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Considers the decades-long transformation of the Supreme Court from the liberal bastion of former Chief Justice Earl Warren into an aggressively conservative body, one possibly poised to alter some of the major rulings of the past. Slow-motion building of the new majority; No swing Justice; Anti-abortion laws headed for the Supreme Court; Sampling of last week's rulings; An argument for judicial economy. INSET: Conflicting views of justice.;Abortion test cases..

States that to watch the videotape of Los Angeles policemen kicking and clubbing Rodney King was to suddenly explore a dark corner of American life. Undermining the image of cool professional police, an occasion for dismay, soul searching and defensiveness. Evidence growing that the officers involved expected their behavior to be winked at; Other brutality cases; Weeding out problem officers. INSET: Untitled (communications tape from LA).;Writing on the wall..

Photo essay with text of the new Ansel Adams book `The American Wilderness,' a collection of his works to be published in October, putting Adams the environmentalist alongside Adams the artist.

Reports on Nelson Mandela's current trip to the United States, his seeking support for the continuation of sanctions against South Africa and against apartheid, and Americans seeking a chance to hail him. Torrent of emotion; Self-congratulation for American civil rights activists; Domestic racial matters.

Argues that suburbanization, the most irresistible demographic trend of the past 40 years, is at the heart of why the inner cities have been reduced to hollow shells peopled largely by poor non-whites. The result is an America dividing into two worlds, separated by class, race and drive time. Cities' loss of jobs and taxpayers; Welfare rolls in Los Angeles County; Statistics comparing South Central and Simi Valley; Suburbs control nation's political destiny.

Highlights current difficulties American women are experiencing in attempting to have a legal abortion, an option already not available in 83 percent of America's counties, and where, for reasons of professional pride, or fear, or economic pressure, doctors have backed away from the procedure even where it remains available. The question `who decides' must itself be redecided; New obstacles, outright prohibitions and reinforcing the shame; Targeting doctors.

Discusses the effects of the end of the cold war and the dissolving Soviet Union on intelligence agencies worldwide, and notes that confirmation hearings for Robert Gates, nominated by President George Bush to become next director of the CIA, willfocus the Senate on the intelligence community. Discussion of the Central Intelligence Agency's future; Reshaping duties; Small and mid-sized nations with considerable military arsenals; Information gathering.

Describes the series of stunning developments last week that sent the Iran-contra scandal back to the front pages and questions whether one of the first casualties might be the nomination of Robert Gates to be head of the Central Intelligence Agency. Testimony of Alan Fiers; Lawrence Walsh's biggest worry; Focusing on how high the conspiracy reached. INSET: What did they know, and when did they know it?.

Details some actions cities across the US are taking to put visible police back into the communities to protect, serve, and befriend local residents. Rigorous training in the basics of policing; Boston, Houston and San Francisco: Community PatrolOfficer Programs--the beat cop is back; Community policing as a deterrent; Discouraging crimes before they happen; New yardsticks needed to measure individual performance; The macho image.

Describes the current Washington controversy over whether or not President George Bush can send US troops into battle without congressional approval. Deciding if the voice that votes should support or oppose the president's threat of military action; Many lawmakers prefer to sit on the fence while it remains unclear if a military option can succeed at acceptable cost, many hesitate to convince Saddam that the US is divided. INSET: Rising--but still muted--dissent..

Describes the recent American dispatch of 17 more warships to the gulf and the upcoming vaccination of American troops against the potential threat of Iraqi germ warfare. Attempting to convince Saddam Hussein that his time is running out as the UN deadline for Iraqi withdrawal nears. Stalled diplomatic efforts; Building up stocks of sophisticated weapons; Summoning ambassadors home to Baghdad; Linking Kuwait with an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.

Suggests that after a decade of budget delusion, Congress and the White House take a significant step toward controlling the deficit. Reality and the bottom line: there is no way for the US to get its fiscal house in order without demanding some sacrifice from nearly all citizens. Nothing to brag about; Shortcomings; Richard Darman and John Sununu reduced to messenger status; Blaming the Democrats. INSET: The stealth peace dividend (Pentagon budget)..

Comments on the choice of President George Bush for nomination to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan. Federal Appeals Court Judge David Souter, 50, Harvard, Rhodes scholar, Harvard Law, New Hampshire state supreme court, chosen from a list of a dozen candidates, prompting across the country the statement `never heard of him.'

Reports that 52 percent of voters in California voted last week to double the state gasoline tax to fund improvements for gridlocked highways. Antitax sentiment still widespread; Targeting the tax to a purpose the voters understand; Tying the tax to behavior (cigarette, gasoline, alcohol taxes); Making the courts force the issue. INSET: Facing realities..

