♪ this is "nightline." >> juju: tonight, boiling point. we're with first responders on high alert in phoenix as earth records its hottest month ever. >> a male in cardiac arrest, not breathing, not having a pulse. >> juju: with temperatures hitting at least 110 for 31 straight days. where the pavement can scorch your team. >> core temperature 107 degrees. >> juju: the life-saving measures they're taking, and the life-threatening decisions. >> the science is clear. outdoors workers are 35 times more likely to die of extreme

heat than the general population. >> juju: is there any relief in sight? reservation dogs. they're breakout stars on the hit fx show about growing up native american. >> i like my meat pies like i like my women. brown, greasy, and hot. >> byron: what does "reservation dogs" mean to you? >> representative. inclusion. yes. >> juju: and an unlikely rap duo who rap about their christianity and their native background. their unique perspective shaped by their struggled. >> i like to say, not all storms come to destroy your life. some storms come to clear your path. and the great bear debate. the viral video from a chinese zoo that has divide the social media. is it a human? or the real thing? where do you stand?

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and these this is record-setting temperatures are not just uncomfortable, they're dangerous. all around the country, blistering temperatures pushing first responders on the front lines of extreme heat to the limits, where the human toll is often unseen. this past brutal july, the hottest ever on record on earth. fire station 60 has been on high alert. >> phoenix is experiencing an excessive heat wave. >> juju: the city seeing an unprecedented 31 straight days of temperatures above 110. this dispatch on sunday just one of more than 800 heat-related calls the phoenix fire department received in july. >> male in cardiac arrest. not breathing, not having a pulse. we started cpr are he appeared to be hot. temperature, overheated. the emergency doctor room says core temperature was tun 07

degrees. >> 60% increase in heat related calls from last year. we're not cooling down much at night, it's in the 90s at night. i feel like the citizens and the firefighters are feeling it. it's very challenging. it's something that we're continuously trying to overcome is the heat. >> juju: more cities continue to break records as as the nation suffers its seventh week of extreme heat. the u.s. has seen heat related deaths skyrocket, more than doubling in the past decade, from 837 to 1708. >> what we're talking about is heat related emergencies. >> juju: the alarming figures pushing first responders to come up with new life-saving measures. >> we're going to be piloting this next piece to see if this is as effective or more effective than the method we have with the carry-owl for cold water immersion. >> juju: at station 60, firefighters are training to use so-called "plunge bags." >> you can put your patient in here, pour the ice all down the

side. you want to pour that cold water in here, okay? so once you get your patient in, zip it up. keep it open so you can still treat your patient. >> juju: they say this technique wan rapidly decrease body temperatures in some cases preventing organ failure. >> once we're on a heat related emergency, we're going to take their temperature to determine if it's heat exhaustion, heatstroke, where we're at in treatment. and provide appropriate treatment. we have ice-cold iv fluids on our truck, ice, cold fluids right there immediately to cool them down. we've had patients with temperatures 104, 106, 10 say. by the time we get to the hospital, they're right where they need to be, 97 i 98-degree range. >> juju: the plunge bag utilized for the patient in cardiac arrest. >> we were in the direct sunlight, 110 degrees out right now. cpr protocols and emergency

drugs, but also we did the plunge bag, rapid cooling measures with ice and cold water. >> juju: the temps so high, even touching the sidewalk can cause third-degree burns. >> pavement temperatures can reach 140 to 170 degrees. you might have a fall injury, but also a secondary layer of care we need to provide for the contact burn and the heat. we're telling people, seek shade. stay hydrated. >> juju: shade and protection are rarities for some of the most vulnerable, outdoor workers. from 2011 to 2021 in the u.s., an estimated 436 people died from work-related environmental heat exposure. data showing that texas has the most deaths. >> my husband was trying to complete his assignment, and the heat to him. >> juju: in late june, postal driver eugene gates jr. collapsed on the job as temps rose to 116 degrees.

gates was taken to a hospital after he was found unconscious and pronounced dead. >> no one should be out working like that. no one. >> juju: while authorities are still awaiting his official cause of death, the occupational health and safety administration is investigating. the incident shining renewed attention on the plight of outdoor workers. in a statement to abc affiliate wfaa, the usps said it is deeply saddened by the loss of life and the postal service has implemented a national heat illness prevention program that provides mandatory heat related and other safety training and instruction to all employees. >> am i angry? yes, i am. the mail will still be there. but my husband won't. >> juju: only a handful of states, like washington, oregon, california mandate heat stress protections for workers, including water and shade breaks. and advocacy groups say much more needs to be done.

