Economist , May 17 (posted Saturday, May 17) The cover editorial cheers the ascendancy of democracy and the free market in Latin America. The region is now an equal partner of the United States, not a dependent cousin. The editorial predicts a hemisphere-wide free-trade region within 20 years. A piece pegged to Clinton's Tuskegee apology insists that the United States improve its rules for scientific research on humans: There are too many cases where patients don't really consent to experimental treatments. An article claims that sly telecom firms have figured out how to collude in U.S. spectrum auctions. The result: A recent auction raised only $14 million--about $1.7 billion less than expected. New Republic , June 2 (posted Friday, May 16) The mammoth cover essay denounces human cloning as morally repugnant. Among the many objections cited are that cloning: 1) dehumanizes procreation by separating it from sex and love; 2) commodifies children; 3) distorts relationships between "parents" and "children"; 4) denies children their own identity; and 5) turns children into slaves of their parents. The author rejects the technological determinists who say that because human cloning is possible, it should be done. Also, an article contends that Tony Blair's legislative proposals (to adopt a bill of rights, abolish hereditary rights in the House of Lords, impose proportional representation, assign interest-rate control to a central bank, and establish parliaments for Scotland and Wales) will change Britain as much as Thatcherism did. New York Times Magazine , May 18 (posted Thursday, May 15) A photography issue. Nineteen famous and not-so-famous photographers shoot Times Square. Actors, neon signs, and hotel rooms are much depicted. A few short articles accompany the images. One celebrates the trend toward "true" fashion photography (pictures that show models warts and all). Another describes Corbis, Bill Gates' digital photo archive: It's not making much money because the market for digital images is growing so slowly. Newsweek and Time , May 19 (posted Tuesday, May 13) "Can Hong Kong Survive?" Newsweek answers its own cover line with an optimistic "yes." A poll of Hong Kong residents finds them sanguine about the city's future. An economist lists 12 factors for worried Hong Kong investors to watch. Chief among them: Will China preserve the rule of law and free speech, which are essential for business prosperity? Steven Spielberg takes Time 's cover as he ends a three-year absence from the screen with three new movies, including The Lost World , a sequel to Jurassic Park . The article concludes the 50-year-old Spielberg has grown up since E.T. , but not too much: He's still a boy at heart. (Only revelation: He plans a fourth Indiana Jones movie.) Newsweek describes the controversy over sex-corrective surgery for "intersexual" babies--children born with the wrong--or incomplete--sex organs. Doctors have given a generation of such children "normal" sex organs (i.e., they have transformed boys' incomplete penises into vaginas, then treated the patients with female hormones). Now the intersexuals are fighting back, arguing that the surgery inflicts vast physical and psychological damage. A story chronicles Fidelity Investments' continuing troubles. Fidelity's funds are lagging and the best fund managers are leaving, but the firm is thriving as a manager of corporate pension plans. Also in Time , a package of stories celebrates U.S. prosperity, saying that the country is in better shape than it's been in decades: The economy is humming, crime and divorce rates are falling, etc. An article warns that Russia is losing control of its nuclear weapons: Its early warning system is disintegrating and the soldiers who man the missiles aren't being paid, raising the possibility of nukes being sold to terrorists. The New Yorker , May 19 (posted Tuesday, May 13) Donald Trump is still shamelessly self-promoting, monumentally egotistical, and greedy, concludes a long profile. The real-estate impresario has rebounded from his 1990 financial collapse, though he exaggerates his wealth. He is now divorcing his wife, Marla, largely because under the terms of their prenuptial agreement, she'd be entitled to a huge chunk of his fortune if they stayed married another year. An article argues that blacks may be better athletes than whites because they have more genetic variability: According to statistical laws, more variability means that blacks are disproportionately represented among both the best and the worst athletes. A piece says that Timothy McVeigh's lawyer Stephen Jones has erred by trying the case in the press. He may have won McVeigh favorable coverage, but he's getting hammered in the courtroom. U.S. News & World Report , May 19 (posted Tuesday, May 13) Moral-condemnation month continues at U.S. News . Last week's cover story blamed parents for caring more about their careers than their kids. This week's cover deplores adult premarital sex, saying that it leads to abortion, weaker marriages, and STDs. Unmarried twentysomethings get 50 percent of America's abortions, and cohabiting unmarried couples have high rates of domestic violence and drug abuse. A piece concludes that Clinton's $7 billion education plan funnels too much money into higher education while ignoring the primary and secondary schools that really need funds. Also, Arianna Huffington accuses fellow conservatives of reneging on their promises to help America's poor. Weekly Standard , May 19 (posted Tuesday, May 13) The vice president is "shifty and disingenuous" and "the biggest phony in the White House," argues the cover story. The veep avoids taking stands on tough issues, flip-flops on abortion, exploits family tragedy for political gain, and shamelessly seeks press coverage. An article claims that liberals are the new "Confederacy" because they deny American national identity and want to classify everyone on racial lines. It also likens American affirmative action to race-classification practices in Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa. A piece says that Tony Blair is not like Clinton: Blair has actually turned his party rightward and imposed fiscal conservatism, unlike Clinton, who only pretends to do so. The Nation , May 26 (posted Tuesday, May 13) The investigative cover story examines the U.S. military's use of depleted uranium (DU) anti-tank shells. During the Gulf War, more than 30 U.S. soldiers received friendly fire wounds from DU shells. Many others were exposed to the toxic, radioactive remains of exploded shells. Iraqi cancer rates seem to have increased in places where the shells were used. Also, hot author Arlie Russell Hochschild adapts a chapter from her book The Time Bind : She argues that Americans must stop treating home life as a chore and learn how to invest emotionally in their families. Vanity Fair , June 1997 (posted Friday, May 9) Software upstart Oracle's CEO Larry Ellison is profiled. He comes across as a superannuated adolescent: hypermacho, sexist, and desperate for attention (but brilliant). His quest to defeat Microsoft is portrayed as an unhealthy obsession. A long article chronicles the turmoil at ABC News. David Westin has been anointed Roone Arledge's successor as head of the news division, but Arledge seems reluctant to cede his power. The legendary Arledge is depicted as detached, lazy, and old. Arnold Schwarzenegger is on the cover. Why? Because he's turning 50.