[ music ] >> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm siena. we'll start with our top story. maybe it's happened to one of your grandparents or great grandparents -- the sad, slow disappearing of memory called alzheimer's disease. while it's a condition that usually strikes the elderly, it affects everyone in the family. that's why an alzheimer's organization has created a special way for teens to share their experiences with the disease.

veronique reports. >> my grandma, she was great. we always slept over at her house. she always took us places like the mall. she was the best grandma. >> remember this picture? >> oh, yeah. look how good grandma looks here. >> she looks fantastic there. >> alex klein and his mom have lots of wonderful memories of his grandmother. >> i think grandma looks so pretty in these pictures. >> i know. >> then, about five years ago, his grandmother began showing the signs of alzheimer's disease. >> i didn't really know that much about alzheimer's before my grandma had it. i kind of just knew that it made you forget things, it made you -- your short-term memory not so good, but i had no idea of the serious affect that it would -- that it really ends up being in the end. she needs constant care. she can't walk by herself. she can't go to the bathroom by herself. she can't eat by herself. anything that anyone can normally do by themselves, she

can't. >> carol steinberg is the president of the alzheimer's foundation of america, or the afa. its mission is to help those dealing with the disease. >> alzheimer's disease is a brain disorder that primarily affects adults over age 65. basically, what's happening is brain cells are dying off, they stop communicating with one another, and as a result, a person loses their memory, other intellectual and physical functions. >> seeing someone you love struggling with alzheimer's is very difficult. that's why the afa runs an annual contest for teens. it invites them to produce a video. >> there are a lot of feelings going on when you're coping directly with alzheimer's disease, and this is a creative outlet for them. >> so alex created a video to tell about his family's experiences with alzheimer's. even though it is a true story, it's told it in the eyes of a fairy tale. like i begin the story by saying, "once upon a time..." once upon a time, there was a wonderful grandma who loved her grandchildren very much.

she would do anything for them and always took excellent care of them. little did they know that one day they would be the ones taking care of her. one day, an evil curse was cast on grandma, which would soon grow to affect the whole family. the curse was called alzheimer's. >> but alex's video also shows the positives in his family's experience. while there is no cure for alzheimer's disease, there are ways to cope with it. >> it's really cliché, but laughter really is the best medicine, and when you laugh, like, things don't seem as bad. so we try to we try to laugh to deal with things, and sometimes when we laugh, she laughs, and then it kind of makes us forget temporarily what's been going on. >> ♪ happy birthday to you >> ♪ cha cha cha [ clapping ] >> and even though this story would not have the happy ending, there were still ways to make

things seem not so bad. laughter. [ laughter ] [ dog barking ] and even though as time goes on it gets more and more difficult to find laughter, it remains the only thing that weakens the curse. >> his mom encouraged alex to enter the video in the afa's contest. his uplifting message earned the grand prize. >> alex's video really stood out to us because he found hope amidst a very dark disease. he portrayed the humor, the moments of meaning in someone's life. and teens and family members really need to try to find ways to connect with their loved ones despite the person's decline. >> i would say for other teens with a family member with alzheimer's, i would say it's important to just be there and

be there as much as you can. cherish all the moments that you have and just be present, 'cause they appreciate it and you'll in the long run appreciate it. and it's important to, again, laugh and just enjoy the moments that you have. >> certainly a powerful video. the foundation has an online community specifically for teens. called "afa teens," it was started by a teen a few years ago. it's a way to learn more about alzheimer's. it's also a way to connect with others going through the same things. there's even advice on how to start your own chapter. you can find a link on our website. >> car crashes are the number-one killers of teens. that's why the national road safety foundation wants you to keep your hands on the wheel, your eyes on the road, and your mind on driving. on driving.

[ horn honks ] >> coming up, i'll tell you about an organization that helps wounded soldiers in a unique way. unique way.

>> they fight overseas for our freedom. and if they return home wounded, they face another kind of fight. carina tells us about an organization that literally races to help. >> i'm very proud of what we did, and if i had to do it again, i would do it again. >> those words are especially meaningful, when you realize how

much staff sergeant de los santos gave for his country. he lost his leg in afghanistan when his unit was attacked. >> it was like everything was like in slow motion, kind of like being in a movie. and then when they pulled me out of the truck, that was when the pain... that pain. >> after the pain came the questions. his plans for the future seemed shattered. >> you know, i was like, "wow. my life is over. what's going to happen to me?" >> but staff sergeant de los santos didn't give up. he worked hard to regain his strength. and he learned about an organization called achilles international. in greek mythology, achilles was as close to being invincible as any warrior could be. but even the greatest warriors can be hurt. achilles international encourages disabled athletes to

compete in marathons and other public events. and they have a special chapter for members of our military. it's called the freedom team of wounded veterans. >> they meet the wounded vets, and then they give them the opportunity to participate in these events, and through these events, by doing this event, they can see their potential, they can see that they can be incorporated into society in a very positive way. >> it worked for staff sergeant de los santos. he was introduced to hand-cycling. and he signed up for a marathon -- 26.2 miles of fierce determination.a mara >> that was my first marathon, and let me tell you, it was hard. and i made it. it was the best feeliever.

