coming up on this edition of "teen kids news" --

>> i will report on serious story that thousands of teens have to learn to live with. >> i will take you to the historic city of old san juan. >> in sports, an ancient form of fitness -- >> a technique thousands of years old - is helping teens today, i'll show you how. >> how to find out if you're living in a kid- friendly community. >> all that and more, plus the headlines, just ahead -- welcome to "teen kids news." i'm mwanzaa. >> and i'm jessica. to fill us in on the week's top stories here's lauren. >> president-elect obama has chosen his security team. the biggest surprise - he nominated his former rival - hillary clinton - to be

secretary of state. >> she possesses an extraordinary intelligence and a remarkable work ethic. >> mr. obama also announced he's nominating governor bill richardson of new mexico to be the secretary of commerce. it's official -- the nation's economy is in a recession. that means instead of a growing economy, it's becoming weaker. all eyes are on washington for guidance. leaders of the nation's top car companies are willing to work for less than your weekly allowance. if the government loans their failing companies money - the ceo's of ford, chrysler, and gm say they'll take a salary of just $1 a year. officials in india are blaming pakistani terrorists for the ten violent attacks in mumbai last week. u.s. secretary of state condoleeza rice is visiting the area hoping to ease tensions between the countries. a surprising number of teens admit they cheat on tests. in fact, a study found 64% of high school students do it.

teachers and students say there's a lot of pressure on teens to succeed. as if 14 olympic gold medals weren't enough -- swimmer michael phelps has won a new title. "sports illustrated" named him sportsman of the year. that's headlines for this week, for "teen kids news, i'm lauren. most kids are able to take their health for granted. but not those who have to cope with an illness that starts when you're young and lasts a lifetime. felipe tells us what it's like to manage a life threatening disease. felipe? >> reporter: jessica, it takes a lot of responsibility. kids who have type 1 diabetes can never put it out of their mind. >> when i first found out, i couldn't believe it. i was scared. repr:ter: not lagg ag skyler found out he has a disease called type 1 diabetes. that means his body cannot transform the sugar in food into fuel for living. instead, the sugar builds up in his bloodstream.

>> it does damage to the blood vessels of the body and to the nerves. and that results in the complications of diabetes - of which there are many. >> reporter: this is a very serious illness. to avoid risks that include --people with diabetes have to be under a doctor's care. but keeping it under control is up to the individual patient. >> diabetes is a self managed disease. >> reporter: so skyler is working with a diabetes educator to learn how the food he chooses affects the level of sugar in his blood. okay, skyler, the way we manage diabetes is with healthy eating, and exercise and diabetes medicine. >> has to keep careful track of the level of sugar in his blood. that's called "monitoring." having type 1 diabetes means skyler's body doesn't make an important substance called insulin. so he has learned to inject it at certain times of the day. he might also have to adjust his

medication depending on what he has to eat. >> i eat the school's lunch, and i just eat what they give me. and i try to count my calorie points and put as much insulin in me as i need for that one meal. >> reporter: because they face a lifetime of managing a serious illness -- a lot of kids with type 1 diabetes are getting involved with government. >> i know that my hope for a cure lies in medical research. >> reporter: the juvenile diabetes research foundation organized an event called the children's congress. it urged politicians to approve spending more money for their cause. >> it's important that children are here from all over the country, and indeed around the world, to tell congress just what it's like to have diabetes, how serious it is, and how important it is that we fund the research necessary to find a cure. some star power helped to put a spotlight on the disease as well.

big names like trisha yearwood performed outside. ♪ meanwhile celebrities like mary tyler moore talked about a lifetime of managing diabetes and an nba player proved that having type 1 diabetes does not have to get in the way of athletic success! >> i look around this room and i see the kids are at the age when i was diagnosed. it is when my life changed. our diabetes is with us every day of our lives. it never goes away - and we never get a time out. >> reporter: someday perhaps there will be a cure. meanwhile kids like skyler are handling it one day at a time -- because they have to! >> the best advice i could give other young people is just to keep their head high and keep a positive attitude toward it. >> reporter: you might know someone managing type 1 diabetes. or they might have a more common form of this illness -- called type 2. in either case they'd probably appreciate your understanding what they're dealing with.

