Time Magazine Contents Page DECEMBER 20, 1993 VOL. 142 NO. 26

TO OUR READERS 4

CHRONICLES 11

MILESTONES 16

COVER: The New Arms Race 18

After the latest slaughter -- this time on a New York commuter train < -- America faces the paradox of its battle over guns. Each crime creates a fresh wave of terror, a louder demand for gun control -- and a larger demand for guns

What Kind of Gun Control? Even as Washington debates new laws, communities around the country test their own tactics to fight crime

A City Under Fire: In Milwaukee a rash of murders provokes revulsion, vigils and a drive to ban handguns

The Political Interest: Drug treatment fights crime

THE BUDGET: Clinton Faces the Meanest Test 36

The White House takes a look at sacrosanct benefit programs

EDUCATION: Without a Prayer 41

An old debate is born again in Mississippi

MIDDLE EAST: An Eye for an Eye 42

Israel's settlers are doing their best to derail the peace process

SYRIA: Breaking the Deadlock 43

Granted a summit with Clinton, Assad returns to peace talks

RUSSIA: Democratic Czar 44

A new constitution will make the President mighty powerful

TRADE: Time to Shut Up 46

After seven years, the world prepares to vote on GATT

BUSINESS: Diller Closes In on Paramount 47

The bloodiest takeover battle in years enters its final act

TRIALS: Waiting for the Verdicts 48

The Menendez case wraps up and heads for its juries

SPACE: After Hubble, NASA Can Crow Again 50

But to fulfill its goals, the agency itself needs an overhaul

SCIENCE: A Power Source Hotter Than the Sun 54

Records fall as researchers try to harness nuclear fusion

FOOD: Gastronomy Without Guilt 56

A diet doctor insists you can eat, drink and be thin

THE ARTS & MEDIA

Art: Michelangelo's epic Last Judgment, in the Sistine Chapel, emerges vividly from a four-year face-lift 58

Cinema: Brief? This movie is The Pelican Interminable 62

Mike Leigh's Naked finds highlights in London lowlife

Wayne and Garth redeem a batch of sappy sequels

Books: Wild things to delight kids this Christmas 64

Theater: The musical Sunset Boulevard has found its way 66

A daring Christmas Carol, transposed to the ghetto

Sport: Western glitz comes to Russian hockey 71

Obituary: Frank Zappa, rock iconoclast, dies at 52 73

PEOPLE 75

ESSAY 76

COVER: Gun photograph for TIME by Dennis Chalkin; background from Nassau County Police-Gamma Liaison

TIME (ISSN 0040-781X) is published weekly for $61.88 per year, by Time Inc. Principal Office: Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, N.Y., 10020-1393. Reginald K. Brack Jr., Chairman; Joseph A. Ripp, Treasurer; Harry M. Johnston, Secretary. Second-class postage paid at New York, N.Y., and at additional mailing offices. (c) 1993 Time Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. TIME and the Red Border Design are protected through trademark registration in the United States and in the foreign countries where TIME magazine circulates. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to TIME, P.O. Box 30601, Tampa, Fla. 33630-0601. For subscription queries, call Customer Service at 1-800-843-TIME (8463).