A Long Island woman was sentenced to one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in prison for fatally striking a cyclist while high on prescription drugs. But before the sentence was officially handed down, a sobbing Nicole Shellard had this to say about victim Kathryn Underdown, "You are my angel. I took your life, Kathryn, and you saved mine." more ›

After the death of New York Rangers' enforcer Derek Boogaard from a toxic mixture of oxycodone and alcohol last spring, Boogaard's family donated his brain to the Sports Legacy Institute at Boston University. The results of the examination showed that Boogaard's brain showed surprisingly advanced signs of Chronic Traumatic Encephalophay, or CTE. Found in boxers, football players and hockey players, CTE is a degenerative disease similar to Alzheimer's. Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist at SLI who has examined the brains of over 80 athletes, tells the Times: "To see this amount? That a 'wow' moment." more ›

Last night, Daily Show reporter Aasif Mandvi delved deep into a hidden danger poisoning the nation's youth: hot dog addiction. According to Science, there's a link between hot dogs and cancer, and hot dogs are as addictive as...somewhere between The Wire and crack. Just ask special guest star and unrepentant addict Takeru Kobayashi, who tries his darndest to scare the kids straight. more ›

You might think you're being funny when you order dessert and tell your friends you're just "addicted" to chocolate cake, but you have a problem and you need an intervention. According to a new study from Yale, food addiction is an actual disease akin to alcoholism, and distinguishable from people who are just overeaters. And they figured this out by seeing how women react to pictures of milkshakes. more ›

Anyone who's ever known an addict, or seen the TV show Intervention, knows how serious and debilitating addictions can be, and just how low some addicts would go for a fix. But licensed practical nurse Erick St. Louis, who rummaged through used medical waste to satiate his addiction, might be one of the worst cases we've heard of. more ›

NY gubernatorial candidate and Tea Party fave Carl Paladino threw down an interesting, inflammatory accusation today—that Governor David Paterson is an drug addict. He told the editorial board of the Watertown Times that Paterson is a "drug addict; he’s been a drug addict his entire life." more ›

At the end of last month, the tolerable East Village watering hole Telephone Bar closed; it's being replaced by a new venture from the owners of such fratastic destinations as The Stumble Inn and Gin Mill. The change wouldn't really merit mention on its own, but EV Grieve has noticed that the future pub's name, The 13th Step, is more than a little tasteless. In Alcoholics Anonymous slang, the term is "used as a euphemism for inappropriate sexual advances by a member to a newcomer in AA." So, coming soon to Second Ave, the perfect place for booze and sex addicts to join together in a spirit of communal relapse! Now they just need a video poker machine so the gambling fiends won't feel left out. more ›

Former Mets GM and now-fired ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips is headed to rehab for sex addiction. His agent Steve Lefkowitz told the Post that the 46-year-old "really needs help, and this was the best way to do it." Phillips' relationship with a 22-year-old ESPN production assistant was revealed last week, as well as some tawdry details. more ›

She's going to be a resident of NYC soon, after all. Okay, so at the end of June there was a blind item that screamed C. Lo, it read: "Although she claims to be clean, when she checked out of a Manhattan hotel recently, the maid found the room littered with dirty needles." Now the NY Post confirms it, reporting that it took Courtney Love no time at all to trash her posh room at The Inn on Irving Place. more ›

While doorman turned million-dollar lottery winner Richie Randazzo has become a bit despicable to some, there's one person who really hates him. Or at least Randazzo's dumb luck: Building superintendent Ray Otero, who worked across the street from Randazzo, tells the NY Times he spent $30,000 last year on the lottery, which clearly means he should have won the big payday, not Randazzo who spent in the two-digits on tickets per week. Otero, who spends hundreds on lottery tickets each week, said, “When I heard he won, I got so mad — I said to myself, ‘I can’t believe it.' I spend all that money and the [unprintable fellow] wins? It’s wrong. I mean, I’m happy for him. But it really isn’t fair.” Related: Here's the Wiki entry on Gamblers Anonymous. more ›

Actress Tatum O'Neal hasn't kept her battles with addiction a secret, but just when things in her life seem to be on the straight and narrow, the NY Post is reporting she got busted buying crack and cocaine on the Lower East Side. Seems the neighborhood still has its drug roots, the addicts just have Oscars on their mantles now. more ›

At the stroke of midnight on January 1st, New York comedian Amy Borkowsky began her cellibacy project, a temporary resolution that she explains is "not about giving up sex. I’m giving up something much harder than that.” She's casting aside her cell phone, after questioning how much her dependency on it has affected her quality of life.

She also notes that the so-called communication device often keeps her from truly communicating, citing the familiar scenario of sitting at a restaurant table with her friend while they’re both on the phone the entire time. “Something’s wrong,” she insists, “when you answer your call waiting and hear, ‘Hi, Amy. Were you gonna finish those fries?”