Economist , Sept. 20 (posted Saturday, Sept. 20) The cover editorial and a 48-page survey of the world economy reject the conventional wisdom that the era of big government is over. The share of government spending in the gross domestic product of industrial countries has risen steadily throughout the century, up to the current 46 percent. Exceptions: Hong Kong and Singapore, which got rich with small bureaucracies. A story on Bill Weld's blocked nomination blames not Jesse Helms ("now in his fifth rumbustious term") but the Senate itself. Archaic rules let one passionate senator win out over reasoned argument. Also, an article says China's new military cuts are in troop size, not spending. China, like most of East Asia, seeks high-tech weaponry. New Republic , Oct. 6 (posted Friday, Sept. 19) One reason New Republic editor Michael Kelly was fired is that his "TRB" columns were too tough on Al Gore. But this week's TRB, headlined "Impeach Gore," is not as harsh as it seems. It argues that an independent counsel lets both sides hide behind legal technicalities. Impeachment hearings would never oust Gore, but they would reveal the truth. The cover story on John Sweeney advises the AFL-CIO president to be more militant. Sweeney is too often subservient to the White House and the Democratic National Committee. To remain relevant, labor must take risks and build its membership (current growth rate: less than 2 percent per year). Also, an article says right-wingers are becoming socially conscious, establishing conservative-minded mutual funds and boycotting products. Cheerios are out: General Mills gives to Planned Parenthood. New York Times Magazine , Sept. 21 (posted Thursday, Sept. 18) The cover story on Harold Ickes compares the former Clinton aide to his FDR-aide father. Each Ickes kept absurdly copious notes, and was doggedly loyal to his boss. Despite the fact that he was dismissed and abandoned by Clinton, and despite the fact that he turned his notes over to the Thompson committee, the younger Ickes maintains "unshakable" faith in Clinton. An article on Oliver Stone says he has eschewed political diatribe in his forthcoming film U-Turn and his planned sequel to Mission: Impossible . Instead, Stone seeks mainstream clout. Also, a story refutes the notion that learning-disabled kids get too much attention. Schools that are looking for places to save money are tossing most LD-diagnosed kids into regular classes, where they are not assigned the rote drills they need if they are to learn how to read. Time and Newsweek , Sept. 22 (posted Tuesday, Sept. 16) Newsweek devotes the cover package to Mother Teresa, asking when she will be sainted. (Canonization can take more than 100 years.) The pope may waive several necessary steps, but Mother Teresa must still be credited with a posthumously performed miracle. (She'd better get cracking.) Time 's cover story credits America Online CEO Steve Case with simplifying the Internet for consumers and notes that AOL's acquisition of CompuServe's subscribers tightens its domination of the online market. The Di news continues as both mags chronicle the life and final drunken hours of Di driver Henri Paul. (Time has more details, even listing his brand of liquor, Ricard pastis.) Newsweek looks at how children deal with death: "A child who has lost a parent feels helpless, even if he's a future King of England; abandoned, even in a palace with a million citizens wailing at the gates." And Time discounts the warnings of anti-nuke activists who claim that the 72 pounds of plutonium on NASA's soon-to-be-launched Saturn explorer poses a health hazard. The radioactive fuel is safely encased, and will not pollute the atmosphere if the spacecraft explodes. ( The Nation disagrees; see below.) U.S. News & World Report , Sept. 22 (posted Tuesday, Sept. 16) The cover story credits Julia Child with "invent[ing] modern life." How? The celebrity chef launched the gourmet-food craze, made American cooking respectable, empowered housewives, and legitimized public television. And she's a lot of fun, too. A reporter visits Little Rock's Central High School 40 years after integration and finds a new kind of segregation: White students take honors classes, black students take regular classes. The reason: White parents press their kids onto the honors track, black parents don't. An article heralds the rise of the worm industry ("vermiculture"): Worms are a cheap, environmentally sound way of turning garbage into fertilizer. The New Yorker , Sept. 22 (posted Tuesday, Sept. 16) Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren chronicles his wild '70s life, focusing on Sid Vicious' 1978 arrest for his girlfriend's murder. Among many highlights: McLaren fences sound equipment stolen by the Sex Pistols from David Bowie's house; McLaren rejects William Kunstler as Vicious' defense attorney because he listens to "Bob Dylan or Joan Baez--possibly even Joni Mitchell"; McLaren tries to sanitize Vicious' image by finding him a "librarian" girlfriend. An article on the insanity defense recounts the miserable story of Edward Allen, the child of a wealthy New York family who's now on Oklahoma's death row for murdering his wife. Allen, who defended himself, tried to prove he was insane, but the jury didn't buy it. A piece describes--only half in jest--"Diana's Relics." Among them: "the pearl choker," "the Elvis dress," and "the cardigan with running reindeer." Unlike other saints' emblems, Diana's relics can be bought in stores. Also, The New Yorker breaks with tradition by publishing photographs of contributors. Vanity Fair , October 1997 (posted Tuesday, Sept. 16) An article on the JonBenet Ramsey case presents evidence that strongly suggests her parents killed her. But the district attorney's office has botched the case by cooperating with the parents' attorneys, so it's unlikely that charges will ever be filed. The "New Establishment 1997" ranks "the 50 most powerful players of the Information Age." Bill Gates is first, Rupert Murdoch second. (Only two women are listed, at No. 47 and No. 48.) On the cover: Nicole Kidman. She's cagey about her new movie, Stanley Kubrick's mysterious Eyes Wide Shut . Weekly Standard , Sept. 22 (posted Tuesday, Sept. 16) The cover editorial and article rip Al Gore. The editorial calls him a sleazeball based on the fund-raising evidence. The article says that while Gore doesn't seem rattled by the allegations, he should be. Even his allies are anxious. The Standard accuses the United Way of political correctness (a capital crime!): The charity has shifted funding from dull-but-worthy projects like CPR training to programs that are supposed to support "ethnic communities." Also, an article savages Diana for not doing her duty. She wanted money, popularity, pleasure, and leisure, but not the obligations that came with her title. The Nation , Sept. 29 (posted Tuesday, Sept. 16) An article says Rudy Giuliani is not as good as he seems. Crime may be down, but public schools are as lousy as ever, and the unemployment rate is one of the highest in the nation. Two editorials oppose NASA's plutonium-laden mission to Saturn (see Time , above). An explosion of the spacecraft within the Earth's atmosphere would spread toxic particles, endangering millions. An essay by Mother Teresa basher Christopher Hitchens likens the nun to Princess Di: Both used the poor and sick as "accessories" in "the service and the pursuit of the rich and powerful." --Compiled by Seth Stevenson and the editors of Slate .