the age of absolute monarchs, the age of which versailles is a symbol, was drawing to an end.hings would never be the same. for louis, versailles was intended first to be a garden, and he imagined that garden as an outdoor palace built next to the one constructed in stone, and the one could not be understood without the other. in the garden, louis exercised the same despotism over nature that he did indoors over his court. these two tyrannies changed, softened even, over the long years of the reign. the most famous formal garden in europe, with its rigorous geometries of terraces and staircases, its regular parterre, gave way gradually to a greater informality of trees and fields, not merely because it was so expensive to keep up, but because a new attitude to nature was developing-- more sentimental, intimate, romantic. the mood of this moment is captured in a painting done not long after louis' death-- antoine watteau's departure from the isle of cythera. a group of courtiers prepares to leave the island of love. the painting signals the new attitude-- more informal, poetic,

. >> the siegels in versailles are back. >> we're back.ft but we are definitely back. >> reporter: after a four-year hiatus, the king and queenle of this orlando area pass, jackie siegel an her timeshare billionaire husband, david siegel have resumed kruk on what will be the biggest house in america which could swallow the white house. it is fittingly called versailles. >> you bought a toilet in italy, shipped it to china and brought it back here. >> yes. >> it was cheaper than to have it done in china than italy. >> reporter: a million pieces of marble. they have a big family, eight kids, five dogs, six if you count the one that is stuffed. so it stands to reason they need a big house but at 90,000 square feet, this 15 bed, 30 bath home can also hold two 747s. the siegels home was first featured in the documentary "the queen of versailles" last year. the ultimate example of the super sized mansion. >> the is almost a rags to riches story. >> reporter: when we saw them last year versailles was at a stand still. but with the recession over

it's called versailles.d it shipped back here. >> it's cheaper to have it done in china than in italy. >> reporter: 1 million pieces of marble. they have a big family. eight kids, five dogs, six if you count the one that's stuffed. it stands to reason they need a big house. but at 90,000 square feet, this 15-bed, 30-bath home can also hold 2 747s. the siegels' home was first featured in the documentary "the queen of versailles," the ultimate example of the supersized mansion. >> this is almost like a riches-to-rags story. when we saw them a year ago, versailles was at a standstill. but the recession over, the couple is building again, existing no expense will be spared. >> whatever it takes to finish it, that's what i'll spend. >> reporter: fully committed to it now? >> fully committed. >> reporter: so committed, he's building a 4,000 square foot ride-in closet. >> i have a gold elevator closet. >> reporter: sometimes you have to make compromises. for "good morning america," matt gutman, abc news, the versai

. >> it's like versailles before the french revolution.les and didn't know much what went went on outside that world. >> john: congressman alan grayson lost his seat but ran again and won. he says if it is royalty in america. >> it's not congress, it's the lobbyists and who made it that way? >> john: by passing all these laws. if you have a big government there is more government to fight over. >> there is that argument, but will the real well think is not in washington, d.c.. >> john: it's on wall street, he says. there is a lot of money there, but there is a big difference. >> in the private sector if you can find a way to cut costs you are a hero. if you can find a way to cut costs in bureaucracy you are goat. they measure success by the size of their budget. >> big budgets give special interests reason to invest in d.c. and invest they have. unions say teachers are under pay but their union looks rich. this is their headquarters. we're told it's worth hundred million dollars. the atrium is called an environmental oasis. they didn't wan

didn't come out the way it was supposed to and idealism was crushed and ended up with the treaty of versailles, and it did not -- there's a little comment there about beating them in 1917 and hardly bothered since. they bothered us very much in the years to come, but more important for americans was how the war ended at home. number one it's in the worst form, and number two, the american economy rmped up to produce armorment for the war, and they never got in anymore. we went in war in 1917 using mostly real weapons, for example, had tanks, hand grenades and so forth were bought from the british, but we had, at that point, what, by 1918, the largest arian norment in the world. largely after the end of the war, the government started producing contracts. and it's just like -- without warning. thousands of workers were -- a state like connecticut felt it because they had so many of these. at the very least, we need a tax credit so we can carry these in case they were ever needed again. in almost every case, remmington arms to you name it, tore down the fake tries, gutted them because they didn'

rooms and corridors and staircases takes us to the monarch's bedroom as at louis xiv's palace at versailles. here you have seven simple unpretentious doorways. the architecture of the new town hall, then is an embodiment of the netherlands' independent political aspirations, an expression of amsterdam as a free city at the center of the world. in the 17th century, the dutch city of amsterdam was the greatest economic power in the world, a vast marketplace where every kind of goods could be had-- pepper, whale oil, japanese lacquer, cloth, wine. the dutch became rich. they were the most urban society in europe-- literate, stable well-fed, and decently housed. they knew themselves to be fortunate. they strongly identified with the chosen people of the old testament with all that implied about obedience to god's will. in this peculiar new society artists couldn't look to the traditional sources of patronage. there was no royal court. the churches had no pictures, as we can see in this painting of the mariakerk in utrecht by pietersz saenredam. nevertheless, the netherlands experienced an explo

involved in this pitched battle against david's cafe, we hear in the news that a few workers at cafe versailles at the miami international airport were arrested for stealing from the employer. >> earlier today, seven women were arrested and tonight they're being questioned by police. team six reporter willard shepard has been staking out the airport all night. >> these women are still being questioned here. they have been questioned throughout the evening about exactly how they came up with this plan, and exactly how they executed it. >> these workers were handcuffed, their mug shots were splashed all over the media. they were portrayed as menaces to society. >> later tonight they'll be transported downtown to the county jail. >> the authorities are very quick to act when it's one of us, a poor person, a working person, who's committed a crime that affects the interests of the employers. but when the reverse is true, when the employer steals tens of thousands of dollars from workers, there's no one there to enforce the law. >> and so you will earn less than the minimum wage, you will get robbed

