COVER

NATION

Their Turn to Pay? (The Budget)

Clinton is tempted to cut entitlements, but he may shy away from the battle

WORLD

What Would Lenin Say? (Russia)

Under a new democratic constitution, Boris Yeltsin will have all the powers of a modern-day czar

When Revenge Comes First (Middle East)

Eye-for-an-eye violence between settlers and Palestinians mocks the idea of coexistence

SCIENCE

Blinded By the Light

Physicists take an important step toward limitless clean energy, but the payoff won't come for decades

HEALTH & MEDICINE

The Foie Gras Diet (Food)

Some too-good-to-be-true news for the holidays: a French gastronome says you can eat fat, yet stay slim

SOCIETY

Up in Arms (Cover Crime)

A train massacre intensifies the demand for gun control -- and for guns

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

BUSINESS

A Question of Value

Barry Diller wins a crucial court victory, but has the bidding battle made Paramount overpriced?

GATT: Put Up Or Shut Up (Trade)

A Gatt Agreement, After Seven Long Years of Talk and Countless Delays, Would Lower Prices and Create Jobs

EDUCATION

Without a Prayer

The debate over religion in public schools is born again in Mississippi

LAW

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

A Vision of Judgment (Arts & Media Art)

After a four-year cleaning, Michelangelo's epic fresco at the Sistine Chapel reasserts its power

Importing the Glitz (Arts & Media Sport)

Western cash and marketing techniques have transformed the legendary Red Army hockey team into a hot attraction

Perversities (Arts & Media Cinema)

Down and out in London with an angry, erudite drifter

Putting a Rap on Scrooge (Arts & Media Theater)

A sprawling, contemporary version of A Christmas Carol engagingly sets Dickens' classic in a Washington ghetto

Sequels Aren't Equals (Arts & Media Cinema)

When Hollywood dupes its hits, freshness gives way to formula. These comedy retreads promise more of the same but provide less.

Where Wild Things Roam (Arts & Media Books)

In a lively Christmas crop of books for children, there are dragons, wildebeests, camels, hop frogs -- and a dose of the real world too

TO OUR READERS

ESSAY