Captions by Lena Erakovich. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2024 - Tonight on Sunday ` the volunteers risking their lives to save ours. - I don't think anything could have prepared me for what we saw that morning. - Whatever I imagined, it was 10 times, 100 times worse. - They look out for us... - There's no time to think about it. We just do what we've been trained to do. - ...but who's looking out for them? - MARK CRYSELL: What would it be like if you weren't here? - Well, I'm sure people would die. - And the new weight-loss wonder drugs ` believe the hype? - How much weight did you lose? - 25 kilos. - It's a game-changer. - But a growing body of evidence may suggest otherwise. - He wanted to be healthy. He wanted to live a long life. And now I can carry his ashes around in one hand. - Plus ` how the race for the White House is turning into the same old show. - Leading political opponent, and leading by a lot, including Obama. It was` I'll tell you what... - OK, um... hang on. Uh... Sorry... Oh. - Do we really want to have two presidential candidates in their 80s? - Kia ora. I'm Miriama Kamo. We rely on them, but our surf lifeguards are struggling, drowning in dire funding shortages and fighting increasing disasters. Cyclone Gabrielle swept away clubrooms, even as clubbies jumped on their IRBs to help. Now, remember, these heroes are volunteers who often pay out of pocket for gear. The red flags tell us where to safely swim, but these red flags signal trouble. So who's coming to save our surf lifeguards? Here's Mark Crysell. (TENSE MUSIC) - MARK CRYSELL: The early morning peace and quiet of Northland's majestic Ninety Mile Beach ` about to be shattered. (OUTBOARD MOTOR REVS, PUTTERS) ...by hordes of clubbies. - One, two, three ` cool, lifejackets, helmets. All right. Sweet. And first aid kit, radio, boom there. 30 fully amped surf lifesaving clubs priming their IRBs ` inflatable rescue boats. - Just feels like we're gearing up and starting, and the froth's alive, and we're all racing. It's good. (AIR HORN BLARES) (WHOOPING, SHOUTING) (WHISTLING, SHOUTING) - Three, two, one! - Gearing up is a hard-out, flat-out, IRB race... - OK, go! (MOTORS ROAR, MAN WHOOPS) - ...a punishing and pounding 90km, one of the hardest races of its kind in the world. - WOMAN: Go, JG! - Fiercely competitive ` but in many ways, these clubbies are all in the same boat. - We're a very heavily unified bunch of clubbies, but, you know, we're all one team, to be brutally honest, so it's fun. Yeah. - Three! - These are the first responders on our beaches. - We're going good! - Most are volunteers who give their free time to save lives... - Get it in the water, boys! - ...for no monetary gain. - Being able to help others is something I live for, and, uh` and save lives is a really cool thing. - Every year they're being asked to do more with less. But for how much longer? - Go, Bethells! Yay! Whoo-hoo! - Battered by financial headwinds and clobbered by climate change, our lifesavers are now battling to save their own. What would it be like if you weren't here? - Well, I'm sure people would die. - ARCHIVE: Our drowning rate was shockingly high this summer, and it would have been higher still if it had not been for the lifesavers. - We've had lifeguards on Aotearoa's beaches since 1910. - Their enthusiasm brings teams together from all over New Zealand to compete at their annual championships. - Today, there are around 4500 volunteering across 74 clubs, patrolling at more than 90 different locations through the summer. 25-year-old Zach Swift of United North Piha is one of them. - I started at the club as a Nipper when I was about 9 years old. I started in the junior surf programme, and they just haven't got rid of me yet. - Do you remember your first rescue? - Uh, yeah, actually, I, um, it was down` down there at the, uh... at the helipad, we call it. Close to Lion Rock. I would have been 14 years old, running out with a tube, my fins. - Piha, with its black sand and Lion Rock, is one of our most iconic beaches. It's also one of our most dangerous. - Piha's quite a typical West Coast beach. We've got rugged surf and charging rips. We have deep holes where people will just fall into and get sucked out. Even if you are a good swimmer, it can be hard to get out of it sometimes. - And you must be on constant alert here. - Yeah. I mean, how quickly can people disappear? - Seconds. - Hi there. - Hi. - I'm just warning you today about the water ` we've got quite a few rips just off to the side here. - United North Piha keeps watch over 2.5km of beach. - Yeah, that rip's starting to form over there, isn't