>> get ready for "teen kids news." here's what's coming up. >> they say there's no "i" in team. but in a lot of neighborhoods, there's no "c," either. i'll explain. >> many people talk about recycling, but i'll show you some kids who are making it happen with the help of a lot of worms. >> like building model airplanes? boy, have i got a story for you. >> they're tiny creatures that can cause big medical problems. i'll tell you what to do if bitten by a tick. >> harry potter, watch out. there's another magical teen with more than a few tricks up his sleeve. i'll have that story.

>> that and more, next on "teen kids news." >> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm mwanzaa. >> and i'm siena. we'll start with our top story. >> if you play a sport, you know that having a great coach is really important. but in some communities, coaches are hard to find. libby reports on a game plan to change that. >> sports are more than just fun. kids who play sports are more likely to... >> do better in school. >> they're less likely to... >> abuse drugs. >> or become pregnant. >> and they're less likely to be... >> overweight. >> and yet sports programs in public schools across the country are being... >> reduced! >> cut. >> downsized.

>> in fact, almost $4 billion have been cut from sports programs in recent years. especially hard hit are kids in poor areas. only 3% of them get to play organized sports. as a result, there are lots of kids out there who want to play sports but don't have what they need most -- coaches to work with them. that's where an organization called up2us comes in. >> up2us was started because we know that kids all over america, particularly in our cities here, need sports. i mean, sports is such a fundamental part of growing up, and you learn so many values from sports that you take with you for the rest of your life. >> with help from the federal service program americorps, up2us started coach across america. so far, they've trained more than a thousand volunteers to be coaches in 25 states. ktrice mcneill was recently named their coach of the year. he really understands his players...because he was once in their shoes. >> it was really tough growing up in my neighborhood because they really didn't have any

organized sports teams. everything was just surrounded by violence and just inner-city crime, so i wanted to find an outlet and something positive where i can be able to say i don't have to get involved with that so much and just i can do my own thing. >> coachnly turned his own life around, he's passing his positive attitude on to his players. >> ktrice is a very good coach. i look up to him in many different ways. he's like family to me, and that's basically everything. he has a big impact in my life. >> he's a very good coach. he teaches me new moves, stay in school, don't be outside with the idiots doing the bad things. >> the volunteers aren't trained to just be coaches but to be mentors as well. that's why coach mcneill takes an active role in his players' schoolwork. >> i keep a rapport with the teachers, principals, their lorsand sometimes i'm in student-teacher conference meetings with their parents, teachers, principals. >> all: 1, 2, 3, varsity! >> one of the things we know is when we ask, like, young kids

across this country, "who's the number-one person you turn to?" besides their parents, if they're lucky enough to have a coach in their life, they say their coach. >> up2us is also looking for teens to be assistant coaches. if you're interested in applying, there's a link on our website. and there are other ways you can help struggling teams stay in the game. >> there's a lot of sports programs out there that desperately need equipment. they don't have everything from baseball bats to lacrosse sticks. so one thing kids can do, is if they're from communities where they do have lots of equipment, maybe do a collection or a drive. >> whether you're giving or receiving, everybody wins. >> there's more "teen kids news" coming up next. >> we'll be right back.

>> one school turned a ton of garbage into a moneymaker. the project all started in the school cafeteria. stephanie has the story. >> the trash cans at the anne hutchinson school were once overflowing with all types of garbage. >> we noticed kids walking up to the garbage cans, dumping their chocolate milk in the garbage can, throwing the carton out, throwing all foods, all soft plastics -- everything was going in the garbage. >> not only was it wasteful, it was ending up in already-overcrowded landfills. and adding insult to injury, all that garbage was costing the school a lot of money to take away. then students heard that

