Five Things You Need to Know Today, Jan. 25

1. Today's weather: The National Weather Service is calling for a mostly sunny day, with a high near 20 degrees and wind chill values as low as -21 degrees. On Friday night, there will be a 30 percent chance of snow with cloudy skies and a low temperature around 11 degrees.

2. Shaheen to host senior consumer protections forum: U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, is scheduled to host a senior consumer protections forum at the Portsmouth Public Library on Friday from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. She will be joined by Derick Rill of the Federal Trade Commission, James Bofetti of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office and Mike Gendron of the U.S. Postal Service.

3. Sarah Mildred Long Bridge closed: New Hampshire DOT bridge maintenance crews continue to repair the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge's middle lift span and hope to reopen the bridge this weekend. It has been closed since Wednesday afternoon.

4. City now accepting EasyPark registrations: City officials are now accepting registrations for the new EasyPark device that allows Portsmouth drivers to pay for whatever time they actually park in a given space downtown. People can register online at www.easyparkusa.com/portsmouth.

5. Get a flu shot: New Hampshire health officials and Portsmouth Regional Hospital officials are reporting widespread flu cases where 25 people have died statewide from influenza. They are encouraging people to get a flu vaccination shot at area pharmacies or at their health care provider's office, if they have not received a flu shot already.