it? - Definitely. Could even think about moving the flags to the south in the next half-hour. - Club president Rob Ferguson has been lifeguarding here since 1973. - So, over the hill, there's over a million people live there that can drive here in an hour, and on some Sunday afternoons, they try. - What is it that you love about it? - As corny as it sounds, it's being able to serve my community. It's hugely rewarding. You know, if you've done a day of patrol, saved a couple of lives, being with your mates all day. (SIREN WAILS) - 2023, however, was different. - Last year was horrible. The storm that came through just demolished. I mean, houses have been wrecked. It's been` It was tough. - Piha was hammered, and then cut off by the double whammy of the Auckland floods followed by Cyclone Gabrielle. - The end of the Laird Thomson track is on the beach. I just stood there and went, 'I can't believe it,' and looked up in the hills` - Up there? - Yeah. There. It looks like God's gone, 'I don't like that guy, I'm just gonna... pfff.' You know? There was just orange scars down the hill. It was absolutely incredible. And, uh, we had some numpty come and flog... steal our radios, steal $35,000 worth of radios. - And the worst... - We had a double drowning, which just... you know, it was extremely difficult on the guys. - That was... the very end of patrol, actually. We'd just packed everything up. - Really low tide. You could literally walk round the back of Lion Rock, and there was this massive hole. It was probably a couple of hundred metres long and maybe 50 metres or 80 metres out. Flat. Completely flat. - January, last summer, and two men entered the surf on the north side of Lion Rock just after 6pm ` a danger zone. - They literally stepped into this hole. They probably went ankle-deep, knee-deep, thigh-deep, and they were in, and they just drowned. - Zach was the first to reach one of the men on his IRB. - So we got him in the boat and I drove up the beach. I signalled for assistance ` a lot of the other lifeguards came down to` to help me. Um... and we dragged him up the beach and checked for signs of life. No breathing. - And he was doing CPR on the beach and I was back with the other patient. It was like two incidents at once. - Phone footage captured on the day shows teams of lifeguards, police and St John's working frantically to save the men's lives. - As more guards come, you rotate through, so you're rotating and you're making sure that the gear's coming, that we've got defibs. - There's no time to think about it ` we just do what we've been trained to do. - It wasn't enough. - We worked on him for around 40 to 45 minutes. We had both the helicopters down here, and I think until a doctor turned up, that's when he... said he was dead. - And during the thing, there was` it was` there was just stuff everywhere, you know, and we turn around, we walk back up the beach ` nothing. It was just flat. It was just the beach. It was` You know, it was really tough. - Can you talk to me a bit about how it impacts on you? - Ah... well, it's not failing, but, you know... you` you've lost someone, you know? It's` It's, um... - Is it hard to talk about? - Yeah. It's hard, though. Still hard. - I still think about that day. You get the odd vision in your head of... you know, the sort of worst times that were happening through that moment, but it's part of the job. - Except it's not a job. Surf lifeguards like Zach and Rob are volunteers, and right now, their clubrooms are Portacoms. So what's it like working out of a Portacom? - Well, it's not much fun, you know? It's` it's pretty hot, pretty cramped, but look what we've got to look forward to, you know? This is gonna be absolutely fantastic. - They desperately need to finish their new $7.5 million clubhouse to attract new members and keep the old ones. - And the storm knocked out the bridges and the roads so we couldn't get the bits here. It's just gone on and on and on, and the costs have gone up, you know, 14%, 15%. - Funding for surf lifesaving is difficult. Government funding came in for the first time during COVID, but only covers half of a club's operational costs. - Is that the... Is that the adult? Child? - Yep. - Adult? Yep. - The rest has to come from sponsors and constant fundraising. - What would it be like if we weren't here? What would happen if we weren't here? - Volunteers are giving up their time to do this` - Yeah. Sure. - ..and then you've got to ask for money to save people's lives. Does that make sense? - Nah. No, I don't know the answer. I don't` I really don't know. - Just north of Piha, Bethells Beach Surf Clubrooms are barely