'cause it made me realize, if i did a marathon, if i can do this, i can do anything. >> in fact, since that first marathon, the sergeant has completed many marathons and raced 3,000 miles across america. achilles also runs programs for kids with disabilities. you can find out about training, as well as racing opportunitiesr website. whether a soldier or a kid, the goal is the same. it doesn't matter if you run, walk, or roll towards the finish line. what matters is that you're able to show that you've got as much game as anyone. >> it's been called the spice of life. but adding too much to our food may be hazardous to our health. i'll have that story next. i'll

>> i can see what everybody talks about now. it's not a razor, it's not a laser. it's the no. 1 hair removal system in the world. no, no gives you no hair with no pain.

>> it's a building block of life itself, but too much of it can be very bad for your health. now there's a nationwide effort

to protect us from something we love to add to our food. nicole has the story. >> salt is everywhere. it's about 3% of the ocean. our bodies need it to survive. and we love its taste. >> my favorite salty foods are probably chips. potato chips. >> onion rings and french fries. >> french fries are my favorite. >> i really like pretzels and chips. >> oh, i'd have to say potato chips and french fries. >> my favorite salty foods? probably salt and vinegar chips and also crunchy seaweed. >> the problem is, too much salt is unhealthy. >> too much salt overwhelms your body. you eliminate salt with your kidneys. however, there's only so much your kidneys can do. all the extra salt stays in your blood stream, you end up retaining water, gaining more water weight, and your heart has to pump harder in order to circulate all this extra volume

around. and that, over a course of a long period of time, leads to elevated blood pressure and strokes. >> unfortunately the average american takes in twice as much salt as he or she should. and that's where new york city's health department comes into the picture. it's leading a campaign to help us all cut back on salt. >> the salt initiative is really a national initiative. it's led by new york city, but it's really over 40 health organizations, other cities, and other states that are working together. we think it has the opportunity for tremendous impact and really can save lives. >> of course, we can all make healthier food choices without the government's help. it's simple to choose a fruit instead of fries. but the salt initiative is taking aim at the salt we don't see. >> almost 80% of the salt that we take in each day comes from packaged and restaurant food. so most consumers don't really have any control over the salt that they take in. it's already in the food when we

buy it. it's not actually always the salt that you taste, so a muffin can have a lot of salt. >> when you're shopping for packaged food, check the label. salt is listed as sodium. it's measured in milligrams. and you don't need more than 2,300 milligrams a day. they add up fast. even a can of vegetable soup can be loaded with sodium. >> you can have as much salt as you're supposed to eat in a whole day in one chicken sandwich at a chain restaurant. >> so the government is working with restaurants and food manufacturers to cut back on the salt they put in their food. >> so we've gotten a great response so far, and the overall goal of the initiative is to reduce population sodium intake by 20% over the next five years. >> but don't wait for that. make an effort now to start reducing the amount of salt you eat, and read those labels. >> imagine sheep being able to send for help when a wolf is near. a high tech sheep's collar is being developed that does just

that. it works by constantly monitoring the sheep's heart rate. when faced with danger, like a stalking wolf, the sheep's heart rate speeds up. that causes the collar to send a text to the shepherd's cellphone to come quickly. it's technology that's good for the sheep and b-a-ad for the wolves. and bad for the wolves. >> "green eggs and ham." "cat in the hat." "one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish." bring back memories? we'll find out when we return. we'll find out when we return. 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. >> she is such a nice person, being with her is a blast to have someone who is so cool that i can talk to, like, as a friend and as a person i look >> our state flags are more than

just pieces of fabric. they're actually history books, if you know how to read them. brandon tells us more. them. brandon tells us more. >> the design of this state flag is based on the beliefs of an early native american tribe called the zia. randy howe is the author of "flags of the fifty states." >> it's as simple as can be. two colors. you have the red and the gold that is a reference to queen isabella of spain, who sponsored much of the exploration of the new world. the symbol in the middle is a zia sun symbol, and it was found in an archaeological dig on a water jar. what was important to the zia was the number four. and you'll see four lines facing in the four different directions. now, four was not just important to them for the four directions. they believed in the power of the four seasons. they felt that there were four aspects of life that every

person should pursue, like purity and being of sound mind and all those sorts of positive attributes. >> the flag's bold simplicity helped it win first place in a competition of america's 50 state flags. with "flag facts," i'm brandon. >> there's an insect from asia that may be invading the u.s. it's called the kudzu-eating stinkbug. kudzu is a fast growing weed that covers bushes and trees. in fact, kudzu can kill its host plant because it blocks the plant's sunlight. so, you'd think that stinkbugs that eat kudzu would be a good thing. they're not. stinkbugs also eat soybeans, an important crop in our country. so this small bug could soon be causing big problems for farmers. >> okay, everyone, it's time to find out what teens think. here's "speak of the week." thin here's speak of the week. >> he was a part of everyone's

