An “unforeseen complication delayed running the new Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program last week as planned.”

The long-term use of the fire suppressant resulted in excessive levels of toxic chemicals emanating from the U.S. facilities, according to the state's complaint.

The package of bills would not overturn any of the orders Gov. Phil Murphy enacted on restaurants, but rather, scale some of them back.

"We stand with New Jersey's hardworking middle-class families and everyone working to get there," the governor said. "We haven't sugar-coated our problems and we haven't followed the old Trenton playbook of kicking them down the road for someone else to deal with."

The governor, however, did stress that the legalization bill, which would allow adult-use marijuana for anyone in New Jersey over the age of 21, cannot be crafted in a way that would put it in the hands of anyone under that age.

If signed, Senate Bill 3340 would allow restaurants, bars, breweries, distilleries and other food and alcohol establishments that have taken a hit during the pandemic to extend their footprint outdoors and sell food and alcohol out of spaces such as patios, sidewalks, decks, yards and parking lots.

“We had anticipated an increase in positive tests coming out of the holidays, and it is safe to say that we are now experiencing that increase,” Gov. Phil Murphy said during a Jan. 11 COVID-19 press conference. “This is likely from indoor gatherings where neither social distancing nor wearing a facemask were adhered to.”

The vaccination process is a key component of getting the COVID-19 pandemic under control and lifting the myriad of business restrictions put in place to halt the spread of the virus, which has entered the second wave both in New Jersey and across the nation.

The primary sponsor of the amendatory bill intended to clarify technical issues within the not-yet-signed cannabis legalization and decriminalization bills said he is removing his name because he's confident it won't pass and that the amendatory bill is unnecessary.

Samuel Delgado was recommended to sit on the five-member Cannabis Regulatory Commission.

The two sites that went online were one at a 30,000 square foot former Sears storefront at the Rockaway Townsquare in Morris County, and the other at Rowan College of South Jersey in Gloucester County.

For the third time on Jan. 7 the state topped 6,000 new daily cases, the other times being in December.