Before she entered politics, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn struggled with bulimia and alcoholism. Quinn opened up about those experiences in an interview with the New York Times, and is expected to talk about them publicly at Barnard College on Tuesday.

Quinn’s mother was dying of breast cancer when she was 16 years old, the speaker told the Times. Quinn spent every morning waking her mother, bathing her, making her breakfast and giving her medication. Her mother’s condition wasn’t improving, and when it was all too overwhelming for the teen to handle, she would binge on ice cream and corn muffins — and then make herself throw up.

The habit continued for 10 years until she sought help at the age of 26.

“I just want people to know you can get through stuff,” she told the Times. “I hope people can see that in what my life has been and where it is going.”

The speaker reached out to the Times to share her experience. She will also touch upon the issues in a memoir that is scheduled to be published next month.

Quinn also talked about how although her mother was diagnosed with cancer when she was in the second grade, she didn’t know about it until the eighth grade when a nun at her school told one of her classmates to be nice to her because her mother had cancer.

At this time, Quinn felt that she needed to be perfect — and thinner — in order to save her mother, the Times reports. Secretly eating sweets and then purging brought a sense of relief, she said.

“For a brief moment, you’ve kind of expelled from your being the things that are making you feel bad,” she said. Quinn also began going out and drinking with friends around this time.

Quinn was in her junior year of high school when her mother died. She continued to struggle with her bulimia and drinking throughout college.

Years later, Quinn got a job working as a campaign manager for City Councilman Thomas Duane. When Quinn opened up to Duane about her problems, he urged her to go to rehabilitation, and she did.

Quinn said she is proud of what she has overcome and does not want to hide it anymore. She added that she does not believe her openness about this part of her life will have an effect on the mayoral race, saying it feels “nonpolitical.”

The post Christine Quinn discusses struggle with bulimia, alcoholism appeared first on Metro.us.

Even if you’re not gifting mom with hot sex from a young mustachioed stud today (your dad might not be so into it, you should check with him first) you should still call her up let her know she’s appreciated.

Because, no matter what maternal flaws she might have, she’s still probably a better mom than these ladies.

Because your mom probably let you use whatever hangers you wanted.

Because your mom probably didn’t try to kill you before the big dance.

Because your mom…well, actually, Kathleen Turner as “Serial Mom” is just awesome.

The post [VIDEO] Happy Mother’s Day from two mother lovers and three moms much worse than yours appeared first on Metro.us.

A young Bronx woman was arrested after she put her dead newborn in a plastic bag and threw it down a garbage chute on Saturday, police said.

Ariel Devonish-Francis, 19, gave birth to the premature baby at home and then sought medical treatment at Albert Einstein University Hospital, where she told hospital workers how she had disposed of the body. They notified police, who recovered the remains that evening.

An autopsy revealed that the baby was stillborn, the New York Post reported.

“They found the baby in one of those small black bags you get at the deli when you buy food,” building superintendent Jose Garcia, 50, told the Daily News.

Devonish-Francis was charged with misappropriation of a cadaver.

The post (UPDATE) Bronx woman dumps stillborn baby in garbage appeared first on Metro.us.

The mother of a 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed by police officers this weekend said that she does not condone the nightly protests against her son’s death, but said she demands that the two cops who shot her son be taken off the streets. 

Carol Gray called for peace on Thursday after three nights of violent protests in the East Flatbush neighborhood. She said she just wants justice for the two officers responsible for her son’s death “before they hurt another kid,” The Daily News reported.

Kimani Gray was shot and killed by two police officers Saturday night after he pointed a gun at them, according to police reports. Some local residents and even some people from outside the community have been outraged over the teen’s death, saying they do not believe he had a gun in his hands.

The cops involved were identified as Sgt. Mourad Mourad, 30, and Officer Jovaniel Cordova, 26, The News reported. According to police reports, Kimani pulled out a .38-caliber revolver and pointed it at Cordova, and then at Mourad, and then back at Cordova. The officers shot Gray a total of seven times.

The neighborhood protests have resulted in dozens of arrests. Dozens gathered again Thursday, but it was calm.

The post Mother of Kimani Gray demands justice appeared first on Metro.us.

The boy was visiting the zoo with his 34-year-old mother, who had put him on the railing for a better view of the animals, known as African painted dogs, police said.

The zoo was closed immediately after the incident on Sunday and remained shut on Monday.

Authorities are trying to determine if the boy died from the fall or the attack, Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Diane Richard said on Monday.

Eleven dogs swarmed the boy after he fell. Zookeepers rushed to the exhibit area housing the animals, firing darts to frighten them away from the child before police arrived.

Zoo staff secured 10 of the dogs but police entered the pit and fired multiple gunshots to kill the last dog, which was particularly aggressive toward the child and the officers, authorities said.

African painted dogs are endangered and native to sub-Saharan Africa, according to the National Geographic website.