if you'd like to learn more, go to jdrf.org. mwanzaa -- >> thanks, felipe. a new study found out something shocking about cough and cold medicines. they send about 7,000 kids to hospital emergency rooms each year. most of them were under 5. so that's something to keep in mind if you're babysitting. never give medicine unless properly instructed by a responsible adult. and always keep cough and cold medicines away from little kids. >> just ahead, we'll go someplace sunny -- >> and historic. a vacation destination that's a great combination. coming up --

>> you see them at the circusbirthday parties and parades -- clowns. they're supposed to cheer you up. but a survey in england found most kids don't think clowns are funny at all.

they're more likely to call them scary. sorry about that, bozo. >> in this week's video scrapbook, nicole takes us to visit a part of america that you might not realize is part of america! >> reporter: welcome to the caribbean island of puerto rico. we're in san juan, the capital and largest city. although christopher columbus landed here in 1493, europeans didn't start to settle in puerto rico until 1508. that's when the explorer ponce de leon founded the first settlement. he's the guy who's famous for trying to find the fountain of youth. the san juan cathedral is a favorite stop for tourists. this is where ponce de leon is buried. not only that, but marc anthony got married here to his first wife. puerto rico means "rich port." it was an important stop for spanish ships carrying gold and silver from the new world. and that attracted pirates of

the caribbean, as well as european invaders. now, ships of a different kind come here -- puerto rico is a popular port for cruises. in fact, tourism is one of the island's most important industries. to get a taste of san juan's past, all you have to do is just walk around. high on the "must see" list is el morro one of three great fortresses built to protect the island. it's in the part of the city known as "old san juan." to enter el morro, you have to cross the "field of fire." the soldier removed all the tress and bushes so there would be no place for an attacking enemy to hide. now people use the area for more peaceful, like picnicking and playing.

the fort is studded with cannon, and sentry boxes called "garitas." built almost 500 years ago, el morro is the biggest fortress in the caribbean. in fact, all of old san juan is one giant fortification. it's surrounded by miles of stone walls 20 feet thick. towering gates guarded the entrances to the city. in olden times, the heavy wooden doors were shut tight at sun down to keep invaders out. over the centuries, the island was attacked by the british, dutch and finally the americans. after the spanish-american war in 1898 puerto rico became a us territory. one of the most striking things about san juan is how colorful it is.

see what i mean? even the cobblestones are special. old sailing ships carried these colorful stones as "ballast." that's weight to help keep the ship balanced. when they reached puerto rico, they unloaded the stones, and filled their ships with the treasures of the new world and then sailed back to spain. notice anything unusual about this building. our tour guide says it's one of the narrowest buildings in the world if you like water sports, you'll love puerto rico. of all u.s. capital cities san juan is the oldest when it comes to history, it's also one of the richest. for teen/kids news, i'm nicole. >> fearless warriors, no i'm not talking out zena or

hercules, i'm actually talking about an ancient form of exercise. i'll show you what it's all about coming up next.

teens are tackling an ancient form of exercise. it's even helping athletes be in the best shape for the game. tyler reports from the yoga mat. >> reporter: if you think this is all there is to yoga try striking a pose. a lot of athletes go into yoga and think, i'm going to be good at everything this is going to be a piece of cake, and then they fall and they're embarrassed. and they're in shock. yoga is a series of poses based on movements and postures found in nature. >> and we're going to take your right foot into tree pose. >> reporter: the positions help increase strength, flexibility, and focus while relieving stress. that's why mary kaye chryssicas started teaching yoga to teens.

