Kansas City Robert Altman (15)

US ELECTIONS: Weary old warrior ends last crusade

Sir: Suzanne Moore's claim that breast implants have been found to be dangerous is inaccurate ("Time we reclaimed what is rightfully ours", 11 October)

KANSAS DAYS

Never one for telling it straight, Robert Altman's new movie is an exercise in 'spherical' film-making. Daniel Jeffreys interviews the maverick of US cinema.

Nancy Kassebaum

DAVID HELLIER

Welcome to the safe, quiet home of Ed and Dianna Peyden of Dover, Kansas. Excuse the floor, carpeting the hall would be prohibitive. Don't look at the sky, there isn't any. But then there aren't any missiles here either, not since the mid-Sixties. It was a silo until the Atlases and Titans were overtaken by technology. Now it's Casa Peyden. It cost $40,000 in 1984 - reduced from $4m in 1959. During the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, there were rockets here standing ready with nuclear tips (above); now it's more likely to be Dianna with guacamole. The Peydens have made it so comfy, they've taken out options on several more. Photographs by Najlah Feanny

On a women-only ranch in Kansas, Sue Nelson finds herding cattle surprisingly easy

John Cameron Swayze was a pioneer of television newscasting in the United States.

reports from Cardiff

Paul Simon was right: there is no such place as America. But the greatest wealth of the world's richest nation is its sheer diversity. Every corner of this huge country conceals a bewildering variety of experiences. You could travel the United States by popular song, from Bangor Maine to San Diego by way of Chattanooga (and all stations to Wichita), and still fail to find a place you can safely label as America.

Washington - Investigators in the Oklahoma City bombing believe they finally have found the widely sought suspect known as John Doe No 2, but doubt he had any role in the attack, FBI officials said yesterday. After an intensive, two-month manhunt, they said the man appears to be Todd Bunting, a 23-year-old soldier who happened to be at a Kansas truck rental firm around the same time as Timothy McVeigh. Mr McVeigh is the chief suspect in the 19 April bombing of the federal building in which 167 people died.

Dr Henry Foster, President Clinton's controversial nominee for US Surgeon- General, yesterday put up a strong performance as Senate Committee hearings began yesterday, but his ultimate confirmation is still hostage to the merciless politics of abortion and the Republican presidential campaign.