>> heat is the largest weather related cause of death of all possible forms of death. i think globally more and more organizations, more and more movements understand that we have to tackle this issue. >> juju: here in homestead, florida, outside miami, clinicians are partnering with nonprofits like "we count" to help prevent potentially fatal heat illnesses. >> how to stay safe in hot weather, what to do if you have symptoms -- >> we have 3,000 outdoor workers to work in agriculture, construction, landscaping. outdoor workers are 35 times more likely to die of extreme heat than the general population. imagine being a worker out there in the heat with no access to shade, forced to work 8, 10, 12 hours without a rest. >> juju: "we count" has a campaign, "it's so hot" in spanish. >> it keeps your neck cool. >> juju: aimed at educating

these workers how to protect themselves from the heat. >> we say, get water, oral rehydration. be prepared. we know it's going to be in the 90s to 100. and that puts your body at risk. >> juju: and how to recognize symptoms of heatstroke and heat exhaustion. >> you'll feel that you're getting wet. that is the worst heat. that's when it's dangerous. >> juju: "we count" is pushing for legislation that would require employers to give workers water and shade breaks

and guarantee heat exposure safety programs. the miami-dade county commission gave initial approval last month and a vote is likely in september. >> i think increasingly heat will be the galvanizing issue of our time. wherever you are in the country, you'll be impacted by extreme heat. it's important we protect the frontline communities that are suffering the brunt of the climate crisis. up next, they're brothers, rappers, stars of the hit fx series "reservation dogs." lil mike and funnybone opening up about faith, their native american heritage, and how they finally found their voice. when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis takes you off course. put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when i wanted to see results fast, rinvoq delivered rapid symptom relief and helped leave bathroom urgency behind. check.

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♪ . >> juju: it's the third and final season of the critically acclaimed fx show "reservation dogs" which premiered today. it's a coming-of-age story about growing up native american, and among the cast members two brothers with their own real-life story to tell. my coanchor, byron pitts, traveled to oklahoma to talk to lil mike and funnybone. >> byron: there aren't many well-known rappers that come out of oklahoma. much less any rappers who are native american. today i'm about to meet two. >> let's do this. >> what's up? i'm mike. >> i'm bone. >> byron: this is your place? >> yes, sir, our studio. this is where the music is happening. >> byron: all right. this is 42-year-old lil mike and

37-year-old funnybone. >> i like the way that beat is dropping, too. >> byron: they've been rapping since they were 14. ♪ i don't smoke i don't get drunk ♪ >> byron: their jive is a little hard to describe. in one breath, they're spitting bars about god. ♪ who can give a jesus beat for me ♪ >> byron: the next about the struggles the indigenous community faces. then this. ♪ kick satan in the balls ♪ >> byron: one more time? ♪ kick satan in the balls have his nuts clapping ♪ >> byron: somehow i think that will be my grandmother clutching her pearls. many people use different words to describe you. former gang banger, christian? >> native american, recording artist, actors. we don't like using the term christian. we say believers.

>> byron: you've probably seen them on fx's hit show "reservation dogs." or maybe "america's got talent." >> i'm lil mike. >> i'm funnybone. >> together we are mikebone. >> byron: these brothers exist in different spaces. proud native americans, outspoken christians. a religion that was officen weaponized against their ancestors. >> booker t. washington said, "plant your bucket where you stand." it seems like you guys are planting your bucket. that yes, we are native american. yes, we are christian. yes, we are rappers. >> right, yeah. >> byron: do us. >> embrace who you are. that's what we teal people, embrace your differences. that's what makes you special, right? ♪ >> byron: welcome to the capital of the muskogee nation. a city of about 11,000 people.

