NEWS LITE : RUSHDIE HAS SATIRIC VERSES FOR HIS EX-WIFE.

Novelist Salman Rushdie has written to the editor of the British newspaper the Guardian commenting on news that his ex-wife, novelist Marianne Wiggins, is broke.

``I am sorry,'' said Rushdie, ``to read that Ms. Wiggins has been declared financially bankrupt just a few years after receiving a substantial six-figure divorce settlement.''

The newspaper had quoted Wiggins as saying that marrying Rushdie, who was the subject of death threats after the publication of ``The Satanic Verses,'' had been the worst mistake of her life. She called him selfish for not supporting other writers suffering from censorship.

Rushdie called these charges ``a serious defamation,'' but added, ``it is perhaps no worse than entertaining to be called `self-obsessed' by a person one of whose chief criticisms of the Khomeini fatwa was that it had interfered with her book tour.''

Great ape adoption protocol kinda cagey

A baby lowland gorilla abandoned by its natural mother at the San Diego Wild Animal Park has been adopted by another mother gorilla that responded to its hungry cries.

Park officials said Monday that the baby was neglected by its young, inexperienced mother after it was born Saturday, and caretakers feared they would have to raise the baby by hand.

But Alberta the gorilla came to the rescue. Already caring for her own 10-month old, Ndjole, Alberta picked up the baby, nursed it and began to care for it.

The birth mother, Penny, showed no further interest in her baby, said park spokeswoman Debra Dunbar. Park officials on Monday had not yet determined its gender.

This is only the second time on record that a mother gorilla in captivity has assumed the caretaking responsibilities of another's newborn, Dunbar said.

It is unlikely Penny will get the baby back if she changes her mind.

``Alberta seems to think it's hers now,'' Dunbar said.

Tax break in land of enchantment

Shirley MacLaine's neighbors say they would love to have something in common with the movie star - her modest property tax assessment.

Records show MacLaine paid at least $1.15 million for her 36 mountaintop acres outside Santa Fe, N.M., in 1992, but it is assessed at $107,643. She paid $589 in property taxes last year.

Bill Donahue, who pays more than twice as much on 6.2 acres of property, said he thinks MacLaine is getting an ``outrageous'' tax break.

Frank Novelli, a police sergeant who paid just $15 less than MacLaine, also believes his land must be worth far less than hers. ``I will trade her straight up any time she wishes,'' Novelli said.

MacLaine would not comment Monday.

McGann might give Morris 2nd chance

The sex scandal that brought down Dick Morris may not have ended his 20-year marriage after all.

``Life is complicated, and I'm old enough to never say never,'' Eileen McGann told Time magazine when asked whether she would consider taking her husband back.

McGann, a trial lawyer, stood by Morris when he resigned in August after reports that he had let a prostitute listen in on his phone conversations with President Clinton. She was harshly criticized at the time.

``I didn't know that feminists had decreed what the politically correct rules were for personal relationships,'' she said. ``I did what was right for us.''

McGann decided to end the marriage earlier this month. Morris, during TV appearances to plug his book about the Clinton White House, is pledging to win back the love of his wife.

Pope most wanted wedding guest

Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa receive wedding invitations, birth and death announcements, and other pieces of post by the thousands, making them the top fan mail recipients worldwide.

Author Michael Levine conducted a survey for the latest edition of his ``The Address Book - How to Reach Anyone Who's Anyone,'' to find out which celebrities were getting the most fan mail.

Mother Teresa and the Pope topped the list.

Levine attributes this to people's interest in goodness and kindness.

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos

Photo: (1) MacLaine

(2) JOHN PAUL II

(3) Ndjole, left, watches as her mother, Alberta, dandles a 2-day-old gorilla abandoned by its mother at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

Associated Press

(4) Salman Rushdie: Newspaper war