Today is Wednesday, Jan. 2, and here are the five things you need to know:

1. It will be a chilly winter day in Salem. The National Weather Service is predicting that local residents can expect it to be cloudy, with a high near 30. Tonight should be mostly clear, with a low around 12. (sunrise, 7:13 a.m.; low tide, 8:06 a.m.; high tide, 2:16 p.m.; sunset, 4:22 p.m.)

2. More than 500 area residents gathered at Fisherman's Beach in Swampscott Tuesday morning to take part in this year's big polar plunge. Click Here to view a video shot at the event.

3. In case you didn't hear, a Mason Street man is hoping local residents can help him track down the woman who stole a birdcage from his porch last week. Click Here to view a video of the theft, captured by cameras on the man's front porch.

4. Salem's Historical Commission will meet tonight at City Hall on Washington Street. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Click Here for more information.

5. Today in History: On Jan. 2, 1935, Bruno Hauptmann went on trial for the murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., infant son of aviator Charles Lindbergh.

For more things going on in Salem today, check out our events calendar.