MEDIA LEAD SHEET/MAY 26, 2008 ISSUE (on newsstands Monday, May 19, 2008). To book correspondents, contact Brenda Velez at 212-445-4078-Brenda.Velez@Newsweek.com, Grace Huh at 212-445-5831-Grace.Huh@Newsweek.com-or Jan Angilella at 212-445-5638-Jan.Angilella@Newsweek.com. Articles are posted on www.Newsweek.com. 

COVER: "Growing Up Bipolar" (p. 32). General Editor Mary Carmichael reports that at least 800,000 children in the U.S. have been diagnosed as bipolar, no doubt some of them wrongly. There are many drugs to treat the condition, but it's unclear how they work, and, often, they don't work at all.  There are no studies on their long-term effects in children. Yet untreated bipolar disorder can be disastrous; 10 percent of sufferers commit suicide.  Parents must choose between two options:  treat their children and risk a bad outcome, or don't treat and risk a worse one. Carmichael reports on the dilemma by telling the wrenching story of one family, Amy and Richie Blake and their 10-year-old son Max, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was two years old.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137517

CHINA: "China's Tears" (p. 20.) Special Correspondent Mary Hennock and Beijing Bureau Chief Melinda Liu report from China on the recovery efforts from the earthquake that may have killed as many as 50,000 people. Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has toured the disaster zone and TV newscasts showed him wielding a bullhorn and begging exhausted rescue teams not give up. China took a beating for its ham-handed response to the Tibetan riots in March. But this crisis is different. For one thing, it's exactly the kind of problem at which the Beijing leadership excels: a test of mass mobilization and logistics.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137519

JUSTICE: "Gitmo Grievances" (p. 24). Deputy Washington Bureau Chief Dan Ephron reports on several military prosecutors who have left their posts at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base because they believe the tribunal process there is deeply flawed. None of these men is a bleeding-heart type; they are spit-and-polish career officers. But in the past four years, at least five of them have quit their jobs or walked away from Gitmo cases because they believed their own integrity was being compromised. In interviews with Newsweek, three former prosecutors voiced concerns about issues ranging from the use of tainted evidence or secret trials to improper micromanaging by political appointees.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137627

POLITICS: "Hello There, Ladies" (p. 28).  Senior Writer Suzanne Smalley and Senior White House Correspondent Richard Wolffe report that the Barack Obama campaign staff is now focusing on who Hillary supporters will vote for in November. As they narrow in on the nomination, Obama is working to bridge the divide between him and millions of mostly white, working-class women who backed Hillary. Obama aides say the campaign will reach out to these voters by stressing how he owes much of his success to strong women: his grandmother; his single mom; his wife, Michelle. He will reinforce that even though he may not be Hillary, he has voted like her.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137529

JONATHAN ALTER: "Lights, Camera, 'Question Time!'" (p. 29). Senior Editor and Columnist Jonathan Alter writes that the idea of planning with an eye on serendipity is one of the least-appreciated skills any leader can possess. "It helps explain not just why Barack Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee, but why McCain is actually the candidate who may end up dramatically improving accountability in Washington." McCain proposed this week that, if he were elected, he would ask Congress to grant him the privilege of coming before both houses to take questions and address criticism, much the same as the prime minister of Great Britain appears regularly before the House of Commons. "By moving us a bit closer to a parliamentary system, McCain would strike a major blow for real debate and democracy," Alter writes.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137530

DANIEL GROSS: "The New Dream Isn't American" (p. 30). Senior Writer Daniel Gross writes that every year, millions of people around the globe make the essentially economic choice of whether to come to the United States-legally or illegally. But now things are starting to change. Many immigrants are leaving the United States-willingly and unwillingly-and countless others are deciding not to come. The reasons: tougher enforcement and border control, a slowing U.S. economy and impressive growth in developing countries, where many immigrants hail from.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137514

EDUCATION: "Small Schools Rising" (p. 42). Contributing Editor Jay Mathews reports that in this year's list of the country's best high schools, there are 22 schools with graduating classes smaller than 100, which is a tribute to the success of smaller schools. In the past decade, there's been a noticeable countertrend toward smaller schools. This has been fostered, in part, by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has invested $1.8 billion in American high schools, helping to open about 1,000 small schools-most of them with about 400 kids each, with an average enrollment of only 150 per grade. Districts all over the country are taking notice, along with mayors in cities like New York, Chicago, Milwaukee and San Diego. 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137547

http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380 -  Complete list of 1,300 top schools

MOVIES: "Girls Gone Mild" (p. 46). Society Editor Julia Baird writes that what's striking about the  upcoming "Sex and the City" movie, as well as the series itself, is how many people speak of it in hyperbolic terms: as a revolution, a phenomenon. Yet, Baird asks, for all the hype and adoration, was "Sex and the City" really all that revolutionary? The show definitely, and loudly, explored uncharted TV territory. It was naughty and bawdy and was one of the rare shows to ask the provocative question: is it OK for a woman to be alone? But the fact is, the show really only asked questions. By the end of the series, all these women had husbands or lovers. By its conclusion, the show was not so much about being single as searching for The One, Baird writes.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137300

TELEVISION: "Bush vs. Gore, Take 2" (p. 50). Associate Editor Joshua Alston reviews the upcoming HBO movie about the 2000 election "Recount." The movie takes the skeletal story everyone remembers and adds more. "The film is told largely through the eyes of the Gore team, but what can occasionally seem like bias has its roots in facts," Alston writes.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137553

TIP SHEET: "Try Freeloading Off Friends!"  (p. 54). Contributing Editor Linda Stern offers tips on how to squeeze in a family vacation this summer without breaking the bank.  Budget exactly how much you'll spend on gas by entering your destination and your car into the calculator at the AAA Web site; consider traveling by bus or train; don't go too far from home, and seek unusual lodging, like tent camping or the time-honored tradition of freeloading off friends.      

http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/tipsheet/default.aspx

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