NAMES IN THE NEWS : Enquiring Minds Preempted

Joan Lunden says she is not leaving “Good Morning America,” getting a divorce or even having an alien’s baby.

Lunden told viewers of ABC’s morning show all this Tuesday after she said National Enquirer reporters were asking her colleagues if she seems troubled lately.

“It was a preemptive strike,” she said afterward. “I told them I could either do that or just be a wimp and sit back and let them make up whatever they want and print it.”

Ian Calder, editor of the tabloid in Lantana, Fla., said the queries about Lunden concerned problems her husband, a TV producer, has had with lawsuits over production bills for “Everyday,” a syndicated program on which Lunden is host.

“As far as I know, this was just something we were checking out and we’ve no plans to run a story,” Calder said.