>> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm livia. let's start with our top story for this week. this report is brought to you by a grant from the connecticut tobaccccand health trust fund. when it comes to tobacco use, there's a lot of misinformation out there. emily separates fact from fiction. >> by now, most of us know that cigarettes are unhealthy. but how do cigarettes stack up against other forms of tobacco? for example, what's you think is safer - cigarettes or cigars? >> probably cigars, 'cause there's, like, less additives and stuff, i guess. >> how about cigaretteversus pipes? >> i think smoking cigarettes is

safer than smomong pipes. >> pipes and cigars really have the same danger as smoking traditional cigarettes, because you're getting the nicotine, the totocco, and all the toxoxs that you get from burning the tobacco, just like cigarettes. that occurs in cigars and pipes, as well. >> another way to smoke tobacco is with a device called a hookah. >> a hookah is also known as a water pipe, and you use it to smoke a tobacco which is burned with charcoal. and the smoke goes through water, and people inhale it through a pipe. >> i would probably say that smoking from a water pipe is safer. >> a lot of peopop think it's kind of safe to use hookah. it comes in different flavors, too. the smoke from hookah, though, science shows, contains a lot of thgs that are similar to cigarettes. it d ds contain tar, and i idoes contain chemicals which are linked to cancer. >> okay, so, we've heard that howeveyou smoke tobacco, is bad for you.

burn, like chewing tobacco? >> i think chewing tobacco is safer, because what i know from it -- a lot of athletes like seball players do chewing tobacco, so i would think that if an athlete can do it, it would be safer than smoking cigarettes. >> tobacco that you chew or snort snuff -- that all contains nicotine, which is still addictive. the chewing tobacco actually contains little pieces of broken glass to help get the nicotine into your system a little bit faster, so think about that before you put the chewing tobacco in y yr mouth. >> i know chewing tobacco can lead to mouth cancer and other sicknesses. >> tobacco products like chewing tobacco, snuff, dip, which are all smokeless tobacco products, tend to have greater rates of oral issues -- so, cavities, gum disease, tooth decay leading to tooth lo. >> and you can develop cancer in your mouth, your head, and your

>> it's equally as dangerous, 'cause it's still going into your system, and it will also cause damage to yourself as well as just regularly smoking it. >> correct. remember, if someone t tls you only cigarettes are bad for you, don't believe it. they're just blowing smoke. for "teen kids news," i'm emily. >> bause of this teen, countless lives will be saved.

"teen kids news" returns. >> when organ transplants were first performed, they were considered medical miracles. today, we tete to take the transplant of organs like a heart or a kidney for granted. what many also take for granted is that if they or someone they love should ever need a new organ, one will be available. that's not necessarily the case. >> lauren shields seemlike a typical kid -- riding her bike, hanging out with her big

and she was a typical kid, until six years ago, when her life took a terrible turn. >> well, it was around the time of my 7th birthday that i started feeling just very tired, and i was just notike myself at all. i didn't have any appetite, and i lost all my energy. >> doctors discovered lauren's heart was seriously damaged. >> so... it was just... a complete shock just to know that from one day to the next i had gone -- like, i was never born with any defect or anything. i had simpmp just caught a virusus that attacked my heart. >> that's how lauren wound up on a list -- the long, long list of americans waiting for a transplant. we have, nationwidede117,000 people waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. and simply put, there are not enough people registered as organ donors to save lives. >> fortunately for lauren, a

donor came through in time. she received her new heart and started on the road to recovery. she spent so much time in the hospital, she and her mother created a book about her experience. wanting to make a difference, lauren teamed up with the organization donate life. they urge people to enroll a a organ donors. >> my friend lauren received a heart transplant. i have a liver transplant. and between us, we h!ve about 9 extra years of life already. >> so you'd think that lots of people would sign up to be organ donors. but lauren learned that many don't. and that gave her a new mission in life. shshhelped persuade her state legislature to pass a new law. it changed the driver's license form. >> in the past, that section on that form was optional. now, when people are goingngo get their license or renew their license, they will have to answer the question, "do they want to become an organ donor?" they can either check "yes," or they can check "skip this question." >> by being required to check

