(upbeat music) - [Rick] Coming up next on "News Depth" a bone chilling, winter storm roars up the East Coast.

A member of the highest court in the land says, "See yah."

Plus, could your next substitute teacher be your mom?

And learn about a cartoon that's changing the face of television.

"News Depth" is now.

(upbeat music) It wasn't just a blizzard.

This East Coast storm was the bomb.

Hello everybody.

I'm Rick Jackson, thank you for joining us.

Nearly the entire East Coast folks from the Carolinas to Maine are digging themselves out after a winter storm Keenan pummeled the states with powerful winds and buckets of snow over the past weekend.

But this wasn't just your run of the mill blizzard.

Meteorologist the scientists who study weather are calling it a bomb cyclone, sounds intense.

A bomb cyclone is a powerful storm that forms in the mid-latitudes when cold Arctic air clashes with warmer air, the temperature difference causes the air pressure to drop and creates a cyclone.

This site load increases the storm's intensity, creating faster wins and even more snow.

If you thought bomb cyclone was a cool word, highlight, I've gotten even cooler one for you, bombogenesis, that's when a typical winter storm intensifies into a bomb cyclone.

Up next, John Lawrence takes us to ground zero of this explosive winter storm.

- [John] Millions of people from the Mid-Atlantic to the Northeast are digging out from a major winter storm that brought white out conditions, coastal flooding and hurricane force gusts.

- We like came outside and the wind was so bad we almost got blown away.

- [John] And while plow crews route and about in some spots, the snow was still too much for drivers.

It was a lesson some people had to learn firsthand.

- I always drop sister off, literally around the corner.

I came to look at the water 'cause I mean, it's all frozen.

All right (mumbles) and then I got stuck.

- [John] Boston, Philadelphia and New York were among the cities that set new snowfall records this weekend.

Some states including Maine could see up to two feet of snow from this storm.

- (indistinct) - Being able to get outside in the weather like this, being able to snow shoes, it's one of the things I love most about living in Maine.

- [John] While some made the most of this wintery blast.

- Today, it's a big winter day.

I'm having fun.

- [John] For others it was business as usual.

- We are open right now.

Yes, we figured a lot of people couldn't get out of the house.

So we made an effort to come out and get the place open so we could serve the community.

- Thanks, John.

So we just rattled off a lot of the scientific terms that meteorologists use to describe winter weather.

But when it comes to cleaning up after a winter storm, there's a different science at play on icy streets, chemistry.

Chemistry is a branch of science that studies what everything is made of and how it works.

And if you've ever spread rock salt on ice, you're witnessing chemistry in action.

Salt naturally disrupts the freezing process of water, causing it to melt at a much lower temperature.

And it takes a lot of salt to keep our roads safe and estimated 20 million tons of salt is scattered in the US every year, but ever wonder where it all comes from?

Up next, Liz Miller takes you underground.

And back in time to tell you the story of Ohio's salt.

(car engine roaring) - [Liz] When old man winter, where's his icy head there's one thing that keeps Ohio from becoming a virtual slip and slide, salt.

But where does it all come from?

The answer might surprise you.

- [Bob] Right now we're in the whiskey Island Mine 1800 feet below Lake Erie, over mining salt for the purposes of road deicing.

Last year, we mined a little over 3 million tons in a pretty mild winter, but in a normal winter, we'll do about 4 million pounds a year.

- [Liz] Ohio is one of the top exporters' of salt in the country.

And it's actually mined right under our noses in places like Cargill's Whiskey Island, Salt Mine, the 12 square mile mine last just off shore of downtown Cleveland, Lake Erie is the shallowest of the great lakes, but the depth of about 56 feet near Cleveland, the salt mine lies about 1800 feet under the lake.

- [Bob] We use a conventional drill and blast method of mining.

Once we blast the salt out of the ground, we go ahead and scoop it up and put it on the belt lines to be sent to the mill for processing.

- [Liz] A system of conveyor belts and elevators bring the salt to the surface.

Left behind are gigantic pillars of salt.

These support the weight of thousands of feet of rock and lake above the mine.

Engineers like Bob calculate the size and number of pillars needed to keep the mind safe.

But wait, let's back up a minute.

How did all this salt get here almost 2000 feet under Lake Erie?

To answer that question, we headed to Cleveland Museum of Natural History to talk to expert Harvey Webster.

- Well, it turns out that there's lots of rock underneath Lake Erie.

