(energetic music) - Coming up next on NewsDepth, the holidays are here and that means it's shopping season.

We get a tour inside a cryptocurrency mine.

Margaret has some tips if you're stressing out over finals week.

And Mary has a holiday tradition with an Ohio connection.

NewsDepth is now.

(energetic music continues) Holiday shopping is breaking spending records.

Hello everybody, I'm Rick Jackson.

Thank you for joining us.

Gen Z appears to be more eager than other groups when it comes to hunting for deals at the mall.

Gen Z stands for Generation Z, that's anyone born between the late '90s to the mid-2010s.

So most of you watching would be considered Gen Z.

In today's consumer watch, Jenn Sullivan has a closer look at what economists say is behind that and why Gen Z seems to be unbothered by the inflation that's eating up more of their money this year.

- [Jenn] What inflation?

And what possible recession?

The gloomy economic headlines (bright music) apparently not worrying one group of excited shoppers this holiday season, Gen Z.

That's young shoppers born between 1997 and 2012.

And industry experts say they're leading the pack this 2022 holiday shopping season.

According to mall operator PREIT, which owns shopping centers primarily on the East coast, Gen Z shoppers were out in force Thanksgiving weekend.

A trend expected to continue.

- They've grown up with technology and shopping online.

It's nothing exciting or new to them.

- [Jenn] The National Retail Federation says overall more consumers are returning to malls and in-store shopping this holiday season.

And Gen Z is having a high turnout.

- There's much more optimism in spite of the challenges on inflation and price pressures.

I think people are really ready to be out there.

- [Jenn] The NRF estimates nearly 123 million people visited brick and mortar stores over the Black Friday and holiday weekend.

That's up 17% from last year.

And when it comes to clothing, industry experts say Gen Z is very picky about brands.

- There definitely is a shift among the Gen Z generation regarding fast fashion.

They recognize that it's not as good for the environment.

- [Jenn] And that's great news for young entrepreneurs like Camila Romero, - Tiger Print.

- [Jenn] Whose clothing brand caters to a Gen Z customer base.

- I'm happy to be a part of that mentality and that wave that's been happening in the fashion industry.

- So why should we care about this group of consumers?

Gen Z is among the fastest growing groups in the country along with millennials.

Together, this demographic is expected to become 70% of the population by 2028 versus just 60% today.

That, according to a note from Cowen Equity Research.

But people who haven't done their Christmas shopping yet will be happy to hear this next story.

Inflation is falling (bright music) on some merchandise according to the CEO of Walmart.

If you planned on buying a toy, sporting goods, or apparel for loved ones, you might not have to spend as much.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates all three categories are way below the 7% overall rate of inflation.

Walmart's CEO, Doug McMillan, says there's still inflation in those areas, but definitely not as much as in other categories.

The reason?

Retailers misjudged consumer demand.

They have excess inventory piled up.

Inventory is a list of all the goods in stock.

Well, since we're on the topic of money, cryptocurrency is also on the decline, at least according to some experts.

Cryptocurrency is digital currency that use encryption algorithms to keep it secure.

BITFRONT just became the latest exchange to close down after failing to overcome turmoil in their industry.

Despite a host of negative headlines though, crypto isn't going anywhere just yet, as Anna Stewart saw when she visited a crypto mine in Sweden.

- Well, this is what a cryptocurrency mine looks like.

Just rows and rows of computers.

In fact, there are 116,000 here.

As you can hear, it sounds pretty noisy.

And I can tell you that it feels really hot up close to these machines.

There's a about 30 degrees centigrade difference between here and here, under one of the big vents where you're getting the cold air from outside.

But you can feel the energy that is coming out of these, enough to power as small city.

One of the reasons crypto mining can be just so controversial.

So that is why Hive Blockchain Technologies has set up shop here in the north of Sweden.

Come take a look why.

Outside, some 500 meters along the River Lula is a hydrogen power plant, a source of abundant, cheap and renewable energy.

- This is the energy that is powering the Boden community and our data center that is located just nearby.

So this is also one of the main reasons that Hive has decided to bet on the Boden community.

- Given Europe is in an energy crisis, there will be people that think this is renewable energy.

Should it be used for crypto mining?

Shouldn't it be used to power people's homes and industry?

- Yeah.

- Keep lights on in hospitals.

What do you say to that?

- [Johanna] There are not enough inhabitants or companies to use all the energy that is available.

So the community of Boden was inviting data centers to come to use this renewable stranded energy, really.

