NEWS LITE : ROBERTS' DESIRE WAS TO RISE ABOVE.

As a child, Julia Roberts imagined being lots of things when she grew up: an actress wasn't among them.

``If you asked me what I wanted to be, my first answer was to be 6 feet tall. My second was to be a veterinarian,'' Roberts told Parade magazine in a story published Thursday. ``And if I'd had a third answer, it is to be joyous and radiate it outward.''

Roberts, 31, said her instincts led her to acting, with movies such as 1990's ``Pretty Woman'' and the newly released ``Stepmom.'' Roberts, who is divorced from singer-actor Lyle Lovett, is also happy to have a new boyfriend - Benjamin Bratt of the television series ``Law & Order.''

``What is the point of having a great job or great day or something spectacular happen if you don't have some person nearby to share it with?'' Roberts said. ``It's vapor.''

Miss World returns home to doting fans

Thousands turned out in the Israeli coastal town of Netanya on Friday to welcome home Linor Abargil, the newly crowned Miss World.

An 18-year-old of Libyan and Moroccan extraction, Abargil won her title last week at the Miss World contest in the Seychelles Islands.

Her townsfolk - from tots to grandparents - waited in the main square to see Abargil, who arrived wearing her crown.

Abargil is due to begin 20 months of compulsory military service in April, but her family hopes the army will postpone her induction to allow her to fulfill the yearlong duties of Miss World.

Republicans can't rock, writer insists

``Can a Republican be a rock 'n' roll fan?'' asks the latest issue of the rock magazine Request. Essayist Geoffrey Himes, obviously a subjective Democrat, writes that members of the Grand Old Party, particularly members of the right wing of that party, clash ``with the integrationist, nonconformist, working-class and sexually exultant tendencies of rock 'n' roll.''

Himes deems all Republicans segregationists, saying that ``every time a European American performer incorporates a Bob Dylanesque lyric or a Stratocaster guitar solo, they are resisting the still-powerful pressures to keep black and white cultures separate. . . . Without this race-mixing, you wouldn't have rock 'n' roll.'' He draws similar conclusions about class.

He blames rock critics for failing to point out the political messages in the music. ``We've done a pretty poor job of it if rock 'n' roll fans still think they can be conservatives.''

Stars reveal favorite movie tear-jerkers

In answer to Premiere magazine's question, ``What movie makes you cry?'' Kristin Scott Thomas names ``The Sound of Music''; Charlize Theron names ``Sophie's Choice''; Anne Heche names ``The Full Monty''; David Duchovny names ``Brian's Song.'' And Samuel L. Jackson says, ``I don't cry in movies. I'm a little too analytical for that.''

Military presents Glenn with top civilian honor

Former fighter pilot, senator and astronaut John Glenn, a veteran of two wars and 149 combat missions, was awarded the Defense Department's highest civilian honor Friday.

``We express our gratitude to a true American hero who, from the streets of a small Ohio town to the high heavens above, has indeed lived a life of courage, integrity, judgment and dedication,'' said Defense Secretary William Cohen, who gave the 77-year-old Glenn the Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

Cohen honored Annie Glenn, the senator's wife of 56 years, with the Department of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, calling her ``a hero in her own right'' and praising her for overcoming a stammer to become a ``a strong voice for children, speech and communications, and the disabled.''

The military ceremony at Fort Myer, Va., featured a full color guard, 50 state flags and an honor guard, allowing Glenn and Cohen to inspect troops from every branch of the service.

Glenn himself wore his country's uniform for 23 years, enlisting during World War II and retiring as a lieutenant colonel known to his Korean War flying buddies as ``the MiG-mad Marine.''

During the last nine days of that conflict he downed three MiGs in what Cohen described as ``thunderous dogfights.''

Glenn's trademark as a fighter pilot was dangerous, low-altitude flying. He survived the 149 combat missions over two wars without injury, though he once had to land a jet that had a hole large enough to put his shoulders through.

In accepting the award, Glenn spoke of friends who didn't return from Korea or World War II. And he read a poem he first composed for the ceremony marking the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

``They were just like you gathered here today,'' he told the troops. ``They were honorable and dedicated members of the United States armed forces.''

Glenn is in his final month of a 24-year career in the U.S. Senate.

He was the third person this year given this award. The others were Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., and former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan.

Barbies cloned for '99

Not many shopping days left for Christmas 1998. Those Barbies are disappearing fast! In case you can't find the doll, which turns 40 in March, take heart; Mattel has a new crop in the works for 1999, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. You've got your Glitter Barbie, in which sparkles cover her hair and skin; Streaking Barbie, not naked, but with her hair streakable; Body Art Barbie, in which tattoos can be slapped on her butt; Sleeping Beauty Barbie, whose eyes open when Ken kisses her; Bubble Barbie, who spins while bubbles come out of her head; Baking Barbie; and Soccer Barbie, who kicks a ball.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1) Sen. John Glenn, left, receives a digital camera from the CEO of Kodak. Glenn also got the Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

Eastman Kodak

(2) Live, not on tape

Linda Tripp, in New York for interview offers, signs an autograph for an Atlanta couple Friday.

Stuart Ramson/Associated Press

(3) ABARGIL