(upbeat rock music) - [Gabriel] Coming up next on "NewsDepth," the federal government and Texas have different approaches to border security.

A school in Colorado is embracing learning in its students' native languages.

We get motivated to move our bodies more.

(upbeat electronic music) And we learn what all the buzz is about with the cicadas this year.

(upbeat electronic music) "NewsDepth" is now.

(upbeat electronic music) The State of Texas and the federal government are clashing over border security.

I'm Gabriel Kramer.

Thank you for joining us.

The Texas Department of Public Safety has installed razor wire along the shores of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass in alignment with Governor Greg Abbott's heightened measures along the border.

But last week, the US Supreme Court ruled that federal border patrol agents could remove the razor wire installed by Texas authorities to deter migrants from illegally crossing the border.

This is just one of the issues causing Texas and federal authorities to disagree over how to handle border security.

Jenn Sullivan has more.

- [Jenn] A showdown at the US southern border between local authorities in Texas and the federal government over how to handle the influx of migrants.

- We're here under the Governor's order in order to protect Texas.

- [Jenn] Texas Governor Greg Abbott continuing what's known as Operation Lone Star, a nearly three-year-old initiative to deter migrants from illegally crossing into the US, from adding extra troopers like Sergeant Cordova at the border, placing floating barriers in the river, passing laws that allow state and local law enforcement to arrest migrants who enter Texas illegally, and the latest, installing razor wire along the banks of the Rio Grande.

Despite these obstacles, migrants like this man, still trying to cross.

(Edwin speaking in foreign language) - [Jenn] He says he just wants to surrender and ask for asylum.

On Monday, the US Supreme Court ruled federal border patrol agents could take down the razor wiring, the decision further fueling the divide between Texas and the federal government over who has the authority to secure the border.

The Department of Homeland Security saying, "Rather than helping to reduce irregular migration, the State of Texas has only made it harder for frontline personnel to do their jobs and to apply consequences under the law."

Meanwhile, migrant crossings continue.

- [Sergeant Cordova] We're getting high crossings from different parts of the world.

- [Jenn] Just this past Monday, a law enforcement source familiar with the operations on the ground said border patrol agents apprehended about 4,000 migrants.

In mid-December, those daily numbers were closer to 10,000.

- Thank you, Jenn.

Now, in Colorado, Denver has seen an influx of migrants.

A migrant is a person who moves from one place to another, usually to find better work.

And more than 2,400 new migrant children have started school there since last July.

Most of these students come from Venezuela.

One school, that's taken nearly 100 of them, has had to make adjustments for their curriculum.

Rachael Krause has the story.

- Eyes.

- [Students] Up.

- Voices.

- [Students] Off.

- [Rachael] Inside Bryant-Webster.

- [Alex] I want everybody going to letter A in your workbooks.

- [Rachael] Alex Nelson's fourth-grade class starts on subtraction.

- We have 3,601 - 589.

What's in the one's place?

- [Rachael] But this year.

- What do we need?

- [Rachael] Their school has been more focused on addition, particularly migrant children.

- The vast majority of them are coming from Venezuela.

Their stories are remarkable.

- [Rachael] Principal Brian Clark says throughout the year, the number of new students has actually multiplied.

- [Alex] So when we first came, it was really exciting to see like, "Oh, we have like 20, we have 30 new students."

And then as it became 40, 50, 60, 80, 90 new students, then it was a little more like, "Okay, now, what are we gonna do?"

- [Rachael] At this bilingual school, for most kids, class is taught in both English and Spanish.

(student speaking in foreign language) - [Rachael] Helping new students feel at home.

- [Alex] I think a lot of families really appreciate that their students are able to do learning without having to try and figure out English all day, so that's been really nice.

You know, they also really do want their children to learn English so that they can, you know, participate in everything that they need to here.

- [Rachael] And like their new students, teachers and staff are adjusting too.