The animals have an average size of just over 2 feet to 3.5 feet. They are also known as Cape hunting dogs or painted dogs because of their mottled coats with patches of red, black, brown, white and yellow fur.

The post Police: Child mauled at Pittsburgh zoo fell off railing appeared first on Metro.us.

Cecilia Reyes met this morning with Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, whose office is investigating the Oct. 4 incident, where an unarmed Polanco, 23, was fatally shot by Detective Hassan Hamdy during a traffic stop along Grand Central Parkway. Hamdy said he thought Polanco, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, was reaching for a weapon.

Stanford Rubenstein, an attorney for Reyes, said the grieving mother, who will attend her son’s funeral on Friday, wants Hamdy held accountable if an independent investigation determines that he committed a crime when he shot her son.

“She wants justice for her son,” Rubenstein told Metro. “That means if a criminal act was committed by this police officer, which caused a wrongful death, she wants him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

When asked whether Reyes is considering filing a lawsuit against the city, Rubenstein responded, “She is emotionally distressed. At this point, any civil matters are furthest thing from mind.”

He added that the case will likely go to a grand jury, which Police Commissioner Ray Kelly publicly suggested earlier this week. Queens District Attorney Brown also reiterated that today.

“I told them that when we conclude our investigation I expect that we will present all of the facts to the grand jury,” Brown said in a statement.

The post Noel Polanco: Mother of man shot by NYPD calls for justice in son’s death appeared first on Metro.us.

The gunman, identified by police as Jeffrey Johnson, confronted former co-worker Steven Ercolino outside the Empire State Building and shot him at close range in the head, killing him. Johnson was then shot and killed by police after he turned his gun on them, a move his mother believed was strategic so the officers would shoot and kill him. Nine other people were injured in the crossfire.

He had lost his job as a designer for Hazan Imports, located within the building, about a year ago, and his mother said he blamed Ercolino, a salesman, for not selling enough of the line he designed. She found out about her son’s actions and his death by watching the news.

“I know there are a lot of Jeffrey Johnsons in the world, and a lot of Jeffrey Johnsons in New York City, but when they said the company he used to work for, I just went to pieces,” his mother told The New York Times.

She asked The Times to withhold her first name and hometown in Georgia to protect her privacy. Ms. Johnson, who is in her 80s, said she racked her brain trying to figure out what caused her son’s violent behavior. She considered a childhood car accident that caused him brain trauma, his marksmanship training for the Coast Guard, even the recent death of his beloved pet. She said Johnson wrote in a letter that “life has been diminished tenfold” since the death of his cat Romeo.

Johnson attended the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. He then joined the Coast Guard and got married, but he and his wife divorced four years later. That was more than thirty years ago, his mother said. He moved to NYC about 10 years ago. His mother had not seen him for 22 years, but they spoke over the phone every Sunday, she said. She had not heard from him, though, since April 6 when he called to wish her a happy birthday.

“I don’t blame police in New York for shooting my son, because he killed somebody, —but for me, he hasn’t changed,” she said. “He’s still the kindhearted, caring person who loved all kinds of animals and I’m sure he loved us. You know a mother always tries to look for the best in you.”

The post Mother of Empire State Building shooter Jeffrey Johnson says son was ‘kindhearted’ appeared first on Metro.us.

The woman, identified only as Witness 9, said Zimmerman inappropriately touched her and made sexual advances until she was 16 years old. There is just a two-year age difference between the woman and Zimmerman. Their exact relation has not been made public. She told investigators she came forward with her claims after Zimmerman was charged with the murder of Trayvon Martin because she was “no longer afraid of him.”

She also told investigators she has heard Zimmerman’s mother make racist comments, and even once say she didn’t like President Barack Obama because he is black.

A legal analyst who spoke to Orlando-based WFTV reporter Daralene Jones said the allegations would likely not play a role in Zimmerman’s murder trial. Jones tweeted excerpts from Witness 9′s explosive testimony.

[View the story "Zimmerman" on Storify]

The post Witness claims George Zimmerman molested her, says he comes from racist family appeared first on Metro.us.

Witnesses have described the horrific scene as 31-year-old Rudy Eugene, naked and crazed, bit and chewed the face of 65-year-old Ronald Poppo on a sidewalk near a highway May 27. Some passersby say Eugene had pieces of flesh hanging from his mouth and was even growling before he was shot and killed by cops when he disobeyed their order to stop. Poppo is still in critical condition, fighting for his life after 75 percent of his face was disfigured.

Eugene’s mother, who asked CNN not to reveal her name, said her son was a loving, caring person, and police didn’t need to shoot him.

“He was a good kid. He gave me a nice card on Mother’s Day. Everyone says he was a zombie. He was no zombie. That was my son,” she said.

Eugene’s girlfriend also painted a very different picture from the ravenous man scene on surveillance video brutalizing Poppo before chewing off his face.

