COVER
100 Olympic Athletes To Watch (Summer Olympic Preview)
From Australia to Zimbabwe, China to the U.S., TIME takes you on a world tour to introduce you to the most compelling athletes you'll be seeing in the Beijing Games
Video
LeBron James: Leader of the Redeem Team
TIME's Sean Gregory shoots hoops with the Cleveland Cavalier superstar, who promises the US Olympic basketball team will take the gold in Beijing
TO OUR READERS
The Global Games
TIME's worldwide reach brings you a parade of compelling Olympians
NATION
Obama's Overseas Test (The Well / Campaign '08)
His trip to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East was designed to prove that he could be Commander in Chief. In an interview with TIME, the candidate details what he saw and what he heard
Karadzic a Big Win for Hague Cops (The Well / Commentary)
International justice is often derided, but Samantha Power writes that its recent successes have been hard to ignore
ESSAY
The Olympic Challenge
It's one thing to host the Games. The real test is learning to play by the rules of the civilized world
McCain's Foreign Policy Frustration (Commentary / In the Arena)
While Obama moves elegantly through the Middle East, the pillars of McCain's bellicose regional policy are collapsing
Activism, Hollywood-Style (Commentary / The Awesome Column)
Joel Stein checks out L.A.'s hot liberal fund-raising scene and falls for The Fall Guy's girl
BRIEFING
Verbatim
A Brief History Of: The Poet Laureate
The Page
Pop Chart
The World
10 ESSENTIAL STORIES
The Moment
The Skimmer
Walter Kerwin
Milestones
Jo Stafford
WORLD
Salim Hamdan: Enemy Number One (The Well / World)
The inside story of how Salim Hamdan went from bin Laden's side to a U.S. military courtroom--and why the war on terrorism may hang in the balance
Still Training for the End of the World (Postcard: Cheyenne Mountain)
The U.S. and Russia continue to maintain thousands of nuclear warheads on a hair-trigger alert. It's up to the subterranean sentries of NORAD to spot any incoming threats
Photos: Cold War Mountain
Life at NORAD's Colorado Bunker Hideaway
SCIENCE
Coral Reefs Face Extinction (The Well / Science)
One-third of reef-building coral are threatened, scientists say, making corals the Earth's most endangered species
Photos: The Wondrous World of the Imperiled Coral Reefs
The habitats of thousands of species are threatened with extinction
HEALTH & MEDICINE
Dear (Food) Diary (Life / Fit Nation)
A new study shows that dieters can double their weight loss by jotting down what foods they eat
SOCIETY
Inner-City Farms (Life / Food)
In cities in the U.S. and around the world, urbanites are trying to grow more food locally
Photos: Urban Farming
Cities in the U.S. and abroad try to grow more food locally
eHarmony, Meet Fiddler on the Roof (Life)
First Person With: Tova Weinberg, online matchmaker, 54
TECHNOLOGY
Snail Mail Gets Literal (Life / Technology)
Snails transport e-mail messages
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Mad Men on a New Frontier (Television)
Back for a second season, Mad Men makes the '60s fresh again with delicious details and a timeless story of self-reinvention. Welcome to Camelot, with a twist
A Year with American Teens (Movies)
The zippy documentary American Teen says kids are anguished, mean, hopeful--just like in the movies
Temptation Island (Books)
A novel in letters about love, death and books shows how, in the right circumstances, quirk works
Dressed Not to Be Killed (Life / Fashion)
Colombian designer Miguel Caballero is building a thriving business as the world's only producer of "designer bulletproof fashion"
5 Things You Should Know About (Downtime)
Miley's breakout, shark bait and a supervillain's blog
PEOPLE
10 Questions for John Madden (10 Questions)
His eponymous Madden NFL video game turns 20 on Aug. 12