begin. here's what's happening. why this little card is one of the things soldiers want the most. i'll report on a class where the lessons are edible! i'll try to put the rock in the house, coming up. if working in news sounds like a career for you, you may want to consider majoring in journalism. i'll tell you more, in college and you. >> and it all starts right now on "teen kids news." >> welcome to "teen kids news," i'm mwanzaa. >> and i'm jessica. here's our top story for this

week. ever since our country was attacked on 9/11, the u.s. has been engaged in fighting in the middle east. being so far from home can be hard on our troops. but, there is one simple thing that can help, annie's got the story. >> e.t. did it, you do it, but for many soldiers stationed abroad, phoning home isn't so easy. that's why these teens mobilized to help soldiers stay in touch with their families back home. >> hearts to home is a fundraiser run through the bronxville youth council that raises money to send calling cards to the troops in iraq stationed at camp bucca. >> a year ago, around valentines day, we decided that we wanted to do something to help the troops out and this just seemed like the right thing to do. >> in just a matter of months, hearts to home raised more than $50,000 to buy phone cards! >> and i'd now like to invite up to the stage three individuals

that have impacted the lives of thousands of service members in iraq, afghanistan, and around the world. >> for their effort, the three young founders of hearts to home were honored by the uso. >> the united service organization was founded back in 1941 at the request of president franklin roosevelt. ever since world war ii, the uso has traveled the world, helping to boost troop morale. some of america's biggest stars have entertained troops in far away places like korea, vietnam and afghanistan. and the sole purpose of this organization is to provide support to our military and their families both at home and abroad. >> that's why the uso is so supportive of hearts to home. >> we will be sending over throughout the course of the year thousands of phone cards to our troops serving in iraq and afghanistan to keep their families connected. >> clare gorman knows first hand how it feels to have a family member stationed abroad. >> my nephew patrick was enlisted right after college

into the air force and a few months later he was deployed to iraq. to a place called camp bucca. >> patrick became the inspiration for the teens to take action. >> they came to me after they decided that they wanted to do something special at the bronxville youth council and i had talked to patrick and said, "what do you need most?" and he said phone cards, so they jumped right on it. >> major vincent heintz was stationed in the sunni triangle in iraq. >> phone cards were critical, not just to me, but to the soldiers, our sailors and airmen that we served with. that's the only way that the guys and the women we worked with could call home and just be in touch and stay involved with their families. >> anytime you can connect a deployed soldier with his family, or her family back home you're not, you're not just helping that soldier in their morale, you're actually helping the family as well. we don't just deploy a soldier nowadays, we deploy the whole family. >> to end the ceremony on the right note, the uso's liberty bells performed some of the

patriotic numbers they sing for troops around the world. ♪ >> the founders of hearts to home say there are many ways you can support our fighting men and women. >> get the community behind you and you can do whatever you want. i mean it doesn't have to be calling cards, it can be sending supplies, it can be sending blankets, anything that can help them would be just perfect. >> teens aren't the only ones getting involved. celebrities like jessica simpson, ben affleck and ludacris have all volunteered with the uso. to find out more about the uso or hearts to home visit our website. for "teen kids news," i'm annie.

>> and now our fox in the classroom update. >> as a citizen, nd as president, i believe that muslims have the right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. >> after weeks of refusing to comment, president obama weighted in on the controversy over a construction of a mosque and community center two blocks from ground zero. >> the principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. >> republicans jumped on the statement hoping to capitalize on the issue for the mid-term elections. >> it demonstrates that washington, the white house, the administration, the president himself seems to be disconnected from the mainstream of america. >> the president's comments overshadowed a family vacation to the gulf, joined by his wife and daughter sasha, mr. obama traveled to florida to convince

americans the beaches were open and safe. record rainfall in pakistan is triggering the worst floods ever recorded, devastating nearly one-fifth of the country and displacing 20 million people with no end in sight. more rain is in the forecasts. man's best friend is looking for a helping hand. the 94 dogs from overcrowded shelters in louisiana given up by people affected by the gulf oil spill were transported token kneels in new jersey hoping to find new homes. shelters around the gulf coast have seen a spike in surrendered pets. for "teen kids news" i'm laura tyler tells us about some students who are learning about nutrition in a rather unusual way. >> fast food, candy, soda. we're surrounded by things that aren't good for us. you might say that planted the

