♪ john: tonight on "pbs news weekend pure as the country navigates the extreme heat, many incarcerated americans are suffering through the scorching temperatures with little or no air conditioning. >> anyone outside of prison can go outside and catch a breeze. they have more access to water. they're not literally living day to day, hour by hour in these cells of buildings made out of stone and concrete that are really heating up like ovens. john: then, why millions of americans are living in areas without easy access to an ambulance. and we get a bird's eye view of falconry, the ancient sport of hunting game with birds of prey. ♪

>> major funding for "pbs news weekend" has been provided by. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal is to provide wireless service that helps people connect. we offer a variety of plans. we can find one that fits you. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public

broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. john: good evening. i'm john yang. across the south and west, new all-time heat records could be set as forecasters say the weeks' long heatwave is entering it most intense phase. the forecast high in las vegas is 117 degrees, the hottest temperature ever recorded there. nearly a third of all americans are under heat advisories, watches and waings. for some areas, the heat wave has been unrelenting. phoenix, arizona has seen 16 straight days with highs over 110 and is on track to beat the record of 18 days. el paso, texas had highs above 100 for a month. there's also record-setting heat in the waters off florida, reaching the mid 90's. not only does it make it harder for people to cool off, scientists warn of coral bleaching, fish kills and algae blooms. and the warm waters could fuel tropical storms come hurricane

season. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu was taken to a hospital near tel aviv earlier today after feeling dizzy at his home. doctors say it was likely dehydration. in a video from the hospital, netanyahu said he felt very good, and that he and his wife visited the sea of galilee yesterday without a hat or water. "not a good idea," he said. the 73-year-old prime minister, who's facing mounting israeli anger over his bid to overhaul the judicial system, is expected to remain in the hospital for more tests. in south korea, at least 26 people are dead and 10 missing after days of torrential rain triggered land slides and flooding. rescue workers are searching for people in houses buried by mud. more than 5000 people have evacuated their homes, and tens of thousands of homes are without electricity. rain is forecast in some parts of the country through sunday. south korea's president yoon suk yeol is making a surprise visit to ukraine today.

yoon pledged $150 million in humanitarian aid, and has promised more non-lethal military supplies, like body armour and helmets. south korea is a major arms exporter but has not sent weapons to ukraine, citing its long-standing policy of not arming nations at war. and, at wimbledon today, marketa vondrousova of the czech republic became the first ever unseeded woman to the win the single's championship. vondrousova upset ons jabeur of tunisia, the number 6 seed. she did it in two sets to win her first grand slam title. vondrousova began the tournament ranked 42 in the world and beat two top-10 players at wimbledon. still to come on "pbs news weekend." the dangers of living in an ambulance desert. and a look at falconry, one of thworld's oldest sport. -- sports. >> this is "pbs news weekend," from teta studios -- weta

studios in washington and pbs. john: the extreme heat scorching mu of the country is particularly brutal for prisoners and the guards that watch over them. by one count, 44 states do not have air conditioning's in their presence -- prisons. in mississippi, the justice department cited temperatures as high as 145 in the state penitentiary that were among conditions that violated prisoners constitutional rights. mississippi began inalling air conditioning. in texas, more than 2/3 of prisoner living areas lack air-conditioning. we spoke with people who have been inmates in texas prisons or have family members that are currently in prison to learn more what it is like to live in extreme heat behind bars. >> i spent over a decade in a texas prison.

i have been home for about two years. >> he is the youngest of my sons and he is serving a 15-year sentence in texas. >> i spent just over 14 years in the texas prison system. >> i was in prison for a total of 11 years. > i was incarcerated for 17 years in texas prisons. >> the heat was like being suffocated. it took your breath away. >> it is very easy to give into that oppressing heat and almost frankly, forget to breathe. >> i would be so hot that my vision would blur. i could not hear for some reason. i would flood the toilet and lay in one inch of water with my fan over me. >> my daughter has nine months to go. she is sweating profusely all the time. she cannot sleep.

