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CNN Live Today
Colorful History; Party of Two
Aired December 16, 2005 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go live now to Capitol Hill. Andrea Koppel is watching the action at the U.S. Senate.
Andrea, hello.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Daryn.
Well, 60 is the magic number that Senate Republicans are hoping that they're getting when this vote is called to cutoff debate on the Patriot Act. Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, is going to be going to the podium to call for those votes. And he said going into today's session that they did have the 60 votes. But we know as of yesterday, that, remember, there are 55 Republicans in the Senate. As of yesterday, four Republicans had broken ranks and basically sided with Democrats like Russ Feingold, who were threatening a filibuster. That would leave 51 Republicans, which would mean you'd have to have nine Democrats crossed over.
So you're going to see people counting on their fingers, Daryn, as to whether or not the Patriot Act is going to will have enough votes, whether Bill Frist is going to have enough votes, to cut off debate and to renew, basically, reauthorize the provisions that are going to be expiring at the end of the month. And you know, what really kind of makes this even more dramatic, if you will, is that some of the Democrats and Republicans who were threatening the filibuster have said, look, if we can't reach agreement today, let's just have a three-month extension.
Well, Bill Frist on the floor just a short time ago said absolutely not, said absolutely not, this is something the president will not support. So that would mean he's basically threatening that if they don't reach a compromise today, that the Patriot Act would expire at the end of the month.
KAGAN: You'll be watching for us.
Andrea Koppel on Capitol Hill, thank you for that.
(NEWSBREAK)
KAGAN: Still to come: Does the work DINK mean anything to you? It means "double income, no kids." And some couples are perfectly happy that way, childless by choice. We'll look at that trend.
First a look at what gifts to buy for the techie who has everything. Let's check in with Melissa Long at the CNN.com desk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA LONG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): If you're stumped about what to buy someone who loves high-tech toys, CNN Money's gift guide shows you what many techies may want this holiday season. What do you buy someone who owns one of the 28 million iPods sold over the last few years? Accessories. This gallery shows you the latest peripherals from wireless headphones to a mobile disc-jockey mixer that also works with other MP3 players. If you're shopping for the techie who seems to have everything, you can try the Nokia N91 phone, which is also an MP3 player and a camera, all in one. Or you have deep pockets and know someone who doesn't mind a little wind in their hair, they suggest the trendy Vespa as an option.
You can browse through this gallery for other gift suggestions. And for more help with your holiday shopping, log on to CNN.com/tech.
Happy shopping. From the dot-com desk, I'm Melissa Long.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Safe to say you have probably never seen anything like this. It's a treasure trove of color photographs, not photographs that have been colorized. They are original color photographs -- whoops, excuse me -- chronicling America from the Depression from -- up to World War II. The unique exhibit has been on available at the Library of Congress, and it's now available on your personal computer.
Beverly Brannan is curator of photography at the library of Congress, and she joins us live now from Washington.
BEVERLY BRANNAN, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: Good morning.
KAGAN: First of all, you have to tell me where these photographs, came from?
BRANNAN: These photographs came from the Farm Security Administration collection, which arrived at the library of Congress in 1946. There was no way to show them to people easily. They had to hold the slides up to a light, until digital technology came along.
Now, it's possible to digitize these images and show them on the screen, so that they're accessible to anyone who has a computer. They were made by government photographers, so they're all in the public domain and can be reproduced for whatever purpose.
KAGAN: Well, I had a chance to look at most of the photographs this morning. Completely changes your image and ideas of what it was like to live in that time because it's not like watching some Jimmy Stewart movie, some place you can never imagine being. These pictures look like people you might know, only living 50, 60 years earlier.
BRANNAN: Right. I think we've come to think of history as happening in black, white and gray. These pictures look so much more immediate because they show history, the way we see things now, in color.
KAGAN: And it also captures incredible images of the time that tell the stories of the time, whether it's people dealing with the poverty of the depression, a lot of pictures of women entering the workforce, Rosie the Riveter kind of pictures, people just living every day lives, like this picture of people doing some entertainment.
BRANNAN: You're showing the picture of the fiddlers at the dance at someone's house. This is a favorite. Because there was no electricity in those times, there was no radio in houses. I'm talking about on farms. There was no electricity. So people had to make their own music. And they would gather and have dances. The children came along and slept on the bed while the adults danced into the night, and it was quite a different era from what we have now.
