tooen is on "teen kids news" is on now, and here is what we have got. coming up, i'll tell you about a girl that is making a difference halfway around the world. i'll report on a teen designer with some delicious sounding clothes. during the american revolution, lanterns were hung from a church window to signal that the british were on the move. but just who gave that signal is a mystery you can help me solve. you hear about distracted driving all the time. but do teens really know what it

is? and much more, next on "teen kids news." welcome to "teen kids news." i'm mwanzaa. >> and i'm jessica. here is our top story for this week. >> the idea of losing almost a year of school because of an illness sounds awful, but felipe has the story of a girl who turned a bad situation into sml something wonderful. >> reporter: many of us spend our sick days home from school eating ice cream and watching television. but one student used her sick days off to do a whole lot more. rachel missed most of her junior here in high school. instead she spent it at home battling a severe stomach disorder. it was no fun. >> ulost touch with all of my friends. and they were busy with their

junior year with their homework when i was in the hospital having tests done. >> reporter: one day reading a newspaper article she came across an article that caught her interest. he is discovered that many children in a rural part of cambodia never got a chance to go to school at all. >> not being able to go to school myself, i realized how much i took education for granted. so i wanted to give these children the chance to get a education that everyone in america is able to get. >> reporter: rachel did some research. she was looking for a way to help provide a school for these children. >> and i came across an organization, american citizens for cambodia. and they had this whole organization already set up where i needed an additional $13,000 to build a school. >> reporter: now let's face it, $13,000 is a lot of money for a high school student to raise. so rachel developed a plan. >> my first idea was sending out fundraising letters trying to get the community, my friends and family involved. >> she decided she wanted to do

this. and she really took it upon herself. she did lot herself. i was here with her because she was sick. so i helped her type on the computer or edit stuff and sort things and stuff envelopes. i was her right-hand woman. >> and i came up with the idea of making naming rights. so i have a sheet, and all the sheets i had different amenities such as chairs for $25, or a bookcase for $150. to a water filter for $300. >> reporter: she even designed and sold t-shirts. through steady hard work, rachel raised the $13,000 to build the school. but the school needed more than just a building. it also needed teachers, computer, and educational materials. >> that was really all i was hoping for. i couldn't even imagine how much more i would be able to raise and how amazing people were going to be in donating. >> reporter: so rachel kept at it, and even surprised herself. >> i'm actually to date have raised just over $57,000.

from t-shirts and fundraising letters, and actually, i just received a $5,000 award from the supreme master qing hai of vietnam. >> reporter: after months of fundraising, she got a chance to see the school that bears her name, and meet the children who would use it. she and her family made the 18-hour flight from her home in new york to cambodia. >> seeing how appreciative they were, it made me feel so much better about myself, knowing this year wasn't totally in vain, and they were able to make something good out of such a horrible year. >> it help mid country a lot, especially that school. with the internet access and to help the children know about the world. we feel very lucky. >> reporter: rachel's work is a great example of what seems to be a growing trend among young people. more students are dedicating their time to helping others, from fighting malaria in africa, to volunteering at a local nursing home. >> the messages to the young

people are if you have an idea, big or small, to go for it. because you probably will be able to do it. and what you get back from it is overwhelming. >> don't underestimate yourself. i'm just one teenager. look what i was able to do. >> reporter: and for rachel, there was an additional benefit that resulted from all her work. >> seeing the children, i feel like they almost helped me more than i helped them. everyone says oh, you helped these kids so much. seeing their faces and seeing how much i did for them, they helped me tenfold. >> so maybe the next time you're home from school, you'll think of some ways to others like rachel did. for "teen kids news" i'm felipe. stay with us there is lots for to come on "teen kids news." >> we'll be right back.