she works in the kitchen. it is like 120, 130 degrees in there. people are fainting. people are seizing and falling to the floor. >> heat related seizures are very common in the summer months in prison. i do not mean common like one a day i mean like three or four a day. that is what i saw when i was incarcerated. >> i hit my head. they could not bring my temperature down. i was vomiting, i had diarrhea. i thought i was going to die that day. >> a guard had come in to sit with us. he passed out in the p thaodt f vest and uniform on. he started to seize. >> we had one inmate passed away from a heat stroke because they were not allowing us to have fans. >> there is mediocre

air-conditioning. there is an opportunity that she can actually be in semi- air-conditioning for two hours. in the metal building, you are talking about maybe 120, 130 degrees or even higher. it is inhumane. my heart aches. when i see him. when i talked to him. i cannot help him. john: earlier this year, an effort to include money for prison air-conditioning in the budget failed in the state senate. a nonprofit news organization focuses on the criminal justice system. you took a deep dive into this topic and did a documentary but the weather channel a few years back. you talked to a lot of people around the country and in texas.

is what we just heard unusual compared to what you heard from others? >> it is very in line with what is happening in prisons across the south. you get reports from incarcerated people that it is just an elemental struggle to survive and an increasing number just do not make it. there was a study in texas that found about 14 deaths a year could be attributed to the higher heat it is hard to pinpoint that a particular death is because of the heat. sometimes it stands as a heart attack or stroke but we know that frequently the underlying cause, the strain on the body that led to some of these deaths come from the summer heat. john: we reached out to the texas department of criminal justice and they provided a statement. it says in part much like those texans who did not have access to air-conditioning in their homes, the department uses an array of measures to keep inmates safe. some inmates are potentially at

a heightened risk of heat related illnesses because of their age, health conditions or medications. these individuals are identified through a heat sensitivity score that uses information. individuals with a heat sensitivity score receive priority placement in a housing area that is air-conditioned. they talking about prisoners' health conditions but you also say a growing segment of the population is becoming more sensitive to heat. >> i should say many of the measures texas prison system took were only in response to lawsuits brought by prisoners' families after a wave of deaths and other medical issues. there are a number of prisoners who are especially susceptible to summer heat. we passed laws in the 1980's and 1990's that set more and more people to prison for longer sentences. we are dealing with the reality of people in their 60's and 70's

that have less physical ability to deal with the heat in the hottest months. on top of that, you have a lot of prisoners suffering from mental illnesses. we know drugs depresses the body's ability to deal with heat so you have a heat index of 120, 130 degrees in there. people desperately go off their medications and that can lead them more dangerous to other proners or staff. you ca rise in suicides. you also see more corrections officers either take off work because they have had some heat related illness or just quit or not take the job in the first place. john: why are there so many prisons without air conditioning? >> the issue is political. since the 1970's there was this understanding that many americans do not have air conditioning. what i think policy makers in the public did not realize was anyone outside of prison can go outside and catch a breeze and they have more access to water. they are not literally living

day by day, hour-by-hour in these cells in buildings made out of concrete that are heating up like ovens. john: what does this say about how we treat prisoners in the united states? >> it says we are tremendously unsympathetic toward them. there has been a lot of talk of criminal justice reform over the last five or 10 years but you still see not just in southern states but there is an idea still that prisoners are the castaways of society who have put themselves there even though we know many people are wrongfully convicted or sentenced to really, really long sentences for what most people consider fairly low-level crimes. this lack of sympathy and mercy is still very much with us from the 1980's and 1990's and you see it in this continuing unwillingness among policymakers to install air conditioning and reduce the likelihood that prisoners will have strokes and die every summer.