“He loved God. He always read the Bible. He would give you knowledge on the Bible. Everywhere he went his Bible went. When he left he had his Bible in his hand,” his girlfriend told WFOR. “That wasn’t him, that was his body but it wasn’t his spirit.  Somebody did this to him.”

Authorities have stated they suspect Eugene was under the influence of drugs at the time of the attack, possibly bath salts, which can cause hallucinations or delusions.

The post Mother of face-chewing Rudy Eugene says her son ‘was no zombie’ appeared first on Metro.us.

According to the NYPD, officers responded to a 911 call of shots fired at 2971 Eighth Avenue, an apartment complex, around 3:30 Tuesday morning. They found two gun shot victims, a mother and daughter.

The 13-year-old girl had a gun shot wound to her head, and her mother, a 44-year-old woman, suffered multiple gun shot wounds. The teenager was pronounced dead, but her mother is in critical condition at Harlem Hospital.

The woman told police the shooter was her 28-year-old son. Officers canvased the area and spotted the suspect running near 155th Street and Eighth Avenue. Police chased him and gunfire was exchanged, according to the NYPD. The suspect was struck in the legs and torso. The officers involved in the chase were uninjured. Police recovered a .22 caliber handgun from the suspect, who is in serious condition at Harlem Hospital.

The post NYPD: Harlem man kills teen sister, injures mother in shooting appeared first on Metro.us.

William Balfour, now estranged from his wife, Hudson’s sister Julia, is accused of killing Hudson’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew Julian — Balfour’s own stepson, more than three years ago.

According to prosecutors, Balfour shot Hudson’s mother and brother in a jealous rage over the possibility that his wife was seeing another man. The body of his wife’s son was found in a car three days later.

Hudson also told the court of the close relationship she shared with her mother, according to CNN, saying she shared a bed with her until she was 16-years-old.

The trial is expected to last three to four weeks.

The post Jennifer Hudson testifies against man accused of killing family members appeared first on Metro.us.

He opened the show by addressing several of the rumors circulating over his recent absence.

“As the hub around which the republic turns, I can understand why the machinery of this great nation ground to a halt last week when you were denied this,” Colbert said, motioning to his face.

For the record, none of these are the real reason he was gone:

– His show was canceled by the FCC per the request of the Federal Election Commission because he was about to announce his bid for president.

– The show was canceled because he offended the Catholic church when he compared the pope’s hat to a giant, yet stylish, prophylactic.   

– He was in rehab.

– He was getting plastic surgery — specifically getting a nose job or “new eyes,” according to Joan Rivers.

“I had my ass done,” Colbert joked in response to Joan Rivers’ prediction. “The doctors cranked this thing so high and tight it can barely blink now.”

Before moving on with the rest of the show, Colbert added one final remark about this absence.

“One more thing,” he said. “Evidently, having 11 children makes you tough as nails. Confidential to a lovely lady.”

Colbert is one of 11 children, and while he never gave the real reason for his absence, it has been reported that he took the break from taping to care for his 91-year-old mother Lorna.  

On Friday, Colbert tweeted, “My family and I would like to thank everyone who has offered their thoughts and prayers. We are grateful and touched by your concern.”

The post Stephen Colbert returns to show, addresses his absence appeared first on Metro.us.

As a new parent, your only barometer of right and wrong is a screaming infant. How do I know if I am doing the right thing? How do I know if I’m hurting her, if she is hungry, tired, dirty? My role as “mom” continuously evolves, and with each passing day I grow more confident and more in love with my baby.

Perhaps the most important lesson I have learned is to let go. The stress of parenting can be all-consuming. Trying to seek out patterns, trying to establish routines, to answer the never-ending list of questions, desperate to eke out order — these things are futile. My goal every day is to enjoy each moment and to appreciate every hour with my child. But how?

Over the years, marijuana has proven a useful tool for me. In the past, weed has served to calm me down — to unwind me so that I am able to enjoy my life. I have always been attracted to high-stress jobs and have performed very well in that capacity; little did I know that parenting would be the highest-stress, most-demanding job yet. In the moments when I am ready to lose my mind — when the baby has been crying nonstop, for example — I take a little puff and my patience and calm is restored. My new state of mind enables me to not only tap into my unfound stores of patience but also lets me to relate to my baby as a baby and not a screaming, pooping monster.

My husband, a doctor, also smokes frequently. (Neither of us do it in front of the baby and we never will — and I feel OK about breastfeeding. From what we’ve read, the tests conducted have indicated little or no transference of cannabinoids.) The benefit outweighs the stigma.

Going to the park with my growing baby becomes an adventure for both of us. I am able to appreciate my baby’s perspective of the world and perceive things as if I, too, were experiencing them for the first time. The small things that seem so trivial to us as “grown-ups” are just as exciting to me as they are to my baby — once I’ve had a puff.

I’m not saying that marijuana is right for everyone. But it does help me.

Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Please send 300-word submissions to letters@metro.us.

The post ‘Smoking pot makes me a better mother’ appeared first on Metro.us.