it's the number one killer of teens. it's called distracted driving. but do you know what it ask? >> it reminds me of driving and texting. when you're driving and texting, it's not like you can focus on the road. >> i have a lot of friends that text and drive. >> texting and driving is definitely a bad idea. but there are other types of distractions too. >> talking to someone on the phone. >> or talking to somebody that is behind you, or maybe talking to the person next to you. and it's dangerous. >> if you're tired, have lack of sleep. >> or if they're listening to music too loud. >> probably if you're making a sandwich. you cannot pay attention to the road if you're driving on autopilot. >> i was driving with my dad and we were passing by my favorite pizza place. and he looked and pointed and said hey, check it out. it's michelangelo's pizza. as a result, we kind of

accidentally sort of nudged this minivan in front of us. so it leads to some bad stuff. we were really lucky it wasn't much worse. no one got hurt. >> not everyone is that lucky. remember, when you're in a car, whether it's the driver or the passenger, turn off the distractions until you reach your destination. i'm zack for "teen kids news." we all know the story how during the american revolution lanterns in a steeple signal the british are on the move. after more than 200 years, we still don't know just who hung those lanterns. so we sent nicole to try to solve this history mist. >> reporter: this is the famous old north church in boston. it's where our hunt for clues begin. >> in april 1875, gener general was looking to send troops out to lexington and concord, and do it on a secret mission because he had spies on the town of boston watching his every movement. >> it was paul revere who came

up with the plan to hang signal lanterns. >> he enlisted the help of what we think are a couple of different men. we don't know for sure because he only tells us he chose a friend to help give the signals. >> reporter: to solve the mystery, you need clues. >> primary sources, people who were alive or present at the time it happened. they're someone who is going to be able to give us an eyewitness account of things that actually happened that night. secondary sources are source of information who come from someone who has heard it from someone else, read it somewhere else, heard that story from someone else. >> reporter: so walk me through how we go about solving the mystery. >> first thing we do is look at the documents. read what paul revere said about the night, they will would be a primary source. >> and then read the stories of two men, samuel haskell newman who in april 1776 at the centennial came here to this church and before a packed house

told his families a story about how his father climbed the stairs and hung the lantern. >> reporter: but samuel newman told that story 100 years after the event. 10 he didn't witness it himself. that makes him a secondary source. >> the last document that we read is one from a guy named reverend john lee watson, who actually lived in pennsylvania. he sent his own version in the form of a letter to the editor to the boston gazette, saying it was his relative, captain john pulling who actually hung the lanterns in the old north church. >> that's another secondary source. because reverend watson wasn't an eyewitness either. having looked at the document, next step is to hunt inside the church for clues. as bob showed me around, i asked him why is it important to question when and who wrote a historical document. >> i think it's really important for us to recognize that history is not just something that comes down to us from on high or a magical fixed thing that happened in the past. history is really stories we've

constructed from evidence we have of what happened in the past. those stories can change and differ as we get new evidence. >> reporter: some of that new evidence is on a wall near the front of the church. it's a plaque that says robert newman displayed the lantern. >> this was actually place heard by the newman family. it comes from the newman family story. it doesn't include obviously the story of the pulling family or the participation potentially of mr. pulling. so the newman family plaque says it is only mr. newman only who is responsible for lighting the lanterns. >> reporter: but we have to remember that the plaque is a secondary source, put here 200 years after the famous night. what is behind this door? >> these are the stairs. we're going to see the chamber and the rest of the area where the lanterns were. >> reporter: when we return, "teen kids news" gets permission to go where few visitors are allowed, way up. >> you want to go all the way to the top? you want to see more.