john: this also affects corrections officers and other people who work in the prisons. it becomes a workplace conditions issue. our states and prisons more receptive to them than prisoners? >> in theory but texas writes do not have air conditioning. even though they have said the shortage of guards, the inability of the state to hire people to work in prisons is partially attributable to the fact that people do not want to spend their workday in these conditions. part of that if they do not want to live through the heat but part of that is correction officers do not want to live with the increased levels of violence and suicide and other problems in a prison during the hottest summer months. john: thank you very much. >> thank you for having me. ♪

john: when people call 911, they expect an ambulance to respond quickly and deliver medical care. but nearly 4.5 million americans live in what is known as ambulance deserts. in a medical crisis, they have to wait as long as 25 minutes -- or longer -- for an emergency medical crew to arrive. ali rogin tells us what's causing these shortages and what's at stake for people in ambulance deserts. ali: in medical emergencies, getting swift transportation to a hospital can mean the difference between life and death. but with a limited number of ambulances to dispatch, some states are struggling to meet that need. nick nudell is the president of the american paramedic association and spent almost 20 years as a paramedic in montana and california. nick, thank you so much for joining us. can you first just describe to us what the emergency medical services industry in this country looks like? nick: the s industry is comprised of a number of different elements and can bepr

go p briidvameteve cy omgepanire cases is also provided by hospitals that operate an ambulance service. in many rural areas of this country, the ambulance service is provided by unpaid volunteers from the community. so it's really depending on the availability of community members to provide that voluntary service. and so if you're in an even more rural or more remote area, you may have to wait quite a while for an ambulance to be able to get to an emergency, if you have one. ali: has the situation always been this bad in terms of the lack of volunteers and the difficulty that people have accessing these emergency ambulance services when they need them? nick: no, i don't think it always has been as bad as it is today. over the past couple of decades, there has been a strong decline in the number of people available to be providing voluntary services in rural communities. so because of that, there are

fewer and fewer people who are available to replace the older volunteers who are in many cases are now approaching their 60's or 70's and still volunteering. but we know that can't last for very much longer. ali: nick, you yourself worked as a paramedic for over 20 years. can you describe the human toll put upon these workers when they're having to meet this overwhelming need? nick: yeah. the rural emts and paramedics, especially those that volunteer, are giving up their time, their family time. they have many missed birthdays and celebrations and just really have to dedicate a lot of their own personal time in order to provide the service on top of all of their other responsibilities. and that has a great toll on them, personally. and that's why so many of them continue to do it fodecades because it's difficult to find somebody to replace them. ali: there are only a few states that designate ems services as an essential service, and it seems like that is coupled with

low salary rates for a lot of these jobs. what other factors are involved in there simply not being enough people to do these jobs? nick: with elected officials really just kind of kicking the can down the road and not owning the problem of funding that leaves the service provision to the volunteers and other community members who often have bake sales or spaghetti sales or other kind of local fundraising efforts to pay for the fuel or to buy ambulances. if ems was declared as an essential service and th real effort was put into finding funding mechanisms that would be sustainable for providing the service, that would go a long ways towards being able to support the rural ambulance services especially, and could address the ambulance desert issue. ali: and what is the federal government doing to address this issue? are they doing anything and what do you think they should be doing? nick: the federal government recently did declare ems as an essential service, along with all of the grocery store workers and truck drivers and many other

essential occupations during the covid pandemic. that declaration really kind of faded with the ending of the pandemic. ali: tell us about how the way that the united states does emergency medical services differs from other countries. nick: well in the united states, because it's not an essential service being provided by the government like it is in other countries. we have somewhere on the order of 22,000 ambulance services. you could contrast that with australia. with 10 states, they have 10 ambulance services. and so it's much easier for the government to provide that level of service when there's fewer organizations and people involved. and so it's a much more efficient system and they're able to provide better care for their entire country. where here we have so many services that it's difficult to provide that same level of service across our country. ali: and in fact, you found places where there's a great

concentration of ambulances, in fact, even more that are than are necessary for the population that surrounds them. nick: yeah, that is right. we we did look at one state, the state of north dakota, and we we were able to determine that they had more than enough ambulance services to provide for the entire state to, to have no ambulance deserts. but it would require moving where those amlances are to help provide better coverage. so i assume that that's going to be the case in other locations, too, where really, if you were able to take that systematized approach insad of having a patchwork approach, you could provide all the services needed. so it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be more expensive. ali: nick nudell, the president of the american paramedic association, thank you so much for joining us on this important issue. nick: well, thank you very much. ♪ john: finally tonight, a story