- [Alex] They're translating their lesson plans and their curriculum materials.

They're making sure that they're meeting their students' needs even if they don't speak Spanish fluently.

- [Rachael] For some, the journey to Denver can be traumatic, so school can be a safe haven.

- [Alex] Luckily, we have an excellent mental health team here who's really stepped up and formed support groups for students who have experienced similar traumas in their processes in arriving here.

(Alex speaking in foreign language) Everybody repeat (speaks Spanish).

(students speaking in foreign language) - [Rachael] Halfway through the school year, Clark says the flow of new students hasn't slowed.

- I would say maybe about five students a week.

- [Rachael] So they're borrowing desks and rearranging furniture around DPS to make it work.

- We are preparing to, you know, fill every seat in the building.

- [Rachael] That can make planning for next year tricky.

- It's hard to know exactly how many students we're going to have.

(Alex speaking in foreign language) - [Rachael] So the staff at Bryant-Webster are ready to keep adjusting to ensure every new edition feels at home.

- Even though it's been hard for everybody, they're rising to the occasion and that's been awesome.

One person get a Chromebook.

Go.

- Thank you, Rachael.

This next group of students have spent a lot of time volunteering to help refugee families in Ohio, and they're this week's A+ Award recipients.

When I think about my winter breaks from when I was your age, I remember laying around playing video games, watching TV, hanging out with my friends when I could.

It was always a great time.

Well, these seven students, all from Bay Village, decided to come together one Friday afternoon and give back.

They spent the day volunteering at the May Dugan Center, located in the Ohio City neighborhood in Cleveland, packing food and clothing for newly-arrived refugees from the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

The families, all of whom recently arrived in the United States, are coming from areas of the world that have been impacted by war, natural disasters like earthquakes or floods, or famine.

A famine is when there's an extreme shortage of food.

When the families arrive, they rarely know anyone and usually can't bring their belongings with them.

They have to rely on the kindness of people who donate money, clothing and things like dishes and toys.

They get food from places like the food bank, or even the United States government.

These students spent a few hours one Friday over break doing all kinds of things to help the families.

Elyse told us that she spent most of the morning packing bags of food for the refugees.

She explained to us that each family got three bags of food.

The food included meat, almonds, a whole lot of vegetables like peppers and potatoes, fruit like lemons and avocados and some canned goods.

She told us that the families are really grateful for the support.

(upbeat electronic music) Reese told us that she felt really proud to help out and that it was a great way to get focused for her swim meet that night.

We hope you had a great swim meet, Reese.

Sam and his sisters, Claire and Anna, helped by organizing donated clothing and household goods like plates and cups for the families.

They told us that they really thought it was important for the new families to be able to set up their new apartments and houses so they could feel at home.

Michael told us that his favorite part of the day was playing Roblox with Mahdi, who is an eleven year old from Afghanistan.

The boys used the chat feature as a translator.

"NewsDepth" is really proud of you.

Keep up the great work.

This week's A+ Award goes to the May Dugan Center volunteers from Bay Village.

Okay, grab your favorite jersey because we're gonna be talking about sports.

The University of Evansville kicked off a new event that could become an annual tradition.

Last week, the men's basketball team held a sensory-inclusive game.

Sensory inclusive means the environment was designed to accommodate people with sensory needs or processing issues.

As Liz Desantis reports, one of the players got the idea from his younger brother.

- [Liz] Brantley Myers is his brother's biggest fan.

- He's gonna be really famous one day.

- [Liz] The eight year old goes to every single University of Evansville basketball game to watch his brother, Tyler Myers, play.

It didn't take long though for his older brother to realize that he had trouble sitting through some of the games.

- He was having a hard time with over-stimulation.

And I always wanted to do something about it and so I started doing research.

- [Liz] That's when Tyler learned that one in six people in the US dealt with some sort of invisible disability.

He started the nonprofit, Sensory Inclusion, to do something about it.

