wd of children) thank you. >> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm siena. we'll start with our top story. there's a serious medical condition affecting many teens, so serious that it can lead to suicide. tyler reports on a program that teaches kids how to identify it and seek treatment. >> delia, your grandmother says you haven't been going to school. did something happen?

>> no. >> you're not feeling well? >> no, i'm sick. >> the actors in this video are portraying four teens who have something in common, even though it's affecting them in different ways -- depression. >> depression is a medical disorder, and it's a mood that's down, down in the dumps, depressed, anxious, tense, nervous for more than two weeks pretty solidly. >> in front of you, i gave you a fact sheet that tells you a little bit about teen depression for warning signs, things to look for, and we'll talk about that later on in the week when we prepare your lesson plan. >> this new jersey high school has developed a program where students help other students recognize and deal with depression. >> the peer leadership program is unique to our school in the sense that it's a five-credit course. it's not a club or an activity that the students participate in after school. first, they're selected by their peers and their teachers. they write an application

and participate in a group interview. it's comprised of 18 seniors. they apply when they're juniors. and, ultimately, they are peer mentors for the eighth graders. >> i'm calling because i can't stop worrying about things that i don't need to worry about. >> the mentors use this video as a tool. it helps them understand what their younger peers may be going through and how to provide guidance. >> we brought peer leadership to the eighth grade 'cause we're seeing a lot of incidents of real serious mental-health issues and social issues starting much younger. i think that the kids respond to it really well because it's coming from a peer -- someone who's older than them, but not that much older than them. and the seniors are guided by myself as the school counselor and by two other faculty members, and we teach them how to write lesson plans, what to look for in mental health and substance abuse. >> i chose to be a peer leader because when i took the program back in eighth grade, i really felt connected to what it had to offer and what it taught. >> if a teen is depressed, i asked miss cobylinski, who should the teen talk

to first? >> i would love for kids to talk to their parents, to have an open dialogue with their parents. but in some cases, the parents are a source of the depression or anxiety. >> but even with understanding parents, kids may feel too ashamed to speak up. >> i could understand how it would be embarrassing to tell people you have a problem and have to approach someone to get help when you want to fix things yourself. but, with things like depression, you can't always help yourself. >> y-you know how jake is. he can be chill and really cool. but sometimes, you know, you say something to him and he takes it the complete wrong way. >> the peer mentors are also taught to help teens who suspect a friend may be suffering from depression. >> if a teen thinks his friend or her friend is depressed, probably the first thing you should do is talk to that kid. >> you guys just gonna leave me here? >> if that doesn't help, the experts say don't give up. >> every school's got a guidance counselor, student-assistance counselor, and that's why we're here. there's nothing that we haven't heard. we've heard it all.

you won't be seen as silly, no question is stupid, and we'll try and help you navigate the road to get your friend the help that they need. >> it's the third-leading cause of death in teenagers. and so, really, it's treatable. >> yeah, i've known a few people who have had depression and they've gotten help, and it seems that now they're living normal lives and feeling a lot better about their life in general. >> if you suffer from depression, remember, there are many people waiting to help you. one place is the suicide prevention hotline. they also have a website... >> if you love amusement rides, stay tuned for important information about your safety.

>> amusement-ride safety -- it's something we all need to know about. here's brittany. >> when i'm on a roller coaster, normally i, like, let go and put my hands in the air. >> i high-five my friends and just have fun with it, i guess. >> me and my friends like to tricks. so, like, we'll take a newspaper and look like we're reading. >> i like to wave my hands and scream. >> taking a chance like that is what caused desteni to break her arm. >> she had reached back to high-five one of her nieces, and then she was bringing it back, the wrist part got caught in the corners of the ride. >> and accidents like that happen way too often. >> there are more than 4,400 children treated in hospital emergency departments each year in this country for amusement-ride-related injuries. >> dr. smith has been studying amusement-ride safety. he says the big, scary rides are not always where the danger lies.

