♪♪ >> Tonight on pbs news weekend. The potential barriers to accessing drugs that prevent HIV infection. Including an ongoing legal challenge. A new study digs deeper into California's homeless population. Why black and brown communities in cities like Chicago bear the brunt of automated speed cameras. >> If we are going to generate revenue, it needs to be on the backs of the city of Chicago, not targeted towards the black and brown communities where people are hurting the most. ♪♪ >> Major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by. >> For 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service to help communicate and connect. A variety of no contract plans and our customer service team can find one that fits you. Visit consumer cellular.tv. >> And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. And friends of the newshour -- 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. ♪♪ >> Good, I'm John yang. On this, the 500th day of the war in Ukraine, more Russian shelling took more Ukrainian lives. The attack on the eastern Ukrainian town killed at least eight civilians and wounded 13 others. President volodymyr zelenskyy marked the day with a video showing him on snake island of the black sea, a symbol for Ukraine's resistance. Russian forces captured the island in the early days of the war, only to be forced to withdrawal a few months later. Zelinski is in Turkey, where president erdogan endorsed the nation -- with nato. A flashpoint between Ukraine and Russia. Resident Biden told CNN Ukraine should not be admitted into nato just yet. >> I don't think there is unanimity in nato about whether to bring Ukraine into the nato family now at this moment in the middle of a war. So I think we can work it out. But I think it is premature to call for a vote now. >> Ukraine's membership in nato will likely be discussed next week, with president Biden and the leaders of other nations gathering in lil Wayne a. Sudanese health officials say 20 people died in one of the deadliest airstrikes in three months of fighting. It happened across the nile river from Khartoum. Paramilitary forces blamed the attack on the Sudanese military. There are no signs of letup in the fighting between the sides. In southern California, six people are dead in the crash of a small business jet. The Cessna citation took off from Las Vegas and crashed about 300 miles away in a field in Murrieta, California. No word on the identities of the dead. The heat keeps on coming. More dangerous temperatures in the forecast for much of the south and southwest. Highs expected over 110 in places like west Texas, Arizona, and California. The heatwave stretching from Florida to California could last several weeks. Meteorologists say weather patterns can bring more smoke from Canadian wildfires to the upper midwest. Still to come. A new study as fresh insights on California's homeless population. Why speed cameras are disproportionately affecting Chicago's minority residents. ♪♪ >> This is pbs news weekend from W eta studios in Washington, home of the pbs newshour. Weeknights on pbs. >> The latest legal battle over the affordable health care act centers on its requirement private health insurance fully cover preventive services like cancer screenings, vaccinations, and birth control. Also on the list, drugs that prevent HIV infections called preexposure prophylaxis. The retail price can be as much as $6,000 for a 90 day supply. It puts it out of reach for many of those who benefit from it but don't have insurance. Cheval the Luther's health reporter at 19 news. She focuses on gender and health. Tell me about prep. How effective is it? >> Prep is incredibly effective. More than 90% in preventing HIV. Some would call it a wonder drug raid it is not wrong. It has transformed what it means to live in our society. Especially in a group that is high risk for contacting HIV, taking it in a daily pill, although there is a new injectable form, can allow you to live a life that is much safer, free of risk, and without fear of contracting in the days that have been incredibly dangerous in the past. >> Given what you said, pills have been around for about a decade. The CDC estimated only about a quarter of the people who would benefit are actually on prep. Why that gap? >> A historic number of reasons as to why it was not as high and is not as high as public health experts would like. The price tag, the pills taken have been very expensive. There are generics on the market bringing down the price without the insurance that covers the medication. It can be prohibitive for many with lower incomes. The other challenge we don't talk about what really is important is outreach. There's a lot of effective outreach making sure certain demographics know about prep. This is largely seen as a drug that has been good at making its way to men who are white and gay. It often doesn't reach out in the same way to many people who are high risk but not considered in the archetype. In particular, to expand outreach to trans-american and black Americans at higher risk of HIV and may not be told about prep by their doctor or for other reasons may not consider it as the right drug for them. People talk about the fact you have to take a pill every day. Does the fact this injectable prep, which you only get a shot every other month after two shots and two months, do you think it would help spread use of this drug? >> That is an open question. Even with injectable prep, you need regular visits to a doctor to get the injection, which can be a barrier for folks who are not plugged into the system or don't have a regular medical professional who don't have health insurance. The injectable prep is fairly new. It is not always covered at no cost by health insurance unless you have shown you cannot take the daily pill. It seems like a really viable possibility to expand options. But I think it is too early to say how meaningful an impact they can have. >> This is the center of a new legal battle. A lawsuit before the fifth circuit court of appeals. The group wants to knock out the preventive care mandate. Who is bringing the suit and why do they want out? >> This group of employers has challenged the preventive services mandate. They filed it in Texas where it is known to be hostile to the affordable care act. And their argument is twofold. They say the federal government has overstepped its authority in determining preventive services that