Table of contents for December 25, 2017 in Globe

MELISSA RAUCH, of The Big Bang Theory, has welcomed her fifirst child, daughter Sadie, but not without drama or heartbreak. Melissa admits she spent her pregnancy “terrifified” she’d miscarry for a second time. The 37-year-old actress, who plays Bernadette Rostenkowski- Wolowitz on the hit CBS sitcom, plunged into a “primal depression” after previously losing an unborn child with hubby Winston. It was “one of the most profound sorrows I have ever felt,” she says. “The image of our baby on the ultrasound monitor — without movement, without a heartbeat — after we had seen that same little heart healthy and flflickering just two weeks prior, completely blindsided us and haunts me to this day.” Now as she and Winston celebrate their new arrival, Melissa vows, “I will never take for…

BAYWATCH beefcake David Hasselhoff is thrilled a judge slashed ex-wife Pamela Bach’s spousal support payment in half! The Hoff gloated about his Nov. 30 victory, which featured him telling the judge he’d already paid the former soap dish nearly $3 million in alimony — and it’s time she got a job! Hizzoner partially agreed — cutting Pam’s support from $10,000 a month to $5,000. But the man who drove Kitt, the talking car in Knight Rider, still wishes it was chopped to ZERO!…

GUMBEL & KELLY IN VICIOUS WAR FOR MATT’S JOB! But Bryant’s got the inside track MATT LAUER’S explosive sexual harassment scandal and sudden ousting from Today has NBC bigwigs scrambling to bring back audience favorite Bryant Gumbel — but insiders say the feel-good bid has Megyn Kelly furious, because she’d been gunning for the show’s top spot! “Megyn is fit to be tied,” says a set snitch. “She was positively giddy with excitement once Matt was fired — because she expected to be his replacement!” After Megyn’s fall debut brought in dismal ratings for the third hour of Today, she was quick to jump on the Mattbashing bandwagon, slamming her former co-worker for his alleged inappropriate actions. But the move didn’t seem to win her any points with the Peacock…

9 NATURAL CURES FOR INSOMNIA! RECLAIM the night and fall asleep with these nine natural cures for insomnia — and avoid getting hooked on prescription pills! 1. NAP SMART: “A power nap of five to 20 minutes unloads the brain and could make up for a small sleep debt from the night before,” says Dr. Nerina Ramlakhan, author of Fast Asleep, Wide Awake. 2. KEEP A SET BEDTIME — AND DON’T SLEEP IN: “Staying in bed and long naps on the weekend disrupt our body clocks,” says Professor Colin Espie, a sleep specialist at the University of Oxford. 3. WATCH THE TEMPERATURE: Keep your bedroom between 61 and 68 degrees, advises James Wilson, a leading sleep expert. 4. EAT MORE MAGNESIUM: Green leafy vegetables, eggs and nuts are loaded with the…

FROM ferocious gold digger Naomi Lapaglia in The Wolf of Wall Street to smiling sociopath Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie is no stranger to playing femme fatales. But this month she brings her onscreen intensity to a real-life drama, portraying disgraced Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding in the black comedy I, Tonya. Here are ten things you don’t know about the 27-year-old Aussie. 1 When she was eight years old, her mother enrolled her in circus school to take trapeze lessons. 2 Her childhood classmates gave her the nickname Maggot. 3 She says she doesn’t follow a diet and prefers burgers, fries and beer. 4 Her first major role was in the Australian soap opera Neighbours. 5 Before hitting the big time in the U.S., she worked at…

TWO twisted sickos have been busted for running a prostitution ring out of a Massachusetts old age home, according to cops, who say one of the suspected hookers may be as young as 15! Joseph E. Van Wert, 65, of Becket, and Randy W. Lambach, 45, of Pittsfield, are being held on human trafficking charges after their Nov. 29 bail hearing was delayed. Police, who were investigating reports of increased prostitution in Berkshire County earlier this year, claim Lambach preyed on women with “severe” addictions, luring them into turning tricks by supplying drugs and threatening them to keep them under his thumb. Lambach photographed the women, created online profiles to attract customers and then ferried the hookers to and from their appointments, cops say. Many of the hookups were at…

MICHAEL JACKSON’S troubled 19-year-old daughter, Paris, has been acting even weirder lately — exploding with sudden rages, smoking like a chimney and babbling nonsense — leaving family and friends fearing she’s on the edge of a major meltdown. “She is Jekyll and Hyde,” declares a close pal. “She’s lost control. Her personality changes by the hour. She has serious fits of anger out of nowhere and is chainsmoking like she has big problems.” On a trip to France, Paris was spied sitting on the pavement and then clambering up lampposts near the Louvre art museum. “She fell twice while climbing that lamppost and then she got up and did it again,” the source blabs. “She was so out of it, she talked about how she could fly and then demonstrated,…

WHEN THE HEART CALLS Mon., Dec. 25, Hallmark, 8 p.m. Season fifive of Hallmark Channel’s original series begins with a two-hour sneak peek. In February 2018, the saga of Hope Valley will continue with ten, one-hour weekly episodes. 40TH ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS Tues., Dec. 26, CBS, 9 p.m. The Kennedy Center Honors spotlight the extraordinary careers of fifive artists who have shaped cultural life in America: dancer and choreographer Carmen de Lavallade, Cuban-American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan, American hip hop artist LL Cool J, TV legend Norman Lear and musician Lionel Richie. EXPEDITION UNKNOWN Wed., Dec. 27, Travel Channel, 9 p.m. Adventurer Josh Gates returns to tackle 12 expeditions, including the history of the Vikings, Stonehenge’s origins, the lost tombs of the Mayan Snake Kings and the hunt for 12…

