NATION
A Fiscal Fairy Tale
As White House and congressional leaders slog their way toward a budget agreement, Bush wields the sequester threat
A Pick with a Shovel
Promising to clean house, an anti-Barry reformer wins in D.C.
Adam Smith Enterprise Award (Grapevine)
Alaska: A Job for Mother Nature (American Notes)
A Job for Mother Nature
Boston: Flipper Fans Stop a Swap (American Notes)
Flipper Fans Stop a Swap
Los Angeles: Chic Charity (American Notes)
Chic Charity
Philadelphia: City on The Skids (American Notes)
City on The Skids
Bag Holder of the Week (Grapevine)
Cronkite Unbound (Grapevine)
First-Class Advice (Grapevine)
Hmmm. Guess It Needs Work . . . (Grapevine)
How About a Job As an Architect? (Grapevine)
Hugh Sidey's America: Where the Buffalo Roamed
Plagued by hard times and harsh weather, the Great Plains may be stumbling back to a frontier existence dominated by prairie grass, solitude and wandering beasts
Let Them Eat Crack Advisory (Grapevine)
May The Force Be with You
In crime-weary New York City, it's time to call the cops
David Souter; Supreme Confidence
Souter takes the stand, but declines to state his views on abortion rights as foes search in vain for reasons to reject his high court nomination
The George Orwell Doublespeak Explanation (Grapevine)
The Political Prop Parade (Grapevine)
A Survey of Those Silly Budget-Battle Photo Ops
WORLD
Liberia Death of a President
As the regional peacekeeping force dawdles, rival rebel forces brace for a showdown
South Africa Still Crying Freedom
An antiapartheid editor, visiting home after a long exile, finds that whites have begun to accept the inevitable
Soviet Union Beyond Perestroika
Gorbachev hails a radical economic plan that could turn the Soviet Union into a nation of shopkeepers, but then suggests a few ways to dilute it
The Spy Who Spilled the Beans
Israel tries -- and fails -- to prevent publication of a former Mossad agent's book, creating an explosive best seller
Colombia: Drug Lords and Mind Games (World Notes)
Drug Lords and Mind Games
Haiti: Sliding Toward The Abyss (World Notes)
Sliding Toward The Abyss
Pakistan: Laying It on The Line (World Notes)
Laying It on The Line
Treaties: A Farewell To Arms (World Notes)
A Farewell To Arms
WAR & TERRORISM
The Gulf: An Exquisite Balancing Act (The Gulf)
Onetime playboy King Fahd tries to mingle modernity and feudalism
The Gulf: Call To Arms (The Gulf)
Bush issues his sternest warning yet to Saddam, and despite Tehran's call for a holy war against the U.S., the coalition against Iraq grows stronger
The Gulf: Lifting The Veil (The Gulf)
A secretive and deeply conservative realm, Saudi Arabia suddenly finds itself on the sword edge of change
The Gulf: Shi'Ites: Poorer Cousins (The Gulf)
The Gulf: Taking The First Shot (The Gulf)
If the embargo fails, could the U.S. launch a swift strike against Saddam that would demolish his ability to fight back?
The Political Interest: Waiting for the Pretext (The Gulf)
Waiting for the Pretext
SCIENCE
Environment: Noah's Ark - the Sequel (Environment)
To test ideas for outposts on other planets, scientists have built a replica of earth in the Arizona desert
HEALTH & MEDICINE
Medicine: Giant Step for Gene Therapy (Medicine)
An experiment on a young girl opens a new era in the fight against hereditary diseases
PRESS
Press: Front Page vs. Bottom Line
The New York Post is reprieved, but tabs are still in trouble
RELIGION
Religion: What To Do When Priests Stray
How the Catholic Church deals with sexual misconduct when more and more priests are breaking their vow of celibacy
STYLE & DESIGN
Design: Big Yet Still Beautiful (Design)
In today's cityscapes, Cesar Pelli's buildings are like dancers among thugs
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Time Magazine Contents Page: Sep. 24, 1990 (Contents)
Vol. 136, No. 13 SEPTEMBER 24, 1990
BUSINESS
Breaking The Bank: FDIC is low on cash and may need a bailout
Taxpayers beware: now the FDIC is low on cash and may need a bailout
Bright Hopes for the Blue Flame
With oil so dear, natural gas heats up as a clean substitute
BEVERAGES: Now That's a Potent Potable
Now That's a Potent Potable
ENTERPRISE: The Color Of Money
The Color Of Money
INDUSTRY: There Goes Another One
There Goes Another One
REGULATION: Cable vs.Everybody
Cable vs.Everybody
RETAILING: Puttin' on More Ritz
Puttin' on More Ritz
Dear Judge: Go Easy on Michael Milken
Friends of the junk-bond king lobby for a lenient sentence
EDUCATION
Education: Of, By and For - Whom?
Race and ethnicity are the battlegrounds of history class
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Books: Call of The Eco-Feminist (Books)
Music: Country Classicists (Music)
Clint Black and Garth Brooks take the old road to Nashville
Critics' Voices: Sep. 24, 1990 (Critics' Voices)
Cinema: Elephant Man (Cinema)
Books: Hound Dog TENDER by Mark Childress Harmony; 566 pages; $19.95 (Books)
Books: Malignancies (Books)
Cinema: Married to The Mob (Cinema)
In some spiffy new films, Hollywood hooks up with gangsters
Theater: News That Stays the News (Theater)
Video: The Terrible Remedy THE CIVIL WAR (Video)
THE CIVIL WAR; PBS; Sept. 23-27, 8 p.m. on most stations