idea for the school program named learn it, grow it, eat it. >> we're not trying to change everything about your diet, but we're just trying to let you be aware of what you're eating. >> learn it, grow it, eat it is a youth based program where we teach teenagers about healthy eating. we teach them to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy foods. >> i eat like a lot of fresh fruits more now, i like organic stuff too. >> the program also offers a unique hands on experience. we also teach them where there food comes from and we do that in a very interesting way. we take them to local community gardens where they actually get to grow their own fruits and vegetables. >> did i mention these gardens are in a city? not a place you usually think of growing food. >> i didn't actually know how to plant and stuff but then it became a learning experience and it's something that i actually want to take up now as like a minor maybe in school. >> the teens plant tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic, and herbs throughout the year. >> then they harvest and sell

their food along with produce from other local farmers at markets during the summer. >> my favorite part is actually the farmers markets, and it's just really important to our community to be able to have fresh fruits and vegetables. >> while they shop, members of the community are treated to some healthy snacks, made with veggies from the students' garden. >> the teens aren't just selling food. they're trying to sell their community on a healthy lifestyle. >> in the summer time i hire 15 of our most enthusiastic energetic students and they become our community educators. they bring little kids into the community gardens and teach them about plants and they go out and do education tables in the community to teach people how to read labels. >> what we're going to be doing is showing like how to read labels. a lot of people think that the salt, they're all the same, which they're not. we have this one here which is actually cheaper but it has almost twice the sodium as the one over here. >> sodium is a food preservative.

however, mt. sinai's dr. steever has this warning. >> if you have too much sodium in your diet as a young person and as a teenager, it probably doesn't make a huge immediate impact on your life, but as you get older you can develop high blood pressure from all that extra salt in your diet and that can put a strain on your heart or brain and then you're at risk for things like a heart attack or stroke. we want to be healthy. we don't want to be constantly going to the hospital for heart problems, stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure. >> the students say they've gotten lots of positive feedback from the community. >> the garden i'm working on is a year ago it was full of rats and everything and people are walking by now it's very pretty it has a lot of flowers and vegetables. and they're like "oh my god, you guys did a great job" and everything so it's really fulfilling. >> that's certainly something to be proud of. the teens say growing your own food is really pretty easy, even

for city kids. and a lot of fun. for more info on learn it, grow it, eat it visit our website. >> if you get near this plant don't get too close. they eat meat. it's recently was found in the philippines and is big enough curling isn't just something you do to your hair. it's also a sport. it requires strength, dexterity and a whole lot of teamwork. hannah has the story. >> for most kids, sweeping is a chore. these guys do it for fun. this is the weekly teen practice at the ardsley curling club. they're learning to play a game that started in scotland more than 500 years ago.

how do you curl? >> well, it's a lot like shuffleboard on ice. you have to throw the stones from one side of the ice to the center of the bullseye. and whoever has the most in the center wins. by the way, those circles they aim for are called the house. curlers play on teams of four people. players take turns sliding the stones, while their teammates sweep the ice just in front of the rock. >> so how do these brooms work? >> well, right there, there's some cloth on it. you rub it back and forth on the ice, and it will melt the ice and make the rock go faster. >> as you can imagine, getting a 42-pound granite rock to go exactly where you want takes years of practice. but it's not enough to be accurate. you've got to be clever. >> what's the hardest part of curling? >> i think it's the strategy, because there's so many different things you can do at a certain time. >> for instance, curlers can try and knock the other team's stones away from the house. and sometimes, they will purposely throw stones that stop short, to block their opponent's future shots.

sometimes it gets really tough to know what the right shot is. in fact, some people call it chess on ice. which do you prefer, throwing the rock or sweeping? >> i prefer throwing, usually. i like gliding down the ice. it's kind of fun. >> these guys make it look easy. let's see how i do. >> first step is you push out a little bit. then you lift your hips, bring the stone back, then out. >> okay, and then i put my hips up. and then i go like that. >> yeah? watch out! >> so who's that guy at the end yelling at everyone? >> that's the skip. >> what is he telling them? >> he's telling them to sweep the rock as it comes down. he'll say "hurry," "hard," or "yes." those are just different ways to say, "keep sweeping!" >> can i try it? >> if you want to. >> take this one out. go go!

