September 2, 1985 Vol. 126 No. 9

Falwell's Fundamentalists 48

are out to remake church and society

No longer hovering behind sanctuary walls, doctrinaire U.S.

Protestants are zealously at work in communities across the land,

agitating over abortion, school prayer, pornography, gay lib and

now foreign policy. Their guidebook: a Bible deemed to be error-proof. Their weapons: dynamic leaders like Jerry Falwell, TV, hard cash and a friend in the White House. See RELIGION.

NATION: With an eye on the summit,12

the U.S. talks tough to the Soviets

Washington charges the kgb with using "spy dust" and decides to test a new antisatellite weapon, as superpower relations grow chillier. Reagan rests up + at the ranch and braces for a taxing

autumn. A portrait of a changing U.S.A. The G.O.P. Senate

majority becomes shakier with Laxalt's decision not to run again.

Lotto mania grips New York with get-rich-quick fever.

WORLD: Britain's air disaster 24

raises new fears about plane safety

An engine on a Boeing 737 crammed with vacationers explodes on takeoff in Manchester, turning the rear passenger section

into an inferno that kills 54. Twin scandals, one involving

espionage, the other sabotage, engulf the governments of West

Germany and France. South Africa's intransigence leaves

Washington disappointed and confused. Assassination in India.

32

Economy & Business A.H. Robins files for bankruptcy after a barrage of Dalkon Shield suits. AT&T will cut out 24,000 jobs. A tainted-tomato scare.

46

Design

St. Louis' grand old railroad station is spectacularly reborn, thanks to a successful federal tax-credit

program.

42

Sport

In one hardscrabble Dominican town, major league baseball play-

ers lead all other

exports, including

sugar.

66

Music

Talking Heads, a rhythmically deft and enterprising band led by David Byrne, swings through a new album of high-IQ rock.

44

Computers

A UCLA conference on artificial intelligence is a showcase for "smart" programs that clone

the minds of human

experts.

70

Books

Radio Humorist Garrison Keillor's first novel gives fans something more lasting than air. The seven siblings of The House of Mitford.

45

Press

The Detroit News,

family owned for a century and fiercely competitive, is forced to

put its stock on the block.

74

Essay

The personal ad is an odd art form, a song of oneself that is also a plea, a form of courtship both funny and forlorn.

4 Letters

8 American Scene

43 People

45 Milestones

67 Show Business

72 Theater

73 Living

Cover:

Illustration by

Don Ivan Punchatz