of a different kind of hunting sport -- falconry. considered to be the oldest sport known to man, falconers train their birds of prey to hunt game. but as pamela watts of rhode island pbs reports it's also a chance to help preserve these noble creatures of the skies. >> working with these birds and hunting with them, you are truly one with nature. you are interacting with them and it is hands-on. you are a part of it. >> jim of rhode island has been hunting with birds of prey for 27 years. he is a master falconer, currently training this raptor. >> the bond that you share with these birds is pretty magnificent. they are not pets. the sport itself, it brings you some beautifullaces. >> falconry, or hawking, is

training raptors to hunt game with you. you understand why it was crowned the sport of kings. its origins date back centuries to the middle east, eventually migrating to medieval europe. it remaine popular as a form of hunting until the introduction of guns. today, falconry is a specialized sport similar to flyfishing. >> there is an art to it, to falconry. there is a finesse to it. >> originally what was the object of falconry? >> a way to put food on the table. >> what about today? >> the same. i will be the first to admit i have eaten rabbit and squirrel. >> you cannot be squeamish to participate in the sport? >> no, you cannot. it is a hunting sport. >> it starts with capturing the bird of prey. he said he either has to climb to a nest to get a hatchling or catch an immature bird in a

special net. you understand there will be people who find this objectionable, taking hatchling from the nest or trapping a wild bird. how do you answer that? >> i say, sure. i get that point of view. if they understood the amount of time and energy and enthusiasm and care that you have for these birds, about 75% to 80% do not make it through the first year. as falconers, you are allowed to trap the immature birds and you leave the mature birds alone. >> d you see yourself as a conservationist? >> i do. there are falconers that had a lot to do with getting falcons off the endangered species list. >> they came off the list in 1999. the u.s. fish and wildlife service gave limited allocations to each region for hunting.

in 2022, this creature became the first falcon permitted to be captured in rhode island. her species is considered the most prized of hunting birds. other raptors are also used for hunting such as this, the smallest of falcons. also cooper's hawks and red tail hawks. he said training begins with food-based reward and getting the predator to eat from your hand. >> you are trying to establish a trust with the bird. and that you put the bird on -- you start to incorporate the whistle. you whistle and get the bird to jump. take a little bit of a flight at you. they land on the glove, you give them a tidbit and then you go further away. bird to fly to you farther and farther away. >> when the raptors are released to nearby trees, falconers go into the woods, literally beating the bushes with sticks.

if an animal spots a rabbit, the hunter gives a distinct call. to alert the bird to their target. >> what they are starting to do is they make the connection between something running and the falconer. > after all this training, most of these birds afraid will be released back to the -- birds of prey will be released back to the wild. he said the sport is a commitment year-round. >> it goes beyond a hobby. it is a passion. it really is a lifestyle. there is a lot that goes into it. these birds are cared for every day. it is something you cannot just put on a shelf and forget about. >> for these falconers, spending a day with their sky hunters defies description. >> the world tends to melt away. it truly is a great escape. you are so focused on the bird,

you are no longer focused on yourself or the trials and tribulations that can inundate us from day to day. >> i am pamela watts in jamestown, rhode island. ♪ john: and a news update before we go. police in georgia are looking for a man they believe fatally shot four people this morning in hampton, georgia, south of atlanta. the henry county sheriff's office released a photo of the suspect who they have identified. that is "pbs news weekend" for this saturday. i'm john yang. for all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. see you tomorrow. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> major funding for "pbs news weekend" has been provided by. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering no

contract wireless plans to help people get more of what they like. our customer service team can help find a plan that fits you. to visit more, visit our website. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ >> you are watching pbs.

this program was made possible in part by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. man: good set, carlos. (indistinct chatter) (crowd cheering and applauding) announcer: here we go, very good friends of ours and friends of yours. fellow californians, would you welcome, please, from san francisco, santana! (crowd cheering and applauding) ♪ ♪