, CLARKSVILLE DID NOT RECEIVE MUCH STORM DAMAGE.

BUDGET TALKS IN WASHINGTON ARE DEADLOCKED...AND KENTUCKY CONGRESSMAN HAL ROGERS IS PLACING THE BLAME SQUARELY ON SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID.  A SPOKESMAN FOR REID SAYS DEMOCRATS ARE STILL COMMITTED TO A NEGOTIATED BUDGET FOR THE REST OF THE FISCAL YEAR TO AVOID A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. 

THERE'S NO WORD IF THERE WILL BE A FIFTH TRIAL FOR A FORMER FORT CAMPBELL SOLDIER ACCUSED OF KILLING HIS ESTRANGED WIFE AND MOTHER IN LAW.  A MISTRIAL ENDED THE FOURTH TRIAL OF BRENT BURKE MONDAY IN ELIZABETHTOWN AFTER A JURY COULD NOT REACH A VERDICT.  IT'S THE SECOND TIME A TRIAL HAS ENDED WITH A HUNG JURY, WITH TWO OTHER MISTRIALS DECLARED WHEN WITNESSES DID NOT APPEAR.

A LONGTIME FIXTURE IN TENNESSEE POLITICS HAS DIED.  NED MCWHERTER--A FORMER SPEAKER OF THE STATE HOUSE AND TWO TERM DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR--DIED MONDAY AT THE AGE OF 80.  MCWHERTER'S ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT SAYS MCWHERTER DIED AT A NASHVILLE HOSPITAL WHERE HE WAS BEING TREATED FOR CANCER.

DESPITE A POPULAR AIRLINE GROUNDING SEVERAL OF ITS BOEING AIRCRAFTS FOR INSPECTIONS, THE UNPLANNED INSPECTION HAS HAD A MINIMUM AFFECT ON TRAVELERS IN NASHVILLE.  AROUND 70 FLIGHTS WERE CANCELLED ACROSS THE COUNTRY MONDAY, HOWEVER, NO FLIGHTS OUT OF NASHVILLE WERE AFFECTED.