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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! Brrrrrrr... it's another sunny and cold day ahead with a freezing morning and highs only reaching 41 degrees—so wrap up yer juicy bits! And now... for a juicy bit of NEWS.

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• The brutal murder of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police inspired emotional protest marches in Portland this past weekend, as well as pleas for peace from the usual enablers who support the continued systemic racism and violence of police everywhere. For example, this is from a press release from the Portland Police Association (the union for rank and file cops): "The violent, vicious, and cowardly attack Mr. Nichols endured is a stain on the very fabric of our collective society. The actions of these suspects violate the trust that allows Police Officers to do their jobs." NOTE: Police unions are as much to blame for the death of Nichols as the five officers who murdered him. They've actively fought against transparency and any measure of reform for years, particularly here in Portland (here's a chilling recent example), and have protected bad apple cops at every turn. They just weren't able to protect them this time. Once more for those in the back: POLICE UNIONS ARE NOT A WORKERS' UNION. They have one mission: Protect their own power—nothing more.

• As previously mentioned... COLD! And five severe weather shelters opened in the Portland area over the weekend. We'll be standing by to alert you if the county chooses to do so again tonight!

• Washington state legislators are floating an interesting idea to make voting compulsory for everyone in the state, citing it as a civic duty like paying taxes or jury service (however, there's no punishment if you choose not to). Dozens of countries have compulsory voting laws, and turnout is much higher as you can imagine. And... surprise! Washington Republicans hate the idea because they think requiring a citizen to perform their responsibility and vote is "un-American." (However, they do insist on you going into the office five days a week. 😒)

• Note: The Mercury is hiring a news reporter, and if you're interested, hurry hurry! Application deadline is tomorrow (Tuesday, January 31). 

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

• More blowback following the release of video showing the murder of Tyre Nichols: The "Scorpion" unit whose members were responsible for beating Nichols to death has been permanently disbanded. And while calls for reforming the police are coming from marchers protesting Nichols murder, lawmakers continue uttering the same tired platitudes, and cop unions are squealing that "changing policing" won't solve the problem.

• Extremely unpopular Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is scheduled to speak with the president today to discuss how he can continue to obstruct the government from delivering services to the American people that we paid for with our tax dollars. He's demanding "spending cuts" and yet his party hasn't produced a single plan to implement such a thing. (It's almost like... oh, what's the term... political theater?)

• For those who give a crap about such things, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals yesterday and will now face the Philadelphia Eagles on February 12 in the Advertising Super Bowl. Woo-hoo, I suppose!

• RIP Lisa Loring, who played the OG Wednesday Addams in the TV version of The Addams Family, has died at the age of 64.

• Today in "Actually... now that I think of it....": "Bill Gates Says He ‘Shouldn’t Have Had Dinners’ With Jeffrey Epstein."

• And finally... GOOD MORNING, FELLOW MEN!