And if you started digging at the bottom of Lake Erie and you went through the sediments, you'd come to a variety of rocks shales, but as you go further and further down, you start encountering rocks like limestones.

If you get 1,700 feet below Lake Erie, you will encounter a formation of rock salt.

It's called the salina formation and it's actually layers of salt and other kinds of rocks that have one thing in common.

They were produced by being in a shallow sea, an ocean 408 million years ago.

When we think about what Ohio was like back in the Silurian period, 408 million years ago, it turns out it was wet.

We were under a shallow sea and all of the rocks that underlaid the city of Cleveland, no matter how deep you go, they were all deposited in water.

Now the curious thing is we always think, well, you know, Cleveland, Ohio has always been north of the equator.

It's been in a temperate location kind of forever, right?

And the answer is no, it turns out that north America, like all the other continents has moved across the planet.

And at the time of the Silurian, 400 million years ago, Cleveland, Ohio would have been about a thousand miles south of the equator in shallow tropical conditions.

- [Liz] So Ohio was tropical?

Oh yeah.

And covered in a shallow sea.

And its inhabitants are not the kind of thing you see strolling in downtown Cleveland today.

Eventually these tropical conditions and some overgrown coral Reeves caused the sea to dry up leaving the salt behind.

- And then we get saltier and saltier and saltier until finally the salt literally settles right out of that water informs rock salt.

And this happened thousands, tens of thousands of time.

And each time it happened, it would add a new layer to the rock column.

And so if you went to the Cargill Mine, and when you look at the walls, you'll see these alternating bands.

Each one of those layers is like a chapter in the history of the world right here in Cleveland, as it existed 400 million years ago.

- [Liz] The salt mine looks like another world.

And it really is one.

It's the remains of a world that existed long before man.

But even if you never get down to the mine, you'll still see pieces of this world scattered on icy roads all winter long.

- Thanks, Liz.

Okay.

Time to come back above ground where our country's highest court, the Supreme Court, will soon say goodbye to one of his long-time members.

The Supreme Court makes all the final decisions about laws that affect the entire country.

It has nine members called justices.

Justices are chosen or appointed by the president and the US Senate must agree with or confirm the choice.

Once the justices are chosen, though, they keep their jobs for the rest of their lives or until they decide to retire as justice Stephen Breyer announced he was doing last week.

Up next, MJ.

Lee tells us more about justice Breyer and who president Biden might select to fill his robe.

(indistinct) - [MJ.

Lee] Tonight, president Biden confronting a major decision about the Supreme Court.

Justice Stephen Breyer expected to retire from the highest court paving the way for the president to nominate his replacement.

One of the most coveted and momentous actions a sitting us president can take.

Appointed to the court in 1994 by president Bill Clinton, Breyer, a consistent liberal justice on the bench.

More recently, justice Breyer coming under intense pressure to retire.

Several names already in circulation as possible replacements for Breyer.

Among them, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a former Supreme court clerk for Breyer.

- When you become a judge, you take an oath to look only at the law in deciding your cases.

That you set aside, your personal views about the circumstances, the defendants or anything else.

- [MJ.

Lee] And California Supreme Court Justice Leandra Kruger.

- I think we tend to forget when we're in the outside world that really conversations about these very difficult cases are confined to a very small number of people.

- Thanks, MJ.

As you saw, president Biden is expected to make history by nominating the first black woman to the Supreme Court.

He says, it's an important move to make the highest court in our land look a little more like the people it serves.

While the Supreme Court is well Supreme, its power is limited and that's by design.

To find out why head online under this week's episode, you'll find a politics on point running through the three branches of the US government and our system of checks and balances.

Now, as we mentioned, last week, many people are getting sick with COVID-19 and that includes teachers with so many teachers calling off sick schools have run out of substitutes and now they're calling on members of the community to substitute for the substitutes.

(chuckles) Ed Lavin.xx (indistinct) takes us to Texas where students are finding out that their next substitute teacher might be mom.

- It's breakfast time, buddy.

- [Ed Lavin.xx] Breakfast with this stone family is usually served with a side of chaos.

- Kenneth get off grandmother's sewing machine, please.

- [Ed Lavin.xx] Getting their six school-aged children out the door isn't easy.

And on top of that today, Jan Stone is starting a new job, substitute teacher.

- Honestly, I don't know what I'm expecting.

I am petrified and excited at the same time.

