NEWS LITE : `IT WAS MY FAULT'; FISHER OFFERS COURTROOM APOLOGY TO BUTTAFUOCO.

A judge Thursday opened the way for Amy Fisher's possible parole within days after the Long Island Lolita apologized in court to Mary Jo Buttafuoco, the woman she shot in a jealous rage.

``What happened to you - it wasn't your husband's fault . . . it wasn't my father's fault. It was my fault and I'm sorry,'' the 24-year-old Fisher said in a barely audible voice, looking directly at Buttafuoco.

As Fisher walked past Buttafuoco in a courtroom in Mineola, N.Y., they brushed fingers and the younger woman mouthed, ``I'm sorry,'' holding back tears.

``Through faith in God I am able to forgive,'' Buttafuoco said. ``It did not come easily or quickly.''

In 1992, Fisher, then 16, knocked on the door of Buttafuoco's Massapequa home and shot her in the head. At the time, Fisher was having sex with Buttafuoco's husband, Joey. He later served six months in jail for statutory rape.

Fisher had already won Buttafuoco's forgiveness through letters the two began several months ago. But Thursday was the first time they had seen each another since 1992.

During the court session, Judge Ira Wexner threw out Fisher's 1992 guilty plea to assault on the grounds that her lawyer at the time provided ineffective counsel.

Fisher then re-entered the plea and was sentenced to 3-1/2 to 10-1/2 years. She has already served seven years of the original 5-to-15-year sentence.

She will be interviewed by the state Parole Board on May 3. If the board approves, she could be freed that week.

``You are still a young woman and could be a productive member of society if you channel your energies,'' Wexner told her. ``Based on the information I have received, I believe you can do that.''

Buttafuoco said her recovery from the shooting gave her a second chance at life. ``You are being given a second chance, too,'' she told Fisher. ``I pray you take it.''

The Buttafuocos now live in Los Angeles.

John, Turner rift spikes concert tour

The Elton John/Tina Turner tour is off after the two realized that they really don't get on all that well. ``It's obvious we have different styles,'' is how John put it in a statement. What happened was that the rocker got into a snit last week at a rehearsal when Turner criticized his piano playing. He blew his stack, cursed and stormed off. He later apologized, but the damage was done. Their August-to-December tour was to climax with a New Year's Eve concert in Las Vegas.

White House book to feature recipes

Hillary Rodham Clinton's ``An Invitation to the White House,'' a detailed account of the rollicking good times in the first family's home, will be published by Simon & Schuster this fall. A contract for the book was signed way before Clinton was mentioned as a possible senatorial candidate and before the recent White House scandal broke, at the same time that she agreed to do last fall's ``Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets.''

The book, which will be cookbook-size, will include anecdotes about visits by heads of state, details of private parties and accounts of holiday celebrations at the White House. Its illustrations will include photographs, menus and invitations; recipes for at least 30 dishes are to be included.

In the footsteps of recent non-cooking cookbook authors Jane Fonda and the Duchess of York, the first lady, who once angrily told the press that she was not the sort to stay home and bake cookies, ``is not pretending that she cooks this food or sets the table,'' said Carolyn Reidy of Simon & Schuster. Nonetheless, readers will learn what to serve the prime minister of China should he drop by their homes.

Opposing senators get courage award

Sens. John McCain and Russell Feingold, who crossed party lines to propose campaign finance reform legislation, were named Thursday as winners of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

McCain, a Republican from Arizona, and Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, were honored for addressing fund-raising excesses and trying to regulate the flow of special interest money to campaigns. The McCain-Feingold bill was ultimately defeated last year.

This is the 10th Profile in Courage Award and the first to be shared by two elected American politicians.

News Lite is compiled by Karen Duffy from Daily News staff and wire reports

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3 photos

PHOTO (1) White House lawn party

After a splash in a fountain, President Clinton's dog Buddy romps through tulips on the south lawn of his famous home.

J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

(2 -- 3) At left, Amy Fisher is escorted by sheriff's deputies from a Nassau County criminal court Thursday in Mineola, M.Y. Above, attorney Dominic Barbara escorts Mary Jo Buttafuoco, shot by Fisher in 1992, into the court.