either "yes" or "skip," people can't just ignore the question like they could before. it's believed that extra moment of consideration might be enough to m me more people willininto become organ donors. oh, and by the way, the name of that legislation? lauren's law. >> wow. that was, like, incredible to actually have a law named after me that could ultimately make a difference in organ donation and hopefully increase the numbers on enrolled donors. it was just a great experience. >> oh, say, can you see >> lauren shares her story as often as she can. for example, she makes it a point to attend the ceremony where e w american citizens are sworn in. >> it's a great opportunity to tell the new citizens of this great country about the opportunities they have to participate in our democracy and e those things beingngaving lives. >> and the governor signed into law, into law that bears her

>> at age 13, lauren is already an experienced public speaker. >> just when it seemed that all hope was lost, the doctors came in and told mommy that my donor was found. i had an angel that was willing to give me the gift of life. the very next day, i had a heart transplant that saved my life. by enrolling in the organ donor program, you will someday help peopleleust like me. >> it's just amazing how this young girl stands up there and tells people about her journey which, in turn, inspires others to join this movement, to sign up and become organ donors. just today, we had close to 50% of all the people there signing up. >> prior to this speech, i didn't wananto be an organ donor. but after hearing how it changed her life and gave her another opportunity, i decided to become an organ donor. >> i love to help people. i loveveo give for people. so it's, you know -- it's in my

so it touch me a lot, her story. >> lauren would gladly have passed up this way to become famous. but she's using her story to spread an important message. and so can you, even if you're not yet old enough to register to be a donor. >> teens can help by learning about organ donationdiscussing it with their friends and family, and if it resonates with them, you know, advocating for it. >> lauren's very aware that her life is possible because someone else's life ended. she's forever grateful to pepele who choose organ donation if a tragedy occurs. >> it's the best gift that you will ever give anyone. you're giving the gift of life, and your life is living on in someone elsese >> in fact, the organs from a single donor can save the lives of eight people. to find out more, there's a link on our website. for "teen kids news," i'm rachel. >> i'm cailin. >> and i'm hannah. >> and we'll tell you...

>> what it's like being twins... >> when "teen kids news"

>> so don't go away. >> ever wonder what it was like to be an idedeical twin? or how about whether twins share a special connection? well, alexa got the scoop on this, from two sistersho have a special connection with "teen kids news." >> cailin and hannah are identical twins. and they're no strangers to working together. they have been reporting for teenkidsnews.com together for aa few years now. and they've written a book together. "the twin coection" has recently won the juvenile nonfiction national l die excellence award. today, cailin and hannah are here talk with us about their book and what it's like to be an identical twin. welcome. okay. whoho who? >> i'm hannah. >> [ chuckles ] >> now that we got that straight, do you ever trick other?

>> okay, there was one major time -- i think it was in eighth grade -- and it was crazy tie day. and we spent the entire morning coordinating our outfits. >> our clothes, our skirts. >> we made sure that every curl of our hair was exactly the same. >> we curled our hair in the mirror next to each other. >> and everything was perfect, but we forgot that it was crazy tie day. and that was the thing that completely gave e away. we were trying to switch classes -- just homeroom, so it wasn't, like, math. we didn't try to take tests for each other or anything. but our homeroom teacher noticed that we were weariri different ties. every set of twins has to do that at one point, right? >> so we knew that, and that's why we did it. >> cailin, what would you say is the best thing about being a twin? >> the best thing about beinina twin for m mis just -- and this is probably sort of obvious, but just, for us, it's that we get to experience everything together -- mean, even what we've been doing with "teen kids news." we interview together. we have the same interests, so we like doing things that we enjoy doing, even just down to the fact we both love animals