- [Ed Lavin.xx] The latest COVID-19 surge has caused extreme staffing shortages at school districts across the country fighting to keep in-person classrooms open.

- What does Ms. Reed does?

- I don't know where Ms. Reed is today.

- [Ed Lavin.xx] In Hays county, south of Austin so many teachers are sick with COVID-19 or in quarantine school district officials or asking parents to become substitute teachers.

Jan Stone answered the call and this morning she's teaching second graders.

- Good morning.

How are you?

I am Mrs. Stone.

I am gonna be your substitute today.

- And as you're sitting in home and you're watching this latest surge and the teachers are calling in sick and staffing shortages.

Were you worried that your kids were gonna be sent home?

- Absolutely.

I look at the thing it's like, okay, not their class this week, not this class.

So yeah, I'm very concerned about that.

That totally derails life for us.

- [Ed Lavin.xx] One day last week, school officials here say they needed 455 substitutes, but could only fill 40% of the spots.

The staffing shortage send school administrators scrambling to figure out where to put kids without a teacher.

Haze consolidated school superintendent, Eric Wright says they're doing whatever it takes to keep the doors open.

- I talk to kids a lot and, and they just tell me that the quality of education is so much better in person than it was remote.

- [Ed Lavin.xx] In Oklahoma school resource police officers help fill in when teachers were out sick.

To keep schools open, the Oklahoma governor is allowing state employees to work as substitute teachers.

In New Mexico, the governor is expected to work as a substitute this week as she's pushing state employees and national guard members to fill staffing shortages as well.

- [Ed Lavin.xx] How close has it come to the point where, "Hey, we just need to shut everything down, we don't have the staff to keep going."

- Pretty close, but we've been able to keep our head above water.

- [Ed Lavin.xx] But it sounds like you're on the Razor's edge.

Like this could go either way on any given day.

- Yes, you're correct.

- Thank you, (indistinct).

You just saw parents taking over for teachers in the classroom, and now we wanna know what you would think.

Would you want your mom or dad's a substitute teach at your school?

Head online to vote.

Yeah, that'd be cool.

No, that sounds awful.

Or I need to think about it.

And last week we asked you should schools resume in-person learning?

The vast majority of you said yes, 39% actually said we need to be in school.

30% were a little more cautious.

You said yes, but only with some changes that leaves 31% who said, no, it's not safe.

Now we all know "News Depth" is your favorite show.

I'll take a round of applause.

Thank you.

But is there another TV show or maybe a book that feels oddly familiar to you?

Maybe there's a character that you can relate to or one that reminds you of a friend or a family member.

Up next, Gabriel Kramer tells us about a television show that makes him feel seen and explains why TV should look more like the people watching.

- When I was a kid, I watched the classics.

"Arthur", "Blue's Clues", "Mr. Rogers".

But for me, these shows were missing something.

- I've searched, land and sea for rocks that look like noses.

These are the very best.

- These look just like our noses.

How do I look (indistinct) Jelly?

- You look wonderful.

- This is "Jelly, Ben & Pogo".

- ♪ My name is Jelly ♪ - ♪ I'm her brother Ben ♪ - ♪ I'm Pogo, I'm a sea monster ♪ ♪ And we are all best friends ♪ - [Gabriel] It's a new PBS kid, short series about a sister, a brother, and their sea monster friend.

- Looks good to me.

- [Gabriel] And here's why I wish I had it as a kid.

- The seventh birthday is very important to us Filipinos.

- [Gabriel] Jelly and Ben are Filipino like me and the show has flashes of Filipino culture, food.

- Lumpia, sweet and sour sauce.

- It's a gala, one of the Filipino languages (speaking Filipino) and guest appearances from there, Lola, which is the, (indistinct) word for grandma.

- Thank you Apo.

- Thank you for everything you do for us Lola.

- It would have been great to grow up with these characters who lived like I did.

And I'm not the only one who feels this way.

- Yeah.

You like (mumbles) Filipino.

- [Gabriel] Tina and Rica is Emory and lady's mother, a pair of siblings like Jelly and Ben, Tina was born and raised in Ohio and now she's raising her own family in Ohio.

We're Filipino Americans make up a very small piece of the population fewer than 20,000 people.

- And that's the greatest thing about this is that it makes them feel more normal.

'Cause let's be honest, we live in Ohio.

My kids are minorities here, but if they can have a chance to look like, "Hey, I'm just like any other kid."

So that's why I like it.

