The so-called "Millionaire Madam" Anna Gristina remains at Rikers Island, nearly two months after her initial arrest. The married mother of two, accused of running a high-end escort service from an Upper East Side apartment, is being held on $2 million bail, because Manhattan prosecutors say she has bragged about having money overseas as well as law enforcement connections. But Gristina insists she's innocent and has been trying to get her bail lowered. Now her family has apparently started a website to solicit donations. more ›

While it's true that McDonald's McRibs are made partially out of a substance used to make soles of shoes, there is still a percentage of the limited-edition sandwich that comes from a pig, and that percentage is subject to some horrific mistreatment from the humans that raise it, according to a new lawsuit. more ›

A time-honored tradition of getting irreparably blazed before the senior prom went horribly awry for a group of teens in Glassboro, New Jersey on Friday night. Five friends were gathered in a silver dodge Intrepid driven by one regally-named King M. Seals, 18. But despite his magisterial moniker, Seals seems to have exercised poor judgment in failing to adequately hotbox the Intrepid, and the pungent scent of marijuana smoke wafting from the vehicle caught the attention of one Patrolman Ron Marchese. And everything went sideways from there. more ›

People rave about the Lower East Side Meatball Shop, which, as the same suggests, specializes in meatballs. We know from Wikipedia that meatballs can be made with all sorts of ingredients; Italian meatballs usually contain beef and or pork and sometimes turkey, while Ivan Reitman's 1979 Meatballs contained Bill Murray, ha cha cha. At The Meatball Shop, varieties include "Classic Beef," "Spicy Pork," and "Chicken." However, one devoted customer was recently shocked to learn that all the balls have one ingredient in common. Here's her indignant email: more ›

Naturally, there are more sordid rumors swirling about ex-Giants star Tiki Barber's affair with a 23-year-old former NBC intern—for whom he just dumped his 8-months-pregnant wife. The Post is valiantly leading the charge, with all sorts of anonymous sources alleging and denying all sorts of sleazy things. One source who knew his young mistress, Traci Johnson, when she attended Mount St. Mary College in Newburgh, provided this prurient little nugget to the tabloid of record: more ›

It's hard out there for a pig these days. The Post reports on a 300-pound pot-bellied pig named Romeo, a family pet in Queens' St. Albans section, who is turning into "a porky pariah" with his neighbors in our time of swine. Who does Romeo live next to—Joe Biden? No, not Amtrak Joke, but he does reside a few doors away from 83-year-old Mary McPherson, who says, "It shouldn't be here. I've never heard of pigs as pets, and with the flu, it worries me." Since swine flu is thought to be spread through close contact among pigs and Romeo is a Napoleon Solo, it is highly unlikely that he is a carrier of the virus. Eight year-old owner Jolisa Cummins adds, "I watched about [the flu] on TV, and I was worried he could get sick. But he's never been to Mexico." If the neighbors take their case to the city however, they could get Romeo banished—pot-bellied pigs are not allowed by the city as pets. Jolisa's father had bought Rome as a gift to her mother Lisa, who grew up on a farm in Trinidad. more ›

Pork and bacon, of all things, are decidedly the new engines of charity events: First off, Tom Mylan and Brooklyn Kitchen have decided to auction off 10 upcoming seats at Mylan’s immensely popular pig butchering class to benefit Just Food and the Greenpoint Interfaith Food Team, according to Serious Eats. Secondly, the “Park Slope Pork Off” next month at Loki Lounge will garner the winner $100 and bragging rights; moreover, all proceeds benefit survivors of toxic waste in the Philippines. “Fakin’ bacon,” the organizers advise, is also acceptable, however “you best fool us but good.” We hear that Jonathan Proville, winner of last month’s epic Bacon Takedown, is angling for a second victory at next month’s event. More information on the “Pork Off” here. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, the New York Times has an excellent piece this week on vegan advocate and author Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, and across the pond, BBC correspondent Richard da Costa has spent four days eating, cavorting, and sleeping 24/7 in a sty with pigs. The resulting documentary called My Life as an Animal plays tonight; more information here. more ›