childhood. you probably still have his quirky rhymes stuck in your head. i know i do. we want to know, which dr. seuss book was your favorite? >> "horton hears a who!" definitely my favorite. just because of all the silly characters, and i like the point of the story. >> "the cat in the hat," definitely. because it's fun, it rhymes, i love cats, too. so and the cat in the hat is just my favorite character ever. >> i love "green eggs and ham" just 'cause i love the concept of it, and i love rhymes, and i just love dr. seuss. >> "green eggs and ham." >> "green eggs and ham," i'll have to say, because, like, ever since i was a little kid, like, we always had the green eggs and ham at school, and so i just thought it was fun. >> my favorite dr. seuss story is "green eggs and ham." >> "green eggs and ham." >> "green eggs and ham." >> "green eggs and ham" is my favorite, also. i remember when i was younger, i made my own green eggs.

they didn't turn out so well. they sound better than they taste. with "speak of the week," i'm drew. >> i'll tell you why billings, montana, is called the magic city. 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.

(crowd of children) thank you. um]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. student for safety foundation. visit drivers.org.

>> just about any place you visit in this wonderful country of ours, you'll no doubt be fascinated by the local history. this next report is case in point. >> welcome to billings, montana. it's one of the great frontier towns of the old west. it's also my hometown. the front the old west. it's also my hometown. >> howdy. >> to help tell some of the history of billings is kevin kooistra-manning. he's with the western heritage center. and joyce jensen wrote a book about the town. how did billings get its name? >> billing got its name from frederick billings, former president of the northern pacific railroad, who they honored by naming the town

after him. >> the railroad actually created the town, and it happened almost by accident. >> there was a nearby town by the name of coulson, which expected to be the next great railroad town. but instead, because they raised prices and made it kind of inconvenient for the railroad, the railroad decided to build their own town, the town of billings. and billings basically prospered. coulson disappeared. >> about the only thing left of coulson is boot hill cemetery. >> this is the burying grounds of coulson. most people buried here died violently. there were murders, suicides, and accidents. they died with their boots on, so we call it "boot hill." >> meanwhile, back at billings... >> when the railroad came in, billings grew so quickly, one writer said "like mushrooms after a rain storm." it quickly took on the nickname the magic city. >> the town's history is dotted with a lot of colorful characters. for example, calamity jane. >> calamity was quite a character. she did all kinds of things no

woman would do -- no lady, anyway. she rode astride, she could smoke, drink, and cuss with the best of the men. she drove ox teams like men did. so she did men's work. but she was a really interesting person in that she was an awfully good nurse and a whole lot of people really liked calamity. in the 1920s air shows were going on all over the country. there were wing walkers. there were stunt fliers. and an air show came to town with a wing walker. unfortunately for them, they went broke here and lost all their money, and that wing walker needed a job. he went to work as a mechanic. later he became the most famous man in america when he flew solo across the atlantic. his name was charles lindbergh. >> another famous flyer who visited billings was amelia earhart. ernest hemingway actually got into a car accident and was hospitalized here with a broken arm. fortunately, that didn't end his writing career. >> billings, you know, was

placed in the heart of crow country. the crow indian reservation is across the yellowstone river. and the crow have always been a part of billings' history. early on, they came here ad traded in the stores that opened. later on, the crow were a big part of our annual fair. and, of course, today a lot of people in billings travel to the annual crow fair and celebrate crow culture and traditions. >> billings is also known for its striking natural beauty. it's hard to believe that this area was once covered by a great sea. >> there are large cliffs of sandstone around billings, great walls of rock. we call them the rim rocks or the rims. that's all that's left of that great inland sea. >> from the top of the rims, you can see present-day billings. >> well, billings has always been a major transportation center here in the northern great plains. it had irrigation, which allowed agriculture to prosper. we grow sugar beets here for refined white sugar. we're an oil and gas center. we have hospitals here,

colleges. and because we have so much diversity, unlike other frontier towns, billings has continued to prosper and grow through all the years. >> billings even has its own theme song. >> ♪ in the shadow of the rim rocks ♪ ♪ by the banks of the yellowstone ♪ ♪ there's a place i long to be in ♪ ♪ there's a place i call my home ♪ ♪ you're a booming human city ♪ and you're really rather pretty ♪ ♪ billings, my city, my home >> and visitors are always welcome to sample our western hospitality. i'm carrie for "teen kids news." >> that's our show for this week. thanks for watching "teen kids news." we'll see you next time. see you

[ music ] captions by: caption colorado, llc 800-775-7838 email: comments@captioncolorado.com >> here's a shout-out to pr newswire for including "teen kids news" on their big screen in times square, new york city. news on the times square in new york city.

announcer: brought to you by... ...for more than 40 years, working to preserve the world we share. hanna: it is called black beauty ranch, and after one visit to this place, you'll understand why it's also called a ranch of dreams. [ african tribal music plays ] [ music ]