Morning Roundup: A titty bit nipply edition

Happy Martin Luther King Day, Houston. Whether you decide to attend one of the dueling parades or just stay in, we're sure you're keeping an eye on the weather — which seems to be this morning's big story. Hello, winter!

>> Enter winter: We started to wonder last night if the cold weather would ever get here — but in case you haven't noticed, it did. It's rainy and around 40 degrees downtown now, and we've heard snow has been reported in Huntsville and Conroe. So far, the rain is just annoying, but it could get more interesting tonight and tomorrow: If temperatures drop below freezing and stay there, as expected, we could see ice and sleet accumulations up to a half-inch. Houstonians and ice aren't a good mix, so that should be a fun situation.

>> Runaway marathon: 24-year-old Ryan Hall of Big Bear, Calif., ran away with a new American record in the half-marathon here yesterday. His time of 59:43 was a minute and 12 seconds faster than the previous record, set in 1985, and made him the first American to finish a half-marathon in less than an hour. Hall takes home $21,000 in prize money for the finish. Also setting a record: Dire Tune, a 21-year-old Ethopian who finished the full marathon in 2:26:52, breaking the old course record by 59 seconds. For that, Tune's $35,000 richer. Not bad, we'd say.

>> Back on track?: Over at TSU, new interim President J. Timothy Boddie Jr., the retired Air Force brigadier general brought in to clear up the mess Priscilla Slade left behind, is getting down to business. His goal is getting the school back in the Legislature's good graces, and one of his first acts was ordering every faculty and staff member to sign a copy of the university's ethics policy. "There will be no second chances," he said. "If there is fraud and abuse, you're gone. ... I'm not being hard. I'm pragmatic. What would the Legislature think if we coddled anyone?"

>> Today's weather: As we noted above, it's gonna be chilly for a while. Today will be wet, with temperatures dropping from around 40 right now to 37 at lunchtime and continuing on down into the lower 30s by 5 p.m. WInd chills are around freezing now and should hit the lower 20s by tonight. If the freezing rain/sleet forecast pans out, it could begin later tonight and continue through Tuesday.

That's not all the news — there's more of what's up after the jump.