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Thousands Stranded at Festival; Rain that Hit at Burning Man Festival; Ana Luiza Anjos is Interviewed while Stuck at Burning Man Festival; Biden Celebrates Labor Day in Philadelphia; Congress Returns to Avoid Shutdown; Russia Open to Negotiations on Grain. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired September 04, 2023 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:16]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Tens of thousands stranded in the Nevada desert may finally have a chance to escape. Heavy rains turning the Burning Man Festival into muddy man.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, John Berman.

And marking Labor Day by honoring America's workers and their labor unions, President Biden preparing to speak in Philadelphia this morning, where he's also expected to tout his economic policies.

BERMAN: Millions of Americans headed home as the holiday weekend wraps up. We will tell you if you will make it on time.

Kate and Sara are off today. I'm John Berman, with Rahel Solomon, and this is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

This morning tens of thousands of people, cars and campers are literally stuck in the mud and trapped at the popular Burning Man Festival. This after a rare rain event swamped Nevada's Black Rock Desert. For days thick, ankle deep mud has made walking, let alone driving out next to impossible. And it didn't take a lot for this to happen. Only 0.8 inches of rain. But that's three months' worth of rain for those parts that fell in just a few hours.

Some good news, conditions may be dry enough for roads to open soon. And some really, really good news, sanitation trucks are moving through the city ensuring that porta-potties are functional and clean. This morning, giant trucks, they are able to help people who need to get out now, get out now.

Each year more than 70,000 people who call themselves burners, they go to that art, music and community event which culminates in the ceremonial burning of a giant thing. And organizers say that burning will happen tonight.

CNN's Camila Bernal joins us now with an update on conditions.

Camila. CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. Look, it's still muddy. It's still messy. A lot of the cars and the people that come out of the festival look like this. Here's the emergency vehicles behind me. That mud is thick. It is difficult to walk through. People are having to put plastic bags over the shoes and duct tape them in order to walk through that mud.

There is still a shelter in place and organizers say that they're going to essentially wait to see what the conditions are like today to essentially tell people the roads are open. But what's happening is that they're not telling people not to come out.

So, this is the main entrance to and from the festival. We're right near the playa, right, that's where that mud is. But we're seeing a lot more vehicles just now that the sun is coming up trying to exit this area. We expect thousands of them for what they call the exodus. That's when they exit the festival.

But, look, it's not going to be easy to come out for a lot of people. Some are going to have to walk again. That's what a lot of people have been doing, including the famous people. I mean DJ Diplo, he was here and said that he was with Chris Rock and had to walk out.

I want you to listen to what he told CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIPLO, MUSIC PRODUCER AND DJ: We planned an excursion that next morning and I think we headed out. Me and about 20 other people. And we just - we just walked. And we didn't see many people on the road, and we just -- we kept walking. They said the gate was closed. It's a general term for the gate. The gate wasn't allowing cars in, because people come to Burning Man the last day for the burn. They love the Sunday and the Saturday. But there's no actual gate to open or close, it's just the matter of the mud ends and a paved road begins.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And he's not the only one that has talked about how difficult it's been. I talked to many people yesterday who were trying to get out.

I want to show you the line of cars right now. We expect this to get a lot fuller as the day goes on, more and more people trying to get out. Everyone I talked to yesterday was just happy to be able to get out.

And also telling me that they've had a great time at the festival, remaining really positive here despite the difficult conditions, saying they're making the best out of a hard situation. And people sharing food and sharing supplies because a lot of the people that planned on being there maybe planned for two or three days, not extra days. And that was the problem that some people didn't have enough food or water for extra days and a lot of people just were not planning to deal with so much rain, John.

BERMAN: Camila Bernal, a very clean, I have to say, Camila Bernal at the Burning Man Festival. Keep us posted throughout the morning.

BERNAL: I'm not in there.

BERMAN: Thank you. Thank you very much.

BERNAL: Thank you. We'll do.

SOLOMON: John, I would have expected you to be at Burning Man. I mean you give me those Burning Man cool hey man vibes.

BERMAN: I'm just that cool.

[09:05:00]

No, I mean, I will say, even the famous people have to walk.

SOLOMON: Yes.

BERMAN: I mean you know it's bad if the famous people are having to walk out of there on their own two feet.

SOLOMON: Touche. But a lot of questions because, how did it get so bad there?

BERMAN: Yes.

SOLOMON: So, how did things get so muddy, so bad, so quickly? So, essentially, this desert area received, in just hours, the same amount of rain that it usually sees in two to three months.

Let's bring in meteorologist Derek Van Dam. He joins us now with more on the science behind this.

So, Derek, why did this area sort of react this way to that much rain?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, great question, Rahel. And it all has to do with the structure of the topsoil, right? We are showing you in this 3-D perspective the difference between loam, which is kind of that earthy topsoil that you and I would plant our gardens in, for instance, and the topsoil that Black Rock Desert has, which is generally clay. So, when you get this insistent rainfall, if it rains in the loam or the earthy top soil that we're familiar with, it gets absorbed very easily. But in the desert, this is completely different, the playa that Camila was talking about, well, it starts to puddle up and eventually this starts to mix in with that clay and it creates that almost very muddy cement-like substance that people ultimately got stuck in. So, that created the thousands and thousands of people that got stuck in it.

And, wow, this is just a perfect example of that. These aerial photographs and visuals just paint a picture. A picture worth a million words, right? And just look at the 70,000 people that call that home for only five days a year. Normally a dry time of the year. It just happened to coincidentally rain during the stretch when everybody decided to head to Burning Man. So, here it is, just north of Empire, this is western Nevada. And the

good news is the rain is going to dry out. It's actually coming to an end. There's no more watches in effect for that area. And, in fact, the forecast, radar imagery shows things clearing up.