>> when we talk about amusement rides, we often think immediately of the roller coasters and the large rides. but in this study, we've found that a surprising number of injuries were occurring at local shopping malls, restaurants, and arcades. >> these rides are regulated by local and state governments and might not get a lot of supervision. surprisingly, the temporary rides at fairs and carnivals might be safer. they're controlled by federal safety rules, which tend to be tougher. but the first rule of safety is follow the rules. if you horse around on an amusement ride, your next ride may not be so amusing. it might be a ride to the hospital. >> you might have noticed that after it rains, you often see lots of earthworms. now, scientists have figured out why. while worms can move through underground soil, they can move faster on the surface. but to do that,

the ground needs to be wet. so they come out when it rains. now go and impress your science teacher. >> in "flag facts" this week, the story of a state flag that owes its design to a teen.

>> 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. >> alaska's coastline is longer than all our other states' coastlines combined. so it would be reasonable to imagine that the state flag's blue background

represents the oceans surrounding alaska. but, actually, that field of blue represents the magnificent skies above alaska, as well as the state's official flower -- the forget-me-not. the flag was designed by a teen who entered a contest in 1926. >> it was actually a 13-year-old orphan named benny benson who submitted the winning design. it was a territory-wide flag contest -- alaska wasn't even a state yet -- and they got all sorts of wonderful entries with polar bears and everything else you'd relate to alaska -- eskimo images, those sorts of things. but he simply went with the big dipper, which is a part of ursa, the great bear, because he saw strength in the people in alaska. and then he also included the north star because whether it was his foresight, his hope, whatever it might be, he saw that someday, alaska would be, or he hoped it would be, the northernmost of the united states. >> his hope became a reality in 1959, when alaska

became our 49th state. today, alaska remains. our nation's largest state, geographically, but our smallest in terms of population. with "flag facts," i'm brandon. >> is your radio collecting dust in a corner? does your mp3 player recycle the same boring songs over and over? then you'll definitely want to listen to this week's "click this." pandora.com is an online radio station that takes your music to the next level. think of it as your own personal jukebox. after you register online, all you do is pick a song or artist that you love. pandora will do the rest. it'll create a playlist just for you including the music you chose along with more of the same genre. and it's also available on most mobile devices. you can spice up your music collection and still hear the classics you love all without spending a dime. with "click this," i'm isabel.

>> if you want to be popular, be kind. that's the conclusion of researchers in california. they assigned kids to do three acts of kindness a week. after a month, those kids were better-liked than their peers. and they were happier, too. >> coming up, a recipe for a tasty and healthy snack. too many bills?

think you can't afford auto insurance? did you know there's a state program that makes it possible to get liability insurance for under 400 dollars a year? good drivers owning a vehicle valued at 20,000 or less who meet the income requirements may qualify for the state of california's low cost automobile insurance program. find out if you qualify. call 866-602-8861. do you qualify? great! what are you waiting for? call 866-602-8861. >> there are lots of recipes you can cook up without ever turning on a stove.

this week, chef johnny prep shows nicole how to make a zesty salsa. >> so, chef johnny, my hands are washed. i'm eager to get started. what's first? >> well, let's get going here. we're gonna make red salsa, which is a very simple salsa that is very traditional in mexican cuisine. we're gonna start with some tomatoes, a jalapeño, a little bit of garlic, we're gonna do some cilantro, we're gonna do some sea salt, and then i'm gonna pull out a secret ingredient later. >> what's the secret ingredient? >> the secret ingredient is chicken base. >> mmm. >> a really, really good mexican chef years ago took me aside and said, "my secret is a chicken base in the salsa." i've done it ever since. it works. >> so, this looks a little complicated. is this as hard as it looks?w w? it's chop, stick it in a food processor, push a button, we're done. >> yeah? >> all right? >> all right. >> and you're gonna help me do that. you're gonna just slice off a little bit of cilantro. >> okay. >> okay, cilantro's a nice herb. it has a cooling effect, so it kind of counters