must be covered at no cost. They also claim they have a religious exemption. Providing insurance, employees covering prep violates their religious beliefs. What many legal authorities have told me, the arguments are steeped against largely gay men and what many describe as homophobic claims that covering prep would facilitate or encourage people to have sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman. What was troubling is there is interests in those arguments. But those are not the main claims as to why prep should not be covered. What is happening is the fifth circuit court of appeals is hearing arguments in this case, they will issue a decision relatively soon. But for now, they have said health insurers must keep covering prep and under -- other preventive services. >> What is due to not only HIV prevention, but birth control, cancer screenings, and other things falling into that category? >> The contraception question is tricky. The guarantee for birth control with no out-of-pocket costs comes from multiple facets of the ACA. We know that there could be new costs for consumers for prep, mental health screenings, cancer screenings, reproductive health care services we now take for granted and can become expensive for people if they are no longer able to have the preventive services mandate. It has been in effect for a long time. The ACA was passed in 2010, more than a decade ago. >> Thank you very much. ♪♪ >> Across the country this weekend, many Americans are sweltering in the heat and humidity. A good time to be indoors with the air conditioning on. But for thousands of californians, that is not an option. They are unsheltered and living outside. A new study from the university of California San Francisco offers new insights into this population. >> 30% of Americans without a home are in California. Over 3000 were surveyed as part of the largest representative study of homelessness in the U.S. Since the 1990's. Among the findings, nearly half of all on house adults in California are older than 50. Two thirds reported mental health symptoms. A majority said the cost of housing was the main barrier to finding a home. People of color are disproportionately affected. 6% of California residents are black, but make up 26% of the un-housed population. 1.3 percent of californians identify as native American compared to 12% of the unhoused population. Dr. Margo is principal investigator of the study heading the homelessness and housing initiative at ucsf. Thank you so much. You have been researching homelessness for quite a long time. What surprised you? >> The things that are worth pointing out, nine and 10 people in this study lost stable housing in California. There's a lot of mythology around people coming to California because of the warm weather. We did not find that at all. I think the next thing that really stuck out was how much homelessness was being driven by economic factors. The median household income of our participants in the month before becoming homeless was only $960 a month. In California, the median cost of a one-bedroom apartment is $17 a month. When we asked what was happening in people's lives before they became homeless, they often had an income shock, they had hours cut, someone lost their job. Then they became homeless because they could not pay rent. Once they became homeless, everything else fell apart. >> I want to ask about the racial disparity we noticed that the homelessness numbers seemed to be particularly high among black and native American communities. How do you explain those disparities? >> These communities have been disparately impacted by structural racism throughout the generations. There are communities shot out of building wealth through homebuying. They've not only faced discrimination in their daily activities, but have huge deficits in household wealth. Much because of the ways they have been shut out of housing markets and the main way Americans build wealth. Add to other forms of oppression, discrimination, and the criminal justice system, discrimination and employment system, and all other forms racism has leads to this hugely disparate impact. >> The study noted more than half of unhoused people are over the age of 50. Why does there seem to be that commonality? >> This is the story of homelessness in the last few decades. The proportion of people over 50 has skyrocketed. We found half, 41% of them had never been homeless before the age of 50. These are seniors who worked physically demanding, difficult, low-paying jobs their whole life. As the cost of housing skyrocketed, their incomes did not keep up and basically became displaced into homelessness. >> We spoke to many people currently experiencing homelessness. What are their living conditions like? >> We found about three quarters were primarily unsheltered. Either living in their cars are living outside. One thing that stood out to us was the amount of violence. 10% of everyone experiencing homelessness reported they had been sexually assaulted during this episode. Over one third had been physically assaulted. Anyone from any agency or other governmental or nonprofit body tried to help them get back into housing. People's health declined. Their well-being declined. Their sense of safety declined. They became more and more disconnected from work, from labor. Someone said to us being homeless is a full-time job. What was really striking was basically, everyone encountered, wanted desperately to be housed again. >> What are some of your recommendations for achieving that goal? >> All routes to ending this crisis run through housing. There will not be a way out of this crisis unless we can address the brutal and dramatic shortage of affordable housing. Our first recommendations were really about increasing that supply, using things like rental vouchers from the federal government, more support for creating and preserving affordable housing. A lot of people said small amounts of money would have stopped their downward slide into homelessness. We need to increase access to behavioral health treatment to keep people safe when they are homeless, but to support them when they get housed again. We need to help people's incomes rise. Almost half were looking for work. And we really need to take a racial equity approach to everything that we do. The topline story has to be these are older people of color who have been displaced from housing that is too expensive for