- One crypto mining company, not just turning a profit in the midst of a crypto winter, but also trying to forge a greener future.

There are nearer term plans to turn the excess heat from the crypto mining into something more fruitful.

- In the spring, we're gonna support a Swedish company called Agtira.

So they're building a huge big greenhouse just at the back of our data center.

And so we will have tomatoes and cucumbers grown all year round in the very north of Sweden.

- Wow, that's incredible.

- It's really incredible if you look- - Bitcoin grown food.

- It's like crypto cucumbers.

- [Anna] Crypto cucumbers.

- Thank you Anna.

Now let's turn back to some holiday shopping.

Some special needs students at a Virginia elementary school are celebrating with some toys that look just like them.

A gift from a group doing their part to make sure they see themselves in their toys.

Patsy Montesinos reports.

- [Patsy] Christmas came early at Virginia Heights Elementary School, with wrapping paper and lots of smiles.

(people laughing) The operation that brought the magic to the school is similar to a workshop at the North Pole.

Roanoke College professor Francis McCutcheon transformed into Santa Claus for the project, Toy Like Me.

- [Teacher] For you all.

- [Patsy] In 2016, she started modifying gifts to fill a gap in the market.

- When we modify a toy, we use household items.

A lot of these hearing aids are just buttons.

- [Patsy] Those small modifications build a sense of belonging for kids with disabilities.

- [Francis] When the kids see them, they see themselves.

It's the most marvelous transformation in a toy.

- And she has brown, tan.

- [Patsy] Teachers such as Anne Travers are the reindeer helping to deliver the perfect present for each child.

They tell the group what changes are needed and help select the right toy.

- And it's so special and impactful for them to see something that they love that looks similar to them and has equipment like they do.

- [Patsy] Elementary student Reah says the surprise made her really happy.

- It look like me because it got glasses and hearing aids.

- [Patsy] Roanoke College students are Santa's elves who spend hours sewing, gluing, and bending toys.

- Superheroes can have hearing aids, too, just like these kids.

And it makes them feel like a superhero.

So it was really great to see.

- [Patsy] Even though Christmas only lasted one day, the message these toys send will last forever.

- Kwanza, Hanukkah, and Christmas all happening over the next few weeks.

No matter what holiday you celebrate this time can be stressful.

In today's Health minute, Natalia Garcia has more with a licensed therapist on how you can manage holiday stress.

- [Natalia] It's the season of joy, but holidays can also bring stress.

- Whether you're someone (festive music) who loves the holidays, you dread them, or you're somewhere in between, I think we can all agree that it does bring up a lot of different feelings.

- [Natalia] Licensed therapist Jody Baumstein says you can manage holiday stress by tuning in and acknowledging how you feel.

- We know that stress will find its way out, so we wanna stop and really slow down and pay attention to what we feel.

And also notice that there might be shame or judgment attached to it.

And we want to get rid of that.

- [Natalia] Baumstein says if certain holiday traditions are causing added stress, change them or ditch them all together.

This season, give yourself permission to set realistic expectations.

She says setting boundaries is also critical in helping to manage stress.

- For you, that might mean that you say no to certain activities.

Maybe you and your family have a certain limit.

And when you reach that you don't take on any other things.

- [Natalia] Being mindful can help ease anxiety.

Baumstein says to use healthy coping skills.

Slow your breathing, and use your senses to bring you into the present moment.

- We know that when we practice gratitude, it improves our psychological wellbeing.

It improves our overall health, both mental and physical health.

- Thank you.

Natalia.

Still feeling overwhelmed?

Stressing out over an upcoming test or maybe a big game at school?

Margaret Cavalier speaks to Dr. Lisa Rameriz in this week's Spot on Science.

They explain how stress can actually be a good thing and what to do when it turns toxic.

- Confession.

Whenever I have to film one of these, my hands get a little sweaty, my breathing gets funny, and my heart starts racing.

(heartbeat pounding) Basically I get a little stressed out.

But luckily that stress has some science behind it.

And stress can even be a good thing.

To learn more about it, (upbeat music) I called up Dr. Lisa Rameriz from Metro Health.

She's a child psychologist.

I started our call by asking her what exactly is stress?

(energetic music) - So, stress is actually a good thing.

Stress is really meant to help us understand when something is wrong or we need to do something just a little bit differently.

And so stress might be realizing that you have a test coming up the next day.

It might be realizing (bright upbeat music) that maybe you hear somebody opening the front door and nobody's supposed to be coming over at that time.

And so your body starts to realize, Okay, we need to do something differently to either get us out of danger or do something to study for that test that we do well.

