Last month Duane Reade tweeted a paparazzi photograph of Katherine Heigl shopping at one of their New York City drugstores. Now Katherine Heigl wants $6 million.

It's such a hassle to go to the drug store and search all the aisles for beer, ping-pong balls, and condoms so that you can get wasted, play beer pong, and then have a regretful, half-flaccid hookup with some poor someone. Now one drug store is putting them all together for your convenience.

A new branch of Duane Reade, the New York City-based drugstore owned by Walgreens, is opening on Wall Street and it is the largest Duane Reade ever built. Thrillingly, its massive size (22,000 square-feet) is matched in elegance and amenities.

Don't use the bathroom at Duane Reade — someone might be watching.

To boost sales, Wal-Mart is looking to open smaller stores in urban areas, and the chain is planning several 20,000-square-foot outposts in Queens and lower Manhattan. Great, now everything will be a Duane Reade, Starbucks, bank branch, or Wal-Mart.

The slow death of Genuine New York continues apace: Ubiquitous NYC drug store Duane Reade, with over 1 million locations in your neighborhood alone, is being bought by boring corporate drug store Walgreen. Man. Remember when purchasing gum was real?

Some Duane Reade locations are now selling sushi, which means it's now technically possible to pick up deodorant, aspirin, and California Rolls at the same time. You probably shouldn't take advantage of this new luxury, though, says a ridiculously brave Village Voice staffer who sampled the drugstore's selection of raw fish so you don't ever have to: "There is no earthly reason to ever, ever, ever buy sushi at Duane Reade." Okay then! [VV]

• Is NBC shutting down Jay Leno's 10pm show and moving him back to late night? Is Conan O'Brien out of a job? NBC isn't denying that a schedule change has been discussed, but it's not saying much more than that for now. [NYT]
• ABC News is reportedly in negotiations with Ted Koppel to bring him back to the network as the anchor of This Week on Sunday mornings. [Politico]
• CNN is handing over the 1-3pm slot to Ali Velshi starting on Jan. 18. [NYT]
• Forbes has sold off its landmark building on lower Fifth Ave. to NYU. [NYO]
• Despite the standoff between Cablevision and Scripps, ratings for the company's two cable outlets, HGTV and Food Network, are up. [AdAge]
• Tucker Carlson's new website, The Daily Caller, launches next week. [WI]
• Avatar's streak continues: It's now the No. 2 biggest movie ever. [THR]
• A Blockbuster video kiosk is coming to a Duane Reade near you. [NYCTB]
• Fox is delaying the start of its sketchy new reality show. [THR]
• Break out a tissue: The Hof is leaving America's Got Talent. [People]
• Lady Gaga was the special guest on Launch My Line last night. [Gawker]
• Did ABC News buy George Stephanopoulos a booster seat when he joined the Good Morning America team? That's the rumor, at least. [Popeater]

Duane Reade has given a number of its stores a makeover in recent weeks, turning its legendarily "cramped, dim" locations" into the sort of "lighter, airier spaces" you might find in a California strip mall. It's part of an effort to compete with all the Walgreens and CVS outlets popping up around town, and to highlight the changes underway, the company launched its first-ever brand advertising campaign last month. But maybe some people just preferred the drug store the way it was? The sign posted to the window of the LES location underwent an edit this week. You can take a look at his/her handiwork here. [Spiers]

Last week we noted how Rush Limbaugh hasn't lifted a chubby finger to follow through on a promise to move out of Manhattan, disgusted as he was with the high taxes and all. Maybe this ad campaign caught his eye.

Duane Reade is hoping to change your opinion of the crappiest drugstore chain in NYC. For the first time in a long time, the company is about to launch a big brand-advertising campaign as part of an effort to "make New Yorkers think of Duane Reade as the hometown favorite." One little non-hometown detail that probably won't be referenced in the cheeky new campaign: the fact the chain is owned by Oak Hill Capital, which is controlled by Robert M. Bass, a Texas billionaire and one of George Bush's staunchest supporters during his two terms in office. [NYT]

[Submit your own Gawker Stalker sightings to stalker@gawker.com] June 1 @ 12pm I saw Matthew Broderick buying nicotine patches in Duane Reade!

[Submit your own Gawker Stalker sightings to stalker@gawker.com] May 19 @ 2:30pm At the Duane Reade on West 50th Street buying a Rolling Stone magazine and a few other items.

Professional swashbuckler Orlando Bloom attempted to do a fellow New Yorker a solid by standing guard over a motorcycle. The biker had to make a quick stop at a nearby Duane Reade and Bloom gladly offered his watching services. As soon as the man disappeared into the pharmacy, Bloom hopped on the machine and mimed the sounds of speeding away as he pretended that his girlfriend was clutching him around his waist. As Bloom began to shake the bike back and forth, he accidentally caused the kickstand to break, which sent the mean machine crashing to the ground. Bloom quickly ran down the street and into the nearest subway station.

Because every New Yorker ends up spending an irritating amount of time in Duane Reade, it seems only natural that advertisers would capitalize on our enslavement to the drugstore:

Kabbalah Energy Drink© is now available at a shitty Duane Reade near you! Ward off the evil eye and serve it mixed with vodka, "just how Madonna likes it."