How Americans Are Living Dangerously (Science)
We worry too much about overhyped threats, and ignore the things that really put us at risk

The Year In Medicine From A to Z (Cover Story / The Year In Medicine)
It was a year of old scourges and new drugs, from the first vaccine that prevents cancer to a bug that spoiled an entire crop of California spinach


When the Democrats Take Back K Street
Democratic lobbyists are enjoying a comeback after 12 years of exile. Never mind those promised reforms

A Mormon as President?
Mitt Romney's challenge will be to explain a faith that remains mysterious to many

The Scariest Guy in Washington (Profile)
With subpoena power, Henry Waxman could be the Republicans' worst nightmare

When Public Schools Aren't Color-Blind (Education)
Louisville's racial guidelines keep its schools from having too many or too few black students. Most parents like the policy. Will the Supreme Court strike it down?


The Russian Roulette
The fatal poisoning of an outspoken former KGB agent adds to the chill of Vladimir Putin's Russia

Options for the New Secretary of Defense
With Iraq sliding into civil war, TIME looks at the tough choices facing Bob Gates

Global Viewpoint: Why We Need to Talk to Iran (Global Viewpoint)

The Face of Iraq's Brutality
Exclusive: A warlord tied to some of Baghdad's worst atrocities talks to TIME about the roots of Iraq's hate


An African Miracle (Medicine)
How a few doctors and some antiviral drugs brought a child with AIDS--and thousands like him--back from the dead
 Inside An AIDS clinic
In a small country in Africa, one clinic is making progress on the fight against pediatric AIDS. TIME's Christine Gorman reports from Lesotho

Long-Term Prognosis: Lessons from America (Medicine / Long-Term Prognosis)


Circling Back To Sewing
An old craft is gaining new appeal among the young, hip and nimble-fingered


Numbers: Dec. 4, 2006 (Numbers)

They Just Won't Bow Out

Verbatim: Dec. 4, 2006

Social Insecurity

What Daddy Couldn't Say (In the Arena)

Olympic Forecast?

Punchlines: Dec. 4, 2006 (Punchlines)

Milestones Dec. 4, 2006

What's Next: Dec. 4, 2006

Mini-Pimp is Mad

Wanna be a Rock Star? Fake It

Danger Caution Ahead
Hot cars and a cool CEO saved Nissan. But has success taken the edge off the brand's potential?

Hello, Hedge Funds
Big money and big questions push hedge funds--those below-the-radar investments for the rich--to do the unthinkable: show their faces


Books: The Revenge of the Dork (Books)
What do you do when your erudite punk-rock band stalls? Of course! Write a novel for teens

Culture Complex: The Kramer in All of Us (Culture Complex)
As Hollywood goes nuts, maybe the audience needs to examine itself too

5 Boffo TV Boxes
These small-screen DVD collections will keep on giving long after the holiday season

Music: The Un-Retirement of Jay-Z (Music)
Three years after quitting, he returns with an album that flirts with maturity, then loses its nerve

Books: Ten Years Beyond Infinite (Books)
Revolutionary or unreadable? The long, strange afterlife of David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest

Architecture: First Thinking, Then Building (Architecture)
Diller and Scofidio were architects who never built anything--until they did. And it's remarkable

Kate in The Raw (Profile)
How one actress worked--and stripped--her way from stardom to respect and back again


Trends: How to Get the Party Started (Trends)

Why Women Aren't Richer (Money)


People: Dec. 4, 2006

Q&A: Wyclef Jean

10 Questions for Al Gore (Interview)


Letters: Dec. 4, 2006

My Person of the Year (Forum)
To help us make this year's selection, TIME asked people who were chosen in previous years for their 2006 nominations. A sampling:


Cartoon: Let Us Now Praise Resentful Men (Cartoon)


Going It Alone (Time Bonus Section December 2006: Generations)
People who have had a happy marriage may find it easier to move on after the death of their spouse

Her Second Act (Time Bonus Section December 2006: Generations)
Former Motown star Martha Reeves has elected to work in front of a new audience, the citizens of Detroit

Golden Gadgets (Time Bonus Section December 2006: Generations)
Cool technology is no longer just for kids. There is great stuff coming up for the aging market too

¡Viva El Gringo! (Time Bonus Section December 2006: Generations)
A couple enjoys la vida loca by retiring south of the border