(bright energetic music) - Coming up next on "NewsDepth", around the world, protestors are unhappy with their leaders.

Nick gives us the basics of democracy.

Students missed college deadlines because of school delays, and Margaret tells us just how harmful electronics can be.

"NewsDepth" is now.

(bright energetic music) Demonstrators in all parts of the world are unhappy with their governments.

Hello everybody, I'm Rick Jackson.

Thank you for joining us.

Large protests have broken out in several countries, including Peru, El Salvador, and Israel.

In Peru first.

Grassroots organizations started a movement last year because indigenous communities felt disenfranchised in the current Peruvian political state.

Disenfranchised means someone had their vote and some rights taken away.

The protests in Peru have been going on for weeks now.

People are traveling to the cities to join the movement.

Many of the students at a university in Lima have spoken up.

Some of the demonstrators have turned violent though, and more than 1,000 people have been arrested.

In El Salvador, thousands of protesters have marched in that country's capital, San Salvador.

They are protesting the actions of President Nayib Bukele's government.

That includes making the cryptocurrency Bitcoin an official currency in the country.

They are calling the president's decisions anti-democratic.

Now across the ocean, in Israel, thousands have taken to the streets in their capital, Jerusalem, and other cities, including the major city of Tel Aviv.

Protesters there oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government and a series of planned judicial changes, which would let Parliament overturn High Court decisions and give politicians more power in appointing judges.

Hadas Gold reports.

(drums thumping) (people chanting) - [Hadas] In Tel Aviv's Habima Square, a left wing battle cry for democracy.

(protester chants) "Israel will not be a dictatorship," they chant, as more than 80,000 braved pouring rain to send a message to Benjamin Netanyahu's newly formed right wing government and its proposed reforms to Israel's judicial system, reforms that would give the Israeli Parliament the ability to overturn Supreme Court decisions and give politicians control over judicial selection, the most drastic changes to Israel's legal system since the country's founding.

- The government and Benjamin Netanyahu tries to change the system in such a way that there will be no control of the government decisions, so, which is a loss of democracy.

- Now the protesters here are telling me that they see these changes as threatening their way of life, threatening the rule of law, threatening minorities, and they also see these proposed changes as a way for Benjamin Netanyahu to ultimately get out of his ongoing corruption trial.

- Our equality and our democracy are in a really situation that it can be no democracy anymore, and that's why I'm afraid.

- [Hadas] But Netanyahu denies the judicial reforms are for his benefit and says these are long-needed changes, the will of the people who voted for his right wing government in the November elections, that the Parliament will hear all positions before implementing changes.

(speaks in foreign language) - [Translator] We are not weakening the judicial system.

We are strengthening all our systems, democracy and the rule of law that are all dependent on the correct balance between the three institutions.

- [Hadas] But the president of the Israeli Supreme Court attacked the proposed reforms in an unusually fiery speech.

(speaks in foreign language) - [Translator] Unfortunately, as the presented program comes into being, Israel's 75th year will be remembered as the year the democratic identity of this country was fatally harmed.

- [Hadas] Opponents of these changes say that without a majority in Parliament and without a written constitution, their best way of fighting back is a constant drumbeat of public outcry, (protesters humming) that they hope will stop what they see as ruin, not reform.

- Thank you, Hadas.

The government system in Israel is a Parliamentary Republic.

A Parliamentary Republic is a democratic form of government in which the most powerful leader is in the legislature, the prime minister.

Israel's prime minister was elected through the democratic process into the branch of government that makes laws, the legislature or Parliament.

Democracy in the United States looks a little different.

Our highest leader would be the president of the United States and the executive branch, but all three branches of government legislative, executive, and judicial, are equal.

Up next, Nick Castele gives us some democracy basics in this week's "Politics on Point".

- "This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

(pensive music) Abraham Lincoln certainly laid out an impressive goal in his Gettysburg Address, for the US to have a government that follows the lead of its citizens, a democracy.

And that's what we're talking about today.

(festive music) Democracy is a form of government in which the ultimate power belongs to the people.

You probably already know that the United States is a prime example of this, but we didn't invent it.

Originating in Greece, the name was created from two Greek words, demos, which means the people, and kratia, meaning the power of authority.

Democracy during this time, in 500 BC Athens, took the form of what is known as direct democracy.

That means all citizens are equally responsible to meet and settle all matters of the community.