it's also where "reservation dogs" is filmed and where mikebone found renewed fame. one of the most iconic scenes of the first season took place on this street? >> yeah. this is it. >> yo, hey! >> been telling everybody y'all is the reservation dogs boounlg the brothers play the loveable and gregarious mo and miko. >> supposed to be two twin 11-year-olds. like wait, we kind of fit the description. we look like we're 11, we're twins. >> they hit us us up, "you're exactly what we're looking for." >> byron: what does reservation dogs mean to you >> representation. in inclusion. a chance to represent. it humanized the indigenous people, it helped others relate to the indigenous community. a lot of people are just

ignorant. they think native americans get big checks all the time. and we live on nice reservations. but when you actually look into it, it's pretty rough. >> byron: centuries of disenfranchisement led to economic depression for the indigenous community. 20% of the native american population in the u.s. live at the poverty level. they face higher rates of substance abuse, suicide, and violence. growing up, violence and poverty were present in their home. it sent mike down a dark path. by the time he was 18, he'd been arrested 12 times. why didn't those experiences break you? >> i think it did break me. but it broke me to a point. not breaking me into a shutting down point. >> byron: music was salvation. they discovered christian

hip-hop and found their voice. they acknowledged how christianity was used as a tool for genocide in native communities, but the brothers believe they can hold on to their heritage while standing strong in their faith. people may look at your heritage in an odd way. in the nate of american world, many of them look at christians in a different way. how do you balance those world in this. >> breast break it down on each side. there's a lot of bitter indigenous folks that are bitter on what colonizers did in the name of jesus. we try to break it down to the natives and say, that wasn't god, don't put that on god. if your religion allows you to hate and hurt people, you're doing it wrong. >> byron: they say those views influence their music. >> don't drink, don't smoke. you can hear it in our songs. we're celebrate. i think that surprises a lot of people because we're rappers. >> byron: mental health

struggles. when mike was young, he attempted to end his life. >> i think i tried it three times. >> byron: tried it? >> yeah. >> byron: only time i've seen that smile leave your face in our entire conversation when is your brother talked about hurting himself. >> yeah. because -- i didn't try it but i went through the same thoughts. i got real close. >> byron: why? >> i felt like life wasn't going as i wanted it to. i got really low. i was tired of putting in all this work and not seeing the results i wanted. >> byron: the brothers say a combination of grace and grit helped them persevere. now they're touring nationwide in venues big and small. we followed them to a performance at a hotel owned by the cherokee nation. >> usually we chill before we go out. then you got to put on that persona. like hey, what's up, hey! ♪

>> byron: the love for duo was palpable. ♪ dream big work hard ♪ >> byron: among these mostly native american fans, they're superstars. >> these guys are a huge inspiration to the native communities. >> i think they really connect with the younger generation. >> they took real-life stories about what happens on the reservation. we can all relate to it. >> byron: i was struck, everyone i talked to has a real sense of pride, right? that they saw two men on the stage who looked like them, who had a similar backstory to them. >> they look up to us. the platform we have. we want to leave a good legacy. >> byron: the brothers say they're in a good space. they have a career and a calling. >> i like to say, not all storms come to destroy your life. some storms come to clear your path. you got to remember, rain helps things grow. you've got to let that make you

stronger. >> byron: reverend doctor bishop cardinal funnybone. >> hey, that's right. >> juju: our thanks to byron. season three of "reservation dogs" is out now with new episodes streaming each wednesday on hulu. coming up, grin and bear it. the controversy over whether this bear is the real thing. as someone living with type 2 diabetes, i want to keep it real and talk about some risks. with type 2 diabetes you have up to 4 times greater risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. even at your a1c goal, you're still at risk ...which if ignored could bring you here... ...may put you in one of those... ...or even worse. too much? that's the point. get real about your risks and do something about it. talk to your health care provider about ways to lower your risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. learn more at getrealaboutdiabetes.com (owner) purina one... we switched and wow! from day 1, its proven natural nutrition supports charlie's strong immune system...

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my most important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose neuriva plus. unlike some others, neuriva plus is a multitasker supporting 6 key indicators of brain health. to help keep me sharp. neuriva: think bigger. ♪ >> juju: finally tonight, the buzz over a bear. or is it? video shot inside a chinese zoo showing a sun bear standing

upright on its hind legs continues to drive online debate. some suspect the animal is, in fact, a person, pointing out the human-like stance and the folds of skin on its back side. the roar of conspiracy theories is so loud, the zoo released the statement in the voice of a bear denying any costumed imposter. some ursine experts agree, but why kill the controversy? especially when traffic to the zoo is soaring? that's "nightline." watch full episodes on hulu. see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america. providing materials to teach healthy habits. so they can kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria. keeping kids together, here, at places like the lunch table.