FIRST OFF . . .

All charges have been dropped in the matter of the New York Post vs. Sean Penn after Penn agreed Thursday to pay for damages to a photographer’s car that he attacked. Penn also dropped his cross complaint of reckless endangerment that he filed against Post photographer Paul Adao. It all began July 3, when Adao, sitting in his car, photographed Penn and his wife, singer Madonna, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. According to Adao, Penn became enraged and kicked the car door in. According to Penn, he kicked in the door to avoid being run over. But it’s all moot now: New York Criminal Court Judge Rene White agreed to dismiss both charges, sealing the record at the close of the five-minute hearing.