It kind of worked at the time because the population was smaller.

Having everyone work it out on their own today would probably end up a mess though.

Over time, the concept of democracy changed and developed.

We figured out a way to narrow down the number of people in charge.

So, rather than a direct democracy, the US has what is called a representative democracy.

This means citizens elect representatives.

Think the presidents, governors, senators, and the like, from among them to be in charge.

The leaders are "of the people."

Unlike a monarchy or a dictatorship, democracy requires citizens to participate.

The responsibility to decide who gets the next chance to lead is up to the people.

We have the exciting task of voting to make our voice heard.

That's where "by the people" part comes into play.

People tend to elect leaders who align with their personal views of government positions.

The goal here is that they will lead with the voters' best interests in mind.

Hence, "for the people."

Unlike in a monarchy where leaders rule for life, or a dictatorship where the leader rules for life, or usually until they're overthrown, leaders in a democracy take turns.

Term limits say how long a leader can stay in office.

The president is only allowed two four-year terms before his or her term is up.

Democracy may not be as simple as Abraham Lincoln made it sound.

There's lots of working parts, like checks and balances, majority rules, and minority rights, political parties, that we don't have time to get into today.

But for now, if you can remember "of the people", "by the people", and "for the people", you've got the most important part down.

- Thank you, Nick.

Switching gears just a little bit now, some high school grads in Fairfax County, Virginia may have missed their chance to use National Merit Recognition Awards in their college applications.

Merit means deserving of praise and recognition.

These schools in Virginia, they didn't tell the students in time that they'd won the awards.

Now, the governor there, Glenn Youngkin, is jumping into the growing controversy.

Another Nick, Nick Minock takes us there.

- [Nick] 25% of the high schools in Fairfax County have announced they didn't notify several students of their National Merit Recognition in time for important college scholarships and admissions deadlines.

- It impacts their ability to apply to college for scholarships, and this idea of a golden ticket, as it is called, was withheld from them.

And it seems to have been withheld from them for the purpose of not wanting to make people feel bad who didn't achieve it.

And all of a sudden, we see it spreading around to the rest of Fairfax County.

- [Nick] Governor Glenn Youngkin said what started off as allegations at one of the most prominent schools in Virginia has revealed a systemic problem.

- They have a maniacal focus on equal outcomes for all students at all cost.

- [Nick] In a Seven-News interview, Youngkin blasted Fairfax County superintendent for spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on equity consultants.

- The reality is that we have a superintendent in Fairfax schools who has explicitly stated that her top objective is equal outcomes for all students regardless of the price.

- Here at Thomas Jefferson High School and Langley and Westfield High Schools, a Fairfax County superintendent has met face-to-face with parents, listening to their concerns.

- In each case, it's my understanding that the principal signed certificates and passed those to staff who distribute them.

- [Nick] Dr. Reid said as FCPS continues its own review, she is committed to being transparent about the key findings.

- Only 3% of high school seniors get recognized.

It is a huge issue.

- [Nick] As the Attorney General's investigations continue this week, Jason Miyares tells Seven-News, what is transparent about FCPS's failures are the impacts on students and their families.

- We know there's some schools that actually give a full four-year scholarship if you're one of those that get recognized as National Merit Award accommodation.

How you pay for college can be as stressful as getting into college.

The idea that, you know, sometimes these are 90, $100,000 plus benefits from scholarships that were never even told that these students were eligible to apply for, that's wrong.

- Thanks, Nick.

Well, that brings us to this week's poll.

Do you think school is fair for all students?

Head online to vote between "Yes, it's fair," or "No, each student has different needs."

Now, let's check out the results from last week's poll.

We ask you if you thought dance should be considered a sport, and wow, it was a close race, watching the results come in.

But eventually, 62% of you said, "Of course, it's a sport," while 38% said, "Hmm, not quite a sport."

Okay, moving on to some techy news.

Perhaps the next great leap in Artificial Intelligence or A.I.

is a chat-bot that can give the most human of responses in a controversial way, even write entire essays.

The tech tool is quickly going viral and making believers of many folks, including in the tech industry.

Tom Foreman shows us just how intelligent this software can be.

(bright music) - [Tom] Allowing cars to drive themselves, composing songs that mimic popular artists.

♪ I feel for you ♪ - [Tom] And producing this digital painting that took the top award at a Colorado art show.