Suggests that the Rodney King trial hinged on fine points of the law, such as what constitutes reasonable doubt and how much force is permitted under procedural guidelines of the Los Angeles police department. Change of trial venue to Ventura County; Work history of the empaneled jury; Serious errors made by the prosecution; Decision to keep King off the witness stand; The defense strategy; Tendency of white jurors to give police the benefit of the doubt.

Offers a look at Kathy and Bill Magee, founders of the nonprofit medical organization Operation Smile. Bill, 46, is a plastic surgeon, and Kathy, 46, is a nurse and social worker. The group sends medical teams to developing countries to perform free corrective surgery on disfigured children. Backgrounds; Foreign work; Home life; Organization; Funding.

Comments on the need people have to see beautiful people and discusses the benefits great looking people bring to the world. Gives examples.

Traces the rise of women as Hollywood stars, producers and directors, starting with Mary Pickford and Frances Marion, and leading to Sue Mengers and Jodie Foster.

Discusses the finances of Britain's royal family and the complicated way it has accumulated and is spent. INSET: How to be as rich as a Windsor..

Traces the heritage of Britain's royal Windsor family, and some of its more vulgar and virtuous ancestors. INSET: The Hanover hangover (King George I and his descendants), by R....

Discusses the importance of style in American life, looks at the fashion fads, by decade, since the 1950s, and talks about what to expect in the 1990s.

Profiles 20 people who helped define life and issues worldwide in the 1980s and talks about their actions. Includes Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Donald Trump, and Princess Diana. INSET: Ron on Gorby..

Talks about the unchained brutishness evident in life and theater in the 1980s, including the Marines going to Lebanon and Grenada, violent movies, roughhouse broadcasting and more.

Describes the art of David Ireland, who creates his designs to display the social effects of time and life. Unusual art pieces.

Profiles surrealist artist Salvador Dali, one of the 20th century's most celebrated painters, who recently died at age 84. Dali was a public performer and ambitious, and earned many critics because of his zest for money. Career; Personal life; Late years.

Discusses director Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam film, `Full Metal Jacket.' Looks at other Kubrick films and his themes of fatalism and human helplessness.

Profiles top interior designer Vicente Wolf. Background; Career overview; How he has navigated a path between the two extremes of excess and restraint; Photo essay of rooms he has decorated and objects he has designed.

Photo essay with text of the Chicago home of designers Paul Froncek and Janet Shure. Renovation of a derelict clay-pot factory into a Chicago-style villa; Old World and New World elements combined; Interior and exterior detail.

Photo essay with text of a house designed by architect Ettore Sottsass for New York art dealer/collector Daniel Wolf. Blend of function and high spirits; Spectacular views of the 14,000 Sneffels Range; Innovative materials; Balancing Wolf's interests in pre-Columbian art, 20th century design, mineral formations and photography. Emphasis on light.

Profiles artist Keith Haring, who recently died of AIDS at age 31. Background; Development of his art career; Key murals and sculptures; How his works reflect the psychic underpinnings of urban life; AIDS activism.

Describes the interior of fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg's suite at the Carlyle Hotel designed by Jean-Paul Beaujard. Includes photographs of Beaujard's apartment.

Photo essay with text of a Boston triplex house decorated in diverse 20th century styles. Design philosophy of owners Ken Freed and Rick Garofalo; Potential collectability of modern pieces.

Considers how `The New York Times' has been trying to develop a more with-it image, and how executive editor Max Frankel has tried to liven up the 140-year-old paper with more flavorful writing and beefed-up coverage of sports and city news. Controversy surrounding the identification by name of the woman who accused William Kennedy Smith of raping her; Reaction of the staff; Red ink and straining to keep up with younger readers; Consulting editor Adam Moss.

Comments on a recent Time/CNN survey that indicates United States President George Bush's popularity is eroding and the public is increasingly concerned about the economy. Growing concerns beginning to deflate the Persian Gulf War bubble; A few glimmers of hope for economic recovery; Democrats poorly positioned to exploit the tiny cracks in Bush's armor; A dearth of serious opposition.

Addresses the US Supreme Court's decision that maybe forced confessions were not such an important matter, going against previous ruling that coerced confession automatically reversed a guilty verdict on appeal. Legacy of Earl Warren years; Coerced confession now a `harmless error'; Coerced confessions not sanctioned, but not useless anymore, either; Videotaped beating of Rodney King; David H. Souter gives court conservatives reliable majority.

