>> "teen kids news" starts right now, and we've got a lot to report. >> i'll tell you about a medical condition in teens that's common, painful, and often untreated. >> we hear about them in the news all the time, but what exactly is a diplomat? we visit the u.s. state department to find out. >> i'll tell you why there's a blindfolded woman on one of our state flags. >> i'll tell you about dinner companions we can only dream about. >> that and much more, so keep watching "teen kids news."

>> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm mwanzaa. >> and i'm livia. here's our top story for this week. >> headaches can be a huge pain, but for some teens who get an extreme type of headache, it's an even bigger problem. tyler has the story. >> when daniel beecher complained about constant headaches, people thought he was making excuses.t hehes were read more severe than normal. >> i had it for a week straight. i was having two a day. >> that was during the summer. then school started, and daniel's headaches began to really get in the way. >> i'd have to be in a dark room, away from light, away from noise, 'cause that only makes the headaches worse. so i really had to step aside for at least an hour and just let it subside. >> the headaches were affecting daniel's schoolwork, so he and

his mother went to the north shore university hospital's headache center. there, they met dr. noah rosen. the doctor discovered that daniel's headaches weren't just headaches. they were migraines. >> well, a migraine doesn't feel like a typical headache. it can feel like a throbbing and exploding -- a crushing pain. it can feel like nothing else that you've ever experienced. >> migraines also tend to occur on only one side of the head, and the biggest sign that you have them is if they interfere in your daily life. this all matched daniel's symptoms, but even his mother questioned them. >> i ignored it, probably, for a good year and a half. it started out when he went to camp, and i thought he was not adjusting well, so i said he was making excuses. but then, a year and a half later, i said, "eh, i think this is more than just an excuse." >> like many boys, he's been told that, first off, adolescents don't get migraines, and also that it's a problem only with girls.

and both of those are untrue. >> whis true is that girls are more likely to get migraines. boy or girl -- the pain can be really bad. >> i couldn't stay in school, and i couldn't concentrate, i couldn't spell. i had word-finding issues. and so i had to go home and go to the doctor. >> when we treat migraines, one of the most important things to keep an eye out for are the triggers of the headache. >> that means finding out what causes your migraines. some common triggers are... even if you avoid the triggers, you might still get migraines. in that case, a doctor may prescribe medication. unfortunately, studies show that most teens don't seek the treatment they need. >> when the pain is severe, it's not the right thing to ignore it, because ignoring the problem can make it a lot worse. and it's important that people go to their doctor so they can get the diagnosis and the appropriate treatment.

>> and with that treatment, life can go back to being normal. >> i don't have to worry about going out during the day and worrying if i'm gonna have a headache or not. >> if you think your headaches might be migraines, don't try to tough it out. get help. >> don't go away. we've got lots more still to come on "teen kids news." >> we'll be right back.

>> if you enjoy traveling, experiencing different cultures, and would like to represent the united states abroad, then you might want to consider becoming a diplomat. lauren looks into what a diplomat does and what it takes to become one. >> let's start with a quick american history question. >> the department of state. >> correct. while usually called the state department, the official name is the united states department of state. it was established all the way back in 1789. with headquarters in

washington, d.c., the state department is headed by the secretary of state, currently hillary clinton. its job is to oversee all our foreign relations. in fact, listen to how the state department describes its mission. that's quite a task. and to help the state department achieve those goals is the job of the u.s. foreign service. >> what we want to do is, we want to promote america's interests. we want to promote peace. we want to promote understanding. we want to make sure people around the world know what america is all about. >> assistant secretary hammer explained that foreign service officers are also called diplomats. they're assigned to work at one of the more than 250 embassies, consulates, or diplomatic missions the u.s. maintains in foreign countries. what's the difference between an

embassy, consulate, and a mission? >> they all seem to do the same kinds of things, but an embassy usually is in the capital of that country. it's our main representation to a foreign country. consulates are usually in the smaller cities. with regards to missions, missions are more sort of delegations that we have to a particular international organization. for example, in geneva, where there are a lot of u.n. agencies represented, we have what is called a mission. >> what's the role of the ambassador? >> as u.s. ambassador, that person is the representative of the country as the highest-ranking u.s. authority in the country that they are serving. so it really is quite an important job with tremendous responsibility. >> besides working with governments around the world, foreign service officers also help americans traveling abroad. >> and if something were to happen -- if you get in trouble or something gets stolen and you lose your passport -- then you

go to the american embassy, and we have consular officers there who are prepared to help you. >> itnot an easy job. diplomats need to be able to work well with people from different cultures and backgrounds. you need to be able to handle the pressure of being in the public spotlight and comfortable dealing with questions from the news media. and most of all, you're expected to spend much of your career living in a foreign country. while you might get lucky enough to be posted in a place like paris or london, you might just as well end up in a war zone. when we return, i'll tell you how you can join the foreign service.