It's just to make them show that they're not different.

- What do you think of my nose?

- Beautiful.

- We noticed that it was, you know, yeah.

They were Filipino family.

And then I was like, "Okay, we're watching all of these."

- [Gabriel] Diane Thompson is Ella Rose and Sebastian's mother, another sister and brother combo.

- When I grew up, you kind of were embarrassed about what kind of foods that you had.

You didn't wanna share it with your friends because nobody else had that kind of food around you.

When they see it on things like the TV, it's totally, you know, different to them, makes them feel more comfortable with it.

It makes them wanna share it with their friends.

- Mango.

- Putho.

- Several surveys suggest that the demand for diverse casting and TV and movies is growing and it's not just Filipino American kids who would benefit by seeing themselves on screen more black and brown characters, more LGBTQ characters, more diversity of every type.

Jelly, Ben, Pogo and the show's creator director, an animator Jalysa Leva are helping to meet that demand for diversity.

Hey there Jalysa.

So tell me JBP "Jelly, Ben & Pogo".

How did this all start?

- The whole reason I made "JBP" was because I was frustrated that we're seeing all these pitches crop up and not a single one had like real, authentic diversity in it.

And I'm thinking like, if it just has to be me like it, it has to come from someone from one of these communities.

- Well, obviously I'm a big fan of the show.

So thanks for hanging out.

- Thank you.

- Because it's so rare to see Filipino Americans on TV and movies.

It's so exciting when it finally happens.

I used to watch "Blue's Clues" as a kid.

Now the show has a Filipino host and Joshua Dela Cruz.

- Joshy.

- Lola.

It's her.

It's my Lola.

- [Gabriel] Pixar has a short film about a Filipino father and son called Float.

An apple made blush and outer space love story featuring Filipino main characters.

I'm gonna be honest.

I'm jealous the kids who are going up on the shelves though you don't have to be a kid to watch.

- Thanks, Gabriel.

Well, as you just saw with "Jelly, Ben & Pogo" Filipino kids are really able to see themselves in the characters.

And for this week's question, we wanna know what book or television show do you relate to and why?

Maybe the characters share your culture or look like you.

Or maybe they just have a similar personality.

Either way, head online to tell us about a book or TV show that lets you see yourself.

Now last week we also asked how do you stay connected to your friends, family, and community?

Here at "News Depth", we stay connected to you by opening up our inbox.

So let's take a look.

(bright upbeat music) Marlin from Sharon Hill elementary uses technology to stay in touch.

I stay connected with my friends and family through Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.

I use Facebook to talk to my family and the others to talk to my friends.

While David from Gates Mills Elementary stays in touch the old fashioned way.

I stay connected in my community by calling and starting a conversation with neighbors.

I also go to all the special parades in my community.

I invite friends to go to the pool and our community and library.

I really like my community.

Isabella from Nord Middle School hints at how she voted in last week's poll question writing.

I stay connected with my friends by having sleepovers and play dates and in school, which is why I think school should stay open.

I stay connected with my family by texting on messenger kids.

I stay connected to my community by playing in the snow with the kids and talking with the parents.

I actually went sledding with my neighbors last week.

B from Springdale Elementary has multiple ways she stays connected.

I stay connected to my family, friends and community by calling my friends a lot after school, I hang out with my family during the holidays.

I also ride my bike around the neighborhood and I say hello to my neighbors as well as walk home from school with two of my neighbors.

And Juno from Grant Elementary also stays connected while getting exercise, telling us my family stays socialized with our neighbors by playing outside with them.

It really helps me get my energy out.

My neighbors are my best friends.

Well, thanks for telling us about all the creative ways you communicate and stay connected and keep it up.

Well, speaking of finding new ways to communicate in this, week's "Know Ohio".

Mary Fecteau introduces us to a pioneering writer who created a whole new style of poetry.

It's Ohio and Langston Hughes.

Hughes spent his early years right here in Cleveland.

Even though his time here was difficult, he found a positive way to turn it into art.

(bright upbeat music) - You've probably heard of jazz music and jazz hands, but have you ever heard of jazz poetry?

It's a style of poetry that was influenced by jazz music.

And one of its pioneers was a poet with roots in Cleveland, Ohio.

His name Langston Hughes.

Langston was born in 1902 and he moved around quite a bit in his life.

He lived most of his adult life in Harlem, in New York city, but he spent his formative high school years in Cleveland.