This is all the work of Artificial Intelligence, computers that don't just do what they're told, but in a sense, think, learn, and create.

And right now, ChatGPT is rattling the AI world, turning out stunningly humanoid writing.

Just ask Douglas Rushkoff, a renowned author and professor of media culture.

- It is writing better than most of my students write at this point.

You know, the college freshmen.

So yeah, I am impressed with that.

- How does it work?

ChatGPT has been filled, in a sense, with a massive amount of information.

Imagine the biggest library you can, then programmed and trained by humans to process and spit it out in conversational phrases.

So, ask for 1,000 words on the early days of automobiles, and in seconds, it responds, "In the late 1800s and early 1900s, automobiles were relatively primitive by today's standards, and were primarily used by wealthy individuals or businesses."

It's not perfect, but it can debate, compose essays, solve math problems; well, that looks right; write computer code, answer follow-up questions, even admit mistakes.

And all that means ChatGPT, or more advanced AI like it, could replace people in all sorts of positions.

- This could potentially save time and resources, but it could also lead to a loss of personal connections and a decline in the quality of these types of interactions.

- [Tom] We know that, because everything Rushkoff said just there was written by ChatGPT, when asked about potential problems with itself.

- The answer it gave me about the dangers of GPT, that sounded like a pretty good television guest to me, you know?

(chuckles) - Thank you, Tom.

Now, let's open up the chat to all of you who are watching.

For our "Write to US" this week, we want to know what you would ask a coder about their job.

You can send in your questions through an inbox form online and next week we'll hear the answers from a professional coder herself.

But for now, this is a perfect time to read the messages you sent us last week.

Last week, we ask you to tell us about a landmark that made your neighborhood unique.

Let's take a trip around Ohio by opening up our inbox.

We had a lot of letters this week, starting with Harper from Richardson Elementary in Cuyahoga Falls, who likes going by a special bush.

"Dear NewsDepth, a landmark that I have in my neighborhood is a bush shaped like a heart and it's by a grocery store, and there's a bucket of flowers by it, and people walking by can grab a flower.

I love all the different flowers on the bush and it brings me joy when I see it."

Carson from Gateway Middle School in Maumee, Ohio wrote, "I have two landmarks in my neighborhood.

One is the Wolcott House and the next is my personal favorite, is the House with Four Pillars.

An author lived there and I love writing.

Overall, I have two landmarks in my neighborhood and they're both super cool."

I like looking at unique houses, too, Carson.

Aaliyah from Sterling Morton Elementary School in Mentor sounds like a real historian.

"A landmark in my neighborhood and county is President James A. Garfield's house.

It's a two-story house with many modifications because it also doubles as a museum and shows many parts of Garfield's life.

One fact is that James A. Garfield lived in Ohio."

Mason from Muraski Elementary in Strongsville said, "Dear NewsDepth, in my community, there is a rock that somebody chalked, and now the locals, including me, call it Rainbow Rock.

It is chalked red, yellow, and lastly green.

It lays in an open field."

And Hailey from Independence Middle School in Independence knows about the best hidden secret.

"A landmark in my neighborhood is this small waterfall by the city hall.

This spot is special to me because it is hidden on the side of the road and nobody even realizes it.

It is so pretty with lights on it at night."

Well, thank you to everyone who wrote in and those of you who sent some pictures.

Well, maybe some of you just learned about a landmark in your neighborhood you'd like to check it out.

Well, going for a stroll outside can improve your mood when you've been scrolling on social media for a little too long.

The Seattle School District is suing social media companies, now alleging their companies harm students' mental health.

Some psychologists agree.

They're seeing a rise in teen addiction and depression stemming from these apps, like the popular TikTok.

Vanessa Yurkevich reports.

♪ Money don't jiggle, jiggle ♪ ♪ It folds ♪ ♪ I'd like to see you wiggle, wiggle ♪ - [Vanessa] In just five years, TikTok has amassed more than one billion global users.

- [Girl] Cutting up all the veggies that are gonna go into the broth.

- Eyeballs around the world glued to the endless content and viral videos.

How long do you think you spend on TikTok every day?

- Two to three hours.

- Three to four hours.

- [Vanessa] But last month, the US government, along with more than a dozen states banned TikTok on most federal devices, citing national security concerns over its Chinese parent company, and the possibility it could pressure TikTok to hand over personal data.