- It gave me a platform to really share my love for my brother and to help people like him.

- [Liz] Two years later, the freshman guard is hosting the Ford Center's very first sensory inclusion night complete with dimmed lights and free bags with sensory-friendly gear.

- We wanna set a standard of normality.

We want everyone to accept the individuals and be able to wear your headphones out and have your fidgets and not really think of anything of it.

- [Liz] Brantley is pretty proud of his older brother.

- [Interviewer] How do you feel about that, knowing he did that?

- Happy.

- [Liz] Tyler's family aren't the only ones who are excited though.

Amanda Cason says the inclusive event makes it easier for both her sons to have a good time.

- My son, if it's too loud or overwhelming, it's a little hard to get him to want to come.

So it was exciting to see this and try it.

- [Liz] With both her boys happy, that means Cason is finally able to relax and enjoy herself too.

- Seeing things where the community is working together to support kids that have special needs in any way whatsoever is a really cool thing to see.

- Great job, team.

You've heard about skiing and snowboarding, but what snow skating?

It's a new sport that's gaining momentum across the US and around the world.

Terri Russell talked to a Nevada man who turned his love for the sport into a business.

(snow crunching) - [Terri] Kurt Zapata says he gets converts one skier or snowboarder at a time.

- What is that?

What are you doing?

What do you call it?

(snow crunching) - [Terri] It's called snow skating, a sport Zapata picked up in the early 2000s and soon started designing his own snow skates.

(snow crunching) - [Kurt] Seven ply hard rock maple.

- [Terri] His first prototype hangs on the wall.

Notice there are no bindings and just a leash to keep the snow skate attached to the rider.

He says he continues to custom make snow skates under the name Minus Seven here near the Donner Summit.

We met him last summer where his boards were displayed near the highway.

But it's the wintertime where he gets his most inquiries and devotees.

- But ultimately, do you think I could do it?

And I always say, "I have more.

You know, would you like to try this out?

I just wanna spread the stoke."

- [Terri] A former skateboarder, he says this is the closest to that sport only on the snow.

He uses words like carve, ollie, cheesewedge.

But the best part about snow skating, he says, is this.

- It's all your control, your connection to the board.

You're reading the mountain, you're reading the snow, you're reading yourself, you're reading the board.

You're just immersed in the whole experience.

(snow crunching) - [Terri] The sport is popular here in the US and in Europe where Zapata says he's sent his custom-made skates.

Snow skating is starting to pick up momentum in Japan as well.

Meantime, he continues to craft what he says is the perfect carrier.

- Whoa, ho, ho, thank you, Terri, that seems like a lot of fun.

I love trying new sports.

As a matter of fact, I have an idea for your writing assignment for the week it's to invent a new sport.

Me and my friends invented a sport in the fifth grade, it was kinda like a mix between basketball and soccer in a big open field, I miss that actually.

Anyway, you can use our inbox form online, or send us an email to tell us about your new sport and how to play it.

Last week, we talked about what winter would look like on Mars.

And we wanted you to tell us what you thought winter would look like on your favorite planet.

Let's see what you came up with by opening our inbox.

(upbeat electronic music) Zamirrah from John P. Parker Elementary School in Cincinnati is ready to play in some space snow.

Dear "NewsDepth," winter on Saturn would be amazing.

It would be very cold, but I love cold weather anyway.

It would be fun, and instead of my brother throwing snow on me, I'd be all by myself.

(message whooshing) Joey from A.I.

Root Middle School in Medina, that's where I went to middle school, thinks winter would be very cold here on this planet.

Dear "NewsDepth," I think winter on Jupiter would fall extremely fast because of its gravity.

The lowest it could for temperature is -275 degrees.

(message whooshing) Honor from Midview West Elementary in Grafton talks about year-round space snow storms.

Dear "NewsDepth," I love your videos.