And so our bodies are really, really familiar with stress.

And it's often a good thing.

Sometimes, though, stress can get to be too much and that's when it becomes a problem.

- And can you tell me a little bit about that and what's going on with your body when maybe the stress is too much?

- Sometimes I'll think about it kinda like a swimming pool.

So, positive stress is like when you jump into the shallow end, your feet touch the ground, maybe you swallow a little bit of water, you know, but you get right back out and you're jumping back in again.

Tolerable stress is that point between the deep end and the shallow end where your feet are not quite touching the bottom.

But you're close enough where you can get back out, especially if there's someone to kind of help give you a hand and say, "Come back into shallow end."

Toxic stress is that point where we are in the deep end of stress.

Our feet are nowhere near the bottom.

And there's really not a lot around us to help us.

We feel like there's not a lot to grab onto.

- And our brain is releasing kind of chemicals, right?

- Yeah, there's a little part of your brain called the amygdala, that's the alarm system.

And so it sends out something called cortisol.

And it's actually a steroid.

So imagine, you know, somebody's running at you in the park and your brain sends out alarm system.

That cortisol, that steroid, (alarm blaring) it's kind of telling your body, we gotta run fast, we gotta scream loud.

We gotta listen to everything, you know.

Make sure so it makes everything sharper, which is great when we have to get out of a dangerous situation or a stressful situation.

But if we're so long in that state, again, it takes away from all the other parts of our body.

We can't focus very much because we're still worried about paying attention to everything around us.

And so, you know, there are ways to shut off that cortisol and that alarm system that we call coping.

- And can you share some of those coping tips that you have?

- Yeah, sure.

So one of the best ways really that we know is by leaning on important and meaningful people in your life.

Being able to talk about the things that stress us out is really important.

If we don't have that, you know, there are ways of trying to take care of our health, 'cause the healthier our bodies are, then the better prepared it is for stress.

And we can eat healthy, make sure we're getting our sleep, do a little bit of movement, you know.

And try and keep ourselves healthy that way.

Also, a really basic way that we can do anytime is trying to calm our bodies down.

And I'm sure you've heard people recommend things like yoga or deep breaths, things like that to calm down.

- Yeah, and I hear a lot of the times people, if you're kind of freaking out, they say, "Take deep breaths."

So kind of what's up with that?

Does that actually help?

- Yeah, so, yes and no.

So I will say deep breaths are amazing.

And doing a correct deep breath is really powerful.

And it can calm you down even in the most stressful situation.

But most people don't do deep breaths the right way.

People focus on filling their lungs, but actually don't realize that the more important part of deep breaths is emptying your lungs.

So do it with me, Margaret.

We're gonna take a deep breath in.

And then I want you to see how long you can have a nice deep out breath.

And when you're blowing out, imagine that maybe you're blowing out a birthday cake or blowing bubbles, okay.

So let's do it together.

Let's take our deep breath in.

Let's blow out as long as we can.

(bright upbeat music continues) What was that like?

- I feel my shoulders relax, and I just feel a lot more comfortable.

- Yeah, emptying your lungs really helped your body realize, "Wait a minute, we don't have to stress out so much.

"We can actually relax a little bit."

And doing that deep out breath tricks that amygdala part of our brain and turns the alarm off, even if it's just for a little bit, right?

One more thing you can imagine is if you're doing your bubbles, you can imagine some of your worries even going into them, floating away and popping away from you.

So that's kind of the visual way to see if you can get rid of some stress.

- I love that.

I already feel a lot more relaxed.

Thanks so much, Lisa, for chatting with me today.

- Yeah, me too.

It was great, thanks for inviting me.

- Thank you, Margaret.

I definitely feel calmer after using that breathing technique.

Now for this week's poll, we want to know which stress coping tip will you try?

Head online to choose from talking to someone I trust, taking care of my health, or deep breathing.

For last week's poll, we ask you if you liked watching any sports.

Top answer was football.

34% of you said you never miss a football game.

25% of you said you like watching soccer.

Bet a lot of you have been following the World Cup.

19% of you don't really follow any sports on television.

17% of you must be big Cavaliers fans because you said you loved watching basketball.

And 5% of you said that hockey is your favorite sport to watch.

Now, last week we also asked you to send us a motivational message you'd like to send to your favorite team.

Let's see what you had to say by opening up our inbox.

(upbeat music) Nathan from Buckeye Elementary in Painesville starts us off with, "If I could give a team a motivational message, "I would pick the Guardians.

