Although the Senate passed health-care legislation Christmas Eve by a vote of 60-39 and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says, "We stand on the doorstep of history," the work is far from over. The bill now moves to the more liberal House, and the longstanding differences between ideas of reform will be a difficult compromise. Democrats are already strategizing ways to achieve a successful vote so the bill can move forward. To do so, a substitute for a government-run insurance plan for those who cannot afford private medical coverage must be presented. The Senate previously rejected the "public option," but Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) says the House has to be "absolutely convinced that this is going to accomplish the goal of holding down the cost of health insurance." One solution is the creation of two or more nationwide insurance plans run by private companies (but monitored by the Office of Personnel Management), which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi already signed off on. Other ideas are in the works, but Reid says further details will not be revealed until both chambers reconvene. As for now, he simply wants to "just sit back and watch my rabbits eat my cactus."

With health care (temporarily) taken care of, President Obama ditched his winter coat for an aloha shirt and set out on his fourth trip in less than 18 months to the state of his birth, Hawaii, to enjoy Christmas with his family. Hawaii, meanwhile, is enjoying greater prominence on the national stage—and not just as a vacation destination. The president was born and raised in Hawaii, graduating from the Punahou School in 1979, and his affection for the 50th state hasn't dimmed. Obama's influence seems to have led to Honolulu's selection as the host city for 2011's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting, and several high-level appointments in his administration are Hawaiians, including the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. But it's a two-way street: "He rejuvenates and regenerates when he's in Hawaii," says state Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie. "He comes as president, but his time in Hawaii is spent as a returning son of Hawaii."

The string of bad luck encountered by world leaders in Italy continued this evening as Pope Benedict XVI was knocked down by a woman jumping the crowd barriers in St. Peter's, while he walked down the aisle to say Christmas Eve Mass. The pontiff arose quickly and was unhurt, according to the Vatican; the woman, who was dressed in a red sweater, is said to be mentally unstable. This was the second year in a row that such an event has occurred: At the end of the Mass last year, a woman jumped the barriers and came near the pope before being blocked by security.

The Senate gave Uncle Sam a higher borrowing limit for Christmas: As expected, a measure raising the ceiling on government debt by $290 billion to $12.4 trillion passed 60-39. The bill, which passed the House last week, allows the Treasury Department to issue enough bonds to fund the government through mid-February. In 2009, the government racked up a record $1.4 billion deficit to combat the financial meltdown and the worst recession since the Great Depression. The president, who has promised to address the national debt problem next year, must sign the bill into law in order to avert a first-ever default on U.S. obligations.

This year's will be a somber Christmas for the family of Brittany Murphy, the 32-year-old actress who died suddenly of cardiac arrest on Sunday. Murphy's loved ones buried her at a private funeral on December 24 at the Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn Cemetery, according to a family spokesman. The plan hopes to have a larger memorial early in the new year.

The warm strains of the holiday classic "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" belie the cold nightmare of the massive winter storm that wracked the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard on Christmas Eve. The storm is expected to sock Kansas, northern Colorado, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Missouri with up to two feet of snow and 40 mph winds that will likely create snow drifts several feet deep. Snow on Wednesday canceled 260 flights out of Chicago, dozens of flights out of Minneapolis, and Christmas Eve services in Omaha. At least six people have died due to slippery road conditions in car accidents in Nebraska, Kansas, and New Mexico. The news is no better on the East Coast, where freezing rain is forecast to coat roads in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, and flash-flood warnings are in effect in the Southeast. In other words, travelers should keep a copious supply of Christmas cheer on hand, because there are going to be epic delays.

Did Bernie Madoff get beaten up in prison? Raleigh’s ABC11 reports that the Ponzi schemer received treatment for “serious injuries consistent with an assault”—including “facial fractures, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung”—at Duke Hospital in Durham on Friday. He was released a few days later. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Madoff, who’s serving a 150-year sentence in a federal prison in Butner, N.C., had been hospitalized but the reason was unknown.

President Obama is pleased as punch about the Senate's historic passage of the health-care reform bill. In a brief speech from the White House Thursday morning following the vote, he pointed out that presidents since Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 have been attempting to overhaul medical care. With the passage of the Senate bill, Obama said, the government "has moved toward the end of a nearly century-long struggle" and is "finally poised to deliver on the promise" of reform with a bill that "includes the toughest measures ever taken to hold the insurance industry accountable." He also singled out Sen. Harry Reid and Speaker Pelosi for their help, adding, “As I've said before, these are not small reforms; these are big reforms.” Then he wished Americans a merry Christmas, happy new year, and, when prompted by a journalist, thanked U.S. troops for their service.