hanging in there. Literally. - So just watch your step around here. - Yep. I can see that. A large hunk of their clubrooms washed away in just 45 minutes by the raging power of Cyclone Gabrielle. So how much did you lose? - Roughly 15m got washed away. - Dave Comp is Bethells' vice president. - Put it this way ` the best that I can tell you how fast it came up was probably within an hour, it went from being a lot of rain to 'Holy shit, we've got a torrent coming through,' and we've had torrents come through here before, but not to that scale. - There's our deck... floating down. - A torrent that swept the clubroom deck out to the Tasman Sea, leaving the rest of the building stranded on unstable ground. How has the atmosphere of this place changed? - Well, it's become more sterile. Bethells' clubrooms are now down to a gear shed, a first aid room and a shower block. - This used to be our lounge. - Used to be? How far out did it go? - So that used to go out for about 8 metres. (CICADAS SING) - The land has still not settled ` since August, another half a metre has slipped away. How much longer will we be able to stand where we are now? - Million-dollar question, I guess. But suspect probably within the next 12 months, this may not be here. - It'll be gone completely? - Mm-hm. - Clubbies have been patrolling Bethells for 65 years. - The beauty around this club, the fundamental is it's a family unit, so it doesn't matter if you're a senior, doesn't matter if you're a junior surf, you're` we are one family. - But take away the clubroom, the family home, and the whanau splinters. - If we haven't got a facility that we can train at, if we haven't got a facility that we can stay at, well, then we're in jeopardy. - Jeopardy which will only worsen as the extremity of storms continues. Did you think that climate change could bring about the potential death of this club? - No, not in a hundred years. Not in my lifetime. Nobody anticipated the speed of this. - When we come back... - We're now driving IRBs on the expressway. - ...clubbies forced inland... - Well, you'd be surprised how far inland we get those boats. - ...and will they stay afloat? - If we can't make good change, we won't be able to continue to operate at those levels. (TENSE MUSIC) - Increasingly... - Two people have capsized in the inner harbour, so we're gonna go and search for them. - ...surf lifeguards are needed away from the beaches. - IB 1 will take Rhys and Will, IB 2 James and Alfie. - A rescue simulation by the Hawke's Bay Search and Rescue squad ` SAR for short. - IB 1 to Jess. Jess, you copy? (RT BLEEPS) - This is Jess. Go ahead. - All are volunteers from surf lifesaving clubs across Hawke's Bay, on call 24-7. - Jess, we have located two persons in the water ` one male, one female. Proceeding to pick-up. Over. - Like primary school teacher Rhys Harman. - We're just... uh, ordinary people, I guess, that do nothing special. Just happy to help out where we can. - Are you first responders now? - Uh, first responder` I guess, yeah. Yeah, I guess, yeah. Both patients secure, both patients secure. Over. (RT BLEEPS) - Copy that, and we'll see you back at base. Over. - Their coordinator, Jess Bennett, is a chartered accountant. - We're a team of people, so often there's many leaders within our squad, but I guess, yeah, I led the response during Cyclone Gabrielle. - Gabrielle would push this team to its very limit. - I don't think anything could have prepared me for what we saw that morning. - Whatever I imagined, it was 10 times, 100 times worse. - The cyclone saved its full fury for the east coast of the North Island. Hawke's Bay was cut off by raging and rising floodwaters. - It was terrifying that we're still at that point ` weren't able to put up rescue helicopters because of the weather conditions, and thinking about what those poor people would have had to endure during that time, and that we were sort of the people they were relying on. - Jess's SAR team of lifeguards and their IRBs could get in there. At first light, they were dispatched to a dangerously flooded Esk Valley. - We realised the water was so high and there was tree trunks and everything in there, and I turned and talked to the driver and I said, 'Man, like, you know, we might not be coming back tonight.' - Did you ever think, 'How the hell are we going to get these people out?' - Yeah, a little bit. Like, how are we going to get to all of these people and keep my people safe? Yeah. - MAN: - Pregnant woman... Um... pets. Lots of pets. People weren't gonna leave without their pets, and we weren't gonna leave without them either, so, yeah. - We had people pulling out