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 alzheimers disease. I didnt really know that much about alzheimers before my grandma had it. I kind of just knew that it made you forget things, it made you your shortterm 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 cant walk by herself. She cant go to the bathroom by herself. She cant eat by herself. Anything that anyone can normally do by themselves, she cant. Carol steinberg is the president of the Alzheimers Foundation of america, or the afa. Its mission is to help those dealing with the disease. Alzheimers disease is a brain disorder that primarily affects adults over age 65. Basically, whats 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 alzheimers is very difficult. Thats 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 youre coping directly with alzheimers disease, and this is a Creative Outlet for them. So alex created a video to tell about his familys experiences with alzheimers. Even though it is a true story, its 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 alzheimers. But alexs video also shows the positives in his familys experience. While there is no cure for alzheimers disease, there are ways to cope with it. Its really cliche, but laughter really is the best medicine, and when you laugh, like, things dont 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 whats 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 afas contest. His uplifting message earned the grand prize. Alexs video really stood out to us because he found hope amidst a very dark disease. He portrayed the humor, the moments of meaning in someones life. And teens and Family Members really need to try to find ways to connect with their loved ones despite the persons decline. I would say for other teens with a Family Member with alzheimers, i would say its 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 youll in the long run appreciate it. And its 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. Its a way to learn more about alzheimers. Its also a way to connect with others going through the same things. Theres even advice on how to start your own chapter. You can find a link on our website. Car crashes are the numberone killers of teens. Thats why the National RoadSafety Foundation wants you to keep your hands on the wheel, your eyes on the road, and your mind on driving. [ horn honks ] coming up, ill tell you about an organization that helps Wounded Soldiers in a unique way. China launches a mission to the moon. Its the first time it will land on the surface using a rover named yutu, which will have a telescope set up to survey the moons geological structure and the cold plasma which surrounds the earth. This is an unmanned mission. China sent an astronaut into space for the first time in 2003. Nations from around the world make a global effort on world aids day. [ uptempo music plays ] the mission to create awareness about the h. I. V. aids pandemic. The Obama Administration took part by draping a large ribbon in front of the white house. Its a way for family and friends to remember loved ones who lost their lives to the disease. More than 25 Million People have died from h. I. V. aids since 1987. Today at least 1 million americans are living with the disease. A Record Number of shoppers head out for the first shopping weekend of the holiday season. 141 million americans hit the stores and the web to start their holiday shopping. Thats up from 134 million in 2012. The amount of money spent not as high as analysts hoped. The National Retail federation estimates that shoppers spent 3. 9 less this year than in 2012. More than a dozen retailers stretched out their sales an extra day by opening up stores on thanksgiving. For teen kids news, david lee miller, Fox News Channel in the classroom. 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. Im 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 SergeantDe 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. Whats going to happen to me . But Staff SergeantDe Los Santos didnt 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. Its 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 SergeantDe Los Santos. He was introduced to handcycling. And he signed up for a marathon 26. 2 miles of fierce determination. 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 opportunities, by checking out the link on our website. Whether a soldier or a kid, the goal is the same. It doesnt matter if you run, walk, or roll towards the finish line. What matters is that youre able to show that youve got as much game as anyone. Its been called the spice of life. But adding too much to our food may be hazardous to our health. Ill have that story next. Its a Building Block of life itself, but too much of it can be very bad for your health. Now theres a nationwide effort to protect us from something we love to add to our food. Nicole has the story. Salt is everywhere. Its 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, id 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, theres 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 thats where new york citys Health Department comes into the picture. Its leading a campaign to help us all cut back on salt. The salt initiative is really a national initiative. Its led by new york city, but its 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 governments help. Its simple to choose a fruit instead of fries. But the salt initiative is taking aim at the salt we dont see. Almost 80 of the salt that we take in each day comes from packaged and restaurant food. So most consumers dont really have any control over the salt that they take in. Its already in the food when we buy it. Its not actually always the salt that you taste, so a muffin can have a lot of salt. When youre shopping for packaged food, check the label. Salt is listed as sodium. Its measured in milligrams. And you dont 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 youre 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 weve 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 dont 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 sheeps collar is being developed that does just that. It works by constantly monitoring the sheeps heart rate. When faced with danger, like a stalking wolf, the sheeps heart rate speeds up. That causes the collar to send a text to the shepherds cellphone to come quickly. Its technology thats good for the sheep and baad for the wolves. Green eggs and ham. Cat in the hat. One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. Bring back memories . Well find out when we return. Our state flags are more than just pieces of fabric. Theyre actually history books, if you know how to read 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. Its 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 youll 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 flags bold simplicity helped it win first place in a competition of americas 50 state flags. With flag facts, im brandon. Theres an insect from asia that may be invading the u. S. Its called the kudzueating stinkbug. Kudzu is a fast growing weed that covers bushes and trees. In fact, kudzu can kill its host plant because it blocks the plants sunlight. So, youd think that stinkbugs that eat kudzu would be a good thing. Theyre 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, its time to find out what teens think. Heres speak of the week. He was a part of everyones 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 its 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, ill 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 didnt turn out so well. They sound better than they taste. With speak of the week, im drew. Ill tell you why billings, montana, is called the magic city. Just about any place you visit in this wonderful country of ours, youll no doubt be fascinated by the local history. This next report is case in point. Welcome to billings, montana. Its one of the great frontier towns of the old west. Its also my hometown. Howdy. To help tell some of the history of billings is kevin kooistramanning. Hes 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 towns 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 mens 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 didnt 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. Its 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. Thats all thats left of that great inland sea. From the top of the rims, you can see presentday 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. Were 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 theres a place i long to be in theres a place i call my home youre a booming human city and youre really rather pretty billings, my city, my home and visitors are always welcome to sample our western hospitality. Im carrie for teen kids news. Thats our show for this week. Thanks for watching teen kids news. Well see you next time. Heres a shoutout to pr newswire for including teen kids news on their big screen in times square, new york city. Im gonna go outside and play some basketball. Want to shoot some hoops . Ii dont know. All right. See ya. Hi, sir rebrum. Im gonna go practice my field hockey. Want to come . Uh, maybe. Oh, okay. Hasta luego. Hi, sir rebrum. Are you coming outside to play . Im gonna be jumping rope. Im not sure. Im worried really . About what . Well, i want to have fun, but im not sure which activity ill like better. And if i pick the wrong one, i wont have fun. And if i dont have fun, i will have wasted an entire afternoon [ laughs ] stop worrying. Just get some fresh air and exercise. Try something new every day, and if you dont like it, well, you just get a brandnew chance to try Something Else tomorrow. Excellent idea. Ill take you up on your offer of jump rope. Hooray. Worry is not a fun game. Just leave it inside and go out and have a good time. Come on, sir rebrum okay welcome to travel with kids bahamas in this episode, we snorkel. Kayak. Do you see him sitting right there . Whoa thats big crack coconuts. You ready . Oh, no coconut juice on seamus try and get by on this Remote Island with no telephones or no tvs. [all moaning] what do you think, guys . Wait, come back [both screaming] theyll come around when they discover all the exciting activities there are here. Theres a reason these islands are called the family islands. And to me, its all the adventures in nature that bring Families Together and create memories to last a lifetime. From kayaking through mangrove tunnels