NEWS LITE : MASSACHUSETTS `DELEGATE' LANDS MISS USA TITLE.

Miss Massachusetts Shawnae Jebbia was crowned the new Miss USA Tuesday night, capping the 47th annual pageant.

Jebbia, 26, of Mansfield, Mass., replaces Brandi Sherwood, the former Miss Idaho who took over for last year's winner, Brook Lee. Lee gave up the title when she was crowned Miss Universe last May.

Jebbia beat out second runner-up Melanie Breedlove, Miss Missouri, and first runner-up Shauna Gene Gambill, Miss California.

The 51 contestants - now called ``delegates'' in the parlance of the pageant's promoters - were cut to 10 semifinalists in Friday's bathing suit and swimsuit competitions.

However, those winners were not announced in advance of Tuesday night's program in Shreveport, La.

The group of 10 went through a mock news conference where they fielded questions ranging from should female basketball officials be allowed to wear skirts to what do crawfish cure.

The program included a swimsuit competition in which the semifinalists, wearing black and white suits, were accompanied by a group of male dancers in red bathing suits and tank tops while the other contestants posed in red suits.

Jebbia had the highest score in the swimsuit competition.

Delegates represented each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Jebbia hopes to pursue a master's degree in health promotion and wellness once her reign is over.

Singer gets token settlement in arrest

Courtney Love will get only a fraction of the legal fees she wanted from a central Florida County where she was charged with battery.

Love, lead singer of the band Hole and widow of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, was accused of slugging two fans during a 1995 show in Orlando. The charges were thrown out after a judge ruled that the two teen-age fans were not exposed to any more violence than could have been expected at a rock concert.

An appeals court ruled that Orange County must pay Love for some of her legal expenses.

Love, also an actress who appeared in ``The People vs. Larry Flynt,'' had asked the county to reimburse $27,543 that she paid for a private investigator, expert witnesses and other legal help.

The county agreed to pay 7 percent of the request.

``We offered $1,900, and she took it,'' said George Dorsett, assistant county attorney. The county was notified last week.

Bride cracks whip at `Wild Man' Allen

Woody Allen's bride, Soon-Yi Previn, is ``so assertive that she seems domineering,'' says April's Vanity Fair mag in a preview of ``Wild Man Blues,'' the soon-out documentary on Allen's musical life. ``In virtually every frame, she is either criticizing him or bullying him to the point where the film's title begins to seem unintentionally funny. . . . He plays Caspar Milquetoast to Previn's dominatrix.'' A segment is described wherein Previn forces Allen to eat an omelet she can't stomach, then snatches his breakfast for herself.

Hefners quickly stop their divorce

Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner's wife filed for divorce, then changed her mind and said it was all a misunderstanding.

Kimberly Conrad Hefner, 34, whom Hefner has called his ``Playmate for a lifetime,'' signed the papers and told attorney Ronald Rosenfeld to file for divorce.

``Then they made up and she forgot to tell the lawyer to stop,'' Playboy spokesman Bill Farley said Tuesday. The divorce petition was filed Friday and withdrawn on Monday.

In a joint written statement, Hefner and his wife, who had announced a trial separation on Jan. 20, said: ``This filing took place in a moment of misunderstanding. We are still exploring a reconciliation, and neither of us wants a divorce.''

The couple's two children - Marston, 7, and Cooper, 6 - live with their mother in a home next door to the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills.

Hefner, 71, married the former Playmate of the Year in 1989.

Clinton vetoes sex for Buddy

Finally, a Clinton sex story the White House is willing to address.

Though the president's chocolate Labrador retriever has avoided any hint of scandal in his six months of life, the White House confirmed Tuesday that the first family is having him neutered.

And it's all because of Doris Day.

The actress with the pearly teeth and oh-so-pure image wrote a letter to President Clinton in December suggesting that he set an example to pet owners by neutering his pup. The Washington-based Doris Day Animal League, which runs a neutering campaign to fight overpopulation and the killing of unwanted animals, received a positive reply this week.

In a three-sentence letter released by the White House, presidential physician E. Connie Mariano wrote that the Clintons had consulted with a veterinarian and agreed to cut short Buddy's sex life.

White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said the president ``was strongly encouraged by both the veterinarian and some others that, in the interest of both the dog's health and the growing dog population, this is the right thing to do.''

Whether Buddy ever strayed from his protected environment is unclear, and Secret Service agents weren't talking. But in a time when any story containing the words ``Clinton'' and ``sex'' are grist for late-night comedians and political commentators alike, Lockhart issued a simple exhortation.

``We are imploring responsible newspapers to keep this quiet because everyone knows that dogs do read the paper and they talk among themselves,'' quipped the spokesman officially designated to deal with questions regarding sex. ``In the interest of privacy, we want to keep this away from the chattering dog class.''

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

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1) The president's new puppy, Buddy, will be neutered, Clinton says.

(2) Hefner

(3) Love