of houses, you know, saying that they were ready for the end and taking their last few breaths, and people on rooftops that had been on there since 1am, 2am. - After five hours, the team was redeployed north of the Esk Valley, where rising floodwaters had burst through stopbanks. It's really hard to believe now, standing here today on this stretch of road halfway between Napier and Hastings, Pakowhai, that there were people trapped on top of that building over there, that one over there, and up to 30 on top of that building. - It was up to my... it had risen to my head. - Up to here? - Yeah. - One of those was local teacher Eru Hart. That's where you were? On top of that roof? - This is where we were, yeah. On top of this one. - On top for more than five hours with 30 RSE orchard workers. This is Eru's footage, taken at the time, as the water continued to rise. Help was on its way. - As we came round that corner, I mean, my jaw just dropped to see people like that just scattered everywhere on roofs, and there was just helicopters pulling people off. - We were just exhausted and confused by the time the IRBs arrived, and when they did, it really was` It did feel like a miracle. I'm grateful that we could do something and we did do something, definitely. - A year on, Sunday brought Rhys and Eru back together again. - Well, I wanted to thank you, because I didn't realise that you guys were volunteers. I thought you` To know that people` - Cheers. - ...strangers, were willing to give up their time on that dangerous day, that really means a lot. - Oh, definitely. Yeah. - Eru was one of more than 200 people rescued by Rhys and his team on that day. - I do think he's a hero. I do, and I think the surf lifesaving community needs recognition, and for the public to know this is what they do. - Those guys consider you as heroes. How does that sit with you? - I mean, there was plenty of people that weren't lifeguards that were out there getting amongst and helping out where they could, so... and, you know, they're the heroes, really. - JESS: My team in particular are incredibly humble, and they... I think they're unsung heroes. - But it came at a financial cost. - We put holes in brand-new boats, and, you know, broke brand-new motors, wetsuits, lifejackets ` you know, I was wearing booties and put holes in them straight away, and` and, you know, that was all my own gear. - The Hawke's Bay community and sponsors stepped up and dug deep to help replace the damaged gear. - Our squad has, prior to the cyclone, run off the smell of an oily rag. (LAUGHS) Um... and without probably the right equipment, we won't be able to continue to operate at those levels. - Do you feel that you're being spread too thin now? - I think... our job has grown. Resources are a question whether we can sustain that growth. - This year alone, without the cyclone, we've had about seven major jobs, and I think we're feeling those effects across the country of just the number of times we're being called upon. - What would you like more of? - More equipment, more members, and more funding. - Sponsorship helps, but many clubs feel like they always have their hands out just to cover the basics. Take a look at this. Most of them have Givealittle pages. - Am I worried about the future of my club? Yes, always, because it's` You have to be continually working on it. - Rob Ferguson of United North Piha. - You don't need much these days for the kids to become disconnected. If it's too hard ` 'Why would I do that? 'Why would I go and sit on a beach for eight hours?' We haven't got a clubhouse, we're working out of a Portacom. You know? It's not fun. His hope is a new multi-million-dollar clubhouse, along with its striking new tower, will keep the club afloat. - As long as we can maintain the membership, and it's an attractive thing to be able to do, to come to the beach and volunteer your time, I think we'll be OK. - Up at Bethells, any new clubhouse is still years away. - We need security to know that we have got that recovery, or that money in the bank, to be able to allow us to then move to a new location. - How much will it cost to relocate? - Potentially up to $3 million to $4 million. - That's a lot of raffles, mate. - It's a lot of sausages to turn on a barbecue, isn't it? So, um... (LAUGHS) - Club vice president Dave Comp knows this is a fight for survival. - If we don't have somewhere to facilitate from, we don't have a club. And that makes it even more challenging just to continue to provide a service going forward. (POIGNANT MUSIC) - So we've got a bit of a rip running through there. - Dave has spent most of his adult life patrolling