you're watching "teen kids news." here are this week's stories. >> i'll introduce you to a group of students who are helping people in need halfway across the globe. >> i'll report on how cliques can hurt and what you can do about it. >> meet the man who gave alfred e. neuman his name. >> an olympic competition so fierce you can even choke your opponent. >> that and more starting now on "teen kids news." ♪

i'm mwanzaa. >> and i'm jessica. you may have already heard of darfur. it's a region of the african country sudan. and since 2003 a bloody war has been fought there. one connecticut high school is working to raise awareness about the terrible acts of genocide there. amanda's got the story. >> we're here to talk to you today a little bit about the situation in a place called darfur. >> reporter: the group on this stage may appear small, but the mission they've set out to accomplish is huge. >> since 2003 the government of sudan has sponsored a genocide, specifically against the people in the darfur region, ethnic africans, indigenous people. and since that time at the current point estimates are that over 500,000 people have been killed. millions more displaced from

their homes. and it's an absolute tragedy. >> reporter: in response to this crisis vice principal tim salem and these connecticut high school students have formed a coalition. they call it project darfur. >> project darfur is important because we're able to go into other school groups and raise awareness and build bridges with other school communities to hopefully raise funds to help those in need in the darfur area. >> thank you. first of all, let me say it's an honor to be here on behalf of the danbury high school and the students. i thank the treasurer's office for having me. >> reporter: since the project began, the students have carried their message to more than 150 organizations. these include schools, religious groups, even congress. >> it was just something that like it really touched me. because i knew just by speaking i could help someone across the world. you know? spreading awareness can do so much.

>> child of hope, child of fear, how do you manage to smile? >> reporter: the project darfur group has also produced two documentaries which they use as educational tools. actress mia farrow is featured in one of them. >> we are now defining ourselves by our response to darfur. our response as human beings. >> the good part of it is that we're able to engage other school communities into wanting to do something to help. and normally, that leads to some kind of fund-raising that will help children and people in need. >> there's certainly small efforts that can be made on very local levels that can make a huge difference in this conflict. >> any little thing can help. just caring about it really helps, because to have someone care about it, yeah you might not be a public speaker, but maybe you'll go home and tell your family about it, who will then spread the word to more people. >> i know it's a way for me to kind of indirectly be involved in what's happening around the world. and that's very important to me. >> reporter: that's the type of thinking that's helping project

darfur succeed. >> we have enough funding now to build a school. we've won a ton of awards. humanitarian awards, film awards. and those are nice accolades. but ultimately, our goal is to try to get what's going on in darfur to stop. innocent people being murdered is something that we feel strongly shouldn't be happening, and our goal is to have it end. >> to find out more about project darfur, you can contact us at teenkidsnews.com. the largest island in the world is truly huge. 840,000 square miles. even so, greenland is not big enough to be considered a continent. australia is also an island surrounded by water, but it's almost 3 million square miles. coming up, an issue that causes problems for a lot of kids. >> we'll tell you what it is and how to deal with it when "teen kids news" returns. new revlon just bitten. it's the first two-in-one lipstain and balm. the lipstain gives me a light flush of color

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well, for a lot us, the need to fit "in" with a group can often make you feel left out. but cliques don't have to complicate your life. felipe has the story. >> reporter: let's face it, we all look for friends who like the same things we're into. it's when certain groups of friends become "cliques" that problems start. >> most cliques flaunt their exclusivity to others by not allowing others to participate in it. >> cliques can be bad because they're kind of exclusive. >> i'd say a clique is a group of friends who can be sometimes exclusive. >> exclusive. >> exclusive. >> exclusive. >> some cliques don't just exclude, they ridicule. kids from the theater group

faces help to see how cliques can hurt. faces acts out real life issues that affect teens. >> when did they let the bride of chucky walk in brooklyn? >> like sometimes they're mean people, i don't know, like that make fun of you. >> some people, they like talk behind your back. >> reporter: dr. hilfer says cliques are nothing new. teens have been trying to figure out how to deal with them for years. >> i would certainly tell a kid who was excluded from a clique to try to recognize that these groups aren't for everybody. >> that's the same advice carol weston gives in her book, "for teens only." carol says she often hears teens say "no one likes me. >> i would say there's such a difference between "no one likes me" and "i want to be popular." i mean, "i want to be popular," a lot of people feel that and then it's almost like they grow out of it and then they realize that it's more valuable to have a couple of friends than to be one of the, you know, popular kids. >> reporter: here's more advice in dealing with cliques, and some of it come from teens like you.

