NATION

Death On Autopilot

Payne Stewart, one of the world's best and boldest golfers, dies in the mysterious crash of a private jet

WORLD

Firing Blanks

The plot to oust Saddam and the constant pounding from U.S. jets are going nowhere

SOCIETY

BRIEFING

The Military (Notebook)

Air Force Cleans Dishes, And the Treasury, Fast

Countdown 2000 (Notebook)

Clark's New Year Airtime Drops; 10, 9, 8...

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

BUSINESS

On the Lam with Marty

Cindy Allison, one of embezzler Martin Frankel's gal pals, tells of his not-so-secret life in Europe

Bank On Change

In repealing the Glass-Steagall Act, Congress is giving its blessing to what bankers have already done. Expect fewer banks. Hope for better ones

EDUCATION

Kinder Grind

Forget blocks, dress-up and show-and-tell. Five-year-olds are now being pushed to read. Are we asking too much too soon?

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Television: Babe Tube (The Arts / Television)

Look what Xena has wrought. Series with buxom female action stars are hot--and they're even hotter abroad

Books: Divorce, Chinese-Style (The Arts / Books)

A fine first novel, Waiting, revels in one man's comically thwarted quest for personal happiness

Annie (The Arts / Short Takes)

ABC, Nov. 7

YOUR TIME

Teenage Sex (Personal Time / Your Family)

Pregnancy is down among teens, but they're still having sex too soon. What's a parent to do?

Ka-Booom! (Personal Time / Your Money)

Was that your stock blowing up? Here are some rules for handling sudden price plunges

Don't Be E-Hoaxed (Personal Time / Your Technology)

Even the brightest of us fall for chain mail. Some of it is malicious. Here's what to do

Senior Moments (Personal Time / Your Health)

Memory lapses may be normal or a sign of Alzheimer's. A new book tells the difference

SPECIAL SECTION

House Swapping (Time Select Travel)

How to make their casa your casa--and vice versa--as a great vacation alternative

Can I Live To Be 125? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

If you don't, your children may, thanks to scientists looking for longevity genes. But who will want to live that long?

Got Any Good Drugs? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

Gene-spliced medicines will replace what surgeons do and fit like a tailored suit

Can I Grow A New Brain? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

Probably not, but the latest research in neural stem cells suggests new ways to repair damage and even re-create whole parts of the brain

Will Christopher Reeve Walk Again? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

Spinal injury once meant a lifetime in a wheelchair. Down the road, many of the paralyzed will be on their feet

Will Be Still Need To Have Sex? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

Birds do it. Bees do it. But we may no longer have to do it--except for the fun of it

Will We Keep Getting Fatter? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

That's what we're programmed to do--unless we find some genes that will switch off fat metabolism

Will We Still Eat Meat? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

Maybe not, if we wake up to what the mass production of animal flesh is doing to our health--and the planet's

What New Things Are Going To Kill Me? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

As we make headway against the old diseases, the ticking time bomb in the next century will be the new microbes-- natural and man-made

Will We Run Out Of Gas? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

No, we'll have plenty of carbon-based fuel to see us through the next century. That's the problem

Can We Make Garbage Disappear? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

Through the magic of recycling and modern alchemy, we will move swiftly toward a world without waste

Will Malthus Be Right? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

His forecast was ahead of its time, but nature may still put a lid on humanity

How Hot Will It Get? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

No one knows for sure, but the potential perils of climate change make it unwise for us to ignore the greenhouse effect

What Will Be the Catch of the Day? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

Human appetites have devastated the marine world, but at last we're searching for ways to protect the oceans' bounty

Will There Be Any Wilderness Left? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

Yes, there will be a few untamed spots, and if we're lucky, very few people will go and visit them

What's For Dinner? (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

Our chef whips up a tasty meatless meal that's good for you--and for nature too

Will We Ever Cure... (Visions 21 / Health & Environment)

The answers will comfort the shiny and sneezy, but the smelly are out of luck

PEOPLE

LETTERS