Econ 101: The Dow Jones closed above 18,000 for the first time in its history yesterday, lifted by lower gasoline prices, increased jobs, and growing confidence. The economy grew at a rapid-paced 5 percent last quarter, according to the government, making it the strongest quarter for economic growth in 11 years.

It Better Be Good: Sony Pictures reversed itself and says it will open its movie The Interview at a limited number of theaters tomorrow. “Limited” is the right word. About 200-300 theaters. The chains that operate 19,000 theaters in the US chickened out of showing the movie about two goofy reporters hired by the CIA to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Sony Pictures President Michael Lynton said in a statement, “While we hope this is only the first step of the film’s release, we are proud to make it available to the public and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech.” Bravery in a press release.

Nation:Despite Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plea to keep a lid on it until after the funerals of two murdered cops, about 1,000 anti-police protesters tried to shut down Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan last night. Some of the angriest marchers chanted “How do you spell murderers? N-Y-P-D!” and “NYPD, KKK, how many kids did you kill today?”

But also yesterday, mourners passed by the site where Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were ambushed, leaving flowers and paying respects to cops standing by.

>At least four people died yesterday as severe storms ripped through a swath of Mississippi, churning up tornadoes.

Your Congress: Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm, who once described his indictment as a “political witch hunt,” pleaded guilty to one count of felony tax fraud in federal court yesterday. Grimm is the charming guy who threatened to throw a reporter off the capital balcony for asking about his legal troubles. The congressman was accused of skimming more than a million dollars tax free from his Upper East Side restaurant in the years before he was first elected. He faces up to three years in prison but said yesterday he plans to continue to serve, and he didn’t mean time behind bars.

World: The Ukraine parliament has voted to drop the country’s neutral status and move toward joining NATO. It’s a thumb in the eye to Russia, which seized Crimea, is supporting rebels in eastern Ukraine, and wants to keep the whole country in its orbit. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the vote is “counterproductive” and will increase tensions between the two countries.

-Islamic State fighters have shot down a fighter jet over Syria and captured a pilot from an Arab country. The pilot’s name and nationality have not been released.

Gay But Not: In a twist on “Don’t ask don’t tell,”the Food and Drug Administration announced it is lifting its ban on blood donations by gay and bisexual men, a rule enacted in 1983 at the height of the AIDS epidemic. But the FDA also says it will continue to ban blood donations from men who have had sex with other men in the previous 12 months. The ban was put in place at a time when little was known about AIDS and there was no quick test to determine whether a donor had the virus.

The Darwin Files: A Utah man ended up in the hospital and took a week to recover after winning an eggnog chugging contest at a Christmas party. The non-alcoholic nog seems to have gone down the wrong pipe and given Ryan Roche pneumonia.

On bright side, he did it in 12 seconds, shaving 10 seconds off his time.

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