don't be one of the herd. >> find people who you are more compatible with instead of just trying to get into a specific group. >> reporter: choose your friends based on who they are, not the group they belong too. >> just ignore the actual cliques and try to get to know people as individuals. >> reporter: value your individuality. your own self-esteem is often the best protection against cliques. >> if the cliques that you don't hang out with like bother you, just ignore them. >> reporter: finally, be yourself. if they don't like you as you really are, they're not worth having as friends. >> don you know that girl hazel? >> yeah. the weirdest girl in school. >> she's so weird. >> reporter: and if you're in a clique that's hurting other people, or hurting you, find new friends. >> what do you mean, you're tired of it? >> i'm tired of it. i'm sick of treating people that way. >> because you don't want to be mean. you don't want to be exclusive. you want to be a nice guy. >> whatever then. >> okay. >> reporter: i think the best advice comes from eleanor

roosevelt, a strong woman and former first lady. she said that "no one can make you feel inferior without your consent." climate change could be coming to your back yard, literally. scientists are finding that weeds grow faster when the ground heats up. so expect to see more crabgrass on that nice green lawn. >> sports is up next. >> so st t

an olympian takes teens to the mat in a sport many americans know little about. tyler has the story. tyler? >> reporter: mwanzaa, we're talking about judo. it's based on the martial art that means "the gentle way." but judo the sport is anything but gentle. it may look like wrestling, but judo is completely different. >> judo is not like karate because karate is kicking and sort of punching and judo is throwing and rolling.

>> reporter: the idea is to use your opponent's aggressiveness to your advantage. >> if we're practicing judo together and you're walking towards me, i'm going to use your momentum or the force that you're moving forward with to throw you onto your back either by tripping you or moving my body in front of yours so that you'll fall over me. >> reporter: in each class students bow to their teacher, or sensei, and to a photo of judo's japanese founder, gigoro kano. kano struggled with martial arts because he was very small. >> so he wanted to prove that he could beat the larger competitors. he developed judo so he was able to do that. >> reporter: taraje williams-murray also knows how to win. he's a national champion and competed in the 2004 and 2008 olympic games. >> in competition you can either throw the person onttheir back. if they hit flat, both shoulders hit the mat, it is a full point

and the match is over. you can also pin the person for 25 seconds. you can choke them until they tap. >> reporter: you heard him correctly. judokas, people who practice judo, can choke their opponents. >> you can use the gi to wrap around their neck or you can wrap your arm around their neck too. just no hands. you can't choke with your hands. when you start to feel as though you may pass out, you tap and the other person releases. >> reporter: the gi, or uniform, is a key part of every match. judokas grab their opponent's sleeve, lapel or pants to gain control. that's why even the most skilled judokas end up looking a little messy. this "dojo" in the basement of an apartment building was taraje's first judo school. he wasn't much bigger than the littlest students he teaches today. it was in his teens that he became serious about winning. >> judo was always fun for me, but when i decided that i wanted to make it to the olympics, the

shift changed to being a little bit more professional. to working out, even outside of the dojo. to running in the morning, to going wherever the best judo players work to learn from them. and just that change there allowed me to become more and more successful as i got older. >> reporter: and take it from the experts, don't try any of those moves on your own. learning judo requires supervised instruction by an expert. i'm tyler and that's sports for this week. sooner or later, there will come a time when you have to cook your own meals. make it sooner with startcooking.com. this is a website designed for people without much kitchen experience. easy-to-follow articles and videos will teach you the basic skills, like how to fry an egg. then tackle delicious recipes. for example, seven layer dip, lasagna, and apple crisp.

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natalie has some tips on how you can make the grade. >> reporter: when it comes to studying, extra help can be very effective. it's as though you could clone yourself and divide up the work. actually, a good study group is even better then cloning because you can use each individual's best set of skills.

study groups are standard in law schools, but you don't have to be a legal scholar to use their techniques. the law school at texas tech sets out some simple guidelines. starting with whom you invite into your group. they don't have to be social friends. and you can have different groups for different classes. at the first meeting discuss your goals, your rules, and your schedule. for example, be very clear about when meetings will be held and what will happen if someone misses a meeting or comes unprepared. if everyone understands what's expected, it's easier to work toward success together. i'm natalie, helping you all to "make the grade." icon. i-c-o-n. it's our word of the week, and it means something that's a symbol. some icons are religious. some are functional. like the icons on a computer screen. but any way you look at it, an icon is an image or even a person that stands for something.