>> scary in here....

we're looking for clues to the mystery of just who hung the signal lanterns for paul revere. where are we? >> we're in the bell-ringing chamber here. there are eight bells above your head. they weigh a grand total of 7200 pounds. >> reporter: wow. >> the stairs you're to be climb were built in 1892 when the bells were restored. so these stairs do not reflect what it would have been like to climb up here in 1775. they're actually a relatively stable version. >> reporter: i find that hard to believe. is this it? >> this is it. we are up at the spot where the lanterns were hung. >> reporter: so which window was it? >> it was this window, the northwest window, facing towards charlestown, which is where the militia would have been waiting

to see the signals as arranged with paul revere. >> reporter: are these the actual lanterns? >> they are definitely not the actual lanterns. we use them for the celebration. >> reporter: the actual hunt for clues continues downstairs. thinking plaque here in the washington courtyard is one of two out here that tells us one of the sides of the story. this particular one was placed by the daughters of the american revolution and tells us it was mr. newman who hung the lanterns. this is the second that tells us anything about the hanging of the lanterns. this particular one, which was placed here by pulling descendants is the only one of the plaques outside or inside of the church that actually puts both newman and pulling on-site together on that night. the last place we go is right up the street here to the burial ground, which has the tombstones of both captain john pulling and robert newman. and we look at some of the words that are written on their

gravestones as part of solving the mystery. >> reporter: you can do your own investigation. one way is by visiting boston's old north church. >> the other way is you can go to our website, a shameless website plug. but for a family program called tory timid or true blue which talks about all of the different documents and some different people who might have attended and been a part of this church on the night of april 1775 and would have been connected to the story. >> reporter: well, i examined all the clues, and guess what? i figured out who really hung the lantern. want to know who it was? i'm not telling. guess you'll have to do your own research. for "teen kids news," i'm nicole. students from the culinary institute of america are sharing some of their favorite recipes with "teen kids news." here is this week's recipe. so you've got friends coming over for a movie, but you don't want to serve the same old, same old popcorn. well, i've got a recipe for you. it's chili popcorn. it's a great way to spice up the

usual movie snack. we're going the start with about eight cups of freshly popped popcorn. now we're going to make a spice mixture. it starts with a pinch of salt. but if you're cutting down on your salt, you can just leave it out. now we're going to add a quarter teaspoon of chili powder. 1/8 teaspoon paprika, 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. cayenne pepper is really spicy, so if you don't like things too spicy, cut down on the amount of cayenne pepper that you add. there you go. it's all mixed up. let's sprinkle it over our popcorn. and then we'll just toss it with a spatula so it's all evenly coated. told you it was easy. now all you have to do is decide on a movie.

and that is chili popcorn at the culinary institute of america for "teen kids news." i'm andrea.

i'm jessica mendoza, u.s. olympic gold and silver medalist. [ crowd cheering ] i never take my eyesight for granted. and neither should you. doesn't matter how old you are. you could be losing your vision to glaucoma without knowing it. take care of your sight. schedule regular eye exams for yourself and those you love. call 1-800-437-2423 and go to ahaf.org for free information and publications from national glaucoma research.

sometimes the craziest ideas can turn out to be really smart moves. erika tells us how a breakfast treat, a source of vitamin d, and some cotton fiber inspired a young entrepreneur. >> reporter: meet gary young. he designs and distributes his very own clothing line. >> i've been printing t-shirts for maybe about a year or so. at this point, was just making

some random designs for friends and stuff, just for free. and then i decided to make my own design. it was called muffin milk. >> reporter: muffin milk? now that's a seriously strange name for a line of clothing. >> i came up with muffin milk in freshman year when i was doodling little pictures of robots on my notes during class. and eventually i got a little monkster who had three heads and eyes and he was fbi's most wanted. so i put him on a milk bottle. and he looked like a muffin on a milk bottle. so i ended up calling him muffin milk. >> reporter: butt odd as the nae may be, it has gotten people's attention. it has grown into a street wear machine. it's turning out new designs and selling clothes by the thousands. >> we've ended up selling maybe 3,000 shirts or so in two years. it's a pretty good growth for two years. >> reporter: but like every successful business, gary had to start somewhere.

