December 24, 1964: Star Trek's pilot, "The Cage," begins shooting. The word "nerd" becomes archaic and is replaced with "Trekkie." For these people, Star Trek is the greatest Christmas gift. Scotty, with a true holiday miracle, after the jump!

Can you guess what movie this image comes from? Check back for the answer at 4pm today.

• Billionaire hedge fund manager Dan Och has sold his penthouse condo 15 Central Park West. Sort of. The apartment, which had been owned by a trust in his wife's name until now, was sold yesterday to DAAJJ, LLC, a company that happens to be controlled by Och. A bit of year-end tax planning? A separation of assets? The jury's out on this one. [Cityfile]
• The former co-op of Edythe Acquavella—the late wife of Upper East Side gallery founder Nicholas Acquavella and mother of Bill Acquavella—has sold. The three-bedroom apartment at 31 East 79th Street, which first went on the market for $3.75 million last year, sold for $2.9 million. [Cityfile]

The abortion issue will probably be at the center of attempts to finalize and sign the healthcare bill, if Senators like Ben Nelson are involved. People will be bandying the phrase 'pro-life' around to refer to anti-abortionists. They should stop.

• One of Hollywood's longest-lasting relationships is over: After 23 years and two sons, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins announced yesterday that they've called it quits. One possible reason for the split: It seems Sarandon may have been having an affair with one of the owners of Spin, the "ping pong social club" that opened this fall and in which she's an investor. [Gawker, P6]
• Mary J. Blige is not to be messed with, clearly. At her CD release party earlier this week, she smacked husband Kendu Isaacs—or punched, depending on which account of the incident you want to go with—after she noticed him checking out a waitress. [NYDN, P6]
• Members of the cast of Jersey Shore have moved to the second chapter of "Exploiting Reality TV Stardom: Practices & Procedures": They're asking to be paid appearance fees to show up at clubs. Alas, not even a club in Hoboken was willing to cough up the $10K that they've been asking for. [P6]

After what feels like seventeen years and 14 million column inches the Senate passed the healthcare bill 60-39 today (no Republicans voted for it). Assuming they agree on a final version with the House, here's what it will mean.

Kate Spade turns 47 today. Hedge fund manager Jim Chanos is turning 52. Former Observer owner Arthur Carter is 78. Jonathan Benno, Per Se's outgoing chef who will soon be opening a restaurant of his own, is 40. Annette de la Renta, the wife of Oscar de la Renta and a charity gala fixture, is turning 70. Ryan Seacrest turns 35. Ricky Martin is celebrating his 38th. Author Mary Higgins Clark is turning 82. Heiress Marylou Whitney is 84. And actor Mekhi Phifer is 35. A few people with Christmas birthdays are listed below.

If Access Hollywood's Monday broadcast was a Tragedy in Four Acts, tonight's show was the requisite epilogue. In dealing with the death of Brittany Murphy, Access not only upped its speculation about the cause, but also involved America. Yikes.

Tonight's episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon was packed with goodness: The Real Housewives of Late Night finale and a cute interview with Joy Behar, for example. But Fallon saved the best—a performance with The Muppets—for last.

Tonight, our favorite suspender-wearing, cute as a button CNN host—Larry King—ran a Christmas-themed special. Filled mostly with musical numbers from Sting, David Archuleta and others, the episode's highlight was Queen Latifah's interesting rendition of The Night Before Christmas.

For 23 years Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins seemed a singularly stable Hollywood couple—until they split this summer. (A fact they announced yesterday.) What caused the breakup? A theory: Sarandon wanted to pursue ping pong entrepreneur Jonathan Bricklin.

A slow-moving storm has socked in much of mid-western America just in time to annoy last-minute holiday travelers. Ice! Snow! Thunderstorms! So intense is the storm that it forced Mount Rushmore to close. God help us all. [NYT] [TWC]

Tonight's episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon will feature the "season finale" of one of the show's best sketches, The Real Housewives of Late Night. Last night, Fallon aired a "Bonus Footage" precursor to tonight's big event. Watch inside.

According to Variety, "The Jay Leno Show" ranks first among all TV shows when it comes to product placement. In just three months, "Leno" racked up 1,015 product mentions. All this selling-out must have gotten to Leno's head tonight.

As many as five hostages are currently being held by a gunman in a Post Office in Wytheville, Va. Shots were fired, and the gunman is thought to have five pounds of plastic explosive strapped to his chest. [NYT] Update:

Don't worry, it wasn't with a nuclear bomb! Last week, researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory accidentally blew up part of a building with "a gun which acts like a Civil War Cannon". Even crazier, in a way.

Merry Christmas comedy nerds! All your favorite stand ups come together to spread the word about world hunger.

• Tom Colicchio is closing Craftsteak. He says he plans to reopen the space in the next few weeks with a new menu and new name, Colicchio & Sons. [GS]
• The week in reviews: Sam Sifton of the Times shows some love to La Grenouille, giving the "the last great French restaurant in New York" three stars; Ryan Sutton of Bloomberg isn't blown away by Abe & Arthur's or Tanuki Tavern; and Gael Greene is predictably pleased with Eleven Madison Park.
• The latest Beatrice Inn relaunch rumor: It'll be somewhere in Noho. [P6]
• Chef Anita Lo is writing a cookbook, reopening Annisa in February. [GS]
• Lists: Zagat rounds up the best restaurants of the decade; and the Voice's Robert Sietsema weighs in on the best dining/drinking trends of the Aughts.
• Update from the Hamptons: Both Mezzaluna's and Matto have closed. [GS]
• A waiter at Babbo was the victim of a tragic accident last week. [P6]
• Your stomach really does shrink if you eat less, say scientists. [NYT]

[December 22. Photo: Flickr/specialkrb]

[Stranded travelers fiddle with their hand-held devices in Penn Station today when all trains out of the city were suspended for nearly three hours due to an electrical problem. Image via Getty]