>> welcome to "teen kids news". i'm siena. we'll start with our top story. in recent years, bees have been disappearing from their hives. just why, we're not exactly sure. but what we do know is that it's a serious problem. scott tells us more. >> people, when they think about bees in general, they think "insect" or, "it's a bug that stings me, so, you know, why do i care if it goes extinct?" >> but as zeke freeman explains, we need to care. zeke knows a lot about bees. his company, "bee raw honey",

works with beekeepers all across the country. >> but, you know, the reality is, is that bees pollinate over 100 different fruits and vegetables. we're talking about strawberries, broccoli, apples, melons, pumpkins -- i mean, really basic fruits and vegetables that we eat every day. >> that's why what's happening in the bee world is causing alarm in the human world. bees are dying in droves and disappearing from hives. it's called "colony collapse disorder", or ccd. >> colony collapse disorder has affected over 10 million hives -- in fact, killed 10 million hives over the past six years. >> no one knows why this is happening. there are many theories. it could be a virus, or tiny insects called mites that attack the bees, or the problem may be man-made. >> we have pesticides that are put on everything, you know, from fruits and vegetables, beans, corn, soy, and bees fly around and they collect pollen

and nectar from these plants, and, you know, those pesticides, you know, either kill them or significantly lower the immune system of the bees, so they get sick easier. >> while research continues, people are working to protect bees. liane newton helped start the national honeybee conservancy. >> our goals are to raise awareness about bees, educate, and make it possible for many people to get involved in this activity, which has so many interesting aspects to it. >> beekeeping isn't limited to farms and rural areas. many cities like manhattan are home to thriving hives, and teens like jaxon help tend them. of course, it takes a whole lot of protective gear. [ western-style showdown music ]

when he was younger, jaxon was terrified of bees. perhaps that's why his dad suggested they give beekeeping a try. >> i thought he was insane because it freaked me out. but it started to fascinate me, and once i knew that you're completely protected, it's just, it's amazing to be around that many bees and having them flying around your head and know that you're protected. it's a really cool experience, and, just, it's fascinating. >> jaxon visits the hives on a regular basis, making sure the bees have the water they need. before opening the hive, he prepares a smoke pot. >> it doesn't harm the bees, but they don't like it, so they will disperse if they're in a large clump, which makes them much easier to deal with. >> jaxon carefully takes out the frames. he checks each one to make sure everything is okay. if there's a healthy queen and the bees are keeping busy, there's plenty of evidence.

[ bees buzzing ] >> this, the orangey, maple-looking blobs in the honeycomb, that's pollen that they have brought into the hive, and the almost-watercolored substance around these bees here is honey that hasn't been capped yet, which they're still working on, and this is all capped honey, which they finished working on, and that's just storage for them. this is all capped brood, and it's bees being formed, and the bees will crawl out of there when they're ready to be born. >> when "teen kids news" continues, we'll tell you how you can help "bee-friend" the bees. we'll be right back. >> parts of the much-anticipated and controversial affordable care act go into

effect. millions of uninsured americans are now able to go online to enroll for health insurance. it's a victory for president obama, who made healthcare reform one of his priorities in his first term. but there have been some glitches. heavy online traffic and technical issues slowed down the sign-up process. the president says this does not mean people should stop enrolling. >> consider that just a couple of weeks ago, apple rolled out a new mobile operating system. and within days, they found a glitch, so they fixed it. i don't remember anybody suggesting apple should stop selling iphones or ipads. [ indistinct shouting ] >> the violence in egypt continues. more than 50 people are dead and at least 270 injured in cairo and surrounding areas, as thousands of former president mohamed morsi supporters clash with security forces, the streets looking like a battlefield filled with smoke and fire -- much of this happening on the anniversary of the 1973 war between egypt and israel.

two american scientists -- randy schekman and james rothman -- are receiving the 2013 nobel prize in medicine. they along with a german-american researcher spent decades researching cells, leading to discoveries in hormones and enzymes. their work is credited with helping develop a better understanding of immune-system disorders and diabetes. for "teen kids news," i'm rick leventhal -- "fox news channel in the classroom." >> as we've reported, when it come to pollinating fruits and vegetables, bees are the "a"-team. without them, we'd have a lot fewer foods to eat. bees also give us honey, which many say can be a healthier alternative to processed sugar. >> we have to remember that it's still a sugar, so we don't want to go crazy with it. >> since honey is sweeter than sugar, you can use less of it. and if you think all honey tastes the same, you're in for a surprise.