recycling could greatly reduce their lunchroom trash. >> recycling is not throwing out things that can be reused. >> like many of us, they had thought recycling was only for things like paper, plastic, and glass. then their teacher told them they could also recycle food through a process called composting. >> instead of having more garbage to send away, 'cause the landfills are gonna soon take over the earth, instead of doing that, you can just give it to the worms, and it soon decomposes, 'cause the worms eat it. >> wait. did she say worms? >> personally, i do not pick up any worms because i'm a little squeamish about that. >> but the students are becoming bffs with the worms. that's because the slimy little critters are an essential part of the composting process. >> well, you take fruit scraps, vegetable scraps, and bread. you put in there, and then you mix it up, and then, about two months it gets hot, and then

when you turn it, it gets steamy. >> it's really hot doing that job because it gets over 160 degrees in there. >> as the food breaks down, it attracts worms that eat it. then, when the worms poop, they leave behind a nutrient. and that makes the compost, which is used to fertilize new fruits and vegetables. >> that way we can get the compost into our garden, and our plants can grow better. >> and in the process, they've also cut down a lot on the amount of garbage that has to go to the landfills. >> we used to throw away 12 bags of garbage. now we're down to half a bag of garbage for all the lunch periods. >> but it took a while for the students to get their schoolmates to pitch in. separating their trash into all the different containers was a bit challenging at first. >> well, at first they weren't so on board with it. they would just put it in wherever they want. but soon they got the hang of it and started putting it where it needs to go. and we made signs to help them.

>> terracycle helped, too. the company pays the school for collecting certain types of trash that can be turned into useful products like book bags and pencil cases. >> we've already made almost $150 from terracycle just returning used juice pouches and chip bags. >> basically, the only garbage left is the milk cartons. >> and once we hook up with a person that will take our milk cartons, we're gonna really have no garbage. >> if composting is something you want to try at your school, here's some good advice. >> find a teacher, find someone that can help you, get as many kids interested as you can, and set up some bins in the lunch room, and kind of see what happens at first. >> you never know. worms may become your best friends. for "tkn," i'm stephanie. >> we all should know what to do in a medical emergency. that's why we're bringing you tips on first aid from the

american red cross. >> okay, so, i come in from playing outside, and i find there's a tick on me. what do i do? >> don't panic. ticks are mostly just an ugly but we do want to get rid of them. so take a pair of tweezers, grasp it near the head, as close to your skin as you can, slowly and firmly pull until it lets go. then put it in a sealable container -- i'll tell you why in a second. meanwhile, wash the area with soap and water. apply antiseptic or antibiotic ointment. and look for symptoms like rash, flu-like symptoms, or joint pain. if you experience any of those, go see a doctor and bring that tick you saved with you. they're gonna want to analyze it. >> so, what are they checking for? >> well, ticks carry illnesses like lyme disease, rocky mountain spotted fever.

>> how do we avoid ticks? >> well, they like to be in the woodsy areas and high-grass areas. so if you know you're gonna be in that kind of environment, wear long-sleeve shirts, long pants, and preferably make them light-colored so you can see the dark tick and if it's attached to you. also, pull your hair back in a ponytail and wear a cap. don't forget your insect repellent. >> and every time you come home, you should check yourself and your pets carefully. and don't wait -- time may be tick-ing. for "tkn," i'm emily.

>> you can learn history from a book, a film, a museum, or sometimes even from an airplane. scott reports on an effort to preserve the past that's really taking off. >> from the outside, hangar "b" doesn't look like much. but inside, the building is crammed with vintage aircraft of all kinds. and it's all part of what's called the harp project.

>> "harp" stands for "historic aircraft restoration project." and it's a department of the interior program. the objective is to restore those kinds of airplanes that flew out of floyd bennett field during its 50-year history or so. >> floyd bennett field opened in 1931. it was new york city's first municipal airport. during world war ii, it served as a military airport. today it's part of our national park service. floyd bennett has a rich heritage. many of the world's most legendary aviators used this airfield, including amelia earhart. this is a replica of a plane that took off from here in 1933 and made history. >> eight days later, landed here in floyd bennett field. the first man to fly solo around the world, a one-eyed pilot called wiley post. >> whether it's faithfully re-creating a replica or restoring an actual aircraft

that's logged hundreds of hours in the air, all the work here is being done by volunteers. marty gave us a tour of some of the aircraft harp is restoring. >> this is a 1940s, '50s, and early '60s anti-submarine warfare airplane. two propeller-driven engines, and there are two jet engines. the jet engines would be used to help it get off the ground, but then they could fly slowly for extended periods of time. >> because of the propellers? >> because of the propellers. and that's what they would do, is float around up there looking for unfriendly submarines. this, scott, is a c-97 -- the "c" meaning "cargo." but it is based on the b-29 aircraft of second world war fame. this particular airplane is the granddaddy of commercial aviation in this country.

