Students Return to School, Trash Delayed and Flags at Half-Staff

1. Drive safely. Snow had already begun falling as of midnight. Framingham Public School students return to class today. (St. Bridget and marian High students are not due to return until Jan. 6.) Follow Framingham patch for storm updates. Sign up for our breaking news alerts too.

2. Trash collection is on a delayed schedule for the rest of the week due to the holiday Wednesday.

3. Governor Deval L. Patrick has ordered that the United States flag and the Commonwealth flag be lowered to half-staff at all state buildings until sunset on today, Jan. 2 in honor of Sgt. Daniel M. Vasselian, USMC from Abington, who died December 23, 2013.

4. Framingham Patch covered many of the Framingham High and Marian High sports teams over the holiday break. Check out slideshows from basketball, hockey and wrestling here.

5. In Case You Missed It:  A song on Beyoncé's latest album has upset families of the victims of the 1986 Challenger shuttle disaster. Christa (Corrigan) McAuliffe, a Marian High and Framingham State graduate, died in the shuttle disaster. A charter school and a library branch is named in her honor in Framingham. The love song XO opens with a six-second audio sample that originally was broadcast in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 28, 1986 explosion. Do you think the pop singer should have sampled the NASA recording? Click on the link and give us your opinion.