zeke explains that honey can be varietal. that means there's different varieties depending on where the bees gather the nectar. >> single-varietal honeys are honeys that come from a specific floral source, whether it be wild raspberries or wild blueberries, buckwheat, wild sage, orange blossoms. and honey from that floral source gives it a particular color, a particular texture, and a veryparticular flavor. so you have a honey from new york from an aster flower, and you'll see that it's very clear and amber-colored. and so this is buckwheat honey. it comes from washington state. and you'll find it has a much more grainy consistency as it crystallizes and more of a molasses... more of a molasses flavor. and then lastly, we have a colorado star thistle, and, again, this one you'll find is very buttery-smooth as it crystallizes, and even has kind of flavors of nutmeg and cardamom, and a very smooth, buttery texture. so those are three different varieties of what we call single-varietal honeys. >> so, whcan we do to help

save the bees? >> there are numerous things that consumers and you and me can do about it. one is, buy organic produce, because the more organic produce that is produced, the less fungicides and the less pesticides are out there to harm our bees. >> another idea is to plant a bee-friendly garden. >> something that has a lot of flowers that bloom from spring until fall. obviously, don't use pesticides in your own garden, or fungicides. you can also, you know, buy local honey. buying local honey helps your local beekeepers. >> or maybe you might want to try your hand at becoming a beekeeper. >> it's a great hobby. you will be the coolest person on your block, and you'll be helping to save the honeybees, and you'll be learning something that will be of -- enrich your life forever. a great way to find out more is to go to thehoneybeeconservancy.org website, where you can see lots of information.

for kids, we recommend that you visit our kids page. >> the message is pretty clear. if we don't take steps now to combat colony collapse disorder, one day, we may be without bees. >> if you have trouble getting up in the morning, blame biology. not the class, but your body-clock. i'll explain. >> when your alarm clock rings in the morning, do you find it hard to wake up? as isabel reports, you're not alone. >> i'm really, really tired... [ chuckles ] ...when the alarm rings. >> like, i want to turn it back off and go back to bed. >> i'm usually tired when i'm in school. >> i just want to go back to bed. >> i'm really tired in the morning. >> it's a familiar feeling, and it might not actually be your fault. >> and our adolescents are asked to literally wake up and go to school and be there at a time when their brain should physiologically be asleep. >> it has to do with the hormone melatonin. teens and adults don't have the

same amounts of melatonin, so teens are chemically programmed to stay up later than adults and wake up later, as well. as a result, dr. meltzer says, teens are out of sync by as much as two hours with the adult world, and getting up early for school only makes things worse. >> that they need nine hours of sleep, and they're only getting, on average, about seven hours of sleep. by the end of a school week, they're 10 hours of sleep behind. i mean, it's more than a full night of sleep behind. [ alarm ringing ] >> and it's often hard for teens to catch up on the lost sleep. >> i would wake up in the morning and want to go right back to sleep every time. >> while many teecan function on a little sleep, caelin had an additional problem. even though he felt constantly exhausted, he still had trouble falling asleep at night. he finally got help at a sleep center. while we may not be able to change our biology, there are some sleep tips. for example, turn off the

electronics well before turning in for the night. >> you can do without your cellphone for an hour. and go to bed on time consistently, like, anywhere within 10 minutes of a set time, and you should be good. >> researchers admit that life would be easier for teens if the school day started later. in fact, they found something interesting with kids who are home-schooled. since they don't have to wake up at a specific time each day, they tend to get more sleep than the rest of us, who get up early for school. >> ever take a close look at your state flag? you should, because you might be surprised at how much you can learn from it. here's brandon with this week's lesson. >> in 1629, the king of england gave lord calvert the right to form a colony in the new world.

calvert called it terra maria. "terra" means "land", and maria was the name of the king's wife. "terra maria" means "mary's land". maryland. calvert designed a flag with two symbols -- his own coat of arms and the coat of arms of his mother's family, called the crosslands. the civil war divided maryland's residents over which side to support -- the north or the south. the coats of arms became symbols of that division. >> the calvert part of the flag, the yellow and black -- that was an image that was used to represent those marylanders who were siding with the north. the crosslands side, with the red and white, was used by those southerners who agreed with the rights of the confederate. >> throughout the war, the symbols were displayed separately. >> and it wasn't until after the civil war, when maryland soldiers were marching for the spanish-american war, that marylanders felt like there was

unity again, like, they had healed the wounds of the civil war, and it was, in part, seeing the image of their flag with those colors all together again that helped to bring those people back together. >> the reunified flag was officially adopted by maryland in 1904. it's remained unchanged ever since. with "flag facts", i'm brandon. >> what does antarctica's ice cap have in common with james bond's favorite nightcap? i'll tell you in a moment. as the earth's most southern continent, antarctica is almost completely covered in ice that's a mile thick. scientists have learned that when there's a big earthquake elsewhere in the world, it can cause the antarctic ice to vibrate. i guess you can say that the south pole, like 007's famous martini, is shaken... [ as james bond ] not stirred. >> coming up, how disney can help make your dreams come true.