New Jersey father David Goldman just received a pretty nice Christmas gift: his 9-year-old son Sean. Sean's maternal grandmother and stepfather brought the boy to the U.S. consulate 25 minutes in advance of the 9 a.m. deadline set by the chief justice of Brazil's Supreme Court, who ruled in favor of Goldman on Tuesday. The ruling, which the Brazilian family accepted on Wednesday, ended a 5-year custody battle begun when Goldman's then-wife brought their son to Brazil, ostensibly for a two-week vacation in 2004, before dying last year. Sean reportedly cried as his guardians tried to bring him through the herd of journalists gathered in front of the consulate. Goldman has repeatedly said he won't feel safe until he's on a plane with his son. They were expected to fly back to New Jersey within hours.

Sen. John Kerry has offered to be the first high-level U.S. emissary to publicly visit Tehran since the 1979 revolution, The Wall Street Journal reports. The White House says it won't oppose the move, but not everyone thinks the visit is a good idea. A White House official said the trip "sounds like the kind of travel a chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee would—and should—undertake," while a professor at George Washington University and former Iranian government adviser said such a trip would send "the wrong message" to Iran. The proposed trip, which Tehran would also have to approve, comes as mass protests against Iran's regime are resurfacing and as a U.S.-imposed deadline to broach international sanctions approaches. The White House has not yet decided whether to make Kerry its official representative if he goes, but a Kerry trip could give the Obama administration one last chance to reach out directly to Iranian leaders before moving to derail Iran's nuclear programs with sanctions.

Unlike most stars, Susan Sarandon's breakup with her partner of 23 years, Tim Robbins, was quiet and kept from the media for several months. But like most celebrity splits, rumors that adultery was a factor surfaced quickly. Sarandon's publicist, however, said rumors that she left Robbins for her longtime (and much younger) business partner Jonathan Bricklin are "absolutely untrue" and that her relationship with Bricklin is "strictly a business one." Robbins and Sarandon met on the set of baseball romance Bull Durham and although never married, were known as one of Hollywood's "rare enduring couples." No reason was given for the breakup.

In a sign that Tiger Woods' marketing problem may be growing, Golf Digest announced Wednesday that Woods' monthly instructional columns would be suspended until he returns from his "indefinite" break from PGA Tour. A publicist for the magazine said, "we respect Tiger's decision to take a break from professional golf and focus on his family." Woods, who reportedly earns $3 million annually from his exclusive agreement with the magazine, will remain on the masthead. The news of Golf Digest's decision was unexpected. While mainstream companies, such as Gillette and Accenture have recently distanced themselves from Woods, scandal-ridden athletes usually fare better within the insular subcultures associated with their profession.

In an effort to mend a strained relationship, former President Jimmy Carter wrote an open letter apologizing for anything he’s done or said to upset to the Jewish community. Carter deemed the letter—sent to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Associated Press Wednesday—his Al Het, a prayer for forgiveness offered on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. While president, Carter brokered the first Israeli-Arab peace treaty, but later outraged many Jews with his 2006 book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, in which he compared Israel’s treatment of Arabs to South Africa’s racial oppression. Many Israeli leaders also criticized Carter’s meeting with Hamas in Gaza. The national director of the Anti-Defamation League, who previously vocally condemned Carter, welcomed his apology, which comes at a particularly significant time: Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, recently announced he would run for a Georgia state senate seat in a district with a vocal Jewish population. The younger Carter said in a statement that his grandfather’s apology was unrelated, but that the letter was a “great step toward reconciliation.” In a recent appearance at Emory University, Jimmy Carter said that if he had one more day in the White House, he’d “bring peace to Israel and its neighbors.”

After 25 days of debate—the second-longest in Senate history—the Senate passed a landmark health-care bill Christmas Eve morning, as expected, by a margin of 60-39, with Democrats and two Independents joining together against Republicans. The bill cleared three 60-vote procedural hurdles earlier in the week and will overhaul the nation's health-care system, extending access to health insurance for tens of millions Americans by requiring almost everyone to buy insurance, forbidding denial based on pre-existing conditions, expanding the Medicaid rolls by 15 million people, and subsidizing coverage for low- and middle-income families. The bill won't become law until it is merged with the House's bill that passed earlier this year. Thursday morning's historic vote was the first Christmas Eve vote since 1895, when the issue on the table was employment of former Confederate officers.

Numerous attacks across Iraq resulted in at least 23 deaths Thursday, including a local political figure and those preparing for a Shi’ite ritual, according to police and officials. Twin bomb attacks at a bus and taxi terminal in the southern Babel province’s capital of Hilla left 12 people dead and 91 wounded. North of those explosions, in a poor Shi’ite area of Baghdad, another bombing at an outdoor funeral killed five people and injured 22 others, according to police. Also in Baghdad in southeastern Zaafaraniya, a roadside bomb killed three Shi’ite pilgrims while 22 others were wounded. As those observing Ashura, marking the death of Hussein, Mohammad’s grandson, make their way to Kerbala by Sunday, Iraqi security forces are taking extra precautions. But on Thursday, another roadside bomb went off near a restaurant outside of Kerbala, killing one and wounding five others, including two Shi’ite travelers. Separately, a shooting also killed two men in the northern city of Mosul, one of whom was a Christian who is speculated to have been the target of religious hostility before Christmas.

