It’s late. You’re up. For those of you who are out of town for the holiday, New York has suddenly gotten pretty darn cold. Of course it’s supposed to be this way in December, but that doesn’t make it any more pleasant. Anyway, hopefully you’re staying warm inside – and there’s nothing on TV right now, so here’s the one eleven.

(At least vaguely) Relevant to Columbia

Star scholar: James Franco’s adviser at Yale says the movie star is a good student. This comes on the heels of a former NYU professor’s lawsuit claiming that he was fired for giving Franco a bad grade.

Meanwhile, at St. Luke’s:  Beyonce may be giving birth to her first child at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital as you read this, according to the Daily Mail. This is probably the 59th Street Roosevelt Hospital, but given the number of excited Columbia students updating their Facebook statues about Beyonce being nearby, I figured it was worth a mention here just to clarify, if nothing else.

Actual news

Occupy everything: New York’s office cleaners may be about to go on strike over changes to their compensation packages.

Crazy, stupid politics: Newt Gingrich is now attacking Mayor Bloomberg, for some reason.

Losing ground: China is planning to surpass the United States in space exploration. I know of at least one person who won’t be happy about this.

Today in history…

1170: Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated in London over a dispute with the king.

1808: Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, is born.

1845: Texas enters the United States.

1890: The U.S. Army massacres more than 150 Sioux men, women, and children at Wounded Knee.

1940: Germany begins firebombing London.

1975: A bomb explodes at LaGuardia Airport in New York, killing 11 people and injuring more than 70. The bombing remains unsolved to this day.

…And a funny video