Supermodel CHANEL IMAN is gonna marry New York Giants pass catcher STERLING SHEPARD. Chanel said “yes” after the football hunk popped the question on one knee. SCARLETT JOHANSSON showed off new beau, Saturday Night Live comic COLIN JOST, for the first time publicly at the Big Apple’s American Museum of Natural History gala. Preggers model CHRISSY TEIGEN is showing off her new baby bump. She and JOHN LEGEND have a oneyear- old daughter, LUNA. The Four Seasons’ crooning Romeo FRANKIE VALLI, 83, is going public his new babe, JACQUELINE JACOBS. At 55, she’s young enough to be his daughter. Jurassic Park hunk CHRIS PRATT and funnygal-wife ANNA FARIS filed for divorce at the same time. They’re asking for joint custody of son JACK, 5. Workplace sex fifiend MATT LAUER‘s wife,…

THE Real Housewives of Orange County have turned up their noses at newbie Peggy Sulahian! GLOBE has learned the 44-year-old has been fired! “None of the ladies wanted to work with her anymore,” dishes an insider. “After the televised reunion, they were just done with her.” Sources say the cast got fed up with Peggy after she bashed Meghan Edmonds’ parenting, accused Tamra Judge and Kelly Dodd of making fun of her and bolted from a girls’ trip to Iceland. If you fall out of favor, you quickly stop being part of the conversation. But it can take one great project to turn things around. All you need is one hit or one great idea well-executed, and everybodyÕs talking about you again.— Chris O’Donnell…

BOLD babysitter Kate Anderson has been tabbed the Rambo Nanny after single-handedly tackling a woman who allegedly ripped off a delivered package from the front porch. Security cameras installed on the Everett, Wash., home caught unarmed Kate’s courageous capture of 29-yearold Rhieanna Schindler, who cops say has a rap sheet crammed with 20 busts in the past seven years. About ten minutes after an Amazon.com box, containing stuff for the yearold baby Kate minds, was put on the front porch at 10:45 a.m. on Nov. 29, a car drove up to the house. A woman in a black hoodie and pants got out, ran to the porch and bagged the box. Kate says, “I saw her bending and picking it up, and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, she’s taking…

WE’VE had a bellyful of entitled showbiz divas, no-talent reality stars and celebrity freaks of all stripes — so we’re calling them out in a no-holds-barred special report exposing The 50 Most Annoying People of 2017. For those stars who earned the dubious honor of making GLOBE’s list, we offer our heartfelt advice: Don’t go away mad — just GO AWAY! KATHY GRIFFIN This unfunny lady has Hollywood’s worst case of poor-me and is so desperate for attention she’ll say — and do — anything, including pretending to sever President Donald Trump’s head and picking a fight with dead Joan Rivers! Can someone banish her to the Z list? GEORGE CLOONEY You’d think the tequila billionaire and first-time father invented dirty diaper duty and sleepless nights after wife Amal did…

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAY ANTHONY HOPKINS turns 80 on Dec. 31 ARIES March 21 - April 20 Keep loose lips zipped while chatting with a Nosy Nellie or you might let secrets slip! Although a specially chosen gift may not be as well-received as you hoped, the recipient will grow to love it, so don’t fret! Practice moderation New Year’s Eve to kick off 2018 in good health and a terrific mood! TAURUS April 21 - May 21 The cosmos causes a bit of chaos on Monday, but don’t take out the stress you’re feeling on loved ones! A long walk will burn off steam — and remember, this too shall pass! Midweek a Capricorn reveals a new health regime — give it a try, even if it sounds weird! Keep an…

COUNTRY king Blake Shelton’s belly is bulging over his belt, and twiggy galpal Gwen Stefani is so fed up she’s demanding he lop off 20 pounds of flab — or she walks! Meat and potatoes hound Blake, 41, shed 30 pounds after he began dating his fellow The Voice coach in 2015. But during their two years together, he’s packed most of it back on. “Blake’s gotten more comfortable in the relationship and he’s gotten pudgy again,” a friend tattles. “Gwen calls him out on it, but he tries to joke about it, saying she should love him more because there’s more of him to love now! “But Gwen doesn’t think it’s funny.” A dedicated vegan, Gwen, 48, makes sure Blake eats right when they’re together. But they have separate…

YOU ain’t seen nothing, yeti! That’s the word from scientists at the University at Buffalo who conducted DNA tests on Himalayan artifacts — including teeth, skin, bones and hair — museums and collectors claimed were proof the Abominable Snowman exists. Researchers concluded it was all a snow job: The stuff came from bears — and a dog! TALK about TMI! A new $74 smart condom, using a Fitbit-style monitor, tracks everything about your sex life — favorite positions, the duration of romps, the presence of STDs, the calories you burn — and uploads the findings to social media so you can see how you stack up! And get this — the revolutionary rubber ring is reusable! IT came from outer space! Biologists have discovered alien life on the hull of…