NEWS LITE : OFFBEAT NEW SPIN ON DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS.

Pennsylvania state transportation officials are trying to find out why workers repairing a stretch of road paved straight over a dead deer.

A gooey spread of oil and rocks was left covering the deer's head, neck and shoulders along Route 895.

``The deer was lying there dead for three to four weeks,'' said Keith Billig, the mayor of nearby Bowmanstown, about 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia. ``I never saw anything like that before in my life.''

The state Department of Transportation is investigating, spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick said Thursday. ``It was carelessness on the part of those involved,'' he said.

It is against state policy to pave over a deer, said Walter Bortree, an engineer for the department. ``If in fact the deer was in the work area, it should have been removed before the work was done,'' he said.

Bortree said the private contractor probably missed seeing the deer because it was on the edge of the road.

But the mayor said it was in plain view.

``You can't miss it,'' he said. ``It's in a straightaway. If they couldn't see it, then they can't see the numbers on their checks either.''

Israelis swoon over Clooney

``ER'' doc George Clooney got the usual treatment during a visit to Israel on Thursday, finding himself surrounded by squealing young women.

He took a few hours out from filming his new movie to make a quick visit to promote Tel Aviv's Planet Hollywood. Clooney received a bear hug from one woman and said, ``Sure, why not'' to a marriage proposal from another.

He flew to Israel from Macedonia, where he is wrapping up Steven Spielberg's ``The Peacemaker,'' a thriller about the theft of Russian nuclear material.

Clooney said he will be back in Hollywood by Monday to begin taping the third season of ``ER.'' He will also play the title role in the next ``Batman'' movie.

``The best part is that at the end of the movie I get to beat up Arnold Schwarzenegger,'' Clooney said.

Governor glad daughter can't vote

It appears that Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld's aggressive attempt to win over supporters of Sen. John F. Kerry should begin at home.

Weld, a Republican, revealed in a radio interview Thursday that his youngest daughter, Franny, is rooting for Kerry to beat her father in their battle for the U.S. Senate seat.

Speaking on public radio, WBUR's ``The Connection'' with host Christopher Lydon, Weld said that he was facing a revolt from his 12-year-old daughter, in part because she does not want to move to Washington.

``She's a foot soldier for John Kerry,'' Weld said.

The governor later indicated Franny Weld is also getting some nudging from her best friend, Tracy Roosevelt, daughter of former Democratic national committeeman James Roosevelt and great-granddaughter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Roosevelts are close friends of Weld and his wife, Susan Roosevelt Weld.

Offbeat political behavior like Franny's is nothing new in the Weld household. During his 1990 campaign for governor, Weld had to calm some upset Republicans after his wife, Susan, told a reporter she had voted for GOP nemesis Michael Dukakis for president.

Amid the storm created by her statement, Susan Weld registered as a Republican.

But her political leanings still appear to be a mystery, and she is not commenting these days on whom she votes for.

Warner strips book epilogue

Author Carl Hiaasen found out that a big, fat foul-up left out the epilogue in the paperback printing of his book ``Stormy Weather.'' No one at Warner Books caught the blunder until it was too late: About 530,000 books were distributed without the epilogue. How could this have happened?

``I don't have a clue how it happened,'' said Hiaasen, whose books-turned-movies include ``Stripper.'

But wait, there's more: Hardly anyone seems to notice that the four pages of epilogue are missing.

Warner will not recall all half-million copies. A frustrated Hiaasen considered putting the epilogue on line, but another printing will include it.

Cobb quits wimpy role in soap opera

The exodus of soap opera characters just keeps on coming. The latest to bid adieu is hot actor Keith Hamilton Cobb of ABC's ``All My Children.'' He's fed up playing his wimpy character Noah, so he's bailing out this fall. Cobb describes Noah - whose romance with Sydney Penny's character was pretty popular - as ``this wallpaper, milquetoast guy with no depth. I will lose my acting muscles if I stay doing that any longer.'' But don't dare look for Cobb to show up in any sitcoms.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) George Clooney breaks from filming to greet f ans at Planet Hollywood in Tel Aviv.

Associated Press

(2) William Weld: Losing at home