>> there's a lot of worry and anxiety in today's teens so anything that can reduce worry is a good thing. >> reporter: i braved mary kaye's boston class. as you can see - it's pretty popular. it turns out more athletes are making their way to the yoga studio to help improve their skills on the field. >> i worked with a baseball team, and specifically with pitchers to teach them how to breathe because the breath is what calms you down. >> reporter: mary kaye gave me some one on one time to go over poses i had a tough time with in class. she says she taught this one to the harvard rug by team no problem. tricky poses like "crow" help with balance. but they also give teens skills they can use in every day life. >> each pose that is more challenging, like crow pose, that gives them a little bit more confidence. >> reporter: poses like warrior also build confidence while strengthening the legs. mary kaye believes a more

confident kid is a stronger kid, overall. now i'm ready for that football game - for teen kids news - i'm tyler -- >> reporter: even pro-football teams are using yoga to help their game. to learn more about stretching out and chilling out - check out mary kaye's website buddhafulkids.com. i'm gabe. and that's sports this week. >> reporter: is your town or city good for kids? every year a list is released that names the hundred best communities for young people. to see if your town makes the grade, go to americaspromise.org and click on the interactive map. the winning cities are judged on how well they fulfill what are called the five promises: caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education and opportunities to help others. it's not about having money so much as it is about having priorities. we'll be back with more teen kids news -- the brainchild of this man!

narrator: every day is a brand-new journey of discovery for your baby. and when that journey is by car, the latch system will help keep them safe. it's easier and makes your car seat secure. so your baby's journeys will be safe and sure. to learn more, visit... so, april... yeah? you know, your charger is still using energy when it's plugged into the wall, right? yeah, but that's not my charger. i don't even have a cell phone. [ballad ringtone playing] uh-oh. um... [music stops] heh. announcer: millions of kids are using their energy wisely.

welcome back. our show "teen kids news" is actually the brain child of this man. his name is al primo and he's a legend in the news business. back in the 1960s he changed the way tv news was delivered. >> so what was news like in the '60s? and what did you create that changed that? >> well, back in the '60s it was was one anchorman reading the news to one big large audience and that anchorman was a man, and it was a white anglo-saxon protestant man and what eyewitness did was to bring reporters onto the set, and create a family of news pepeopl and what that really meant was it elevated the importance of their story, and increased the audience view of what was really going on. >> the eyewitness news format caught on quickly with the viewers.

what was so special about eyewitness news? >> well, i think the most special part of eyewitness news was the fact that we had a group of multi-talented reporters, ethnic reporters, we had women, we had minorities, and we had really a news family, and it was really something that connected very well with the audience. >> pretty soon, wabc's new news format was beating the competition in new york city. and faster than you can say - eyewitness news - stations all across the country began copying it. >> and what we were trying to do is create another family for those people that were living all by themselves and to, give them the news with a group of people that they could relate to, many of them of their own race and color, and, and that really gave people an idea to connect with these people and to have something to be comfortable to watch, and learn about what's happening around them.

>> never one to rest on his laurels, mr. primo saw the need to create a special news program for teens. >> well anytime i was watching television, the only times you saw teens were when they were involved with sex, drugs and rock and roll, and i thought, there's got to be more teens out there doing positive things. >> it takes courage to be a comeied want. especially when you're still a kid. >> a girl in my class said i should try this out and once i tried it, i really liked it! >> brianne and ivory live in seattle they are members of the delta society. an organization of people and their pets who are dedicated to helping others. >> and the idea was that perhaps teens seeing other teens deliver the news would get them out of their own world and into the real world and to see that there is a big world out there with people doing things, and that they could be a part of it -- and are a part of it! >> is there anything you would change about the way news is delivered on local stations today?