yes! go! sweep, sweep! sweep! sweep, sweep, sweep! that was awesome. what's your favorite part of curling? >> well, i like to be here with my friends. and i like the sport. i like the ice, i like the cold. and i don't know, it just seems fun to me. you can hang out with people from different ages, and just have a good time. >> my friends and i are having a lot of fun. i'd have to say the hardest part of curling would be keeping your balance on the ice. sometimes it can be a little tricky. it's quite slippery. >> yeah, i experienced that. i feel so awesome! curling may not be easy, but it is a lot of fun. for more information on getting involved, check out teenkidsnews.com.

right now look like fun? here's a secret, it is. but working on the news is also a serious business. that's what students learn at the school nicole visited, for "college and u." hugging the shore along the illinois side of lake michigan under the shadow of nearby chicago is northwestern university. northwestern is home to the medill school of journalism. since the wild prohibition days of the roaring twenties, medill's earned a reputation for turning out highly qualified young journalists. >> we have 12,000 plus graduates who hold positions in media companies all over the world. i can't think of any major news organization, any major magazines or tv networks or

websites that don't have medill grads in all levels from coming up, to very senior. >> although medill is named after a newspaperman who lived more than 100 years ago, the school prides itself on teaching cutting-edge journalism. dean lavine gave me a tour of the state-of-art facilities. the anchor desk -- may i try it out? >> sure. >> medill emphasizes hands-on experience with the latest in technology, because the news business is constantly changing. so, today at medill, we are having some lovely weather. traditional tv news, like newspapers, now competes with news that's delivered right to your computer or cell phone. >> the world will become more and more complicated, and the answers will show up in the palm of my hand, and we're educating people to make that happen. >> first students learn the basics. such as the ethics, laws and history of journalism.

particular emphasis is put on improving their writing skills. medill says it closes the gap between the college classroom and real world experience. to get that experience, medill students learn how to cover a local beat in chicago neighborhoods. they leave the ivy covered buildings on the evanston campus and are in storefront newsrooms, in very complicated multi-lingual neighborhoods covering everything from education to gangs. >> and your professor says, okay, you have four hours, go do a feature story on a business in the area and write a 500-word story on deadline and then post it to the medill server and it's online. or it's on the air. students are expected to master the many steps in tv production, from editing to delivering their stories on camera. >> we look at wheelchair rugby and its tough players. >> so why go to a journalism school as opposed to a regular liberal arts college? >> because it's liberal arts plus what you need to get into journalism.

journalists must have solid depth, they must really know how a historian and a sociologist and an economist think about a story so we require all of that. >> when we return i'll tell you how you don't have to wait until college to get a taste of the medill experience. we're at the medill school of journalism at northwestern university. a school thousands of teens who want to be journalists apply to every year. i asked northwestern's admissions dean what do they look for in an applicant? >> when we're evaluating students for medill, we need exceptionally strong writers for that program. we also look for students who've had a demonstrated interest in journalism. we certainly look for students who, it's not just a whimsical decision on their part, that they've really thought about

journalism as a career. >> medill's dean echoes that advice. he wants students who are eager to take journalism on into the 21st century. what's your single best piece of advice for someone applying to medill? >> it has three parts. however much writing you're doing, triple it. however much reading you're doing triple that, and spend a lot of time just scouring all the options of what the media is becoming so you really understand it in all its new forms. >> you might also apply to be a cherub, coming to northwestern before you apply to college. >> the cherub program is a five week summer program in which kids, high school students from all over the country get to come to medill and learn from medill professors, and other journalists actually in the field, about what journalism is and kind of figure out if that's something they'd want to pursue and to better their own high school papers.

>> being a cherub is to get years worth of education in this packed summer, and be on a college campus and be with your peers and make friends from all over the world. >> do you find that a lot of the cherubs end up applying to medill? >> well yes, although we're in the enviable position with one out of ten or eleven students who apply, getting into medill my goal will be to help them understand all the options of journalism education in america and abroad, and help them get to where they want to go. >> it's really actually gotten me thinking, like i really want to do this. >> so, what have you learned? >> i've learned a lot. i've learned how to get information right. i've learned the most effective interview techniques, and i've learned about ethics. >> how's my interview technique? >> hah. not bad, not bad. >> if j-school rates an a in your book, you don't have to wait. look for places you can try out your skills, like your school newspaper or a website. if you start writing news stories now, you'll find out if you enjoy journalism enough to keep going in college.