now, this is an a-4b skyhawk. the "a" stands for "attack." the primary purpose of this airplane is to deliver bombs and rockets on enemy positions in support of infantrymen on the ground. this is the type of airplane, by the way, that john mccain was flying when he was shot down in vietnam. it's a single-engine, single-seat, carrier-based airplane. the coast guard used these primarily for searching for people in distress on the ocean and also to pull off rescues. there's a hoist that you can see right there that would enable a crewman to descend into the water. you could put an injured person in that basket, hoist them up into the helicopter, and there would be medical personnel aboard the helicopter. the pilots are officers, graduates of flight school, and you would have two enlisted men back here.

one is a jumper -- the rescue jumper. scott, why don't you sit up there in the pilot's seat? as you can see, there are a large number of instruments on the instrument panel and many of them are missing, but that's because when the military gives us these, they strip out the ntru the stick is controlling the direction. the collective is controlling the angle of the blades, which dictates what speed you're going at, and your feet -- that's maneuvering the rudder left and right, so it's very, very, very busy in these things. now, this particular airplane here is a pt-26 cornell. "p" stands for "primary" and "t" for "trainer," and they named it "cornell" because -- guess what -- it's named after the university. during the second world war, many pilots went through six months of training at various universities across the country.

i should point out the reason the wings are painted yellow, the tail, it's for visibility because the air would be filled with student pilots, and they didn't want them to collide. >> we'll continue our tour of hangar "b" when "tkn" continues. all right, rudders -- check, ailerons -- check, electrical systems -- check. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america...

and to the republic for which it stands... one nation, under god... indivisible, with liberty... and justice for all. our disabled veterans pledged to sacrifice life and limb to ensure our way of life. now, they deserve our support. find out how you can help disabled veterans in your community. visit dav.org. tell you about a new medical website designed especially for older folks. website you say! i can't work on computers, they're not senior-friendly. blah, blah, blah. but the national institutes of health fixed all that. now you can make the type bigger, increase contrast, even make it talk to you. just go to nihseniorhealth.gov and get the best medical information available anywhere. nih seniorhealth.gov. built with you in mind. music i want some more.

what's he doing? please sir, i want some more. more? he has asked for... thank you. well he did say please... yes he did. and thank you. please and thank you. pass it on. (crowd of children) thank you. >> we're back at hangar "b," reporting on harp -- the historic aircraft restoration project. the people here volunteer their

time to work on planes that helped to make aviation history. and it all started with this one. >> this is a 1903 wright brothers flyer. >> actually, it's a full-scale model of the first successful airplane. it was built and flown by orviur wright. made of wood and canvas, it traveled just 120 feet. that's less than half the length of a soccer field. but it was enough to wing its way into the history books. i got a chance to see what it was like to fly this craft. >> and if you'll get on there, i'm gonna show you just how they flew it. now put your feet behind the adjustable leg partition, lie on your stomach, grab the throttle handle to your left -- that would adjust the ailerons, or rudders, to make the plane get airborne to go up and down. now, if he wiggles his body left to right, if you notice up there, that gets the plane to bank left and right, and that's how the wright brothers' plane

flew. >> wow. it took a lot of work to fly these things. it's part museum and part interactive exhibit. visitors get to do more than just watch the volunteers at work. they can also help with the restoration. >> right now we're in what we call the wing room. this is where we restore the wings and some of the fabric portions of the airplanes. >> susan gave me some hands-on instruction. >> put it under. wrap it around. >> i was surprised to learn that the giant wings of some of these planes use string and fabric. >> okay, we go from the very basic to the finished part ready to be primed and ready to be painted. >> this is fabric? >> this is fabric. and if you look... [ raps wing ] >> it's like a drum. >> it's like a drum.

