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Its gonna be cold, its gonna be grey, and its gonna last you for the rest of your life.
"It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life." Archive Photos / Getty images

Good morning, Portland, and happy Groundhog Day! If the groundhog sees his shadow, that means there's only six more months until you get vaccinated.

Here are the headlines.

• You might remember that last year, Oregonians voted to decriminalize possession of small amounts of hard drugs. Measure 110 officially kicked in yesterday, but there's still work to do to make sure it's a success—here's more on what comes next.

• After last month's violent attack of the US Capitol—and Republican officials' craven response to the death and damage they had invited—it seems that some Republican voters have finally had enough. Last month, over 6,000 Oregon Republicans left the party. That's more than usual—but still less than one percent of total party membership.

• In case you missed it: Our own Wm. Steven Humphrey calls bullshit on certain people's insistence that a dip in business and an increased visibility of houseless people during a global pandemic means that Portland specifically is dying.

• Last evening, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared more about her experience on January 6 in an Instagram Live video. That included rioters flooding her office while she hid in the bathroom and yelling "Where is she?", and sheltering in Rep. Katie Porter's office because she was afraid to share space with Republican colleagues who had incited the attack. AOC also revealed that she is a survivor of sexual assault. You can watch the entire barn-burner speech here, and read the synopsis here.

• President Joe Biden is continuing his executive-order-signing spree, and today's focus is on immigration. That includes creating a task force focused on reuniting families separated at the border, and a "top-to-bottom review" of all policies created by the Trump administration. Biden also hopes to achieve sweeping, long-term immigration reform during his presidency, but that will require passing legislation through Congress.

• Impeachment update:

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• Yesterday, a group of 10 Republican lawmakers released their own proposed stimulus package, and it's basically a fucking joke compared to Biden's proposal, which is itself a shy away from the promises Biden made when campaigning ($1,400 is not $2,000). Right now it looks like lawmakers will probably meet somewhere in the middle. Well folks, they may have been brutally defeated in November, but things are still looking up for the Republican death cult!

• Yesterday, actress Evan Rachel Wood alleged that musician Marilyn Manson abused her when they dated in the 2000s. "He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years," Woods wrote in a statement.

• And finally, here are your plans for the evening: Order some to-go cocktails and stream Sundance.