them. And we really need to rectify that. >> Really fascinating study. Dr. Margo, thank you for joining us. >> Thank you for having me. >> For many of us, the daily commute includes slowing down to go by automated speed cameras. Cities across the country used them for decades. Nearly 200 communities have been in place. In places like Chicago, the tickets and fines they generate disproportionately follow black and brown residents. Paul Solman has the report. >> An open road in black south Chicago. >> This is another example of arterial street with terrible infrastructure that encourages people to speed. >> At the same time, cameras send out tickets automatically. Chicago traffic reform activists. >> The infrastructure is horrible in our neighborhoods. Potholes, multilane streets, highways, entrance and exit ramps, arterial streets, like stony island, Ashland. >> The speeds on this avenue says garage owner shay Sumter -- >> 60 to 70 miles an hour. >> Truth be told, if I were here for a story, I probably would be cruising around 40 myself. >> Hairdresser Darrell brooks who runs a salon next to his garage had no such reminder. >> I was going 35, 36. >> In a five mile per hour zone. >> I never received tickets in the mail. >> Chicago introduced automated speed cameras in 2013. $35 going 10 miles an hour over the limit. In 2021, the threshold was cut to six miles an hour over. Chicago has raked in an extra $120 million. Paid mostly according to Republican by drivers of color. >> The program was rolled out under being public safety. >> City councilmember Anthony beale represents the largely black ninth ward. >> It is not about public safety, the entire system is about to generate revenue. >> The city does need money. >> The city needs money, but if we are going to generate revenue, it needs to be on the backs of Chicago and not targeted towards the black and brown communities where the people are hurting the most. I've had residents go to the grocery store. They have a ticket going home from the grocery store. >> Those are the same neighborhoods that are food deserts. >> Stacy Sutton has studied millions of tickets from 2016 to 2019. Who got them disproportionately? >> Majority black neighborhoods or latinx neighborhoods, those are the same neighborhoods that have less access to public transportation. >> More tickets they can't afford. She paid the first just to undo her car. >> When I did that, I had to get on a payment plan. >> Because the tickets had doubled in price. >> I'm happy we are talking about it. My payment plan is due tomorrow. >> That is what the interviews are useful for. >> I appreciate you. >> There was a case of a firefighter in Chicago. A black man who lived on the south side. He purchased a car for his son that was sitting on a lot. The car accumulated tickets. >> 17 of them. With late fees, $30,000. >> He can file for bankruptcy or lose his job. That is when I learned Chicago has the highest rate of personal bankruptcy cases related to fines and fees. In the country. >> Flat fines and fees of this sort have become a notorious way for cities to make money as in Ferguson, Missouri, triggering the uprising of 2015. The justice department concluded "Ferguson strategy of revenue generation through policing has fostered practices that are themselves unconstitutional. These practices disproportionately harm African-Americans." >> Ferguson is the big case. But there are so many big cases. >> There is an alternative. >> In the U.S., $200 per fine. In Finland, 1%. It is in direct proportion to your income. >> If your total income says -- is Matt shelti, which if you are wealthy, NHL hockey pair -- $135,000 for going 50 in a 25 mile per hour zone a few years ago. >> This has been in Finnish society for decades and probably will for decades to come. >> Good old gala Terrien Finland, whose policy Chicago alderman admires. >> That is a great idea. I know colleagues who are working on ordinances geared around that very idea. Right now, the city council. >> Recently rejecting a move to switch the speed of tickets issued back to 10 miles per hour over the limit from six. >> We have kept it at six because we know that is more likely to keep you alive in the case of a crash. We know at 30 miles per hour, the likelihood of cyclists dying in that crash is about 20%, 30%. At 40 miles per hour, it goes up to 90% likelihood of dying in that crash. >> As some of his constituents have. >> I have met with fathers and mothers of seven and eight-year-olds who are killed because of the speeds they were being driven by motorists. >> It was three deaths last year. >> Don't do speed cameras discourage that kind of speeding? >> It needs to be a physical person instead of a camera. >> What about physical patrol cars? >> Police ticketing can lead to horrendous outcomes. And we have seen that for black and latinx communities. >> The real goals has -- is to make Chicago's speed inviting streets less so. More bus lanes, pedestrian islands. As things stand. >> We are putting a financial burden on communities that are already poor instead of the city investing in agent Mary to solve the problem with traffic violence. >> The response, we are working with it. With millions of dollars set aside the city budget. Including upgrading Ashland avenue. >> I have been a journalist for a very long time. I stood at Ashland, I watched cars go by. If I'm a betting man, I'm betting there's no significant improvement of the infrastructure on Ashland avenue by the time I come back to Chicago in say five years. >> I would love to take you up on that bet. >> For pbs news weekend, Paul Solman hoping mine will be a losing bet. ♪♪ >> Now online, a look at why domestic violence experts are worried about new abortion restrictions in post roe America. All that and more. Pbs.org/newshour. That is pbs news weekend for this Saturday. Sunday, a look at the use of artificial intelligence on the battlefield and the challenges the U.S. Military faces as it adopts this fast-moving technology. For all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. See you tomorrow. >> Major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by. >> For 25 years, consumer cellular has offered no contract wireless plans designed to give people more of what they like. Our u.s.-based customer service team can help find the plan that fits you. To learn more, visit consumer cellular.tv. >> 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. ♪♪