rosecliff was inspired by the grand trianon on the palace grounds of versailles in paris.as been the setting for a number of movies, including "27 dresses". the mansion is also often rented for parties and weddings. huh, not a bad place for a high-school prom. amazingly, all this splendor was only enjoyed for a few months each year during what was called by the super rich "the social season". in all, 11 properties have been acquired by the preservation society of newport county. the society is dedicated to preserving this rich heritage and offers fascinating guided tours. for more information, visit our website, teenkidsnews.com. in newport, rhode island, for "teen kids news", i'm nicole. >> that's our show for this week. thanks for watching "teen kids news". we'll see you next time. >> here's a shout-out to pr newswire for including "teen kids news" on their big screen in times square, new york city. "animal adventures" is brought to you by anheuser-busch theme parks -- a pledge and a promise, hoping to preserve the world we share. hanna: with its extremely long legs, sle

it is a mini replica of france's palace of versailles, but this one is located in ontario. the nearly $18 million 24,000 square foot property boasts european grandeur, major luxuries. the ornate front gate, 18th century replica statues are impressive. six bedrooms, 12 bathrooms. it has 24 gold plated chandeliers. it also has the ultimate man cave. it's a ferrari room. why not. a fully heated garage with marble floors. the place is literally -- certain certain. >> the creoling is a bit too ornate. i think that's a deal breaker. >> it's a bit much, not the price. >> we're getting hints at who the peace prize winner will be. some are getting a nose job but not to enhance their looks. we'll tell but rhino plasty next. >> grab a coat and umbrella as you head out the door. howard's forecast is up next. >> we have a little bit of information you can use to impress your coworkers. >> every day we'll give you a little known fact so you can sound like the smartest person in the office. so did you know... >>> it wasn't raining when i left home. >> showers around. that's going to be th

alternative government-- the paris commune-- that drove the politicians of the third republic to versailleseady ravaged by prussian artillery fire, paris paid a terrible price for its short lived resistance to the new republic's authority. edouard manet depicted the essence of the short, violent suppression of the commune as french troops fired on french civilians-- killing thousands before they squashed the rebelli. the national soul-searching for the reasons behind the violence and chaos continued for decades. the middle class blamed the lower classes for abandoning patriotic virtues for decadence-- turning to alcoholism and prostitution and away from respect for authority. they saw decadence differently from the heights of montmartre. the third republic's succession of ineffectual and corrupt governments smacked of decadence and failed to address the social problems created by avaricious capitalism and industrialization. pollution and urban poverty plagued the capital until the end of the century. montmartre's artists found a new role for themselves. it was basically the concept of the i

. >>> in versails, kentucky, a small town calm is broken when a fill-up turns potentially deadly.h, 2009. it's a cool, breezeless evening at a convenient food mart gas station in rural central kentucky. the manager on duty is ashley taylor. >> kind of do a little bit of everything. cook, cleaning, and taking care of the customers and making sure they're happy. >> outside, a security camera captures a man in a gray hoodie filling his tank. he grabs his cell phone from the front seat to answer a call. eventually, retreats from the chilly night back inside his car to talk on his phone. as two more customers pull in, the man on the cell gets out to remove the nozzle. that's when, without warning this fill-up goes up in flames. >> right at that moment, i turn to my right, and there was like an eight-foot flame shooting out of the vehicle, like you would see a firework on the fourth of july. >> from a truck parked close by off-camera, customer mark called 911 in disbelief. >> i watched this car go up in flames so fast. you start to ask yourself, what's inside the car? >> as the fire acc

a couple in ontario is selling their home which is a mini replica of versailles. 24,000 square feet, six bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, 24 gold plated chandeliers, three kitchens and an outdoor pool. it also has what's called the ultimate man cave, a ferrari room with a fully heated garage and marble floors. your husband would never come out of there. >> that's a woman cave for me. >>> coming up next the kennedy family like you have never seen before and the virginia photographer that is only showing them to february, 2013. a landmark transportation bill is up for consideration. even though it's backed by republican governor mcdonnell... ken cuccinelli joins tea party republicans to block the plan. but terry mcauliffe believes it's time to break through the gridlock in richmond. mcauliffe presses democrats to support the bill. and the bill passes. terry mcauliffe. putting virginia first. "i'm terry mcauliffe, candidate for governor, and i sponsored this ad." >>> the woman known as the master of the short story is enjoying the nobel prize for literature tonight. alice monroe said she knew sh

however, at the treaty of versailles, the u.s. failed to -- [inaudible] why were companies like standard oil able to overcome that sentiment especially because as you discussed in the book, they had had interests in the region previously? >> right. um, i think by end of world war i the -- each when the americans -- even when the americans went into the war, the american people were by a pretty significant majority opposed to the americans going into the war. so by the time the war was over, the idea that the americans, you know, wilson's idea that the americans would now take on this kind of international referee role, i think, was just a nonstarter from the beginning. certainly in congress, and he had a very hostile congress which he helped make even more hostile because he was a completely uncome uncompromising and rather or vindictive man, i just think, i think -- so the idea of like standard oil or somebody acting as a force to say, you know, the americans need a larger role in the world, i think it was just there was a tidal