NATION

The State Of Our Defense

The Bush Administration believes al-Qaeda is poised to strike the U.S. again, but has it done enough to improve homeland security?

SCIENCE

Archaeology: Spiritual Retreat (Archaeology)

Machu Picchu, long revered as a lost city of the Incas and one of the world's most sacred places, may have been nothing more than a royal vacation home

Cosmic Fingerprint (Space)

The clearest picture yet of the Big Bang's echoes yields five numbers that explain the universe

TECHNOLOGY

The Purr of the Qubit

A bizarre experiment takes scientists one step closer to the unimaginable powers of quantum computing

BRIEFING

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

The Decade That Shook It All Up (Preview / 80 Days That Changed The World)

Change came almost daily in the '60s. So how to pick the days that mattered most?

BUSINESS

Wang's World (Time Global Business / Profile)

As China opens its economy, homegrown tycoons are trying to export their freewheeling ways to America

Global Investing: Float Your Bucks (Time Global Business / Global Investing)

The weak dollar is only part of what makes foreign stocks attractive today. Here's how to find bargains

Energy: Nuclear Rock (Time Global Business / Energy)

With oil supplies uncertain, uranium mining heats up

The Track Record

Americans have embraced the SUV as a family car, but regulators say the rugged vehicles can be hazardous to passengers, other drivers and the environment

Fly Above The Storm (Time Global Business / Airlines)

Luxury service has helped SIA beat the airline slump--and target new cities in the U.S.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Art: When Henri Met Pablo (Art)

Matisse Picasso, now in New York, is that rare exhibition that gives blockbusters a good name

In-Your-Face the Nation (Television)

If you've had enough of smooth late-night chat, these confrontational conversationalists are for you

YOUR TIME

PEOPLE

TIME interview with Jacques Chirac (Interview)

The target of U.S. scorn, France's Jacques Chirac tells TIME's James Graff and Bruce Crumley of his objection to war and his love of American junk food

LETTERS