FIRST OFF . . .

New developments surrounding the entertainment industry’s reaction to the Salman Rushdie-”Satanic Verses” controversy: Singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, who had created an international controversy by backing the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s death threats against Rushdie, on Friday released a statement denying that he wants to see the author killed. Stevens, who now calls himself Yusuf Islam, said Friday that he “simply stated the Islamic ruling on the Rushdie affair.” “My only crime was, I suppose, in being honest,” Islam said in the statement released in London. “I stood up and expressed my belief and I am in no way apologizing for it.” . . .