KAGAN: When you look at these photos, what pops out at you?
BRANNAN: The vibrant colors. Although I work almost exclusively with black and white photographs, I have a strong interest in color. And I find these very satisfying to look at because of that color, with the deep blues, some of the bright reds, some of the more faded reds.
And then you can also see subtle gradations of tone in some of them. They were experimenting in what this new film could do in doing close-ups, doing panoramic landscapes, just seeing what could be captured with color film that was different from black and white.
KAGAN: So if you're a fan of the era, if you're a fan of history, if you're a fan of photography, you'll want to check out this exhibit. You were talking about how the digital age allows you to digitize these pictures, the more people can appreciate them. Also kind of cutting edge, how you're doing the exhibit. You don't even have to leave your home. You just log on.
BRANNAN: There's also a book by the same title that has an even wider selection. But all 1,600 of them can be viewed on the library's Web site.
KAGAN: Well, it's called "Bound for Glory: American Color from 1939 to 1943." Tell us the Web site once again so people can log on.
BRANNAN: It's www.loc.gov. You'll come up on the Library of Congress home page and then there's an area to click for exhibitions. That's where you'll see it.
KAGAN: Well, you have a great job. Curator of photography for the Library of Congress. Hold on to that one.
BRANNAN: Don't worry.
KAGAN: You must make up smiling every day. Absolutely. Beverly Brannan, thanks for sharing some of these images with us. Absolutely fascinating to get a peek.
BRANNAN: My pleasure. KAGAN: Well, coming up, we're going to check in on and business and weather.
And some of America's affluent couples are staying childless and they're doing it by choice. We'll take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: We're watching two developing stories, both very close to Washington, D.C. On the right-hand part of your screen, a serious accident involving a bus and semi-tractor-trailer. We had early words that the bus driver was trapped. No word on whether they were able to get him out. Also, as many as six people hurt. That's Montgomery County, Maryland.
And then on the left part of your screen, we're watching the U.S. Senate getting very close to a vote. They're about to vote on a debate to end the debate on the Patriot Act. If there are enough votes, the Senate will then move to reauthorize the act before it expires at the end of the month. We're keeping our eyes on both developing stories.
Meanwhile, let's look at this topic. No Barney, no minivan, no adolescent angst. It's a growing trend in this country, couples going childless by choice. No kidding.
CNN correspondent Randi Kaye takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They are a family of two, Jennifer Shawne and Allan Rapp (ph), married five years and child-free.
(On camera): So, tell me why you got married, if you don't want to have kids?
JENNIFER, SHAWNE, AUTHOR, "BABY NOT ON BOARD": We felt like we were a family, we wanted to make that official, even though, we don't maybe look like the traditional family.
KAYE (voice over): Jennifer published this book, "Baby Not on Board", extolling the virtues of life as a non-breeder. Instead of late night feedings, Jennifer and her husband go to late-night parties. Instead of spending weekends on the soccer field and the playgrounds, they sleep late and do yoga. Instead of traveling to Grandma's, they travel the world. And instead of kids, they have cats.
SHAWNE: This is Gina.
The cost of raising a cat is much less than raising a child.
KAYE (on camera): Some people might here that and say that sounds really selfish of them. SHAWNE: You can turn the tables and say, gosh, isn't it selfish that you've had children that you expect to take care of you when you're old? Isn't selfish that you want a replica of yourself?
KAYE (voice over): Allan (ph) and Jennifer are not alone. According to the National Marriage Institute, back in the 1800s about 80 percent of all households had children. Today, less than one-third do. And there is a slow but not so silent movement underway by those who say, I do, to marriage, but I don't to kids.
The support group, No Kidding!, boasts active chapters in six countries and nearly every state. Web sites, such as childfree.net., and even a lifestyle magazine called, DINK, double income, no kids, advocates ways to spend your time and money when kids aren't in the picture.
KAYE (on camera): We came here to San Francisco for our story because it is one of the top cities in America for child-free couples. There are fewer children here than almost every other city in the United States. And the trend is catching on. The latest Census data shows that married couples without children grew by 11 percent over 10 years. We wanted to know why so many couples are trading family for freedom.
