Azia: Hey guys. It is Tuesday, September 29. I am Azia Celestino and Channel One News starts right now.

We are starting off today with Arielle, who has a look beyond Earth to the planet of Mars. Yesterday, NASA revealed new discoveries about the planet that are literally ground breaking.

Arielle: Yeah Azia, and before making the big announcement, NASA teased the world for hours with a tweet that read ‘Mars mystery, solved.’

Is there life on Mars? With freezing temperatures, a thin atmosphere and little to no oxygen the red planet has a rep for being unlivable. But yesterday, NASA scientists said there is strong evidence that Mars has salty water flowing on the surface of the planet during its summer months.

Jim Green: Mars is not the dry arid planet that we thought of in the past. Today we are going to announce that under certain circumstances, liquid water has been found on Mars.

Arielle: A discovery that could forever change how earthlings view our Martian neighbor.

Michio Kakuit: It changes everything. Because it means that this liquid water can be used for, perhaps, irrigation, drinking water, and even, rocket fuel.

Arielle: About four years ago, scientists began examining dark, narrow streaks on the planet that formed in the late spring, grew during the planet’s summer and disappeared in the fall. They suspected the streaks indicated the presence of flowing water, and then used data gathered from an orbiter to confirm their hypothesis.

Scientists knew that there was frozen water on Mars. But this new discovery of flowing water means humans going to Mars is closer than we think. It could also help scientists determine if there is life on Mars.

Green: We haven’t been able to answer the question, ‘Does life exist beyond Earth?’ But following the water is a critical element of that. We now have, I think, great opportunities to be in the right locations on Mars to thoroughly investigate that.

Arielle: More exploration is needed to determine the source of the water, and whether it helps support microscopic life on the planet.

Arielle Hixson, Channel One News.

Azia: Alright coming up, it is back to school after one of the worst fires in California's history.

Time to take a look at some other top stories making headlines.

1 | P a g e President Obama and President Putin of Russia came face-to-face last night for the first time in a year. Their meeting came after both leaders addressed the United Nations General Assembly.

President Obama used his speech to say any resolution on Syria’s civil war must include the removal of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Assad has been starving and waging war against his people who disagree with him. Two hundred and fifty thousand are dead and hundreds of thousands more have fled north to Europe.

President Barack Obama: There cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the prewar status quo.

Azia: The president's remarks put him at odds with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Putin said backing his ally and friend Assad is the only solution to defeating ISIS in Syria.

Russia has recently expanded its military presence in Syria, which is of concern to the U.S. military.

Next up, we head to California, where students are now back in school after a wildfire devastated their community.

It was like the first day of school all over again for these students in California’s Lake County community. Schools have been closed for the past two weeks because many were damaged when a wildfire grew out of control, scorching nearly 80,000 acres and burning down hundreds of structures, making it one of the worst in the state's history.

Aly Ferguson: It's been pretty crazy; a lot of moving around, a lot of different places. So, just adjusting and getting used to things going back to normal.

Azia: The fire is still burning, but the good news is that it is 97 percent contained.

Alright coming up, some teens who have got money on their mind.

In today's Generation Money, we went back into our archives to find the ultimate challenge: Teens taking over mom and dad's bills.

These teens thought that they could do a better job than their parents when it came to saving money and paying bills. And their families said, “Alright, give it a shot.” So we had them compete against each other to see who wins the wallet wars.

Kat: Hi I’m Kat, and I’m 17 and I’m excited to do this challenge.

Jess: Hi I’m jess. I’m 18 years old, and I’m very confident of taking over my family's finances.

2 | P a g e Eric: Hi I'm Eric Skyta. I'm 18 years old and I can't wait to see how much money I can save my family.

Shelby: It was day one of the challenge. Each teen sat down with their parents to learn about the family budget.

So, in looking at all of these bills and all these expenses, how much does Eric have to work with?

Mark: About $6,000 a month. Shelby: Eric, that's a lot of money, $6,000. Do you feel a big responsibility handling that?

Eric: I didn't expect it to be that much money per month. I was expecting more in the range of $3,000- 4,000.

Mark: You have $1,466 for the mortgage, $170 for cable.

Eric’s mom: Two hundred-seventy five a month for the cell phone.

Mark: Car insurance, $357 a month.

Eric’s mom: Five hundred dollars…

Mark: for food, then about $134.29 for the gas. You see, every month, there is a music download chart.

Shelby: And then there are the credit card bills.

Eric: Two- hundred and fifty dollars a month.

Jess's mom: I put one hundred dollars down for MasterCard.

Kat’s dad: Fifty dollars, $200 a month.

Shelby: Like half of Americans who use credit cards, our three families only pay a portion of their credit card bills each month. Not the whole thing, and that means they also have to pay interest, a fee charged by the bank based on how much they owe. And it's costing Eric's family big bucks. They are paying almost $1,200 a year in interest payments.

So what are some of the priorities in looking at your family finances? What are the things that have to be paid?

Eric's dad: The ones who charge you interest are the ones that really need to be paid first.

3 | P a g e Shelby: Eric wants to save more of the $6,000 his family usually spends each month.

Anything you are going to cut?

Eric: Going out to eat.

Eric's mom: I want to remind him as he looks at our budget that a happy parent is a well fed parent! Don't forget our restaurant visits!

Shelby: Now over at Kat’s house, her dad calculates that after paying the bill on their house, which is their biggest expense, the family budget is $1,500 for the month. Her parents have concerns about letting Kat take over because she has a thing for shoes!

Kat you have a lot of shoes in here. How many pairs do you own?

Kat: Probably over 70.

Shelby: Over 70?

Kat: Yes.

Shelby: What are you worried about. Do you think something could go wrong?

Kat’s mom: Yeah. About her shopping spree.

Shelby: So, you are worried she might take the family money and take it to the mall?

Kat’s mom: Yes!

Shelby: Finally across town, Jess's family spends about $6,000 a month. And if Jess is going to make ends meet, his family has to keep an eye on his sister Jenny.

Jenny: I need my Blackberry with the internet on it. My nails need to get done. My hair needs to get done. I need to look fashionable. It's not my fault that I can't afford them.

Shelby: After spending $5,500 to pay bills, Jess's family usually has about $500 for unexpected expenses. Jess's mom warns that 500 may sound like a lot, but it's not.

Jess’s mom: It’s 25 here and it’s 25 there. And it doesn't take long before you come to the end of the month. And if you overdo it, we will be short.

Shelby: And she is right. Financial advisors recommend that families save at least three months expenses for emergencies, which for Jess’s family would be around $1,700.

And Jenny has her own ideas about how to spend the $500.

4 | P a g e Jenny: Jess, look at my old tap shoes. They’re ripped, they're worn, the inside is a mess. I desperately, desperately, need a new pair.

Unfortunately they're really expensive. Three hundred dollars may not be in our budget, but it's gonna have to be.

Shelby: Unless Jenny cuts back on other things, they won't have the money for the shoes. Before we even finished interviewing Jess, Jenny had already spent a $125 at the mall.

Jess: What did you buy at the mall?

Jenny: I got a new top at Victoria’s Secret and I got a new pair of sneakers at Foot Locker.

Jess: This is why we're going to get deeply into Jenny's shopping methods and I will not fall into her trap.

Shelby: So can Jess stay out of his sister's money trap? Can Eric make the cut and keep his parents well fed? And we will be watching what Kat does with her family's money.

Azia: Make sure to stay tuned for part two tomorrow. And for tips on how to build your own budget and save money, head over to Channelone.com.

Alright guys, that’s all for now. But have an awesome day, and we will see you right back here tomorrow.

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