My teacher, Mrs. Rogerson, and the rest of my class watch them every time you make them, they are amazing.

My favorite planet is Uranus.

It's the coldest planet in our solar system.

In the winter there, it would be a snow storm every day.

And also why Uranus is my favorite planet is because blue is closest to purple in the rainbow.

(message whooshing) Liam from Royalview Elementary School in Willowick describes a winter wonderland on this next planet.

Dear "NewsDepth," my favorite planet is Kepler-22b.

It would be a very snowy Christmas season.

And there would be some warm days during its harshest times.

Sincerely, Liam.

And Julia from Hilltop Elementary in Youngstown tells us some amazing facts about Pluto.

Dear "NewsDepth," my favorite planet is Pluto.

And I know that Pluto is a cold planet, so what I think Pluto looks like in the winter?

The mountains are covered in snow, especially the peaks.

I read online before that the average temperature is -232 degrees, that is crazy.

That's just one of the reasons why Pluto is my favorite planet.

Thank you to everyone who wrote in.

I think your letters are getting better and better each week.

Everyone who wrote in last week will have a chance to win some of our "NewsDepth" solar eclipse glasses.

We will randomly pick a few classrooms to send these to, so teachers, be on the lookout for an email from us in the next few weeks.

Okay, let's get back to the show.

A new bill making its way through the California Legislature could make kids' tackle football a thing of the past.

The idea is to protect children from serious injuries, including concussions, while they are still growing.

Tim Johns explains why some are for it and some are against it.

- [Tim] It's one of America's favorite pastimes, but for kids under the age of 12, tackle football could soon be a relic of the past in California.

It's all thanks to a new bill, authored by Sacramento assembly member Kevin McCarty, that's making its way through the state legislature.

- When we look at kids under the age of 12, tackle football is a high-risk sport.

- [Tim] Dr. Brian Feeley is the head of sports medicine at UCSF.

He says he supports the bill because of the elevated risk of concussions that comes with tackle football.

Feeley says these risks are especially heightened for young kids whose brains are in their most important stages of development.

Feeley says instead of tackle football, flag football is a far safer option.

Not everyone agrees with this bill though.

That includes some local coaches here in Oakland who tell me they fear that it will disproportionately impact young kids of color.

- We deal with a lot of low-income families, a lot of families that go through struggles and maybe not have a male figure at home.

- [Tim] Chewy Orr and Damon Gardner are the coaches of youth tackle football team, the Oakland Dynamites.

They tell me for teams like theirs, football is more than just a sport, it's a way to teach kids about things like friendship, leadership and camaraderie.

They also say sports besides football also carry the risk of injuries.

- You can jump in basketball, you can fall down, hit your head, get a concussion.

Look at the pitcher.

If you're playing baseball, they're throwing 90 mph at you.

- [Tim] And as for flat football, coaches Chewy and Damon say they don't think it's a suitable alternative.

- Flag football just doesn't carry enough kids.

We have 30 kids.

Flag football typically though, we'd maybe have about 15.

- Thank you, Tim.

Well, we wanna hear what you think.

Should tackle football be banned for young kids?

Jump over to our poll page to vote on the issue.

You can choose between yes, it's a high-risk sport, or no, it's fun for kids.

And come back next week to see the results of the survey.

Last week for our poll, we wanted to know which of the world championship snow sculptures was your favorite.

Out of more than 2,000 votes, the number one pick was a sculpture made by Team Mexico with 34% of the votes.

Coming in second place with 33% of the votes was the one from Team North Dakota.

23% of the votes went to Team Canada, and 10% of you said your favorite snow sculpture was the one from Team Turkey.

Thank you all for voting, as always.

In case you were curious, the official winner of the world snow sculpture championship was Team Canada, in second place, Team Turkey, and in third place, Team North Dakota.

So it turns out most of us aren't as active as we should be.

Okay, I don't expect you to go out and run a marathon, but let's try to move our bodies a little bit more.

