COOL KID: This just in: Letterman may...

COOL KID: This just in: Letterman may want the ice cream kid. . . . That would be Taylor James Caldwell, 3, of Santa Clarita, who has attracted the attention of the talent scouts at “Late Show with David Letterman.” The tot won a lifetime’s supply of ice cream by placing second in Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. essay contest. Letterman may want him as a guest, although, says one show exec, “We want to make sure we could understand him when he’s talking.”

TRUANCY: Hooky isn’t a game to Laura Chick. . . . The L.A. city councilwoman wants the White House to help create a community task force to keep students in school (B1). One day last year, Taft High reported 737 absences. Many were truants.

WISHING STARS: The Northridge Little Leaguers are looking for another hit . . . on the field and off. The national champs spent the week filming the movie “Three Wishes” with Patrick Swayze in Simi Valley, above. The players also tried out for the 13-year-old team in hopes of reuniting. Coach Tim Cunningham says, “It looks like all of the All-Stars will play again for Northridge.”

MILESTONE: The Space Shuttle Discovery’s launch Thursday sent a Canoga Park company past the 200th engine-flight mark. . . . The shuttle’s main engines are built by the Rocketdyne division of Rockwell Aerospace. There have been 67 completed shuttle launches since 1981. Each one uses three Rockwell engines, so Thursday’s launch marked the 201st engine flight.

DR. DAD: The Senate must still confirm President Clinton’s surgeon general nominee, Dr. Henry Foster Jr. (A2), but he’s already proved his medical skills around the house. Son Wendell Foster, a Walt Disney Studios executive in Burbank, says Dad patched him up plenty while rearing a family in the South. . . . “I was always getting bruised or banged up,” Wendell recalled. “I think taking care of the country will be easier than taking care of me.”