"I would say, '"When I grow up, "'I would like to play on the Guardians.'"

Mila from Summit Road STEM Elementary in Reynoldsburg wrote "Dear USA soccer team.

"You guys are my favorite soccer team.

"You guys make me so happy when I watch your games.

"You guys improve every game.

"You've been doing well that you made it "to the FIFA World Cup.

"Even though you didn't win every game, "you guys keep going, and look where you are now."

Corey from Rushwood Elementary in Sagamore Hills has this message for his classroom.

"Dear NewsDepth, "A motivational message I would tell my class "is never give up.

"Another thing I would tell my classmates is work very hard.

"One more thing I would tell my classmates is "don't think you're the best, do your best."

Lucy from Claggett Middle School in Medina supports her school team.

"This message is for my school team, "the Intergalactic Space Pirates.

"We win a lot when there are school activities "like canned food drives, "and that's because our team thinks about others.

"Keep up the great work.

"That is my motivational message to my school team, "the Intergalactic Space Pirates."

Great name there, Lucy.

And Parker from Copley-FairLawn Middle School in Copley is a big Browns fan.

"Go Cleveland Browns.

"Hope you grow all the way with Deshawn.

"You guys have a great team.

"I was at the Bucs/Browns game "and you guys had an awesome comeback, "especially against TB12."

Well, thanks for all those inspiring letters.

Okay, let's check out some holiday traditions, shall we?

The penguins at the Kansas City Zoo broke free from their enclosure.

Actually, it's part of one of the zoo's most beloved traditions.

Morgan Mobley takes us to the penguin march.

- [Morgan] There's nothing like a Sunday morning waddle through the zoo while being adored by people, young and old.

- A lot of penguins.

A hundred million.

- We have the penguin march during the cooler months where we have our cold weather penguins out for a jaunt about the zoo.

- [Morgan] Which penguin is the fan favorite?

Well, that's up for debate.

- The chinstrap is my second favorite penguin.

- Me, too.

- And she had purple.

- And then I like the the boy macaroni penguin with the blue bracelet.

- Oh, that'd be the king penguin for sure.

- [Morgan] Sometimes it's the little things that bring the greatest joy.

- He loves penguins, those are his favorite.

So even if it was a little cold today, but we decided to, you know, make it today.

And then I think it's worth it to see your son smiling, and, you know, being happy.

It's good, it makes me happy.

- [Morgan] If you miss today's march, no worries.

It'll be going on every weekend through February at the Kansas City Zoo.

- It's a guest favorite.

You know, I mean, it's the...

Especially raising those babies and getting to see the growth of the babies and how they change literally overnight.

They just grow in size.

It's incredible.

Thank you, Morgan.

(dog barking) Oh, NewsHound.

Okay, NewsHound has a holiday story for us, too.

Let's see what he has in the petting zoo this week.

(lively music) (dog barking) Hey there, NewsHound.

Are you taking a nap?

Where'd you learn that?

Okay, we still have work to do before going on break.

There, get up, that's a lot better.

Looks like your training with NewsCat's going great though, if you've got the nap down.

Okay, you found a story about a horse ranch with a very special holiday tradition.

To watch the full story, click the petting zoo button on our website.

Thank you, NewsHound.

A holiday tradition with surprising Ohio origins is holiday lights.

The first string of electric holiday lights was created by the inventor of the light bulb, from Ohio, Thomas Edison.

One of Ohio's first public displays of holiday lighting was way back in 1924 at Edison's General Electric Campus in East Cleveland.

They still do it.

I actually drove by there last week to look.

Mary Fecteau tells us how the displays continue to shine each year with this holiday themed Know Ohio.

(energetic music) - Next week we celebrate, or mourn, depending on how you look at it, the last day of fall.

And while the colorful fall leaves are long gone, we've replaced them with another spectacle, holiday lights.

The long winter nights are made brighter with this festive tradition, which we take very seriously here in Ohio.

No matter what part of the Buckeye state you call home, you're bound to have a park or zoo or just a really spirited neighbor with an amazing holiday light display.

Here in downtown Cleveland, one of my favorite light displays is just out the door in Playhouse Square.

But the light displays we're used to seeing weren't always possible.

Over a hundred years ago, festive Ohioans lit up their trees and holiday decor with candles, which, as you can imagine was a bit dangerous.

The first string of electric holiday lights was created by the inventor of the light bulb, Thomas Edison, who was born in Ohio by the way.

And one of Ohio's first public displays of these lights was in 1924 at Edison's General Electric Campus in East Cleveland.