To find a little more motivation for moving, Margaret spoke with Gina Shaffer, a certified personal trainer, to learn more ways to stay active.

(upbeat electronic music) - I have a confession.

Sometimes, I just like to sit around and be lazy.

Like I get home from work and head straight for the couch.

Okay, so maybe it's not that crazy of a confession.

But I know I should be moving more.

And it's not just me, a study from the National Institute on Aging found that beginning in elementary school, kids aren't moving enough, and it keeps getting worse.

By age 19, most teens are only moving as much as a 60-year-old, not cool.

(gentle atmospheric music) So to find a little motivation, I met with Gina Shaffer, a certified personal trainer from the fitness center at UH Avon Health Center.

I started by asking her what exactly is a fitness trainer?

(graphics whooshing) - We help people motivate to get in shape.

They wanna lose weight, we teach them how to lose weight.

If they needed to work on some of their issues, like a bad knee or a bad shoulder, so we help them learn how to take care of those things.

- And so what kind of science is behind being a personal trainer?

- Well, it's really a lot about physiology, anatomy.

Anatomy is, you know, the study of your muscles and bones.

And with physiology is like your cardiovascular system, your pulmonary system, how you breathe, how your heart beats.

- So you really have to know how your entire body works in order to help it work better.

- Pretty much, pretty much.

- And for someone like me, who sits at a desk most of the day, or for the students that watch, who sit in school all day, what would you suggest is a good way to start moving?

- Yeah, I mean if, you know, just start being aware of it.

You know, if you feel like you're sitting too long, you're probably sitting too long, so you wanna get up, walk around.

Start doing some things that you don't normally do, like maybe you always get driven places, maybe you could walk to a couple places.

You know, maybe you could take a walk for lunch.

Just get up and move around a little bit more than you normally do.

Get away from the TV, get away from the video games and start playing outside more.

- So I don't have to hit the gym and do a bunch of push ups and lift a ton of weights?

- It's not necessary, but it's great if you can do that.

But if you're not into that kinda thing, I'm sure you could move around more than you normally do.

- And so what's the benefit of just moving a little bit more every day?

- Well, your body becomes stronger.

You know, what we do is we work on our bodies a little bit, we stress them a little bit, we sleep and our body gets a little bit stronger.

So every time you stress your body a little bit, it gets stronger when you sleep at night.

So you wanna keep doing it and keep that more consistent and then you keep getting stronger, and stronger, and stronger over time.

- And you had told me that there's some studies that show that it actually makes you happier and smarter?

- Makes you happier.

It makes you happier and smarter.

It actually increases the serotonin in your brain and serotonin makes you feel happy.

So there's studies that show that people that exercise have a lot less depression.

So if you're kinda feeling blue a lot, then you might wanna go out and take a nice brisk walk, you'll probably feel a lot better.

- Awesome, well, I mean we probably shouldn't stand here much longer.

Let's get moving.

- Sounds good.

(laughs) (graphics whooshing) (earth squeaking) - Thank you, Margaret.

And Gina's right, my mood is always a lot better after I take a walk.

I enjoy spending time outdoors, but this spring, I might feel a little bit different because of all of the cicadas we're expecting this year.

The cicadas are coming like the world hasn't seen in more than 200 years.

(graphics whooshing) This spring for the first time since 1803, two groups of cicada known as the Great Southern Brood and the Northern Illinois Brood will appear at the same time known as dual emergence.

According to experts, some trillion cicadas will begin to appear in late April for about six weeks.

People living in the Midwest and the Southeast across 16 states will be able to experience the rare event.

After they emerge and molt, the males will start buzzing to find a mate and the noise can be louder than a plane.

(insect shrieking) The cicadas will eventually die off and it will be another 221 years before the two groups appear together again.

Now, Ohio is home to a diverse population of bugs.

Aside from the cicada, we can also find some praying mantis, and Ohio's state insect, the ladybug.