this beach. - Another one just running across here as well, that we've just got to be making sure... - His daughters were clubbies here too. - Someone's in the water over there. - His granddaughter will be next. - As I say, this isn't just for my kids ` this is for everybody's kids. (LAUGHTER, CHEERING) - He will keep this club going... - I think that all lifeguards punch above their weight. Yeah. I mean, it comes down to, dare I say the words, but when shit goes down, we will get it done. ...through hell and high water. - This club won't go. Won't allow it to. - Not on your watch. - (LAUGHS) Something like that. - Well, this summer, our surf lifeguards have so far spent almost 200,000 hours on patrol and rescued 749 people from beaches across Aotearoa. Now, Bethells Beach still need at least $2 million to build a new clubhouse. Can we find solutions? Let us know your thoughts on our social pages ` Sunday, TVNZ. E whai ake nei ` the weight-loss drugs that are changing lives... - I felt normal. - All because of Ozempic? - ...but are they also ending them? - You just do not expect to find your daughter on her knees in front of the toilet bowl, dead. - Hoki mai ano. It's quite literally a weighty problem ` over 30% of adults in New Zealand are classified as obese, and while it's not uncommon to try and lose a few kilos, battling the bulge isn't easy. That's why new weight-loss drugs like Ozempic have become so sought-after. But, as Dimity Clancey reports, caution is key as the hype is replaced with the reality of how risky or even deadly these drugs can be. (DETERMINED ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) - DIMITY CLANCEY: For much of her life growing up, debilitating pain was Shannon Natalia's unwelcome but constant companion. It was an agony made worse by not knowing what caused it or how to fix it. - It feels like you are in a wetsuit, and fill the inside of the wetsuit with like, just sludge and heavy, heavy sand, and then you're having to walk around in that wetsuit. - In 2020, doctors finally diagnosed Shannon with lipoedema, an incurable disease that had produced an abnormal build-up of fat in her lower body. At first, pain management was limited. - OK, so this is the Himalayan rock salt room... - But then Shannon's GP prescribed injections of Ozempic. - All of a sudden, my inflammation was gone, my pain was gone. - All because of Ozempic? - Nothing had made the impact that that made. - Ozempic had originally been developed to treat diabetes, but when it became known a side effect of the drug was rapid weight loss, its popularity exploded. - I wanted to show you guys that everyone starts somewhere, even if you're starting back somewhere. - Shannon is proof it's effective. Her transformation was amazing, and not only did her pain disappear, so did the excess kilos lipoedema had cruelly inflicted. How much weight did you lose? - 25 kilos. - Lipoedema is now one of many conditions scientists believe could be treated successfully with medications like Ozempic. - Drugs like Ozempic may also help curb drug addiction. - Ozempic could help people with early-onset Alzheimer's. If you could use it for all these applications, it would truly be a miracle drug. - I liken this to when the T Ford was first, um, invented, and suddenly we had changes in transportation and the horse and cart went out. Professor of medicine and endocrinologist at St Vincent's Hospital Dr Katherine Samaras is blown away by the potential of drugs like Ozempic. - When I think back at other points in medical history, probably the introduction of penicillin has been as transformative. So this is` It's a game-changer. - While Ozempic and a number of similar weight-loss injections come with promise, they also bring risk. - It's a dangerous drug. - Roy Webster is convinced about the cause of his wife's death 12 months ago. Trish Webster had been taking an Ozempic-like medication called Saxenda to lose a few kilos because she wanted to look her best at her daughter's wedding. - She shouldn't be gone, you know? I don't think she should be gone. - Trish was thought to be the first Australian death linked to these weight-loss injections. But late last year, more families contacted us with similar stories. - He wanted to be healthy. He wanted to live a long life. And now I can carry his ashes around in one hand. - Sue and Elyse Ramsay want to know why 18 months ago, their much-loved husband and dad, Tim, died after taking injections of Saxenda. What made him decide he wanted to lose weight? - I think it was, um, the prospect of, um... maybe walking Elyse down the aisle that he thought, 'I do need to lose weight.' - So Tim went to the GP and asked for it? - Yeah, she gave him the script and said, 'It will be good for all aspects of your life.' - Tim was confident the injections would work, but after only 19 days, something was clearly wrong. - STRAINED: 'Yeah, bub, it's Dad here. I'm down just by the truck. 