>> assistant secretary mike hammer has been showing us around the state department, explaining the role of the u.s. foreign service. >> you get to represent the

united states and tell america's story. we have a great story. we're a great democracy. we stand for freedom. we are out there helping people. we're trying to make the world a better place. >> if you think you might want to consider a career in the foreign service, visit the state department's website. you can take a quick test that can help you decide if the job's right for you. here's an example of some questions. the test asks you if you would enjoy... >> yeah, that would be pretty awesome. i mean, you'd get to visit all different places and represent the u.s. i mean, i can't think of a higher honor than that. >> how about... >> i definitely would actually love to travel and see new places, and i think that it would be a great time. >> however, there are additional questions that show this career is not for everyone. for example, will you enjoy...

>> no. honestly, it would be difficult to not live next to your home -- next to your family -- and everything else, but probably not. >> could you... >> it would have to be for a short period of time. i don't think i'd be able to do it for many years. >> after answering all the questions, you'll get a score that should give you a pretty good idea as to whether or not you're suited for the foreign service. >> so, if you're a smart person, if you're interested in world affairs, i would encourage you to take this test, and who knows -- maybe the next thing you become is a diplomat, which is really quite fun. >> it's been said that to be a good diplomat, you need to be able to divide a pie into different pieces and make everyone think that their piece is the biggest. in the briefing room at the u.s. state department in washington, d.c., for "teen kids news," i'm lauren.

>> it's time to get your opinion in "speak of the week." >> if you could sit down and have dinner with any living person, who would it be? >> that would be steven spielberg, because someday i do hope that i can be a great film director one day, and i love all of his movies. i've seen almost half of them. and i just think his way of directing is excellent. and i would like to ask him a lot of questions about his career. and i hope that one day, i can have the same success that he did. >> it would be shingo yamamoto because he's one of my favorite japanese competitors in "ninja warrior," a tv show on g4. >> i would sit down to dinner with rapper lil wayne, because i listen to a lot of his music, and the words that he says are just so inspirational and uplifting, because he's had a

hard life, but he's turned it around, and i think that that's amazing. >> oh, that's a tough one, but emma watson. i'm really crazy about the "harry potter" series, and she's a really good actress. >> it would be emma watson from "harry potter," because i just loved her role in "harry potter." >> of course, with such amazing dinner companions, who'd have any appetite to eat? for "teen kids news," i'm katie. 

>> here's scott with this week's "flag facts." >> in 1886, france gave the u.s. a gift to symbolize friendship and independence. officially named "liberty enlightening the world," we call it "the statue of liberty," and she proudly stands at the entrance to new york harbor.

>> the concept of liberty is an important symbol for new york. >> the flag of new york comes from the state seal, and it features both liberty and justice. >> the roman goddess liberty holds a staff with a cap on it known as a liberty cap. it symbolizes freedom from slavery. a discarded crown at liberty's feet represents another type of freedom -- america's independence from england. the goddess justice is blindfolded to show that justice is blind to race, religion, and income. scales represent equality for all, while the raised sword points out the willingness to fight for it. >> in the middle of the flag, you see the hudson river, and on the hudson river are two boats meant to represent commerce. atop the state seal isn eagle sitting on the globe. the globe shows the western hemisphere, and that was meant to represent the new world and new york's important place as a port city in the development of the new world.

>> finally, the word "excelsior" encourages new yorkers to reach ever higher to achieve their goals. maybe that's why new york city has so many skyscrapers. just about everyone knows manhattan, new york, is called "the big apple," but did you know that manhattan, kansas, has a similar nickname? it's called "the little apple." with "flag facts," i'm scott. >> listen up. natalie has some great advice on how to "make the grade." >> as faithful viewers of "teen kids news," you know that over the past months, i've been giving tips on how to find a part-time job. after all, i have one. well, finding the job is only the first step. getting it is the next challenge. usually, the big hurdle is... the interview! okay, so, no need to panic. here's a few simple things to keep in mind. dress neatly. even if you're looking for work mucking out stables, you want to

