PASSAGES: Martha Sued by Investor

By Louise A. Barile

Thursday August 22, 2002 01:00 PM EDT

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SUED: An investor has filed a lawsuit accusing domestic diva Martha Stewart of ditching more than 3 million shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia stock — the same day that biotech company ImClone first learned it was the subject of an insider trading probe, the New York Daily News reports. The lawsuit, filed in New York Wednesday by investor Howard Rosen, claims Stewart, a former stockbroker herself, realized that the suspicious timing of her sale of ImClone shares could come to light and hurt her reputation, damaging her own corporation's stock price. Shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia have dropped 60 percent since the scandal broke, according to the newspaper ... OUT: There's big trouble in teen land: Singer Naturi Naughton, 18, revealed Wednesday that she was kicked out of the Epic Records girl group 3LW (Three Little Women), MTV reports. The R&B trio, whose lineup included Naughton, Kiely Williams, 16, and Adrienne Bailon, 17, scored a hit with their self-title debut and the single "No More." Naughton told New York radio host Wendy Williams that in the weeks leading up to the ousting, the group's management, run by Williams' guardian Michelle Williams (not the Destiny's Child performer), complained about her performance and commitment to the group. Although there has been no official announcement from the group, Naughton claims that her replacement has already been chosen. 3LW's sophomore CD, titled "A Girl Can Mack," is scheduled for release Oct. 1 ... AWARDED: Former Beatle Paul McCartney's new bride, Heather Mills, 34, was awarded $76,000 in damages from a British tabloid, which claimed that her charity was being investigated for financial abuses, Reuters reports. The former model, who married McCartney this summer, began campaigning against landmines and raising money for amputees after she lost a her leg below the knee in a 1993 motorcycle accident. She said she would donate the award from the libel case against the Sunday Mirror to Adopt-A-Minefield UK ... PROMOTED: Veteran "60 Minutes" reporter Leslie Stahl, 60, will replace Dan Rather on the retooled version of the CBS newsmagazine "48 Hours," according to the New York Daily News. Producers hope to lure younger viewers to the renamed "48 Hours Investigates," which will premiere with Stahl at the anchor desk on Sept. 27 ... HURT: Pop star Cyndi Lauper, 48, injured her leg Tuesday during her performance opening for Cher in Oklahoma City, Launch.com reports. The singer, best known for her '80s hit "Girls Just Want To Have Fun," twisted her ankle when her heels got caught in the stairs leading to the stage. Lauper gave the rest of her performance seated on stage before being transported to a local hospital for treatment, according to Launch. She is expected to continue the tour ... BIRTHDAY: Hitler director Leni Riefenstahl marked her 100th birthday Thursday. The legendary and controversial filmmaker, whose work includes "Triumph of the Will," the documentary on the 1934 Nazi Party rally at Nuremberg, remains active in filmmaking despite the passage of time and injuries she sustained in a helicopter accident three years ago.