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Good morning, Portland! We’re just under two weeks away from winter’s official onset. Need gift ideas, or tips on beating Seasonal Affective Disorder? How 'bout a bingo card to guide you through Portland’s best/diverse soup offerings? Now might be a good time to revisit our Winter Guide, which is exactly what it sounds like. 

Expect rain showers today, with a high of 55 degrees and a low of 49.

IN LOCAL NEWS: 

  • Seven years ago, Portlanders approved a bold new tax mechanism for funding climate-oriented, clean energy projects. Since its inception, the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) has doled out $1.71 billion in funds to local nonprofits for various energy efficiency upgrades. This year, the fund is set to award about $64 million in grants. Taylor Griggs checks in on the program, its progress, and what projects or organizations we can expect to see funded. 

    It’s been a tough year for climate work around the country, with the Trump administration slashing funding for programs intended to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the threats of the climate crisis. But Portland's clean energy fund just allocated $64 million to nonprofits for climate projects. 

    It’s been a tough year for climate work around the country, with the Trump administration slashing funding for programs intended to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the threats of the climate crisis. But Portland's clean energy fund just allocated $64 million to nonprofits for climate projects.

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    — Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) December 5, 2025 at 3:42 PM

  • A father of three in Vancouver, Washington was mauled by an ICE canine after the man was tricked into leaving his house, where ICE agents were waiting. The Oregonian reports Wilmer Toledo-Martinez was attacked by a dog despite not resisting arrest or trying to flee from immigration agents. He was hauled off to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma after sustaining serious injuries from the dog bites. Toledo-Martinez’s attorney says he was brought to the United States as a teen by his parents, and is undocumented. He married an American woman and now has three children. His lawyer says he has no criminal convictions.

  • Ever wondered what happens to drivers who hit bicyclists and cause serious injuries? Turns out, not much. Bike Portland reports that a 21-year-old driver ran a red light and hit a woman riding her bike in Southeast Portland last year, leaving the woman with several broken ribs and an ankle fracture. Despite the cyclist’s injuries, and video evidence showing the driver running the light, a Portland Police officer never cited the driver. Instead, he decided the driver “was remorseful and apologetic for hitting the cyclist” and that was good enough. What makes this story even harder to digest is the fact that last month, a motorist was ticketed for careless driving after a fender-bender involving two cars in Northeast Portland. The victim wasn’t seriously injured, and the other driver reportedly wasn’t speeding or impaired, but the victim was a local police officer. 

  • Last Friday marked the annual Krampuslauf—-a devilish, playful ode to the lore of Krampus that sees several costumed Portlanders stroll Hawthorne Boulevard warning wicked children and naughty adults. The Mercury’s Andrew Harlan caught the scene on video. If you missed the bevy of Krampus-themed events over the weekend, you can still catch a Krampus-themed haunted house this weekend, if you're so inclined. 

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

  • Frank Gehry, an internationally renowned architect, died last Friday at the age of 96. Gehry was the mastermind behind the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain–a hulking collection of reflective cubic figures arranged in a way that’s as much an art piece as it is a building. He also designed the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Fondation Louis Vuitton museum in Paris, among others. 

  • After a judge dismissed the case against former FBI Director James Comey over a procedural problem with Lindsey Halligan (the unqualified lawyer Trump illegally appointed to be the US attorney without Congressional approval), the US DOJ has another hurdle if it wants to try again to indict Comey. Refresher: Trump wants Comey behind bars because he's a political adversary, even though the DOJ previously declined to prosecute him for allegedly leaking FBI info to the press during Trump's first term. The Associated Press reports a judge is temporarily prohibiting prosecutors from using evidence they relied on to indict Comey back in September. The evidence was extracted from personal computer files of a Columbia University law professor Comey corresponded with, but the professor's lawyer argues the DOJ went beyond the scope of the warrant and held on to data and files it shouldn't have. 
    Schitts Creek Alexis Rose GIFfrom Schitts Creek GIFs
  • National parks admission will no longer be free on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day or Juneteenth, but will instead be free on Donald Trump's birthday. 

    The Trump administration has removed MLK Day and Juneteenth as holidays that include free entrance to national parks, adding the president’s birthday instead

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    — Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) December 5, 2025 at 5:30 PM
  • Democrats in Congress are pushing for the release of classified video footage showing the moments a boat off the Caribbean was struck by US military fire back in September. The video has led to increased scrutiny of Pete my kink is war Hegseth, who's insisted the boats he's been targeting are carrying drug smugglers, despite reports indicating they were likely fishermen. After the strike, survivors clung to the boat, trying to stay alive before a second strike followed, killing them.

We can't get enough of the turnt-up inflatable holiday decorations. Do your thang. 

@aiflowa1 You a lil’ boo thang #christmas #decoration #grinch #fyp #sora ♬ Lil Boo Thang - Paul Russell