Suggests that in the face of the gulf war and increasing dependence on foreign oil, Americans may at last be receptive to a durable energy plan. National energy policy favoring increased use of natural gas, nuclear power and stepped-up oil exploration; Ignoring conservation; Program expected to shun a hike in the gas tax and higher fuel-efficiency standards; Unwarranted government interference in the free market; Cheap fuel part of our standard of living.

Details the recent torching of oil wells and release of crude oil into the Persian Gulf by Saddam Hussein, making the planet his latest victim. Estimates of crude released; Possible prelude to further ecological disasters: the gulf, burning oil fields, nuclear contamination, chemical and biological weapons. INSET: Ecological disasters?.

Details the votes in the House (250 to 183) and the Senate (52 to 47) authorizing the President to use military force against Iraq after Jan. 15. Defeat of motions to delay military action until sanctions had been given more time to work; `A clear signal (to) Iraq'; Failure of the Geneva talks made a confrontation inevitable and swept congressional fence-sitters into the President's camp; Rep. Les Aspin (Dem.-Wis.).

Outlines the results of the recent presidential election in Poland, and considers the upcoming December 9 runoff between Solidarity leader Lech Walesa and virtual unknown Stanislaw Tyminski. Voter despair over economic chaos; Search for scapegoats with Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki the prime target; No specifics for reaching goals; Strange and contradictory background of Tyminski.

Considers the law and the possibility that expectant mothers who drink or use drugs may be held liable for damage to their fetuses. Cases concerning prenatal drug delivery in nine states; Questions concerning the right to privacy and the obligations of the state and the individual toward the unborn; Fetal rights and `fetal protection policies'; Distinguishing between reckless behavior and acceptable risk.

Says that no fewer than three House committees are looking into the charge that George Bush provided Iraq with substantial US assistance in the form of sensitive US technology and federal loan guarantees. Officials who have appeared before the House Banking Committee, chaired by Henry Gonzalez (D.-Tex.); Paper trail from the hearings; Bush's policy of carrots without sticks; Dalliance with Saddam Hussein had widespread bipartisan support. INSET: Paper tiger?.

Suggests that when the Supreme Court restored capital punishment in 1976, it did so with the expectation that death sentences would be imposed in a fair and equitable manner: it hasn't always worked out that way. The urgent question of who defends accused killers; Closing off the paths by which death-row inmates get federal courts to review their decisions; Complexities of capital cases; Execution of Roger Keith Coleman. INSET: William Andrews.;Judy Haney..

Considers the subject of court-imposed punishments, which can include castration, acceptance of Depo-Provera (which inhibits the male sex drive) and Norplant (implanted birth control strip). Case of Steven Allen Butler, accused rapist, who offered to be castrated in exchange for a 35 year sentence. Butler's new lawyer, and second thoughts; Need to consider new ways to control violent offenders; Opposition of the American Medical Association.

Recounts the testimony of Salvatore `Sammy the Bull' Gravano, 46, at the John Gotti trial in Brooklyn. Gravano, originally supposed to stand trial with Gotti and Frank (Frankie Locs) Locascio, struck a deal with the feds and agreed to testify in Gotti's trial and others to come for a 20 year sentence in a high-security witness-protection block. Testimony regarding ten killings ordered by Gotti; Bribe for a juror in Gotti's 1987 trial; Others turning state's evidence.

Recounts the terms Secretary of State James A. Baker III laid out before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations last week on $10 billion in loan guarantees for Israel. Calculation regarding antipathy to foreign aid and voter support for Israel; Tireless prodding of both sides toward an Arab-Israeli peace; Baker as symbol of administration blindspots; Absence of clearly defined policy goals; Criticisms of Baker. INSET: New world diplomacy..

Recounts last week's televising of the William Kennedy Smith rape trial in the Palm Beach County, Fla. courthouse, which attracted an audience to Cable News Network of nearly 3.2 million viewers, nine times the usual audience. Questions are arising about the appropriateness of televising this kind of trial, for this kind of alleged crime. Dignity, solemnity and monotony; Moving and effective testimony of Smith's accuser. INSET: Behind the blue dot, by C. Booth..

Considers the paradox of a Clarence Thomas as the model of courteous and respectful relations with women against the image offered by Anita Hill, of a boss who pressured and humiliated her. Thomas' defenders; His work at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on sexual-harassment guidelines.

Presents an interview with Randall Terry, founder of the controversial Operation Rescue group, who insists the United States is dying from moral pollution and will be saved only by his measures. Discusses the six weeks of confrontation in Wichita, Kans.; The Christian Defense Coalition; Complaints about the police; Basing the American government on the laws of the Bible.