Jane Smiley sets much of her epic trilogy in Iowa. She tells Richard Fitzpatrick that how people farm and eat is at the heart of her story.

A scrap metal dealer who bought a golden egg at a US bric-a-brac market discovered it is an ultra- rare Fabergé egg worth around €24m.

A deal to buy a Faberge egg, said to be worth around €23m, that was to be sold for scrap was done in a "potato field in Kerry", according to one of the people who played a vital role in the negotiations.

A fierce storm blamed for at least 17 deaths left dangerous ice, heavy snow and vicious winds in its wake as it as it made its way from America’s Midwest to the New England region.