The campus, the National Electric Lamp Company, or NELA for short, hosted elaborate displays of holiday lights to encourage people to buy them for their own homes.

Over 90 years later, the tradition continues.

This year's display includes over half a million twinkling lights.

And further down south, another historic site is known nationally for its dazzling display of lights.

I'm talking about the legendary lights of Clifton Mill in Clifton, Ohio.

Built in the early 1800s, Clifton Mill is one of the largest water powered grist mills still in existence.

But during the holidays, it's transformed into a winter wonderland with 3.5 million lights illuminating the mill and the surrounding area.

There's even a 100 foot waterfall of fantastic red lights.

Oh, sorry, I had to put my shades on to avoid being blinded by all that holiday spirit.

As you can see, we've definitely come a long way since the days of decorating with candlelight, and I hope your holiday is merry and most importantly, bright.

- Thanks, Mary, and happy holidays to you as well.

Well, the year is almost over, and Google has published its year end search list for 2022, which is a look back at the top trending searches of the year.

(energetic music) The number one trending search globally was Wordle.

The wildly popular web-based word guessing game owned by the New York Times.

Other top searches included Johnny Depp in the people category and the actors category, Novak Djokovic in the athletes category, and Ukraine in the news category.

Ukraine was also the third highest trending search overall, so it comes as no surprise that Time Magazine has named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy it's 2022 Person of the Year.

Time praised Zelenskyy's unwavering leadership during the Russian invasion.

Unwavering means strong and steady.

That was shown by his decision to stay in Kyiv, to his reassuring words during daily speeches to his country's citizens, plus his effort to rally worldwide support for the Ukrainian people.

Now, for our write in question this week, we want to know who is your person of the year in 2022?

Head online to tell us who you think deserves this honor and why.

It can be a public figure or someone you know.

And yes, you can also choose yourself.

You deserve some recognition.

And boy, this is a hard question to answer.

So many great people were so influential this year, but I think I would have to pick all the A+ award winners in 2022.

And let's not forget this week's winners.

You know, when I think back on high school, some of my favorite memories are the opportunities I had to work with my classmates.

Well, these students, representing both high schools in Marysville, Ohio, got to work together with classmates from all over their city (energetic music) to create a program to help out students in third and fourth grade in the city's elementary schools.

The Marysville High 5 REACT Club is this week's A+ award winner.

Now REACT is an acronym.

It stands for respect, equality, acceptance, communication and trust.

An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the first letters of other words and then pronounced itself as a word.

The club's members represent both Marysville High School and Marysville Early College High School.

The group participated in a national competition called Invent to Prevent that challenged them to create a plan to address hate or bullying in their community.

It probably won't surprise you to hear that our A+ award winners finished in first place.

The first place prize included a $5,000 grant to develop and implement their plan.

Now at this point, you're probably wondering what the plan was.

Well, let me tell you, it's impressive.

The members of the club created a program to help Marysville students in third and fourth grade deal with hate, bullying, and the social isolation that many students your age have been struggling with over the last few years because of the pandemic.

The team created a board game that can be used by students to help them get to know each other a little better, a curriculum that can help teachers, a mentoring program that allows high school students to work with younger students.

And they're even working on an app and computer game.

When we asked the team how they were able to develop such an impressive program, they explained that the club has smaller teams to help them reach their goal.

Each team has a focus.

And the members of those teams were specially selected because of their talents, skills, and interests.

So this week's a A+ award goes to the Marysville High 5 REACT Club for helping to spread respect, equity, acceptance, communication, and trust in their community.

Good for them.

And that's our show for this week.

We'll be going on break for the holidays, so the next time you see us, way in the future, January 12th.

Teachers, if you'd like to get a heads up on when we are on break and a tease of upcoming episodes, you can join our newsletter.

Sign up for online at ideastream.org/newsdepth.

And remember, you know, we want to hear from you.

That goes for all of you watching, students, teachers, and folks at home as well.

And there are plenty of ways (upbeat music) to stay in touch with us.

You can email us, newsdepth@ideastream.org You can send a letter.

We're at 1375 Euclid Avenue.

That's downtown Cleveland, Ohio.

Our zip code here is 44115.

Or you can Tweet us.

Our handle, @NewsDepthOhio.

Thanks for joining us all this year.

I'm Rick Jackson, we'll see you right back here next year.

(energetic music) - [Announcer] NewsDepth is made possible by a grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

- [Announcer] Today's Spot on Science is funded by the Ohio Broadcast Media Commission.

(bright music)