COVER

ROCK'S ANXIOUS REBELS (Cover Music)

A young, vibrant alternative scene has turned music on its ear. But are the new stars too hot to be cool?

NATION

THE GRIM ESCAPE (Georgia)

An army of the dispossessed faces cold and hunger after the Abkhazian triumph in Sukhumi

SLAMMING THE DOOR (Immigration)

A border blockade in El Paso reduces crime but also threatens the region's fragile economic balance

WORLD

In and Out with the Tide

Bloody rebukes in Somalia and Haiti raise questions about the lack of guiding principles behind Clinton's zigzagging foreign policy

SURFING INTO THE MELANCHOLY PAST (Vietnam)

A sports competition, of all things, lures a journalist into Vietnam, where all is smiles and sadness, and nobody can find Hamburger Hill

WAR & TERRORISM

ISRAEL'S SECRET WEAPON (Arms Trade)

For this trading tycoon, a $3.5 billion military sale to China is only one chapter in a story of rags-to-riches success and nonstop wheeling and dealing

HEALTH & MEDICINE

OXYGEN, PLEASE (Health Care)

As he delays turning it into law, Clinton loses momentum for his plan

SOCIETY

THE SHOCK OF THE BLUE (Culture)

Beavis and Butt-head, Ted and Whoopi, Howard Stern and his Private Parts: Whatever happened to political correctness -- and good manners?

SPORT

WINNING UGLY, IN SIX (Sports)

The Phillies, baseball's biker brigade, make road kill of the Braves and meet Toronto in the Series

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

BUSINESS

Attention Nafta Shoppers! (Trade)

Trading favors: Clinton is not so much selling his trade pact with Mexico as he is buying it, with goodies for key lawmakers and special interests

WIRED!

Bell Atlantic's bid for cable giant TCI is the biggest media deal in history; it's also a peek at the future

LAW

Home Smoke-Free Home

Judges warn parents to stub out their cigarettes around the children -- or risk losing custody

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

MADONNA GOES TO CAMP (Show Business)

She had shocked, then almost lost her audiences. Now the Queen of Burlesque just wants to be a clown.

THE PUREST DREAMER IN PARIS (Art)

On his centenary, a lavish show celebrates the precise yet hauntingly poetic vision of Catalan artist Joan Miro

SPECIAL SECTION

THEY GAVE PEACE A CHANCE (Nobel Prizes)

Mandela and De Klerk are honored for bringing South Africa to the brink of freedom for all

MILESTONES

PEOPLE

TO OUR READERS

LETTERS

ESSAY