NEWS LITE : DANCIN' GORE LEARNS NEW STEP: BOOTY CALL.

At least two years after the rest of the nation called it a day, Vice President Al Gore has officially abandoned the macarena. At the height of the craze, Gore began doing a mock version of himself doing the dance to prove to onlookers that he is a fun-loving kind of guy. But over the years, the routine has gotten tired, as he was told by the press corps aboard Air Force Two on the way back from South Africa last week.

``You need a better dance,'' said April Ryan of American Urban Radio Network. Whereupon she prevailed upon Gore, then and there in the aisle of the plane, to learn ``the booty call,'' a line dance.

Labor Secretary Alexis Herman watched and offered criticism, said the Washington Post, and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo was a spectator, too. ``He picks up very well,'' said Ryan after the lesson, but ``he got stuck on one step. He couldn't cross that one leg over the other. . . . But he's going to work that out.''

Lewinsky sends ad prices soaring

The average price of a 30-second ad on Wednesday broadcasts of ``20/20'' is $160,000. The price next week, when Barbara Walters interviews Monica Lewinsky, is $800,000.

Meanwhile, MSNBC reports that Time magazine is close to reaching agreement for a print interview with Lewinsky.

`Baywatch' sees stormy weather in Australia

Citizens of a beachfront Sydney suburb don't mind seeing ``Baywatch'' on their TV screens. It's seeing the show filmed on their Australian beach that bothers many of them.

After a rowdy meeting in Avalon Beach with opponents of the ``Baywatch'' filming, producer Greg Bonnan on Thursday considered invitations from other Australian coastal towns that have welcomed the chance to put their beach on TV screens worldwide.

Producers say the highly popular ``Baywatch'' is seen each week in more than 100 countries. It stars executive producer David Hasselhoff and a brigade of red swimsuit-clad lifeguards.

On Wednesday, Bonnan attended a public meeting in the north Sydney suburb, with some of the 1,700 people who attended shouting, ``Don't come here; leave us alone!'' and ``We don't want you here!''

A fifth of the town's population turned out for the meeting, which appeared to split the community between younger ``Baywatch'' fans and older people who resent the invasion of privacy and inconvenience that film production inevitably brings.

More than two-thirds of those attending the meeting opposed ``Baywatch'' setting up at their small surf club.

Model gives to hurricane victims

Super beauty Claudia Schiffer is exhibiting model behavior. She has donated $2 million to build homes for Honduran victims of Hurricane Mitch.

The donation, made through the Spanish foundation Pueblos de la Tierra de Palma de Mallorca, will pay for construction of 112 homes, said San Pedro Sula Mayor Roberto Larios. The gift ``will benefit many compatriots,'' he said.

The northern city of San Pedro Sula, 100 miles north of Tegucigalpa, is the country's second largest city and considered a crucial point for development.

Schiffer has invested in hotels along Honduras' Atlantic coast and in 1997 acquired a $2 million mansion on Honduras' Roatan Island, a tourist center that largely escaped Mitch's wrath.

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

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Wild winter wonderland

A steer and horse frolic together in a patch of freshly fallen snow Friday south of Livingston, Mont.

The Livingston Enterprise/Thomas Lee

(2) Accessible Boss

Bruce Springsteen makes a rare TV appearance Friday with drummer Max Weinberg on ``Late Night with Conan O'Brien.''