>> susan also showed me how the canvas wings were stitched -- by hand. >> okay, pull it out. go easy, easy, easy. go ahead. okay. >> so, why do you do this? >> history is a very important thing because if you don't understand the past and what happened, you'll never understand the present, and you definitely will not know what to expect in the future. >> harp is a fitting name for this project because the volunteers who give their time, preserving this important part of our country's history, certainly are angels. for "tkn," i'm scott.

think again. the spot you missed could be a killer. that spot on your skin could be skin cancer. if you're a man over 50, you're in a group most likely to develop skin cancer, including melanoma, the kind that kills one person every hour. that's why your best shot is to check for a spot. it's easy -- follow through and check your skin. go to spotskincancer.org to find out how. a message from the american academy of dermatology. um] ♪[tum] ♪[tum] ♪[tum] ♪[tum] ♪[tum] ♪[tum] [phone ring,] car brakes hard [phone ring] [car crash] glass shatters

[sirens] this video was submitted by a student through the safety scholars program. for more information on teen safety visit driversedge.org. >> some laws are very weird. for example, in st. louis, it's against the law for a firefighter to rescue a woman wearing a nightgown. like i said, some laws are very

weird. >> not all magic has to do with spells and potions. there's magic that any of us can do. but as veronique reports, the trick is dedication. >> he looks like a regular teen, hanging out with his family at the kitchen table. but mitch abrams is actually magical. [ ding ] >> [ laughs ] this won't cut it, and that's too long, and that's just right. >> he calls himself magical mitch. >> take the medium rope. >> when he was just eight, his dad showed him his first magic trick -- this one. you might say mitch was immediately roped in. >> pull, and they all become the same. that trick amazed me, and it made me really want to learn magic and get into performing magic for others, and it really pushed me into what i'm doing now. >> now 15, mitch is a master of magic. and he's happy to demonstrate

some of his tricks to alison, a summer intern at "teen kids news." >> just like that. >> wow. [ chuckles ] >> how did he learn to do magic? while mitch didn't go to hogwarts, he did find a kind of diagon alley. he goes online to find new tricks and to shop for magic supplies. but the real trick to magic is practice, because each magical moment requires showmanship and expert dexterity called sleight of hand. >> i guess that was it, wasn't it? >> yes. [ laughs ] >> every day i spend about an hour practicing. i'll either practice in front of a mirror, or i'll practice in front of my computer with the webcam on and recording. take it, place it back into my pocket again, snap my fingers. it's underneath there. one more time. that way i can play back the tricks after i do the performance and watch it from the perspective of somebody watching the trick. >> like most magicians, mitch doesn't reveal how he does his tricks, though he did give away the secret to this one.

you might say "the eye's quicker than the hand." >> as you take that card and show it, i go like this. >> okay. >> i get a glimpse of that card -- for example, the 8 of clubs. in magic, we call that glimpsing a card. >> like an athlete getting dressed for a big game, mitch prepares for a show. there's a reason a magician wears a jacket. that's where he keeps his bag of tricks. [ up-tempo music plays ] >> think of your card and watch as i shake it. >> mitch is a popular performer at parties, like this bat mitzvah. >> i'll do it again. i'll put it back. it comes back to the top. >> i don't get it! >> it's that wide-eyed look of sheer disbelief that makes all those long hours of practice worthwhile. >> he just did some cool magic tricks with cards for us. >> he must have been doing it for like a long time to get that good. >> not to brag, but i know a trick that not even mitch can

do. i can disappear. abracadabra! hmm. i guess i still need a bit more practice. for "tkn," i'm veronique. >> that's all for this week. thanks for joining us. >> we'll see you next time, with more "teen kids news."

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