NATION

Aye, Aye, Ma'am

The Navy makes history as it sends the first U.S. warship ever commanded by a woman toward the troubled waters of the Persian Gulf

Pause in the Shootout

Even in a week of N.R.A vitriol, some Republicans and armsmakers were moving toward gun control

WORLD

The Faces Of India's Future

As Bill Clinton will see firsthand this week, the world's next great power is a nation of promise and tumult

Taiwan Takes a Stand

The island ignores Beijing's angry rhetoric and elects an independence-minded President

SCIENCE

Cloning the New Babes

Science comes closer to creating the perfect pig, offering hope for a larder of rejection-free organs

BRIEFING

The South (Notebook)

When Lawyers Object On Moral Grounds

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Thanks for Asking (Essay)

This year's census seems to want just a little too much information

Everyone's A Star.Com (Everyone's A Star.com)

Auteurs everywhere are trying to break into show biz by doing it themselves--and putting it online. Now they just have to get you to watch

The Free Juke Box (Everyone's A Star.com)

College kids are using new, simple software like Napster to help themselves to pirated music

BUSINESS

Why Libya Wants In

U.S. executives and foreign leaders have been lobbying to end sanctions

EDUCATION

Digital Dreamer

A software billionaire hands out $100 million for a free online university. But will it make the grade?

LAW

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Music: 'N Sync's Latest Dish (The Arts / Music)

Pull up a chair for an intimate dinner with the hottest boy band of the past, oh, 15 minutes or so

Moving Up (The Arts / Short Takes)

A debut about upward mobility, lowdown crime

Books: Rebel Son (The Arts / Books)

Assimilations's woes in a sprightly first novel

YOUR TIME

So, Who Cares? (Personal Time / Your Family)

Finding decent child care is tough, but some new resources are coming to the rescue

Beware the Cult (Personal Time / Your Money)

High tech is still thriving. Renounce it now if you want to keep all the money you've made

Finding Granddad (Personal Time / Your Technology)

Family-tree software can help you trace your ancestors. Just don't expect Ellis Island--yet

Affair of the Heart (Personal Time / Your Health)

A new study finds that estrogen may not protect women against cardiac disease. Here's why

SPECIAL SECTION

PEOPLE

TO OUR READERS

LETTERS