'Would you be able to come down and take me to hospital, please? Thank you.' - 'When Elyse received this voicemail...' - You can hear the desperation in his voice. - It doesn't sound like him. - '...she rushed him to hospital.' Tim was complaining of severe stomach pain, but after a series of tests, the doctors couldn't find anything amiss. - Did you mention to the doctors that he was taking Saxenda? - Yes. And I asked if that would` was a bit problematic for his other medication, and he said no, that would be fine. So, really, there was nothing more they said about the Saxenda. - The following night, he collapsed in the bathroom at home. 40 minutes of CPR couldn't save him. (SEABIRDS SQUAWK) Last November, 14 months after he died, a coroner ruled Tim's cause of death was undetermined. - You just don't expire. There has got to be a reason for Tim's death. And so I think that's when we really, really thought maybe the Saxenda had a lot to do with it. - Yeah. (MELANCHOLY PIANO MUSIC) - You just do not expect to find your daughter on her knees in front of the toilet bowl, dead. - Leonie Margetts knows the distress Sue and Elyse Ramsay feel. Her 39-year-old daughter, Naomi Rooney, died in June 2022 after taking Ozempic injections. Naomi was desperate to be a mum, and had been told she needed to lose weight to have any chance of falling pregnant. - She was very aware of turning 40, and her options of being a mum were` they were running out. - As an experienced nurse, Naomi had an expert knowledge of drugs and their side effects. But even so, something tragic happened after she started using Ozempic. - My first thought through my head was, 'This cannot be happening, 'this cannot be happening, this cannot be real.' But things just happened so quickly. And then it was an awful, awful tussle to wrestle her out of the... out of the toilet, and to get her on to the floor to try and do CPR. Yeah. - And she never regained consciousness? - No. No. When her partner picked her up, he said straight away that she was blue around her mouth. And there's nothing that I can do to erase that image. - Just horrific for those families ` and worse, how easy it was for them to get the drugs. That's next. - This medication is harmful. - We don't leave matches in the hands of children ` we shouldn't leave these drugs in the hands of people. It has to be supervised. - Ashley Keenan was the perfect patient to be prescribed Ozempic. The Canadian has diabetes and is overweight, but the drug that was supposed to save her life almost killed her. - I was only on Ozempic for about four months when I ended up in the ICU, an intensive care unit, for 10 days. I nearly died. - Ashley suffered what's now emerging as a serious concern ` a severe gastrointestinal reaction to the drug. - The side effects of the Ozempic gave me pancreatitis. The pancreatitis caused me to vomit uncontrollably. I actually remember one of the ER doctors telling me that he roped in every specialist that he could so that he could try to save my life. - Despite her near-death experience, Ozempic had been doing what it has become famous for. Ashley was losing the kilos, but when she stopped taking the drug and returned home from hospital, she quickly put weight back on. - I'm quite ashamed of this. At one point, I actually went back on Ozempic because I hated how much weight I had regained, and my doctors gave it to me. And after two months, I had pancreatitis again. It made me realise, like, 'OK, this medication is harmful.' - But Professor Katherine Samaras says the risks can be mitigated with proper medical care. - Used appropriately, cautiously, guided by experts, these drugs are very safe. - It's no secret that drugs like Ozempic are landing in the hands of people who shouldn't be on it. Why do we need to be cautious? - We need to be cautious because these drugs have adverse effects, and these adverse effects can be really very severe, but this can be prevented, but you have to be advised how to do that. And a handout and an internet consultation is not enough. One needs to see an expert. These can be dangerous drugs if they're left in the hands of people. We don't leave matches in the hands of children ` we shouldn't leave these drugs in the hands of people. It has to be supervised. - And the benefit of these drugs, I don't think, should be overlooked, but