Photo by erin m.

Good morning, Washington. I’m sure some of you (read: those whose paychecks are heavily dependent on its passage by our Congressional overlords and/or wonks) have been up for a bit now, following along as the Senate’s health care reform bill passed this morning. Thanks for the early Christmas gift, upper legislative house! We now conclude the health care portion of this post. (Oh, there will be plenty more opportunities for health-care ballyhooing to come, don’t you worry. Just you wait until this puppy hits conference!)

In other news, it’s Christmas Eve. This means people are more likely than not stressed out, which, for all I know, is the main symptom for those infected with this mysteriously contagious “Christmas spirit” I hear so much about. Expect to see a lot of brake lights if you’re hitting the roads today — AAA estimates that 2.2 million Washington-area residents will drive 50 miles or more around Christmastime. That figure doesn’t even include potentially ready-to-blow shoppers who will be careening in metal boxes, struggling to buy last-minute gifts. For those of you hitting various temples of consumerism today, might we suggest this new-fangled piece of technology called the internet for next year’s gift-giving season? We hear good things. Might be worth a whirl.

A small administrative note, if we may: DCist will be churning on a slightly truncated schedule today — much like you, we too have cookies to make, carols to sing, eggnog to procure and presents to wrap. Without further ado, let’s get to this morning’s headlines.

Leading D.C. Needle Program Struggling Financially: The word that the newly-signed D.C. appropriations bill would be free of restrictions on funding for needle exchange programs couldn’t come quickly enough for the city’s largest provider of such services. According to a report by the Post’s Debbie Cenziper, clients were turned away as Prevention Works ran out of vital supplies like rubber gloves, antibiotic ointment and, well, needles around Thanksgiving; the agency also couldn’t afford its payroll or gas. The report digs deep into the history of the non-profit, and finds that many of it’s money problems stem from donors tiring of the agency’s history of non-transparency — even though independent audits have proven clean.

Homicide Charges Filed In Bus Stop Death: “That nurse was killed by an animal on PCP.” So said a police officer on the scene after a man drove into a woman waiting for a bus last night on Southern Avenue SE. Mary Jones, 50, had been standing at the stop when Glendale Ogburn hit her with his Cadillac, throwing her into the air and killing her. Ogburn has been charged with negligent homicide. The passenger of the Cadillac also attacked a paramedic after the crash.

Briefly Noted: Rural Virginia post office hostage standoff ends without incident…Prince of Petworth tipster says to watch out for ATM skimming in Adams Morgan…NORAD has a Santa Tracker, for the five-year-old in your life who frequents national security websites…Lane closure on westbound I-66 at 9:30 a.m., delays expected.

This Day In DCist: We didn’t let the fact that it was Christmas Eve stop us last year — we took a first look at The Gibson, talked with Edie Sedgwick, and reviewed Mickey Rourke’s career-redeeming turn as a grappler.