Today's top stories —

• NJ towns are now allowed to designate open container areas (NorthJersey.com)
• New Jersey becomes second state to require Asian American history to be taught in schools (CNN)
• N.J. weather: 1 to 3 inches of snow in forecast for Thursday. Morning commute could be messy. (NJ.com)

COVID-19 IN NEW JERSEY:

• New PCR-confirmed cases: 9,073
• New confirmed deaths: 42
• Rate of transmission: N/A

🏛️ Politics —

• 7 things to expect as Murphy is sworn in to his second term as N.J. governor (NJ.com)
• Gov. Murphy signs bills to recognize Asian Americans in N.J.’s K-12 curriculum (NJ.com)
• Gov. Murphy signs flurry of bills just before second term begins (NJ Monitor)
• Princeton team advising Carchman could have a conflict (NJ Globe)
• Murphy outlines second-term priorities at inauguration (NJ Spotlight)
• Appellate court puts new Old Bridge election on hold (NJ Globe)
• Murphy pitches ‘stronger, fairer’ American dream for NJ (NJ Spotlight)
• Key inauguration takeaways, what to expect from Murphy’s next four years (NJ Spotlight)
• Murphy signs bills making NJ second state to implement Asian American studies curriculum (NorthJersey.com)
• Murphy’s second term begins with promise of fiscal responsibility (NJ Monitor)
• NJ evictions: How well are courts sifting through backlog of landlord-tenant cases? (NorthJersey.com)

🌎 Environment —

• What’s the future for green energy in Murphy’s second term? (NJ Spotlight)
• Plastic pollution: NJ to ban packing peanuts under new recycling law signed by Murphy (NorthJersey.com)

📝 Education —

• Children in Jersey City return to in-person learning (NJ Spotlight)
• Rutgers athletics rang up a $73M deficit last year. Students, taxpayers were on the hook (NorthJersey.com)

🦠 Coronavirus —

• Legislatures across country back off pandemic protocols (NJ Monitor)
• When can N.J. kids return to school after being exposed to COVID? It’s confusing. Here’s why. (NJ.com)

☝️ Lastly —