At her bail hearing yesterday, Judge Philip Maenza agreed to cut Sarah Haines' bail from $100,000 to $10,000. Haines has been charged with second-degree child endangerment after leaving her 12-year-old daughter home alone for a week with $10 and three dogs. Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Meg Rodriguez agreed with the bail reduction, but said the state would need help in assuring Haines would return for future proceedings. She told the court, “This is a defendant who recklessly abandoned her child and abdicated her parental responsibility,” and noted there were “prior incidents where this defendant left the child home with other people (to care for the girl) and left the area for long periods of time." more ›

Ponzi scheme enthusiast Bernard Madoff has arrived, after an O.J. Simpson-esque media chase, downtown for his 2:30 p.m. bail hearing. But not before a bystander offered a suggestion. more ›