i'll have that story when "teen kids news" returns. >> this report is brought to you by walt disney world resort. every year, 100 high-school students are treated to an amazing, possibly even life-changing, event. it's called the "disney dreamers academy", and it's held at walt disney world resort in orlando. over the course of four days, kids take part in activities and hear motivational speakers that will inspire them to reach for their dreams. one of those exciting speakers is terrence jenkins, host of "e! news". hi. >> hey, how are you? thank you so much for having me. >> it's a pleasure having you. terrence, you've been participating at the disney dreamers academy for a while now. why did you get involved? >> this is such an amazing program. i would encourage anybody that's in high school right now to

apply for the disney dreamers academy. if you want to be a chef, there's a chef down there to teach you about, you know, the culinary arts. if you want to be in broadcast and journalism, there are broadcasters from all over the country that can help you out. if you want to be an actor, there's somebody there to be your acting coach, and if you want to be an athlete, there's athletes that are there that can teach you about the path that you should take. so there are all of these different deep-dive sessions. there are all of these incredible mentors and speakers and empowerment sessions, and above all else, it's a lot of fun. you get to meet kids from different schools from all over the country, and it's just a great four-day weekend. the application deadline is coming up. it's october 31st, so make sure to apply. >> that sounds terrific! what else do you want kids to get out of the program? >> at a young age, i was inspired by people to go after my dreams, and if there's one thing that you'll leave this program feeling, is inspired. you'll feel motivated.

you'll feel focused on your future. and so i just would want anybody that's young that has a goal, or doesn't quite have a goal yet, to come down to this program because you're going to leave, and it's really going to touch your heart. >> terrence, as you just said, you're no stranger to going after your dreams. in fact, you've recently written a book about how your mother inspired you. can you tell us about the book? >> yep. the book is called "the wealth of my mother's wisdom", and for me, i just wanted to lay out the blueprint, you know? a lot of times i meet people in high school, and they're like, "how do i get to be an actor? how do i get to be on television?" and i wanted to tell the story of my life and how my mom, you know, told me all the things i didn't want to hear, but they ended up really helping me out, and so i hope, you know, everybody picks up the book, and it really has some good seeds of wisdom in there to help you out on your path. >> as you mentioned, applications are now open for the 2014 dreamers academy that's

being held in early march. so how can kids go ahead and apply? >> go to disneydreamersacademy.com, and everything is there, and it really comes down to an essay. we have a research and resource group that reads all of these essays, and we just want to know about you. we don't select students just because they have straight "a's". steve harvey did not have straight "a's", and he's very adamant about not having a program with a bunch of kids that had straight "a's". it's not just about that for this particular program. it's about kids that have a story to tell and getting the right people together, so please apply, write out the essay, speak from your heart, and hopefully we'll see you down at walt disney world. >> terrific. thank you so much for joining us on the program. >> thank you so much for having me. >> we've all grown up watching disney movies and visiting disney parks, and that all is thanks to a man who started with just a cartoon of a mouse. although walt disney never lived

to see the creation of dreamers academy, he would have approved. after all, he's famous for saying, "if you can dream it, you can do it." for "teen kids news", i'm katie. >> we like to know what's on your mind, so here's our "speak of the week". >> remember the song "if i had a million dollars"? well, even if you don't, let's pretend you had a million dollars. how would you spend it? >> i'd do a lot of different things. >> probably go on a crazy shopping spree. >> first, i'd put a lot into, like, my bank account to save for later for college. >> i would certainly give some to the charities and, like, for example, cancer because it seems to be running in my family line a lot, and i hope people can find a cure for it soon. >> then i would give a bit to charity. >> i would probably donate some to charity, and then put some

in, like, my college fund. >> then i'd probably give some to different people in my family. >> if i won a million dollars, i'd... get a nicer house and give some to charity. >> then i'd... spend it on stuff, go on a shopping spree. >> it's nice to see that so many of us think of those in need. with "speak of the week", i'm monika. >> coming up, i'll take you to the incredible mansions of newport, rhode island. >> during the 1990's, there was an economic boom, and grand, new houses were built for the newly rich. but as nicole tells us, that happened in t1890's, as well, on the shores of the atlantic ocean in rhode island. >> when you see the grand estates of newport, it's hard to imagine that the area has rather

modest beginnings. in 1639, it was settled by english refugees fleeing religious persecution in massachusetts. over the years, quakers, catholics, and jews, among others, found safe haven here. in fact, newport is home to america's oldest jewish synagogue. in more modern times, it was here at st. mary's that john f. kennedy and wife, jackie, tied the knot. where yachts and sailboats now crowd the docks, in the 1700's, this was a major seaport for sailing ships from around the world. one of the signers of the declaration of independence hailed from newport, william ellery. during the american revolution, the british occupied the town for three years. after the british left newport, it became the base for french troops sent to aid the colonies. under general rochambeau, 5,000 french soldiers marched to join general washington at yorktown.

