NEWS LITE : LEWINSKY SINGS SONG OF HERSELF.

Years before Monica Lewinsky was a friendly White House intern, she was a schoolgirl poet, reports the New York Post. The latest issue of the literary quarterly Open City reprints a poem she wrote at the age of 10 or 11, published in the yearbook of the John Thomas Dye School:

``I am a pizza/ I can be a delicious lunch, dinner/ or breakfast, if you're weird/ I have a great deal of toppings on me/ I am a round and flat piece of dough/ with lots of toppings/ I make your mouth water/ I'm very good to eat, but I'm/ Fattening!/ I am a mouth's best friend/ I make you say, `Yum, Yum'/ I am a pizza.''

All over the map; Mayor takes reign to TV

It's all in a day's work for Mayor Richard Riordan, who is going from a blustery millionaire to a weatherman.

Last week, Riordan appeared in the Los Angeles Theater Works' production of a radio drama, playing the role of an American tycoon. Today he is on KABC-TV (Channel 7) as its mystery weatherman.

For those up early enough, Riordan is scheduled to appear on the weather segment at 6:45 a.m., according to a spokeswoman in the Mayor's Office.

A devil of a time; Diablo leaves car owner vexed

John Martin just wasn't satisfied with his 1997 red Ferrari.

He craved something hotter, something flashier, something to make him the envy of perfect strangers: a quarter-million-dollar Lamborghini Diablo Roadster. A purple one.

Now, one year after buying the car of his boyhood dreams, Martin says in a lawsuit that the Diablo is a big-ticket lemon.

The roof leaks so badly, he can't drive when it rains. The battery quits without notice. The sunroof latches detach when he drives over a bump, bonking him on the head, he says.

And perhaps most galling, the doors and windows jam, and he has to bang on the windows until a stranger helps him get out.

``It's very embarrassing,'' said Martin, 31, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ``You want to get the Lamborghini to get to be the center of attention. But now you're the center of attention because you're some fool locked in a purple car.''

The lawsuit alleges Lamborghini knew about the defects and ignored them. And Martin's lawyers say they're working on expanding the suit to a class-action to seek full refunds for 60 or so other Roadster owners in the United States.

Harold Nathan, an attorney for Lamborghini in New York, said only that the lawsuit, filed last week in federal court, is ``under study.''

Martin, who is studying at Broward Community College to be a pharmacist, said he received assurances from the dealer and the manufacturer before buying the car that it would be suitable for everyday use. (Prior to 1996, Lamborghinis were sold as racing cars for occasional road use.)

His lawyers claim to have sworn statements from four former high-level employees who said the automaker knew of many of the defects.

The lawsuit, which seeks punitive and compensatory damages, comes just days after Volkswagen's Audi subsidiary signed a letter of intent to acquire the Italian car maker, reportedly for $40 million.

Martin, whose parents bought the car for him for $145,000 in cash, plus $117,000 from his Ferrari trade-in, said he turned down Lamborghini's offer of a 1998 model to replace his 1997 Roadster.

He said he doesn't want to take the chance of getting caught in the rain or locked in the car.

Publisher's love into 2nd edition

Larry Flynt got married during a sumptuous weekend ceremony at his Hollywood Hills estate.

The Hustler magazine publisher exchanged vows with his former nurse, Elizabeth Barrios.

``I put her off for seven years,'' Flynt, 55, said Monday. ``Marriage is more important to women than to men. I could have done without it, to tell you the truth.''

Woody Harrelson, who played Flynt in ``The People vs. Larry Flynt,'' was among the 150 wedding guests, along with the movie's director, Milos Forman, and stars Courtney Love and Ed Norton.

Flynt, who has been paralyzed from the waist down since a 1978 assassination attempt, said the couple will honeymoon in St. Martin.

Althea Leasure Flynt, who was married to the publisher for 11 years, died in 1987 at age 33 in the bathtub of their home.

Nanny's interview shakes up Britain

It's not what Louise Woodward said Monday in her first televised interview since returning to England, but how she looked that upset many Brits. Does Princess Diana ring a bell?

The world's most famous au pair, interrogated by the same interviewer on the same BBC show where Di did a sit-down in November 1995, wore a dark suit similar to that worn by Di, placed her hands on her lap the same way, and gazed wide-eyed at her questioner as Di did. Woodward also sported freshly cut and highlighted hair close to Di style.

Said Member of Parliament Teddy Taylor: ``If Louise Woodward is trying to look like the princess, it's an insult.'' A spokesman for Earl Spencer called the similarity ``bizarre.'' Piped up royal expert Harold Brooks-Baker: ``Anything that destroys the memory of the late Princess of Wales is in very bad taste.'' Another expert, Margaret Holder, noted: ``I can't imagine what this interview is for unless it is to convey, I'm as innocent as Diana was or I'm as great a lover of children as Diana was. Diana was known for her love of children, not for shaking them to death.''

Singer misses boat on box office king

Reba McEntire said she had the chance to play Molly Brown in ``Titanic'' but had to bow out because of a scheduling conflict.

The country star said she was hired by director James Cameron for the part ultimately played by Kathy Bates. McEntire said she rearranged her schedule to do the role, but the shooting of ``Titanic'' was moved.

``We'd have lost no telling how much money to move those dates again or cancel them,'' McEntire told The Tennessean.

McEntire, who has acted in several TV movies and in ``Tremors'' for the big screen, said her singing career remains her priority.

``Without the music, I lose my identity,'' she said. ``The other things enhance it, make it more fun and exciting.''

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

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos

PHOTO (1) John Martin of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has filed suit over his allegedly flawed sports car made by Lamborghini.

(2) Flynt

(3) McEntire

(4) Riordan