make a good first impression. make sure you're not late. leave earlier than you need to, just in case something unexpected holds you up, like your bike gets a flat tire. shake hands firmly, even if you're a girl. speak clearly, and look the person directly in the eyes. that's important. be ready with the name and phone number of someone who has agreed to be a reference for you -- a teacher, neighbor, or someone from your place of worship. and decide before the meeting just how many hours you can handle a week. it's better to start with a smaller commitment and build up than to take too much on. the good news is that future employers and colleges consider getting a job to be a real achievement. and it is. i'm natalie, with "make the grade." >> if you're on a sports team, you probably think you're getting all the exercise you need. that may not be true. according to a study by san diego state university,

national guidelines call for 60 minutes of vigorous exercise a day. yet researchers found that most teens who play soccer, baseball, or softball, exercise heavily for only about 45 minutes. even with long practices, it turns out that teens stand around a lot, or they're working on skills that don't require intense physical effort. >> it's time for "word." one definition is real. the others are fake. see if you can find the real one. "hydrology." for starters, it's a noun. does it mean... [ bell rings ] hydrology is the study of the waters of the earth, as in "her courses in hydrology at college made her an expert in evaporation." here's a verb -- "evince." what does it mean?

[ bell rings ] give up? evince means "to make very clear." i intend to evince the meaning of "evince." how about "bogus"? is it... [ bell rings ] you got it right if you picked "phony," as in "there are a lot of bogus definitions in that word game on 'kids news.'" that's "word"! 

>> human brains tend to be bigger among people who live closer to the north or south pole. scientists now say it's not about intelligence -- it's about the brainpower needed to see well in the dark. so those folks have a little easier time getting around during the long, long nights. >> animoto.com -- it makes photos into movies. you start by uploading pictures and picking a soundtrack. animoto then automatically makes a custom music video with tons of professional special effects. you can make a 30-second video for free. if you want something longer, it'll cost 3 bucks. not only is this a cool thing to make for yourself, it's also a great gift idea. you could create short videos

for friends and family without even denting your allowance. i'm charlie for "teen kids news." >> this book report is brought to you by zonderkidz. >> for this week's book report, we're talking with bryan davis. he's the award-winning author of "diviner," the third book of his "dragons of starlight" series. hello, bryan. >> hello. >> so, tell us about the series. >> well "dragons of starlight" takes place in two worlds. one is a world populated by dragons who are having trouble. they have to have this gas called pheterone to survive, and it's running out in their atmosphere. the other world is a world populated by humans. so one of the dragons goes to this human world through a portal, kidnaps some of the humans, brings them back to his world, and enslaves them to mine for this pheterone gas. in the meantime, one of the slave girls is called a starlighter. she tells tales that come to life around her. and as they come to life in these ghostly images, the slaves are starting to learn how they

actually got there and some of the history behind it. so the dragons don't want that to happen, so if she tells those tales, she can be in big trouble. we have two humans from the human world who come to the dragon world to try to rescue the slaves, and that's how the whole series starts. >> without giving too much away, what happens in "diviner"? >> in "diviner," our starlighter, who's named koren, has to resurrect this fallen dwarf star called exodus. and she's told that if she resurrects this star, it will spread this pheterone gas around the atmosphere so that the slaves can be released by the dragon king. >> you're called "an american christian fantasy writer." what does that mean? >> well, what that means to me is that i'm a christian author who loves to write fantasy stories. now, my stories aren't overtly christian so that people feel like they're being preached at. i kind of take the legacy of c.s. lewis and how he wrote the "chronicles of narnia" and how he put themes in there like

heroism and sacrifice and love and courage in order to help people progress in their spiritual thinking and not feel like they're being nagged or preached at. >> what do you hope readers will take away from the series? >> my hope is that a reader will feel encouraged that they, too, can do heroic things and make the sacrifices that they need to make in order to help in their little corners of the world. >> what advice do you have for teens who want to become writers? >> the first one is to work on the craft. one thing i see with a lot of teenagers is they have really great imaginations. they have wonderful story ideas. they just don't know how to get it down on paper. so, there's so much to learn, books to read on writing. i really recommend writers conferences where they can bounce their ideas off published authors and editors and maybe even other teen writers to encourage one another. they really have to work on

their craft to know how to put these great, imaginative ideas into their papers. so, work on the craft and never give up. >> okay. great advice. thank you. >> you're welcome. >> with "book report," for "teen kids news, "i'm laura. >> we'll see you next time on "teen kids news." >> thanks for watching. have a great week.

>> and a big thank-you to our troops in iraq for their service.