NATION

State of Anticipation (Puerto Rico)

The Caribbean island agonizes over whether to seek admission to the Union

Wild Like the Wind (California)

Forces natural and unnatural combine to destroy hundreds of homes and ravage six counties

WORLD

The Crying Game (Northern Ireland)

After decades of bloodshed and tears, there is still no end in sight to Ulster's agony

SCIENCE

HEALTH & MEDICINE

Please Help Us (Health Care)

Clinton finally presents his detailed health-care plan, but he faces an uphill fight, thanks to critics in Congress and increasing public opposition

Another Aids Teaser (Medicine)

France's Pasteur Institute touts a breakthrough that could lead to a treatment -- or disappointment

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

BUSINESS

Remember the Deficit? (The Economy)

While the White House nibbles at it, there are others who would rather take a real whack

The Siren Call of Mutual Funds (Investment)

The lure of high returns has investors -- pros and amateurs -- plowing record amounts into funds. Both Washington and Wall Street are worried.

LAW

Biting His Handlers

An FBI informant's secret tapes raise a troubling issue in the tower-bombing case: Did the bureau screw up?

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Clinton's Weird Guy (The Arts & Media Cinema)

A lively film about the campaign stalks a brightly colored political animal

Masters of Their Domain (The Arts & Media Television)

Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David are sitting atop the sitcom world. Here's an inside look at how they do it.

Sailing Off to the Past (The Arts & Media Books)

With his 16th novel about two heroes of the Napoleonic Wars, Patrick O'Brian is seeing his ship come in at last

The Image Duplicator (The Arts & Media Art)

At New York's Guggenheim Museum, a splashy retrospective hails the ironies of Pop's cool and ever reliable academic

PEOPLE

TO OUR READERS

LETTERS

ESSAY