this painting shows the british surrender that ended the revolution. the americans are on the right, and the french on the left. in the early 1800's, southern plantation owners came north to newport to build grand summer homes. not to be outdone, wealthy yankees began to build even bigger homes. that set off a race between the richest families in america to try and out-build one another. they hired the most famous architects of the day and had them design palatial estates. this was the gilded age, the time of the titans who industrialized america. with almost limitless resources, they built on a scale that would have humbled even european royalty, and with pretended indifference, they casually referred to their massive mansions simply as "cottages". marble house was commissioned by one of the famous vanderbilts. he gave it to his wife as a birthday present. another vanderbilt built an

even bigger cottage, the breakers. entire rooms were built in europe, then shipped and reassembled here. this is the elms. it was one of the first houses in newport to showcase a new invention -- electricity. rosecliff was inspired by the grand trianon on the palace grounds of versailles in paris. rosecliff has 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.

it's no coincidence that the great medieval sights of europe lay along important trading routes, like the rhine. it took big money to build the structures that we travelers would marvel at centuries later. since ancient times, the rhine has been one of the world's busiest rivers and this region's major trading route. today, there's a steady flow of barges with thousand-ton loads, while busy train tracks and highways line both banks, all under the watchful eye of once-mighty castles. many of the castles were robber baron castles, extortion stops built by petty princes and two-bit rulers back when there were 350 independent little states in what is today germany. the shipshape pfalz castle, actually built midstream, effectively taxed river traffic. its town grew rich as the castle raised its heavy chains

across the river when boats came and lowered them only when the merchants had paid their duty. along this stretch, there were customs stops like this about every six miles. no wonder merchants were early supporters of the creation of larger nation-states. in the middle ages, emperors, popes, and these little princes were jockeying for power around europe. in germany, the emperors controlled the princes. but in the 11th century, the pope established his power over the emperor. this allowed the little german princes to go wild and build all these castles. that's why most of the castles along the rhine date from this era. a couple hundred years later, as the emperor began reasserting his control over the princes, these castles saw action. while the castles survived these battles, most were destroyed later by the french, because they feared a strong germany, and they felt the rhine was the logical border between the two countries. in the romantic age, the late 1800s, medieval things were in vogue,

and many of the ruins were rebuilt. today, the rhine castles are enjoyed as restaurants, hotels, hostels, and museums. and travelers cruise the river just to castle-watch. tour boats come and go about hourly. various lines each have their own docks and advertise their own schedules. buying tickets from a kiosk before boarding, tourists can put together their own hop-on and hop-off tours of this most romantic stretch of the rhine. rheinfels castle sits like a dead pit bull above st. goar. once the biggest and mightiest castle on the rhine, rheinfels rumbles with ghosts from its hard-fought past. while it withstood a siege of 28,000 french troops in 1692, the french finally destroyed it a century later. today, this hollow but fascinating shell

offers your best hands-on ruined-castle experience on the river. during the pre-gunpowder glory days of castles, defenses were better than offenses. the best way to beat a castle like this was a long, boring, starve-'em-out siege. therefore, a castle needed to be well-stocked and self-sufficient. imagine this courtyard 500 years ago. it had a bakery, pharmacy, herb garden, livestock, a well, even a brewery. during times of peace, a couple hundred people lived here. but during a siege, as many as 4,000 people would pack within these walls, hoping to have enough provisions to outwait their attackers. in its heyday, these walls -- whitewashed and gleaming in the sun, flags flying high -- must have exasperated attackers camped outside for so long.

y ? y [dramatic flute music] ♪ - once the haven of king arthur legend... - this is merlin's hill. - wales is still filled with the magic of the middle ages. - abracadabra! - but today, a new magic comes from the dramatic natural surrounds... and the fun ways the welsh have to explore them. costal walks, kayaking... you kind of scramble down rocks and go through the coves. and the people in wales are quick to protect the incredible landscapes here. - adventure tourism has a really good opportunity to help people discover the things that are special about the planet that are worth keeping. - come along as we discover the magic of the legends and nature in... both: travel with kids, wales!