Most children lose faith in Santa around age 8, but a few believe until 11 or 12. According to child psychologist Charlotte Reznick, "just as there are children who grow up too fast, there are children who remain innocent for a while longer." At a garden center in Fairfax County, Virginia, a certain Santa, who has spent 30 years on the job inspires late-blooming devotion. He remembered the name of Galen Henderson, 11, who has been visiting every year since she was little. Last year he remembered her dog's name and brought her a Wii her family couldn't afford. He also recalled the name of Amanda Brady, 24, who visited the old man years ago, and came this Christmas with her preschooler. His uncanny recognition "shocked" Brady who claimed the old man must have "some kind of magic going for him." But who is the mysterious man in red? An elf passed this note along: "You work for a newspaper called The Washington Post. Your paper honors anonymous sources. Honor Santa Claus. Don't be a grinch."

He may be 92 years old and frail, but Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) isn't going to let anything stand in the way of health-care reform. In order to break a Republican filibuster against the Democrats' health-care bill, the oldest senator has been wheeled through the freezing cold into the Capitol to signal his approval of the legislation with a thumbs up—and sometimes a fist pump. “When he comes onto the floor and the members cheer and his face lights up, it just makes our day,” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) told The New York Times. Byrd, who has been hospitalized at times this year, is tended to by a live-in nurse and ferried around by a security detail (he's third in the line of presidential succession). He's missed 40 percent of roll call votes since 2009 but is a crucial vote at various points in breaking GOP obstructionist tactics.

An eight-hour hostage standoff with a wheelchair-bound gunman at a Wytheville, Virginia post office finally came to an end Thursday morning. The suspect wheeled himself out of the office and was taken custody while his three hostages were freed. Early reports suggested he had taken five hostages, but according to Wytheville mayor Trent Crewe, some people who ran from the scene were not immediately accounted for at the time. The gunman reportedly fired his weapon after entering the post office at 2:30 pm and held police at bay by suggesting he may have had a "device" rigged nearby, possibly a bomb. Authorities say they have yet to confirm any explosives and the suspect's motive is unknown.

More bad behavior from Amy Winehouse: The singer was charged Wednesday with an assault at a theater. The 26-year-old was arrested after she turned herself in, and charged with a public order offense and common assault. Winehouse was released on bail. Police did not offer a description of the incident, but British papers are reporting that she allegedly tussled with a member of the theater’s staff after she was heckled at a performance.

The GOP came calling, but Carney won't go. Early Wednesday Politico reported that, emboldened by their successful courtship of Alabama Democrat Parker Griffith, Republicans had reached out to another vulnerable Democratic representative, Pennsylvania's Chris Carney, in the hopes that he, too, will switch sides. John McCain, who like Carney was in the Navy, called the second-term congressman Wednesday, pitching him on the GOP; Carney's office confirmed that the call took place, but would not comment further. But Carney isn't interested; though "flattered" he said, "I appreciate the Republican Party's outreach, but I have no plans to change parties. ... I have enjoyed widespread Republican support throughout my district and will continue to work closely with Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike." Carney's district was won by McCain by 9 percentage points last year, and though he won reelection, his seat could still be taken by Republicans.

In what The New York Times' Jackie Calmes calls "one of the strangest odd-couplings since James Carville and Mary Matalin married," liberal blogger Jane Hamsher and conservative activist Grover Norquist have united to demand the removal of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Hamsher, who publishes firedoglake.com, has emerged as a leading voice among progressives who find themselves disillusioned with the Obama administration and its "sellout centrist policies." Hamsher and Norquist co-wrote a letter to the Justice Department on Wednesday demanding an investigation into Emanuel's relationship with Freddie Mac, and calling for his immediate resignation. Emanuel served on Freddie Mac's board after he left the Clinton White House but before he ran for Congress; Hamsher and Norquist argue that Emanuel was complicit in the defrauding of Freddie Mac investors, and that Emanuel has since abused his power to cover it up.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers tasked with hammering out legislation regulating the finance industry say they have reached a major breakthrough in negotiations. In a joint statement on Wednesday, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), the ranking members on the Senate Banking Committee, said that "serious negotiations, with the goal of producing a bill that strengthens our regulatory structure and makes our economy more secure" had been "extremely productive." The House has already passed a finance reform bill, but a previous draft of legislation floated by Dodd had been rejected by Republicans.

Yemeni officials are reporting that the Muslim cleric—who was in contact with the Ft. Hood shooter, Nidal Malik Hasan—was killed in an air raid on al Qaeda fighters, along with 29 other militants. But a Reuters report is disputed by CBS News, which cites two sources familiar with the cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, who say that the imam is not among the dead from the strike and was not in the area. Authorities believe Awlaki was in contact with Hasan shortly before he carried out his attack on Ft. Hood, which left 13 dead. In a recent interview with Al Jazeera, Awlaki denied inciting Hasan to violence.