>> i started my company through the network for teaching entrepreneurship. and we had a business plan competition where i won second place, and they pretty much gave me a grant for about $1200. and that also helped propel just like beginning a company. my first sale was actually for about $5. i didn't know where to get t-shirts for a cheaper price at the time. and i realized stores in soho had pretty much just blank t-shirts for about $5 or so. >> do you guys know how many orders we have right now? >> reporter: this isn't a one-man operation, though. gary has a whole army of friends helping him run the business. >> i'm a designer of muffin milk. >> i'm actually in charge of sales most of the time. sometimes i'm even creative director with gary. my roles kind of cross over, but i started off in sales. >> i'm involved in marketing, and i usually report to steven. i usually get some sales from

kids in class, my friends, and try to diversify the amount of customers that we have. >> muffin milk pretty much has a crew of just about 15 or 20 so friends of mine. >> reporter: when you work with your friends, it's hard not to love what you do. >> it feels amazing because you're constantly inspiring each other, competing with each other. it's just a great feeling to be accomplishing something. >> reporter: but running your own clothing line isn't as easy as it seems. a lot of work needs to be done before you can start taking the clothing world by storm. just creating a single t-shirt is a long process. first you have to start with an initial design. >> a lot of it is just us hanging out and brainstorming about what people out there want, and what designs are in demand now. we try to make simple designs, but also detailed. >> reporter: once the design has been chosen, the team goes through the process of creating the actual shirt. lucky for them, they don't need a factory or anything.

they can do it all from the comfort of their own living room. >> this is pretty much the paint. it's called a half toning process. and it requires four different colors, black, magenta, cyan, and yellow. and you pretty much put it all together using a screen. >> reporter: the team does this for each and every article of clothing they make. ♪ >> reporter: it's a tedious process, but seeing the end result makes it all worth the effort. gary and his friends have put in the hard work, long hours and elbow grease to make their dream happen. >> my advice for other teens my age would definitely be muffin milk's actual moto actually, just to never give up. if you ever have an idea or something in your mind you think would get somewhere, you should

never give up on that idea. >> reporter: so if you have a good idea, give it some thought. and who knows? maybe you too can become a [ male announcer ] you never know when, but thieves can steal your identity. turning your life upside down in a matter of seconds. hi. hi. you know i can save you 15% today if you open up a charge card account with us. you just read my mind. [ male announcer ] just one little piece of information and they can open bogus accounts, stealing your credit, your money, and ruining your reputation. that's why you need lifelock. lifelock is the leader in identity theft protection. relentlessly protecting your personal information to help stop the crooks in their tracks before your identity is attacked. protecting your social security number, your bank accounts, even the equity in your home. i didn't know how serious identity theft was until i lost my credit and eventually i lost my home. [ male announcer ] credit monitoring alone is not enough to protect your identity, and only tells you after the fact, sometimes as much as 60 days later.

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but only if you act right now. call now! lifelock service guarantee cannot be offered to residents of new york. we see them all the time. but very few of us look closely, except for kristen, who has some interesting facts about our state flag. >> hawaii is a series of islands stretching more than 1500 miles. for centuries, each island had its own government ruled by a local chief. then in 1810, one king established himself of ruler of all the island, king kamemameha

years earlier he had befriended british explorers under the command of commander cook. that had an important influence on the design of the hawaiian flag. he incorporated the british flag in the upper left-hand corner of the hawaiian flag. he also included eight red, white, and blue stripes. they represent hawaii's eight major islands. in 1894, americans with powerful interests in hawaii's sugar and pineapple industries overturned the monarchy. they declared hawaii a republic. following the attacks on pearl hasher in 1941, public sentiment among hawaiians grew in favor of statehood. in 1959, hawaii became our 50th state, but its flag has never changed. today hawaii remains the only state to feature a british flag from times gone by. for flag facts, i'm kristen. >> that wraps up our show, but we'll be back with more "teen kids news." >> thanks for joining us, and have a great week.

>> write to us at info@teenkidsnews.com. >> on behalf of everyone here at "teen kids news," we want to give a special thanks to all our military overseas.