and, you know, we like going outside and gogog for walks and bike riding. just, everything that we like to do, we both like to do together. >> and i know that whenever i go through anxperience, whether it be good or bad, i know she'll always know how i'm feeling. and so it's easy to have conversations about it together. and we kind of bounce ideas off of each other easily. it's really nice. it's like a built-in best friend. >> yeah. [ bo chuckle ] hannah, how about the thing you like least about being a twin? >> i think that there are a lot of misconceptions. i know this was a thing, like, a long time ago, but there's a circus called barnum & bailey and other circuses, actually. and they kind of exploited the twin thing, and they kind of made it, like, a novelty act. >> creepy. >> yeah, the creepy twin thing. and i guess some people still kind of have that mind-set, although not as much. there's another part about being a twin which is kind of hard, which is you compare your life to your twin more than usual. >> 'cause e 's like comparing apples to apples. >> yeah, so, if one twin gets a job or some opportunity, then

the other twin doesn't, you compare it directly to yourself and say, like, "why did she get that opportunity over me?" and i think you're harder on yourself in some ways. >> and it's more that twins -- like, i think for twins, whe they're on the same playing field, i ione twin succeeds, t t other twin is more likely to see the other's success as their failure, even though that's not true, so... i just answered your question. [ both laughgh >> that's okay. i agree. >> now, obviously, you're identical on the outside, but what about when it comes to your personalities? are there differences there? >> i think, for the most part, we're pretty similar, but i always say that she's more emotional than i am, which means that, like, in our case, she takes things harder. >> she's usually the one that kind of rationalizes my thoughts. like, we'll be upset about something, and i'll go to her and say, "oh, i just can't get over this." and she's the one who says, "yh, but you have to tnk of it this way." and she'll start giving me examples. so i do that sometimes, but a lot of the time, it's her. >> yeah. >> so i would say she --

yeah, the emotional twin. >> i think that's the main difference. >> yeah. >> what made you decide to write a book together? >> well, we've always both been very into writing and storytelling. i think that's part of the reason why we enjoy journalism so much, 'cause it's storytelling. and kind of what inspired us to write "the twin connnntion" was hearing all the people -- people are very curious about twin relationships. and we noticed that's it's our classmates, relatives, people we meet on the streets, people we meet in grocery-stste checkouts. people are just so interested in twin relationships. and so we decided that we wanted to answer those questions, whether they be lighthearted ones like, "have you ever switched classes?" or more serious ones like separation anxiety or things like that with your twin. we decided that we wanted to write a book answering those questions, only through stories in a fun and relatable way. i think that everybody, twin or not, will be able to relate to the stories. >> well, thank you both for being here, and congratulations on the book. >> thanks for having us. >> this was fun. thank you so much. >> while being a twin is not

that common, there has been a steady increase in the number of twins in the past 30 years. today, about 1 in every 30 babies born in thehe.s. is a twin. for "teen kids news," i'm alexa. >> there's lots more ahead on "teen kids new" so don't go

we'll be right back. >> as you're about to see, a state flag can have a lot to say. >> when the american colonies declared their independence from engld, one led the way with a rousing motto. >> the year was 1774, two years before the declaration of independence. and new hampshire declared their own independence from great britain. their motto at the time was "live free or die," " d it's still the state motto today. >> another revolutionary first for new hampshire is pictured

in 1776, the warship raleigh was the first to fly the new american flag. new hampshire is home to many other firsts. the first potato was grown here. america's first astronaut in space, alalashepard, was born here, as was the first free public library. >> new hampshire es known as the granite state, and it's because their number-one natural resource is granite. this is s particularly good stone for building bridges, houses, even statues. and although the colony was first established for fishing, they quickly learned what they really had going on.n. >> those nine stars around the border signify an additional claim to fame. after the revolutionary war, our new constitution required approval by 9 of the 13 states. new hampshire made it happen by being the ninth state to ratify the famous document. with "flag facts," i'm brandon. [ baseball bat thunks ] [ crowd cheering ]