Let's join Mary in this week's Know Ohio to learn what all the buzz is about.

(upbeat country music) - Something creepy is crawling around the state.

Whoo, was that a spider?

I'll have to send News Cat to investigate.

Meanwhile, I'd like to tell you about a few of the hundreds of species of bugs that are flying, crawling, slithering and hopping around the Buckeye State.

One in particular even seems to rise from the dead.

Maybe over the summer, you heard this sound, (insects shrieking) it was the return of the cicadas.

These large-winged insects are best known for their loud buzzing noises and for their unusual life cycles.

When young cicadas, called nymphs, hatch from eggs laid on trees, they crawl into the ground and attach to the tree roots.

They feed on the liquid of the roots for several years, in Ohio, usually for 13 or 17 years.

Then they reappear above ground.

Here, they shed their baby skin to become adults.

You might still be able to find a couple cicada shells clinging to the trees.

Once their adult skin and wings harden, they set about to find their bug loves.

The adult male bugs make very loud buzzing and clicking noises that can be deafening when the bugs swarm together.

Of course, they're trying to find a lady cicada to reproduce with.

So many emerge at the same time that often people are afraid there's a plague.

But the insects are typically harmless to humans.

A bug that seems a little friendlier is the state's insect, the ladybug.

That's just its nickname though.

Its full name is the ladybird beetle.

(ladybug tinging) Pretty fancy, huh?

The insect was chosen in 1975 by Ohio lawmakers to represent the state.

It is supposed to be symbolic of the people of Ohio, friendly and proud but also hardworking and hearty.

And here's one last bug-eyed beauty, the Stagmomantis carolina, no, not related to dinosaurs.

The praying mantis is named after the way they hold their large front legs.

These legs have sharp tooth-like spikes on them that allow the bugs to clamp down on prey.

Farmers love them because they're good at keeping insects away from their crops.

The praying mantis is even able to turn its head from side to side.

Some species can grow up to five inches long.

And oh yeah, they are said to be lucky.

So if you spot a praying mantis, you just might be blessed.

(upbeat country music) (graphics whooshing) (earth squeaking) - Wow, I must be pretty lucky then.

A praying mantis was hanging out by my front door for a few days last year.

Thank you, Mary.

Okay, we're almost outta time for today, but we can't leave before checking in on NewsHound.

Let's see what he has for us this week.

(upbeat electronic music) (dog barking) Hey there, NewsHound.

Oh, you seem like you're in a really good mood today.

Look at that tail go.

(upbeat electronic music) You know, NewsHound, I've always wondered why dogs wag their tails, is it just to show that you're happy?

(NewsHound barking) Well, listen to this.

Animal researchers in Europe have a new theory.

The researchers studied wolves and dogs and found that wolves hardly ever wag their tails.

They think that dogs evolved to wag their tails because of humans.

Because humans reacted positively to tail-wagging, that trait kept getting passed out over thousands of years.

That's pretty cool.

So NewsHound, I heard you did a little research on a dog too.

What did you find this week?

Oh, it's a story about a dog who is a very important part of a basketball team.

To check out this air pup, click the petting zoo thumbnail at the bottom of this episode page.

(upbeat electronic music) (earth squeaking) Thank you, NewsHound, and great work as always.

Okay, now, that's a wrap for this week's episode.

But you know we always wanna hear from you and there are plenty of ways you can stay in touch with us.

You can write to us, we're at 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

Our zip code here is 44115, or you can email us at newsdepth@ideastream.org.

Plus, you can catch all of our special segments on YouTube.

Hit subscribe, if you're old enough, so you don't miss out on any of our new videos.

Thanks for joining us, I'm Gabriel Kramer and we'll see you right back here next week.

(upbeat electronic music) (earth squeaking) - [Announcer] "NewsDepth" is made possible by grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

(upbeat electronic music) (bright atmospheric music)