important egyptians were preserved after death. we know the procedure as mummification. mummies of cats, birds and crocodiles have also been found. now, a mummified puppy has been found in a human tomb from more than 2,000 years ago. apparently, the puppy was meant to keep the man company in the afterlife. this report is sponsored by the got milk campaign. apolo ohno is america's most decorated winter games athlete ever. he's also a winner on the dance floor, sweeping the competition on the tv program "dancing with the stars." apolo's helping teens be winners by following some simple nutrition habits. and he's joined by tara gidus, dietician for the orlando magic nba team. welcome. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> apolo, you teamed up with the "got milk" campaign to talk about the importance of post-exercise nutrition. what does that mean exactly? >> post exercise nutrition is basically what you put into your body immediately after a work

out, right when you're done exercising, right when your done with activity, or right when you're done training. >> i understand that low fat chocolate milk plays a particular role. >> people are very surprised about the actual benefits of the combination of low fat chocolate milk, and i think tara can tell you a little bit more about the actual science behind it as well, why it works and why your body needs this actual source of, uh, of fluid post workout. >> tara, what are some of the post-exercise benefits of chocolate milk? >> when you're breathing, when you're sweating, you're losing fluid, so chocolate milk is a great source to, to replenish yourself, to rehydrate. you also are losing electrolytes in your sweat, so you need potassium, magnesium, calcium, all of these things plus nine essential vitamins and minerals can be found in low fat chocolate milk. so it's a great tasting, natural way to refuel after exercise. >> why do you prefer chocolate milk over sports drinks or protein drinks? >> well i think, uh, first and foremost, i love chocolate milk. and its uh, its like tara said,

one of the most efficacious ways to be able to absorb those nutrients into your body. >> what's the goal of the refuel america program? >> we're trying to educate people about refueling america, getting kids and getting adults excited about being healthy, being active, and making the right types of choices post workout recovery. >> they can go to body by milk.com to find out more information about the actual facts regarding low fat chocolate milk and post workout recovery nutrition. >> apolo, facial decoration is a trademark of yours. so what was it like donning the famous "got milk" mustache? >> oh it was fun. a lot of fun. i got to drink a lot of milk. >> what are your future competition plans? >> right now i'm taking a long break away from the sport, you know i'm about 15-16 years non stop competing in my olympic pursuit, so i've been focusing on a lot of different aspects on my life. i'm doing a lot of very cool initiatives like this and really enjoying myself. >> can you share with our audience the best piece of advice you've ever gotten? >> i think, first and foremost, whatever avenue, whatever

direction you're going into, is to have a zero regrets type of mentality, whether your training, whether your in school, its to make sure the preparation and, and make sure you do, do, you do the hard work that's going to take uh, take you to the next level and be able to give you the opportunity to reach for your goals. >> that's great advice. thank you. >> that's all for now, but we'll be back soon with more "teen kids news." >> thanks for joining us, and have a great week! -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

[uplifting music] ♪ - that's a big stride. that's a big male bear. strieker: a spring snowstorm the night before has blanketed montana's swan valley, south of glacier national park. - were they fresh, the wolves? strieker: for expert wildlife tracker tom parker, conditions couldn't be better. before noon, his party finds prints left by grizzlies, wolves, elk, deer, and other wildlife.

but their biggest find... - you can see there's one of the kittens walking. there's one actually bounding right there. strieker: five sets of tracks with what looks to be a healthy 90-pound adult mountain lion. it's the most offspring he's ever seen with one mother in more than 30 years of tracking lions. - this is an amazing little find, i have to tell you. strieker: for parker, a hunting guide who works with researchers and teaches tracking, all the evidence in the snow shows just how rich this habitat is for wildlife and why he and others worked to keep this forest from being carved into real estate. [machinery clanking] beginning in the late 1990s, plum creek timber company, the largest private landowner in montana, started putting its timberland on the real estate market. - we knew that because we do have this extensive private land

checkerboarded throughout our forested landscape, that that was a huge threat and that real estate values and real estate demand was just skyrocketing. strieker: community conservation groups soon found they were outpaced in their efforts to preserve wildlife habitat and other forest values, so the nature conservancy and trust for public land stepped in with the montana legacy project, negotiating a bulk purchase with help from congress and the state. they agreed to buy more than 310,000 acres from plum creek, including 67,000 acres here. ringed by lderness areas, the swan valley provides rich low-elevation habitat for many sensitive species. the grizzly track marches through one of the purchased parcels that is now national forest, public land.

- it was actually planned to be a development right there, and the more development you disperse out here, the higher the likelihood of conflict with these animals. strieker: if not for the buyout, he says, this bear's backyard would be someone else's home. for this american land, i'm gary strieker.