>> despite hitting 755 career home runs,s,ank aaron hit 3 home runs in n single game only oncnc the date was june 21, 1959, and his braves were taking on willie mays and the san frcisco giants. aaron's 3 two-run home runs helped the braves wiwi13 to 3. i'm matt for "teen kids news." >> you might say that some engineering students at the university of colorado are on a roll. they created a material that's ordinarily flexible. but when pressure is exerted, it becomes rigid. the process requires forcing totother layers of construction paper, sealing them with plastic, and then pumping out the air. so what did they make with this scientic breakthrough? a skateboard, , th the unique attribute that it can be folded in half. called the "floppy board," it can be easily stored in your backpack between rides. just what the world neededed >> this important message is

brought to you by the national road safety foundation. [ car door shuts ] [ engine turns over ] [ car horn honks ] [ seatbelt clicks ] [ laughter ] >> oh! >> oh, no! [ seatbelt clicks ] >> yeah! [ car horn honks ]

>> this report is brought to you by steelseries. many of us play video games, but you may be surprised to learn that there are people who actually,make playing video games a career. it's called d sports, and like traditional sports events, lots of people attend them. in fact, it's estimated that more than 70 million people worldwide tch pro gamers go head-to-head at e-sport competitions. colleges are getting in the game, too. robert morris university in chicago gives athletic scholarships to e-sports playays. and some ivy league schools participate in an e-sports college league. so, how can an average video

game player step up their game to compete on this level? joining memeoday to talk about this are mallory loar of steelseries, a company that makes gaming gear, and zombiunicorn. welcome. >> hi. thanks for having us. >> okay, so,o,ombiunicorn, that's obviously not your given name. >> no, that's my gaming username, and i picked it because i wanted to do something different than my real name that s non-gendered, and d like zombies and unicorns. >> and you are what's called a streamer. can you explain what that means? >> sure. streamers are people who stream themselves playing video games live, usually with running mmentary about the game. and viewers can interact and chat on sites like twitch.tv. you can also watch pre-recorded content on youtube and have a lot of fun. >> do people actually spend a lot of time watching your stream? >> oh, absolutely. i stream more than 20 hours a week, probably closer to 60, on twitch.tv, and it's a pretty big deal. there's a lot of streamers who have built up large audiences and can actually turn it into a career.

money? >> yes, if you have a big enough following, some companies might reach out to you, , ch as steelseries and sponsor your stream. >> that brings us to mallory. you work for one of these companies. what kind of gear are we tking about? >> the gear that e-sports gamers use are things like headsets, mice, keyboards, controllers. having the right gear makes all the difference, whether you're a professional gamerr an everyday gamer who wants to improve. >> so what sets your products apart from the rest? >> well, steelseries is really focused on supporting the growth of competitive gaming, so we even have a team of e-sports gamers on staff to test and develolothe products -- forr example, thihinew siberia 200 headset. it's super comfortable and has a self-adjusting, over-the-head suspension system. it provides audio with alistic, immersive sound, and it has a unique retractable microphone. and it's available on amazon for $79, so you can put it on your holiday wish list. >> that's pretty cool. is there a special inspiration for these? >> yes. actually, there e seven color combmbations inspired by t t

passion and personal style of top professional streamers and e-sports athletes. you can see their stories and what inspires the true cors behind these talented and dedicated gamers at steelseries.com. >> very interesting stuff. thanks for joining me. >> thanks for having us. >> thanks for having us. >> if you are really into playing video games, you might want to explple what it takes to get a college scholarship for it. for "teen kids news," i'm eric. >> that wraps it up for this edition of "teen kids news."

we'll see you agaiainext week.

info@teenkidsnews.com. the young icons give you a glimpse inside the le of the brightest and the best. comingngp in this half hour from dance class to the disney