the jalapeño heat, okay? and we're gonna put that in there. cilantro's interesting, because some people -- it's in their dna -- it actually tastes a little bit soapy. like 5% of the population's like that. so some people just don't like it, but 95% of people love it, and it just has a really nice, refreshing, cooling effect to counteract the jalapeño. >> mm-hmm. >> now, we're gonna use a jalapeño -- a pepper -- in this. and this is a fairly hot pepper. now, jalapeños vary in heat. the bigger ones are less hot than the smaller ones. >> mm-hmm. >> you know, so you see a really big jalapeño, it might not be that hot at all. but one thing about hot peppers is all their heat is right in here. all these seeds and that white in there, that's where most of the heat is. most of the heat is not in the meat and the green part. >> so that's where you should be careful? >> yeah, so what i do is, i just take it out. we're just gonna take that out. because, really, we want the flavor of the pepper, and there will be some heat in the skins, but we don't even need the seeds

and the stems. unless you really like heat. and if you like heat, go ahead and throw it in there, you know? but jalapeños have a really nice flavor. in mexico, they use seranno chilies a lot of times, but they're a little bit hotter than this. now, here's a safety issue. make sure when you're dealing with hot peppers, okay, you get these oils on your hands when you touch this stuff -- is where the heat is. and you don't want to touch your eyes, your nose -- any sensitive part of your body, you don't want to touch it once you've played with hot peppers. and then when you're done with hot peppers and we're done making this, i'm gonna go run right over to the sink and i'm gonna wash my hands. >> mm-hmm. >> because that's a really important thing to know. >> mm-hmm. >> all right, so, now, we're not really chopping this fine because we're putting it in a food processor, okay? but we do need to get it chopped up a little bit, or else the food processor will just get clogged up, you know? >> mm-hmm. >> and i really suggest using a food processor. some people use blenders, but food processors have so many safeties on them

that you can really -- it's almost impossible to cut your hand inside of a food processor 'cause of all the safeties they have on it, okay? >> and how about cutting your hand when using a sharp knife? >> well, you know, it's very important, especially when you're at home -- don't start playing with knives unless your parents have really said it's cool to do that, okay? but when you're working with a knife, it's important to use good knife safety. grip the knife firmly right around the stem here like so it's an extension of your hand. make sure that when you are cutting something, you keep your hand away from the knife. now, when i cut out, like, this core of this tomato, what i actually like to do is just move the knife in and out and rotate the tomato so i'm not actually pushing the knife towards my hand. i think that's a much safer approach like that, 'cause you got to cut out this core 'cause this core part right here is hard and it's not very edible. >> mm-hmm. >> and then the other thing about tomatoes is tomatoes have kind of the skin on it that's tough. >> mm-hmm. >> and if you're cutting it, sometimes if you're knife's not sharp, your knife will slip, and that's how you get cut. so i always tell people, "cut on the meat side."

you cut through it much easier that way. and always keep your fingers, when you cut, curled under so that they're not sticking out. i see a lot of kids sometimes like to stick their fingers out like that. i'm like, "please, please, please turn your fingers under so that they're -- tuck your thumb in behind your fingers like that. >> so should i be starting cutting the cilantro? >> yeah, if you could cut me off just a little swath of that cilantro. you know, one beautiful thing about cooking is, truthfully, the measurements aren't that incredible. this is a four-cut food processor. and one big tomato is gonna make about a cup of salsa there. so we're just gonna make a small batch of salsa right now, okay? >> so, you really have a newbie in the kitchen here with you. so what should i do? >> so, you just want to take your knife and grab it and keep your hands away from it and cut right across there and just give me a handful of that stuff. >> all right. >> all right? >> like here's good? >> yeah, just like that. just pull it right back. keep your fingers away. there you go. now just hand that to me. >> okay. all right. that was easy. >> that was pretty easy. look at you. >> [ chuckles ]

>> you're already an expert. >> and that's all the cilantro you need. >> that's all the cilantro we need. and notice that i didn't worry about taking it off the stems. you don't want these big thick stems in there. >> mmm. i know. i really smell it. yeah, that smells delicious. >> so, now, when you deal with garlic -- here's a clove of garlic. okay, an easy way to deal with a clove of garlic is to take it and smash it. >> oof! so what safety issues do you have to worry about there? >> well, the safety issue is, make sure you keep your knife edge away from you when you're doing that, if you're gonna use a big knife. you don't necessarily have to use a knife. you can use a spatula and go like that, okay, which is a little bit safer. but, obviously, you know, chefs have their knives in front of them. so we just use whatever we have at hand. but that way, it makes it really easy to peel, okay? because you got to get the peel off. this is kind of woody. and just throw it right in there. and then we're going to sprinkle some salt in there. now, you can always add salt. you can't take it out, okay? >> start with less than you think you need. >> start with less. we're gonna have about 1/2 teaspoon. and, you know, the best way