(Voice over): So, on a Thursday night, at a time when many families are sitting down for dinner, we sat down for pre-party drinks with Jennifer, Allan, and some of their child-free friends.
BONNIE POWELL, CHILDLESS BY CHOICE: I don't feel like I have that biological urge. It is sort of missing in me. And intellectually, I thought, OK, clock is supposedly ticking. I don't feel it ticking, but I know it is supposed to be ticking.
If we had a kid we would probably be the parents who would leave it in the Wal-Mart, in the parking lot --
(LAUGHTER)
AMY GIBBS, CHILDLESS BY CHOICE: I just don't know that I have the patience in my life to commit to that and a marriage and a business, and do them all equally well.
KAYE (voice over): Amy and Parker Gibbs have been together 24 years, married five. The thought of kids has never really entered the equation, even though, Amy works as a nanny.
GIBBS: I'm a vicarious mom.
(LAUGHTER)
I'm in and out.
KAYE: At the National Marriage Institute in Princeton, New Jersey, co-founder Doctor David Popenoe looks at what the decision not to have children does to the institution of marriage, and the options couples have today. DR. DAVID POPENOE, NATIONAL MARRIAGE PROJECT: Women have other things to do, at one time they didn't. And they have exciting thing to do and so it's, you know, it's hard to sort of settle for a child.
KAYE: But for these childless by choice friends, it also doesn't seem like there is a point to create, just for the sake of society.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't have to have kids, you don't have to, you know, produce. And produce children that consume a lot of the resources. So I don't really feel like I've been missing out.
KAYE (on camera): Do you ever worry that one day you might regret not having kids?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not really.
KAYE: You don't think about that at all?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got nieces -- I've got nieces and nephews...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And that was our Randi Kaye reporting. We cut out of that story just a little bit early. Thank you for that story.
Right now, I want to a developing story out of Montgomery County, Maryland.
We're talking about a bus and a truck accident, very serious there. On the phone with me right now Lieutenant Eric Burnett of the Montgomery County Police Department.
Lieutenant, hello.
LT. ERIC BURNETT, MONTGOMERY CO. POLICE: Yes, good morning. How are you?
KAGAN: What can you tell me about this accident? It looks very severe.
BURNETT: Yes, this morning about 10:41 we received a call for a serious accident involving a tractor-trailer, one of our ride-on buses, in the area of Brink Road and Route 27 Ridge Road in the Damascus area of Montgomery County, Maryland.
All appearances right now, it looks as if the tractor-trailer was making a left turn and it was struck by the ride-on bus. And numerous injuries. We have a couple of people that's been flown out. At this time, not sure if they're life-threatening, but they are very serious injuries.
KAGAN: And what about the status on the bus driver? We've heard earlier that he was trapped inside the bus?
BURNETT: Yes, he's been flown to an area hospital, in serious but stable condition.
KAGAN: And the truck driver?
BURNETT: The truck driver's condition is fine. He'll be OK.
KAGAN: And what about traffic in the area? Have you had to close off streets while you get this mess cleaned up?
BURNETT: That entire area, north and southbound of Route 27 and Ridge Road will be shutdown for quite some time. And east and west Brink road, which will also be shutdown, I think for at least another two or three hours.
KAGAN: How busy are those routes usually at this time of day, lieutenant?
BURNETT: Well, luckily, we just got past rush hour, still buys and busy roadways and busy intersections, but luckily we got through rush hour. So it will be in inconvenient, but it won't be too bad.
KAGAN: Lieutenant Eric Burnett, with the Montgomery County Police Department, thank you for the latest on that accident.
BURNETT: Thank you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: Want to let you know about a story we are watching out of Washington D.C. Back to Capitol Hill now. The vote is under way. The senators there voting on whether to end the debate about the Patriot Act. If there are enough votes, the Senate will then move to reauthorize the act before it expires at the end of the month. We expect the vote to take about a half hour, so we should have results about 12:30 p.m. Eastern. We'll keep an eye on that for you.
Meanwhile, I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next. Stay tuned for "YOUR WORLD TODAY." Michael Holmes and Zain Verjee will be along after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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