COVER

Cyberpunk! (Cover Stories)

With virtual sex, smart drugs and synthetic rock 'n' roll, a new $ counterculture is surfing on the dark edges of the computer age

NATION

First Lady's First Job (The Week: Nation)

Hillary Rodham Clinton gets a tough role -- leading health-care reform

L.A.'s Open Wounds (Cities)

Could violence break out again? Nine months after the devastating riots, a fractured Los Angeles braces for the beginning of two racially charged trials

Obstacle Course (The Administration)

By getting snarled in a battle over gays in the military, Clinton has lost valuable momentum. How long will it take him to get back on track?

Southern Comfort (The Week: Nation)

Republicans elect a smooth conciliator as party chairman

Spy Killer (The Week: Nation)

An unknown gunman assaults cars at the entrance to the CIA

The Trial This Time (The Week: Nation)

U.S. prosecutors add some muscle to Rodney King's civil rights case

WORLD

Choppers And Snipers (The Week World)

Another U.S. Marine is killed as Somalia looks more like a war zone

Fingering Tehran (The Week World)

Turks blame a reporter's murder on Iranian fundamentalist hit squads

Guerrilla Democracy (The Week World)

Cambodia sets a date for elections but gains no assurance of peace

No Surrender (Middle East)

Neither Israel nor the Palestinians want to look like they're compromising. The U.S. is urging a tactical retreat.

Tender Into Tinder (The Week World)

A bank note issued by Zaire's Mobutu touches off military rioting

The Verge of Collapse (The Week World)

Serbs signal the depth of their hatred by sabotaging a Croatian dam

WAR & TERRORISM

SCIENCE

The Race to Map Our Genes

A French team is running ahead of America's lavishly funded genome project -- and on higher moral ground

HEALTH & MEDICINE

Deadly Burgers (The Week Health & Science)

A tragic outbreak of food poisoning kills two children

Dialing P For Panic (Health)

Can cellular phones cause brain cancer? There's scant evidence but lots of fear.

Money For Red Nukes (The Week Health & Science)

Former enemies start a fund to make old power plants safer

Tarnished Tankers (The Week Health & Science)

European officials call the world's oil fleet an international disgrace

SOCIETY

An Ode to the Sears Big Book (Living)

When Sears dropped its famous catalog last week, it closed the books on an era of innocence and optimism

Mais Oui, OSCAR! (Fashion)

The first American to head a Paris couture house, Oscar de la Renta scores in his debut show

No Cap and Gown (The Week: Society)

Sexual-harassment charges help send Berkeley's Naked Guy packing

Speaking In Tongues (The Week: Society)

Puerto Rico now has two official languages: Spanish and English

The Knife in the Book Bag

When two girls decided to kill their English teacher, fellow students bet their lunch money on the outcome

Tightening Noose (The Week: Society)

The court limits death-row appeals based on late claims of innocence

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

BUSINESS

Board Games

In a fundamental power shift in corporate America, boards of directors, once tame and docile, are turning on their masters

Expressed Out (The Week: Business)

Amex boss Robinson resigns shortly after winning a Pyrrhic victory

May Day! May Day! (The Week: Business)

U.S. aircraftmakers join the list of corporate giants eliminating jobs

The Iceman Goeth (The Week: Business)

The rapper and his label agree to disagree -- and to split

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TO OUR READERS

ESSAY