they're not the silver bullet for weight loss. - Professor Robyn Langham is the chief medical adviser at the Therapeutic Goods Administration. One of her roles is to investigate adverse outcomes associated with pharmaceutical drug use. She's well aware of the tragic cases of Trish Webster, Tim Ramsay and Naomi Rooney. - Clearly, any time anybody loses a loved one in association with a drug that they've been prescribed or a device that they've been using is just absolutely devastating, and, you know, we really feel a responsibility. Every death that's reported to us is investigated, and if we do see that there's a need to change the messaging with the drug, the information that goes with the drug, or even in some cases to withdraw the drug, then we have the power to do so. - Determining that will take time, but more immediately, Professor Langham warns of another danger. The success of Ozempic for weight loss has caused a worldwide shortage of the product, and that's led to a growing practice by pharmacists to make their own versions of the drug. - For patients that are receiving compounded semaglutide-type products, this is not Ozempic. This is not the drug that has been extensively evaluated and tested and approved for its safety and its efficacy. (PENSIVE MUSIC) - It's a dilemma ` what to do about the use of Ozempic and drugs like it for weight loss? Shannon Natalia is convinced they work. The families of Tim Ramsay and Naomi Rooney say otherwise. For many of us, the desire to be thinner is overwhelming. But at what cost? What's your warning to people who would be watching this and they know they shouldn't be on it? - I don't think people who want to fit into a frock for their school reunion or look good on their social media should be using this. I think that that's a complete waste of time, and dangerous, and preventing people who need the drug from accessing it. - Yeah, that's right. Demand is creating global shortages ` not ideal for diabetics. But here in Aotearoa, Ozempic has only been approved for treating type 2 diabetes. Saxenda, though, which is available on prescription for those wanting to lose weight, is surging in popularity, with clinics reporting a huge increase in demand. E haere ake nei ` if he's convicted, could Donald Trump still run for US president? - This is a man who's facing 91 criminal charges. That doesn't concern you? - Nope. - We will make America great again. - He's a cult leader. He does want to make himself into a king. Oh, Henry, my show's about to start. Henry. (GRUNTS) VOICE-OVER: Imagine if instead of the dog dragging you out the door... (SCREAMS) ..you dragged it. Get AIA Vitality and start thriving. - Hoki mai ano. Is Donald Trump indestructible ` an unstoppable force? The former president faces 91 charges in four criminal trials and the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence. For anyone else, it'd be political death, but Trump seems to be thriving on it. And with major concerns over his likely opponent Joe Biden's age, the prospect of Trump returning to the White House is very real. Here's Amelia Adams. (BLUES GUITAR MUSIC) - Welcome. Hey, guys. - Come on in! Good to see you. - AMELIA ADAMS: Colorado Springs is a deeply conservative patch of America's Southwest. - I'm so glad you were able to get here, April. - These passionate Republicans have gathered for lunch with a hefty side of patriotism. - TOGETHER: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. - We're about to find out why they're so determined to return Donald Trump to the White House despite unprecedented, almost unfathomable circumstances. This is a man who's facing 91 criminal charges. That doesn't concern you? - Nope. Not a bit. - Why not? - Because it's a bunch of baloney. At least that's how I see it. # God bless # America. - OTHERS: # America... - As chair of the local Republicans, Vicky Tonkins is using her voice to rally the troops and motivate the community to get to the polls. - I think the biggest thing right now, I think, is the border. It may be second, or neck-and-neck with the economy, because everything has gone up under the Biden administration, and it's been hard for a lot of people. - So you think life was much better under Donald Trump? - Absolutely. - He lost the last election to Joe Biden. - Well, that's a question that a lot of us are still asking. I'm not buying it. I never have. - Well, the votes were counted. - Were they? (OMINOUS MUSIC) - So there is nothing in your Constitution to restrict Donald Trump from running for president, even if he's convicted? - No. Hard to imagine, right? - For years, Michael Cohen served as Donald Trump's