News In Brief

DON'T RECOGNIZE ME, DO YOU?

Hospital patients in Zarqa, Jordan, were giving their visitor an earful. The place, they complained, was run-down. The delays in treatment were lengthy. "Hmmm, too bad," the fellow said. No word, though, on what new King Abdullah intends to do about the gripes - except that aides expect him to continue stopping by in disguise at facilities around the country to see how things are going through the eyes of ordinary Jordanians.

WE'RE ALL IMMIGRANTS HERE

Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker has been hit with another sanction for expressing harsh feelings about the ethnic makeup of his least-favorite city: New York. The heavy metal band Twisted Sister is asking that its tune "I Wanna Rock" no longer be played when he enters a game. "We have Hispanics in this band," one member said, "[and] Italians, Polish, Russians.... This is our way of saying his comments were not acceptable."

TEENS TELL RESEARCHERS: WE WANT CAREERS IN THE SCIENCES

America's mentors apparently are making inroads in encouraging teenagers to choose careers in the scientific disciplines. A nationwide survey by the Lemelson-MIT Program in Cambridge, Mass., with the help of Roper Starch Worldwide, found almost 50 percent of the male teenagers interviewed were interested in two science-related fields - inventing and medicine; 35 percent of females said they'd like to be doctors. The fields teens could choose, and the percentage for each:

Boys

Inventor 26%

Lawyer 24%

Doctor 23%

Teacher 12%

Politician 4%

News reporter 3%

Girls

Doctor 35%

Teacher 26%

Lawyer 19%

News reporter 9%

Inventor 4%

Politician 2%

- PR Newswire

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