"icon" is the perfect word to help us introduce our next report. so here goes. when it comes to comic books, there's a man who's considered a living icon of the genre. nicole tells us why. >> reporter: the giant comic-con held every year in san diego is the world's largest. the convention center is packed with hundreds of exhibits and thousands of comics. among the most popular attractions is "artists alley." here you can meet people with true super powers. using just ink, pens, and brushes, they're able to bring a super hero or a super villain to life. one of the most sought after artists is this man. his name is al feldstein, and he's a legend. >> i guess i'm most known for

introducing horror comics to the general public back in the '50s. >> al feldstein is one of the pioneers. he was involved in creating some of the greatest comic books ever published. >> i created "tales from the crypt," originally it was called "the crypt of terror" and i introduced it into comic books. >> reporter: that's right, long before it became a popular tv series -- >> they were a magazine called, get a load of this, "tales from the crypt." >> reporter: -- "tales from the crypt" was a comic book. it was published in the 1950's by ec comics. >> ec set the benchmark for great comics. nobody has ever made comics since then better than ec did. ec inspired us all. al feldstein, i mean he was the editor, he was the writer, he was the guy who made it all happen. so we owe a lot to this man. >> reporter: back in the '50s, ec comics were all the rage. while many parents were

horrified at the popularity of the horror comics, most missed an important point. the gory stores actually taught a very moral lesson -- evil never wins. >> i know al feldstein because i have had an obsession with ec comics, of "tales from the crypt." >> recognize thomas dekker? he played young john connor on tv's "sarah connor chronicles." he grew up reading al's comics. >> it affected my life in a weird way. i feel like my moral structure is based on these incredible stores of goodness and evil, and the artwork he does is amazing. >> reporter: in addition to horror, al is also famous for his science fiction work. al's table quickly becomes crowed with fans. many brought their treasured copies of old ec comics for him to autograph.

some of them brought a lot of copies. >> you want me to sign all of those? >> he's a living treasure, and i just wanted to get as many signatures as i could. >> last one. wow. all right. >> thank you very much, sir. >> all right, there you go. >> reporter: al says he's always surprised at the high prices his old comics sell for nowadays. >> i used to get paid $35 to $40 a cover for art. today, some of those covers go for as much as $20,000. >> reporter: you might say that all that time working on comics drove al "mad," literally. >> i became the editor of "mad" magazine, which i was for 29 years. >> reporter: that's right, from horror to humor. under his editorship, al made "mad" magazine a household name.

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we're back at the san diego comic-con. al feldstein was the editor of "mad" magazine from the mid '50s to the mid '80s. >> there you are. >> i know. that's when i was young. >> reporter: he's also the man who helped introduce the world to alfred e. neuman. >> his face appeared on the cover of the valentine collection of "mad" comics in paperback form. the editor, bernie shircliff, of the paperback put this face on the cover, and when i saw it i

felt that that would be a wonderful logo for "mad" because we were in an era where every corporation had a visual logo like the barking dog at rca or the green giant or the smith brothers. >> reporter: but the face needed a name. during the early comic book days, al often wrote under a pseudonym, a fake name. that name was alfred e. neuman. history was born. long before there was "the daily show," "mad" was poking fun at things many people took very seriously. al saw "mad's" role as telling readers, especially teens, that it's okay to question the adult world. from big corporations to even our elected officials. >> we were trying to teach everybody to be skeptical about what they read and what they saw and what they were told and what they were told to believe in. that there were people with

agendas that were lying to them and to read between the lines as far as articles are concerned, as far as editorials are concerned, as far as advertising was concerned, and not to take anything for granted without analyzing it for yourself and believing in what you wanted to believe in, not always be fed to you. >> i've been hugely influenced by al feldstein as an artist, as an actor, as a writer and as a publisher. al and "mad" magazine basically changed my life. >> reporter: at comic conventions, al is often invited to talk about the old days at ec comics and "mad." al still amazes fans with his artistic abilities. for example, he can take someone's initials and quickly turn them into a face. watch. >> oh, boy, this is a tough one.

>> that's beautiful. look at that. >> there's a huge amount of people in my generation and even younger that still completely connect with these comics and what they say and how they say them that it's still really, really relevant for us and that they're still being recognized for their power and intelligence. >> can we get a photo of you with it, please? >> i never expected it to be a collector's kind of work that we were doing that would be lauded and treasured, and the whole thing is one big surprise to me. >> what is no surprise is that al feldstein was inducted into the prestigious comic book industry's hall of fame. for "teen kids news" i'm nicole.

that's it for this week's edition of "teen kids news." thanks for joining us. >> have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com here's a shout out to pr newswire for including "teen kids news" on their big screen in times square, new york city. write to us at info@teenkidsnews.com.