personal attorney, fixer and enforcer. With your lawyer hat on, how is it possible that he can potentially be convicted and continue his campaign? - Ha. Cos the Constitution of the United States of America does not prohibit a felon or somebody who is actually an inmate from being President of the United States of America. - That's absurd. - Because our Founding Fathers never contemplated a scenario anything even remotely close to something like this. (OMINOUS MUSIC) - The 77-year-old is facing four criminal trials and a total of 91 indictments. They relate to his attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 election, election interference in the state of Georgia, falsifying business records in New York, and mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House. (OMINOUS MUSIC SWELLS) This is where one of those criminal trials will play out ` the federal courthouse in Washington, DC. Three years ago, when just a few hundred metres from here, he encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol Building. (SHOUTING) - (MAN WHOOPS) - They've just smashed open the door on the other side ` guards are desperately trying to hold them off. I was there that day, and it was frightening, like a scene from a Civil War movie. - They were doing it in his name. - Mm. - They were carrying the Trump 2020 flag, and they were screaming and attacking people in his honour. - Once a prominent and extremely wealthy businessman and lawyer, Michael Cohen paid the ultimate price for doing Trump's legal dirty work, ending up in jail for paying hush money to conceal his boss's alleged affairs. There's no doubt he has a personal axe to grind, but Cohen knows better than anyone how easy it is to succumb to Donald Trump's unique combination of charisma and thuggery. - I think Donald Trump has become the worst version of himself imaginable. The things that he's saying, the divisiveness that he's creating in this country, is only being parroted by his MAGA supporters. - How is it that the man you've just described, also twice impeached, is on the cusp of getting the party's nomination? - (STAMMERS) Mind-blowing, head-scratching ` any other adjective that you care to insert there, do so. Nobody else in the history of this country who even had one-tenth of the issue that Donald Trump is currently facing could actually be a nominee for one of our major parties. - But there's another major concern for voters on both sides. At 81, Joe Biden is already the oldest US president in history. The most demanding job in the world looks to be taking its toll. Donald Trump will be 78 when Americans head to the polls. He, too, is showing clear signs of forgetfulness. Leading political opponent, and leading by a lot, including Obama. It was` I'll tell you what, you take a look at Obama and take a look at some of the things that he's done. - So the best way to get something done, if you` if it holds near and dear to you that you, uh... um, like to be able to... Anyway. - Do we really want to have two presidential candidates in their 80s? - MAN: No! (OVERLAPPING VOICES) - It's an issue Donald Trump's rivals have seized on. Nikki Haley is still in the presidential race by the skin of her teeth. - The majority of Americans disprove of both. - Nikki Haley is a strong candidate ` she is a former state governor, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, but even she has been pretty hesitant to really stick the boot in to the former president. The reality is, come November, Americans will likely be faced with a less than ideal choice. And remarkably, by then, Donald Trump could well be a convicted felon. - I don't want to see Donald Trump behind bars. - Why not? - For four years, Donald Trump was briefed with US intelligence, and that US intelligence is still vital to the national security of the United States of America. I assure you that Donald Trump would sell that information for a bag of tuna or a book of stamps in prison, and I am more concerned about the safety of every single American ` I'm more concerned about their safety than I am about seeing some video of Donald Trump in orange being placed into a cell and the doors being closed behind him. - And we will make America great again. (CHEERING) God bless you. God bless you. Thank you. - Well, we're still a long way out from the election in November, but right now, Trump holds a narrow lead over Biden in polling. Well, that's our show for tonight ` we'd love to hear from you. You can find us on social media or send your story ideas to sunday@tvnz.co.nz, and our stories are there on the Sunday page at TVNZ+. Thanks for joining us. Nga mihi nui. Hei kona.