Formative means something that has a strong influence on the rest of someone's life.

During high school, he lived alone in the attic of this house on the east side of Cleveland, his mom and stepdad had moved to Chicago for work.

So Langston had to fend for himself.

He once wrote this about that time in his life.

"The only thing I knew how to cook myself in the kitchen of the house where I roomed was rice, which I boiled to a paste.

Rice and hotdogs, rice and hot dogs, every night for dinner.

Then I read myself to sleep."

It was during this lonely time that he really started to get serious about writing.

Langston attended central high school, which isn't around anymore.

But at the time, young links and felt impressed to attend the same school that the millionaire J. D. Rockefeller had graduated from about 60 years before.

The school had a very good literary magazine.

But Langston noticed that there were no pieces in it written by African-American students.

He had been brought up to be proud of his African heritage and he wanted African-Americans to have the same opportunities as everyone else.

So he began submitting poems to the magazine and that's where his first works were printed.

Langston went on to write many volumes of poetry and also plays stories, children's books, autobiographies, even an opera.

His work often focused on the life experiences of African-Americans.

He wrote about the challenges they face because of prejudice and discrimination.

But in his writing, he also celebrated black achievements and culture.

That's where jazz poetry comes in.

Hughes's poetry it's known for having a jazz like rhythm.

And sometimes he would even read his poems accompanied by music.

Here he is performing his poem, "The Wheelie Blues".

(Hughes citing his "The Wheelie Blues" poem) Even though Langston Hughes is most closely associated with Harlem, he returned to Cleveland regularly as an adult, he works out several of his plays at the Karamu House Theater Company.

Here, they sometimes still perform his holiday play "Black Nativity" a retelling of the Christmas story with an entirely African-American cast performed with gospel music.

You can find other evidence of Langston's legacy around Cleveland, such as the Langston Hughes branch of the Cleveland public library and the Langston Hughes community health and education center at the Cleveland clinic.

Both of which are not far from the home where he once lived.

- Thanks Mary.

rom a leader in the literary world, we turned to a group of leaders at Firelands Elementary School in Oberlin.

They're a group of 15, fourth and fifth grade students are working hard to make their school community as good as it can be.

The Falkland leaders are this week's A-plus award winners for their leadership service and dedication to the community at Firelands elementary school.

Now the Falcon leaders are chosen by the staff because they demonstrate leadership responsibility and kindness.

"We get nominated by our teachers because they believe in us to help the school."

Carson told us.

Evelyn added that the students chosen are responsible and organized.

The teachers at Farlands elementary school have high expectations for the Vulcan leaders.

Principal Cho told us that the Falcon leaders have a long list of responsibilities throughout the year.

During the second quarter alone, they organize and advertised a food drive and a toy drive for the local communities.

Molly shared with us that the Falcon leaders also make all kinds of posters to help other students know about upcoming events.

"It's really an honor to be able to help the school."

Laila shared.

Justin and Reese shared with us that one of their favorite things about being a Falcon leader is to help students who are new to the school.

"We get to show them around, make sure everything is going okay."

Reese explained.

The Falcon leaders even helped with the morning announcements.

We look forward to maybe seeing them working here at "News Depth" someday.

Now, before we left Aiden and Ben reminded us that it's very important to always be responsible and to help out when you can.

They told us that when you help people, you can really make a positive difference.

I'm gonna remember that, do my best to help out when I can.

So congratulations to the Falcon leaders for taking the lead and earning this week's "News Depth" A-plus.

Well, inspired by the Falcon leaders news cat is looking to make a difference too.

Let's see what she's got for us this week in the "Petting Zoo".

(upbeat music) (cat meows) All right, 2, 3, 4, new Scott, get those paws marching to the computer.

That's more like it.

Looks like she fetched us a story about a caring canine.

Now, you know, news cat says she's not usually a fan of dogs, but for this rescue puppy, she's making an exception.

To find out why there's good boy, searching through an abandoned school, click the "Petting Zoo" button on our website.

Thank you news cat.

Now, you know the drill we wanna hear from you, all of you, each of you, and there are plenty of ways to stay in touch.

You can send a letter.

We're at 1375 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, our zip codes, 44115.

You can email us at newsdepthatideastream.org, or you can tweet us.

Our handle is @NewsDepthOhio.

Thanks for joining us this week.

I'm Rick Jackson.

We'll see you right back here, next week.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] "News Depth" was made possible by grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

(upbeat music)