>> well, i think that there's a need to be a little more aggressive in terms of their coverage, you know to be a little more original reporting. that's what i would try to do more original reporting and more stories that are a bit longer and a bit more in depth. >> what has been the impact of the internet on journalism? >> well, i think the internet has been a very big boost to television and to news in general. we're seeing a lot of citizen journalism, where people are contributing their own stories and putting their own blogs up and putting their videos on youtube and things like that and i think it's more, you know, it's a very important component. so i think the future for television news and newspapers is still very very good and very strong. >> what advice would you give to young people wanting to break into broadcast news? >> well, broadcast news is a no business. most of the time you ask people for a job or you try to get into it and they say no, but you need to be persistent.

i always think that no means no for today, and that tomorrow's another day, and you have another opportunity. you have to keep going back and sticking with it, and eventually you will achieve your goal. >> you can learn all about al primo's interesting life and the exciting changes he made in changing the face of tv news in his book, "eyewitness newsman." >> i wrote the book so that people who read it will have a better understanding of broadcast news and more importantly that students who are interested in broadcasting will have a guide and to understand it better - there's a lot of information in the book that teaches you how to be a better reporter and teaches you how to be a better journalist. >> well, thank you, al, i certainly thank you for teen kids news! >> you're welcome, jessica.

i'm a single mother with two kids, i work a lot. i come home tired. you do miss a lot. he dropped out for a whole month. sometimes i would talk to him and he wouldn't even turn around

and look at me. i would just get frustrated because any way i would talk to him, it just doesn't go through his head. i didn't give up because there is always hope that they will snap out of it. announcer: give your teen the boost they need to graduate. call 1-877-for-a-kid or join us at boostup.org for tips and advice. this week's "word" is unilaterally. u-n-i-l-a-t-e-r-a-l-l-y.

it means imposed by one side only. as in, the big country unilaterally issued a treaty that all the smaller nations had to accept. he's known as the man with the golden flute and she's his talented partner. sam puts these world-renowned performers on the spot. >> with over 30 million records sold and a busy concert schedule, they are two of the leading flute players on the planet. >> sir james and lady jeanne galway, their names may sound like royalty, but this knighted flutist and his wife are anything but stuffy! they were kind enough to answer your questions. >> reporter: hi, sir james, my name's gabe, a fellow flute player. tell me how you got started playing the flute? >> well, i learned the flute as a little boy with my uncle and then i went to london, went to school in london to a royal college. then i went to paris conservatory to where i came back and got myself a job. that's how it all started.

>> hi, lady jeanne, my name is jacob and i'm wondering - what is your favorite thing about playing the flute? >> the thing i love about the flute is the sound of the flute and my favorite thing is uh, just being able to play it everyday. >> hi, my name is gordon and i'd like to ask if either of you ever get stage fright while you're performing? >> i don't get nervous. i actually never did because i, i was always very well-prepared to do things. i never turned up unprepared. and being unprepared makes you nervous i think, for anything. >> hi, my name's eliza and i was forced to play an instrument when i was younger so i was wondering from both of you if you think it's important to make a kid play an instrument? >> sometimes maybe you're playing the wrong instrument. maybe that's why you don't like it because instruments are really different. perhaps -- for instance, i can't play the piano, but i can play the flute because my fingers don't work right on a piano. so, maybe if you're forced to play one instrument maybe you can just try something else like the trumpet and then you can keep your mom happy. >> hi, my name is max and i was just wondering if you guys felt that musicians like yourselves

that play the kind of music you do get the same respect from you know, kids and adults that uh, pop artists do? >> it's a bit different because um, you know, pop artists do a different job and they're sort of idols of, popular idols you know? what we do is a rather specialized thing and the people who come to hear us know what we're all about. >> hi, i'm rachel. >> i'm perinas and we were wondering what the best part of being a professional musician is? >> it's actually my hobby so i get paid for it that's the best part about it. you get paid for doing what you like. >> did you hear that? getting paid for your hobby? now if only i can just get someone to pay for my shopping hobby. that's all for now -- thanks for tuning us in. >> we'll be back in a week with more "teen kids news."

have a good one!