to deal with salt is like this in a bowl between your fingers so that you have the most control over your salt. >> mm-hmm. >> unless you really know your shaker. but sometimes shakers pour, and sometimes they, like, hardly come out. >> sometimes they shake. >> yeah, exactly. sometimes they rock and roll a little bit on you, you know? and then i just put in about a teaspoon of my secret ingredient -- that chicken base -- and that's it. >> so what does the chicken base do? >> it just adds flavor. it adds depth to flavor. i mean, a chicken base is a reduced stock that had onions and carrots and celery and chicken. so there's a lot of complexity. so it just adds complexity to your salsa. it just adds that little bit more flavor to it. it actually makes it taste a little bit like soup, you know? people will start eating it that way. >> [ chuckles ] >> okay, so then you got to decide how chunky you like it. some people, and what you want to do, too, is look to see if sometimes that cilantro

gets caught on that stem. >> mm-hmm. >> so, sometimes, you got to open it up and put it back down there like that a little bit. >> don't let the processor do all the work for you. >> absolutely. now, if you're gonna put a big piece of garlic in there, you want to process it pretty good, okay? if you want it chunky and you want garlic in there, you should chop the garlic first. because you don't want big chunks of garlic. that's it. >> so all we have in there are fruits and vegetables? >> that's it. it's completely healthy. you got the lycopene in the tomatoes. you got the herbs in there. i mean, you got the garlic in there. i mean, this is about as healthy a dish as you can have. >> wow. is it time to taste it? >> it is time to taste it. >> wow. that looks beautiful. >> and it's kind of funny, 'cause when you first put it in a processor, see how it's got kind of a lighter color? that's 'cause there's air in there.

actually, after about five minutes, it looks redder. it's kind of funny. >> is it better with air in it or when it's settled? >> it really doesn't affect the taste too much. so you're gonna be my tasting expert here. let's see what you think. >> ah, lucky me. >> you can tell me if it needs more salt or not. it might. >> mmm. >> good? >> mmm. >> salt's okay? >> all right, you ready to move on to fruit salsa? >> mm. >> let's do it. all right. >> it's delicious. >> good, good. good, good. >> i want another bite. you want a bite? >> yeah, i'm gonna try some, too. what the heck, you know? i'm a big salsa fan. i could eat this all night long, you know? >> you just turned me into a big salsa fan. >> this and sports -- that's a good evening. >> so there you have it -- johnny prep salsa from chef johnny -- one of his recipes in his new book. trust me -- it's delicious. for "teen kids news," i'm nicole. can i have one more? >> absolutely. go for it.

>> just ahead, we meet a teen who's making waves in the music industry, beat by beat. 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. 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. >> the typical sends 3,417 texts a month. that's 114 texts a day, 7 days a week. if you're not already on an unlimited-text plan, this might be a wake-up call. >> this teen from north carolina has a passion for making beats. >> i try to pump out at least a beat a day, sometimes even two or three if i'm into it. [ hip-hop music playing ] >> his name is ishmael, but call him ism beatz. that's the name he's making for himself in the music industry. he started producing hip-hop tracks at 15. with his parents' encouragement, he took his homemade beats

to a competition in atlanta. >> it was basically like a beat showcase, and it was me and, i think, 25 other producers. and, you know, we were just all up there playing our beats, and mine got some of the big people's attention. >> he begins an idea and then starts building it into a signature sound. >> whatever's in my head at that time is what i put in the computer. if it comes out as a sound i like, i go with it. >> this is ism. >> the music we dance to next year just might be built on one of ism's tracks. and despite all the hours he spends at his audio board, ish doesn't let his school work slide. in fact, he's on the honor roll. >> you can do whatever you want. as long as you put hard work into it, put time into it, you can do it. >> and that's certainly a message you just can't "beat." >> 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. entuentures

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