I left town for a week as PDX was canceling all sorts of flights because of ice. I got back and roads were about the same. This weather is crazy, and it's not ending. Today, officials are on the watch for freezing rain, and warning to be ultra, super cautious on your commute. You're used to that by now. TriMet's modified MAX service all sorts of ways.

Here's another horrible byproduct in a town not used to this weather. Willamette Week reports officials found a newborn baby exposed to the cold last week, in the arms of its mother—a mentally ill homeless woman. The infant died, but the cause is in dispute. Cops say they didn't report the matter because they weren't sure if he died from exposure or other reasons. Weirder, the medical examiner found the child was stillborn, but first responders apparently reported it was alive.

Somewhat related: Local governments are about to double the frequency of the official homeless counts that give Portland its best measure for how many people are on the streets. They've been every-other-year endeavors for more than a decade. Now, they'll be yearly.

Spencer's Gifts' corporate office defends its aggressive marketing of gross Donald Trump t-shirts in the heart of Portland. Local management has pulled them nonetheless.

Not a great start: Not long after the University of Oregon football program made a coaching change, several players have been hospitalized because of ultra-tough workouts.

The Trib reports that the head of the state's transportation commission, which is supposed to supervise ODOT, has written a letter to Gov. Kate Brown asking for her help in making that happen.

Bill Hilliard, a pioneering Portland journalist and the subject of a recent profile in the Mercury, passed away on Monday at the age of 89.

We're three days out from the inauguration, folks. At least 44 lawmakers are refusing to attend the swearing in of the 45th president.

And Donald Trump continues to spar with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan over Medicare and other entitlements, which means the tax reform they've both touted so frequently may be in trouble. "The clashing philosophies between the GOP's two top pols — Trump once called Ryan's doctrine 'political suicide' — is about to come to a head. Left unresolved, it threatens to sink tax reform, a top priority for both men."

As Trump continues to bring his cabinet appointments before the Senate, all manner of intriguing, dispiriting news stories are emerging. Including possible Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross' history of sending jobs out of the country, and possible EPA Secretary Scott Pruitt being an enemy of environmental regulation.

Meanwhile, lots of cabinet picks still have to file required ethics paperwork.