There is no public evidence the Chinese government has done that, but there is evidence of another risk: social media's impact on mental health, particularly among Gen-Z.

- Teen depression started to rise after 2012, so did self harm and suicide.

- [Vanessa] Dr. Jean Twenge says as smartphones and social media grew, so did the rate of depression among teens, nearly doubling between 2004 and 2019.

By that year, one in four US teen girls had experienced clinical depression, according to Twenge.

- So there's pro-anorexia videos there, videos that instruct people on how to cut themselves.

What the algorithm's trying to do is get people to use the app for longer, because that's how the company makes more money.

- TikTok in a statement said, quote, "One of our most important commitments is supporting the safety and well-being of teens, and we recognize this work is never finished.

We continue to focus on robust safety protections for our community, while also empowering parents with additional controls for their teen's account through TikTok Family Pairing."

♪ I follow you there ♪ Users of TikTok spent an average of an hour and a half a day on the app last year, more than any other social platform.

What is it that keeps you scrolling, even if you know, maybe you've spent one, two hours on it?

- Once you watch the one video, you're like, well, time to watch another.

So you just keep doing, it's like a cycle.

You don't realize that the time is passing.

- [Vanessa] That's exactly what happened to Jerome Yankey.

- I'd definitely done all nighters on TikTok before.

I had just been scrolling until the sun came up.

- [Vanessa] He says he lost sleep.

His grades suffered.

He lost touch with his friends.

He lost his sense of self.

In 2021, he deleted the app.

- Getting disappointed by my own life is never something I wanna be doing, especially when I have the power to change it.

But I just wasn't 'cause I was spending hours on this app.

- We have like a lot of cool resources that we give to our audience for free.

- [Vanessa] But Hannah Williams proves the positive side of TikTok, allowing her to create a business, Salary Transparent Street, providing pay transparency to her nearly one million followers.

- I think TikTok definitely helped just because they have such audience reach potential.

- [Vanessa] She hopes TikTok's algorithm works in her favor.

- Helping people in marginalized communities is the only reason I am doing this.

It's my entire mission.

- TikTok has recently rolled out a tool that helps people decide how much time they want to spend on the app, because sometimes, you know, you look up from your screen, you're surprised by just how much time you spent scrolling or playing a game online.

Electronic addiction is when you just can't seem to get away.

For this week's Spot on Science, Margaret speaks with a psychologist about the problems that can come with too much screen time.

(bright music) - Have you ever thought about thinking?

Okay, it's enough to give me a headache.

But that's exactly what psychology is, the study of the brain and how it impacts emotion and behavior, and someone who does this professionally is called a psychologist.

They can work in all sorts of fields, from figuring out what kind of commercial can get me to buy candy, to how to stop me from fighting with my siblings.

Now, I invited psychologist, Dr. Jay Berk, to the studio to tell me about the area he focuses on: kids and electronics.

He's been studying why we can't put down our phones, or the video game controllers, until we've just gotten to that next level.

When it gets bad, it's called electronic addiction.

Take a listen.

- So, electronic addiction would be different than electronic usage.

So, let me explain.

I think it's important for people to understand.

Lots of people use electronics.

Electronics are part of everybody's life right now, and so people are having to understand that electronic addiction means you're having a problem related to use of electronics.

So a good way to say it would be you use the electronics despite negative consequences in your life from somewhere.

You're getting in trouble in school.

Your parents are saying you're on too long, and your grades are suffering, your friends are suffering.

That's a signal that you're having a problem, versus there's a healthy balance in your life.

You're playing a little bit of video games, you're still out with your friends, you're still playing sports, you're in arts, you're in music, drama, whatever you're doing, there's a balance.

That's the key.

- And it's important for kids who are younger to start making healthy habits so that it doesn't spiral out of control.

What are some tips that you have to make healthy habits when it comes to electronics?

- Well, I think, so the goal is, is that the kid is able to set a limit that they're gonna manage themselves, which I think is key for anything.

It's like, "I'm gonna do my homework on my own."

You know, "I'm going to exercise on my own."

So it's, if he's setting a limit and you're not staying to it, that's a problem.

Now, some of you kids out there might wanna think about this.

It's a fun question.

What's the original video game?

You're young.

What's the original video game that was out there?

- Ah, Pac-man?

- Pac-man, it's older than Pac-man.

- Pong.

- Pong, excellent.

