The End of California? Dream On! (The Well / Cover)
The Golden State has fought the status quo since its birth 160 years ago. It celebrates failure. It is a magnet for innovation. Its obituary has been posted time and again. But even amid a particularly rough chapter in the state's history, the nation's future is being written in California. A special report


How Drug Industry Lobbyists Got Their Way on Health Care (The Well / Nation)
You don't know him (he's a lobbyist), but he may be the biggest winner in health-care reform. So who loses?


Balloon Boy's Lesson: The New American Dream (Commentary / Tuned In)
Behind the Balloon Boy fiasco was a family in hot pursuit of the new American Dream

Red-Meat Primary (Commentary / In the Arena)
Florida's Senate contest will test whether Republicans prize pragmatism over ideology

Joel Stein: The Week of Living Cheaply (The Awesome Column)
In which I refuse to pay retail for anything — and still somehow bleed cash


Detroit: Where Private Security Is Booming (Postcard: Detroit)
With a police force decimated by budget woes, the Motor City's middle-class enclaves are hiring their own to fight rising crime. Where security is a booming business

In the Tunnels: Gaza's Underground Economy (The Well / World)
Deep inside the tunnel economy of the Gaza Strip
 Photos: The Tunnel Economy of the Gaza Strip
Photographer Richard Mosse goes deep underground to document how goods flow into the tiny coastal territory
 Video: The Tunnel Smugglers of the Gaza Strip
With a blockade stopping imports into the Gaza Strip, merchants rely on goods smuggled from Egypt through tunnels

China Vs. India: Will Rivalry Lead to War? (The Well / World)
In the Himalayas, India and China are needling each other. Welcome to what may be the century's most important contest


The Moment (Briefing)
10|20|09: Kabul

The World (Briefing)
10 ESSENTIAL STORIES

Obama's Secret Iran Talks: Setting the Stage for a Deal? (Briefing / Washington Memo)
How Obama's hands-on diplomacy helped bring Iran to the table

Verbatim

Brief History: Executive Pay (Briefing)

The Skimmer (Briefing)
Book Review: The Tyranny of E-Mail: The Four-Thousand-Year Journey to Your Inbox by John Freeman

Bruce Wasserstein (Briefing / Milestones)

William Wayne Justice (Briefing / Milestones)

Ludovic Kennedy (Briefing / Milestones)

How D-Day Almost Became a Disaster (Books)
The first comprehensive history of D-day in two decades sheds new light on the cost of an immortal victory
 Multimedia: Faces of D-Day
Photographer David Burnett revisits the Normandy invasion with the help of World War II veterans
 Video: Voices of Truth from D-Day
Veterans of the Normandy invasion join President Obama and other heads of state on the 65th anniversary of D-Day

Hollywood's Amelia Earhart: Lost at Sea (MOVIES)
Mira Nair's portrait of Amelia Earhart captures the details but misses the life

Like a Rolling Snowman (Music)
A Bob Dylan Christmas album? The veteran pioneer offers a unique take on seasonal kitsch

Chicago Takes Center Stage in New York (Theater)
In this fall's crop of serious Broadway dramas, even the foreigners have Chicago accents

Weekend Critics' Picks
TIME's picks for the week


The Stimulus Spending Bill: Is It Working at All? (The Well / The Curious Capitalist)
Probably, a little. But it is also stimulating a phony debate among Washington's partisans

Making New Mileys: Disney's Teen-Star Factory (The Well / Business)
The movies are tanking, the parks are weak, and ABC is hurting. But the company is being buoyed by its ability to grow teen talent
 A Brief History of Disney Teen Stars
Photos: From Annette to Miley, Disney has made a specialty of minting young talent


Sweet Spot: How Sugary-Cereal Makers Target Kids (Food)
New data on how the least healthy cereals do the most marketing
 The Sugary Brands Doing the Most Kid-Chasing
Here's the skinny on the 10 most frequently marketed cereals to children on television

Power of One (Life)
By assembling a corps of college volunteers, Rebecca Onie is helping physicians address the connection between health and poverty

How a Sugar Pill Can Heal (or Hurt) You (Life / Health)
New research shows that the placebo effect isn't all in your head


Benetton's Bold Strategy (Global Business / Retailing)
With the second generation in charge, the firm is bent on expanding despite the recession


10 Questions for Jennifer Granholm (10 Questions)
Michigan's Canadian-born governor on her state's challenges. Jennifer Granholm will now take your questions


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