So Pong had three turns, boop, boop, ball back-and-forth.

Pong had three turns.

So now one of the things you're seeing is there's no end point to video games.

So when your mom says, "Come down for dinner," and "I'll be down after this game," that could be three years from now.

In Pong, it was very different.

- [Margaret] Right.

- So the games are designed to be more addictive.

So for kids to know, addictive means you have a harder time stopping.

Some of you that are playing games might see this, which is, "I don't want to get off the game because the game's gonna penalize me by blocking me from the game for a certain amount of time if I get off."

And that's important because they're psychologically set up to do that.

They don't want you quitting in the middle of the game.

- So it's important to remember that you're playing a game.

You wanna outsmart it, in knowing that it wants you to keep playing.

- Well, outsmart it.

So for example, if your friends are on the game, you don't want to quit because your friends are on the game.

So, being able to say to your friends, "No, I have to get off.

I have to get my homework done," that's what we're looking for, Kids that can manage that kind of thing because it's like, "Oh, my friends are still playing.

I don't want to get off.

I don't wanna finish my homework."

Then it's 10 o'clock at night.

Homework's not done.

They're falling asleep in school during the day.

That's a problem.

- Definitely, definitely.

Well, thank you so much for coming in to chat a little bit about this.

- Well, I appreciate the opportunity to talk.

- Thank you, Margaret.

Yeah, it can sometimes be hard to break a habit like that but our brains will thank us if we can minimize our screen time.

So, what better way to do that than by helping somebody else, right?

At Westerly Elementary School, Mrs. Woodburn and Mrs. Mahall's fourth graders have a long standing tradition of helping those less fortunate.

The Bay Village students made 11 blankets from scratch for students at Halle Elementary in Cleveland.

They even prepared holiday skits to perform for their peers at Halle.

Well, the project is much bigger than the fourth graders helping others.

The Bay Village Kiwanis Club provided the financial support the students needed to buy the materials for making the blankets.

The Kiwanis Club is an international organization that works to help children.

Now, Garrett told us that they made the blankets out of fleece material.

Ben told us that his blanket was made from the dyed fleece and multicolored fleece.

The students walked us through the process of making a blanket.

They told us that they had to really apply their math skills when they measured the materials.

Elise explained that they had to use rulers to make four-inch cuts along the cloth.

"After the cloth was cut, they tied the large pieces of fleece together, which made a cozy double-sided blanket," Amelia added.

Well, their community service doesn't stop there, though.

The fourth graders also make and sell key chains with the help of their first grade buddies at Normandy Elementary School to help support Fill This House, which is a program intended to help children aging out of foster care.

They also make designs and sell note cards to help support the Village Project, which is an organization that helps families affected by cancer.

This is an impressive group of rockets, isn't it?

"Well, it's important to help other people even if there's no rewards," says Jillian.

Mrs. Woodburn told us that she's very proud of how mature her students are and their commitment to mentoring their first grade buddies.

Mrs. Mahall added that the students are very goal-oriented and that the job of the teachers is to give the students the opportunities they need to meet those goals.

So this week's A+ Award winners are Mrs. Woodburn and Mrs. Mahall's fourth graders at Westerly Elementary School, for going above and beyond with their commitment to community service.

We are so very proud of you.

Good work, too.

Okay, it's finally time for our Petting Zoo.

Let's check in with our fluffiest correspondent.

NewsCat, are you ready for us?

(taut music) (animal howls) (cat meows) Okay.

Just as I suspected.

Napping on the job.

Are you really taking a brain break?

Come on, you're sleeping.

Okay, get up.

There you go, that's better.

Wow, what'd you find?

A story about a monster-sized cane toad.

It was discovered in Australia's Conway National Park.

To find out just how much this amphibian weighs, click the Petting Zoo button on our website.

And as always, thank you, NewsCat.

(mellow techno music) Well, that's gonna do it for us, but we do want to hear from you.

We always want to hear from you, and there are plenty of ways to stay in touch with us.

You can write to us.

Our address right here, 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

Our zip code is 44115.

You can email us if you'd like, newsdepth@ideastream.org, or get those screens back out, you can tweet us.

Our handle is @NewsDepthOhio.

Thank you as always for joining us.

I'm Rick Jackson.

We'll see you right back here next week.

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

(indistinct) Featured in NewsDepth funded by the Ohio Broadcast Media Commission.

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