This is very interesting. This is the playa that Camila was talking about. This is usually a very dry -- dried up flat area. And the water that normally falls here just evaporates with the sun. But, of course, it's been overcast all weekend. So, it didn't have that opportunity to. And the fact that they got two to three months' worth of rain in such a short period of time is why it congealed and made into that cement-like mixture that ultimately stuck people.

Rahel, you know, my favorite part about this story is how people are just taking this with a grain of salt. They're happy to deal with the adverse conditions. It's almost like half glass full type thing but just with mud, right?

SOLOMON: Yes. Yes, it's been really interesting talking to folks. I talked to one woman yesterday who said, you know, things were OK. They were having sushi. They were making the most of it.

VAN DAM: Exactly.

SOLOMON: So, yes, I will agree, that's been the most interesting part of all of this.

Derek Van Dam, thank you.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now is Ana Luiza Anjos. She is at the Burning Man festival right now in the mud.

Thank you so much for being with us.

So, it started to rain on Friday. Walk us through what happened to you.

ANA LUIZA ANJOS, ATTENDING BURNING MAN FESTIVAL: Yes, guys, how are you? I'm so happy to be talking directly from Black Rock City to you guys at CNN and the rest of the world.

Well, we went through some heavy rain. This is unprecedented. I don't think that ever it happened that we had Black Rock City in complete silence. We were worried about, you know, people getting hurt. So, we had all, you know, the organization ask us all to turn down the sound system, to ration food and water.

And we are here happy. We don't want this to end. We want you all to know this. We are just sad that some people are still not having, you know, a lot of the things that they need. But the ten principles of Burning Man, one of the strongest ones, which is self-resilience, and we do it on our own, now we are doing in the camp together. So, the sense of community is beautiful out here. I think you can hear the music in the background. We still have music. Some art cars with the music yesterday. And it was the last day of Burning Man. But tonight, you are right, the man is burning.

BERMAN: Is that why people have stuck around, because they want to see the burning thing?

ANJOS: Well, yes, John, and also because the event didn't finish. I mean it was - yes, last night was supposed to be the temple burn and Saturday night the man burn and we feel like we want to leave when there's a closure. So, we need the man to burn, you know? So, hopefully it's going to happen tonight.

BERMAN: So describe the mud. I mean, how deep are we talking? What's it been like to try to walk through it at its worst?

ANJOS: Oh, my God, it's exactly what you were explaining before. This is the bottom of a lake, so it's not mud, it's clay. So, we get stuck. We can even possibly do sculptures and it will last like a month with this clay, you know? So, it's really hard to move around. Bicycles can definitely not move around. And, yes, we need to have those plastic bags on our boots so the mud - I mean the clay doesn't get stuck and we can at least move close by, you know.

[09:10:07]

But the org (ph) was asking us not to leave camp and to kind of be more in community so we can assess all the damage and be together for, you know, this final steps.

BERMAN: We did hear about people who decided they wanted to walk out the six or seven miles. What would that be like to try to walk through that mud for five, six miles?

ANJOS: Oh, my God, it's quite hard. I mean yesterday it rained less, so it's getting better, guys, it's not that it's getting worse, it's getting better. But it's -- yes, I heard that the org was very worried about the exodus and also because people were leaving things behind. And this is not an event that that could happen as we are responsible for all the garbage that we produce and we've got to take it back with us, you know.

BERMAN: Are you going to -

ANJOS: But, yes, we've been kind of (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: Are you going to pack differently next year, maybe more duct tape?

ANJOS: Yes, definitely. And less luggage because now we're stuck and I have to go to the other side of the playa to put myself in a container camp back to New York and I don't know how I'm going to do that because this is not my camp's priority. And I just haven't figured out yet.

BERMAN: Heavy duty wash, leave stuff out in the sun, that's what you have in store for you I think in the next few days.

Ana Luiza Anjos, thank you so much for being with us. Best of luck. Enjoy your last night there.

ANJOS: All right, dear. Good vibes for all of you. And we are well and muddy here at Burning Man.

BERMAN: Not mutually exclusive sometimes.

All right, Rahel.

SOLOMON: OK, John, thank you.

In just minutes, President Biden will deliver a Labor Lay speech in Philadelphia celebrating American workers and the unions that represent them. He also plans to tout his economic plan for the nation.

Let's go to CNN's Arlette Saenz. She is traveling with the president in Philadelphia.

So, Arlette, what more do we know about the president's message? What are we expecting to hear from him today?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, President Biden often touts himself as the most pro-union president in history. And today he is taking that message right here to the battleground state of Pennsylvania. The president, in just a short while, will be speaking right here at the kickoff for the annuals (ph) Tri-State Labor Day parade. An opportunity for the president to try to sell his Bidenomics vision to the American voters.

Now, in his - a post on the social media account X just a short while ago, the president said, "this Labor Day I stand with every worker who has lifted our nation to new heights, and with the unions who gave them power and voice. Workers built America. It's my job to make America work for them. And I won't let them down."

Now, this is all part of the president's push to try to convince Americans that the president's policies are beginning to work for them and pay off in the economy. On Friday, the president touted that jobs report that produced 187,000 jobs just last August, saying that this is one of the strongest periods for growth for jobs in American history. And the president also, today, is likely to tout some other measures that his administration has taken, including this new proposed overtime rule which would guarantee overtime pay at an hour - at time and a half to those who are making $55,000 a year roughly. That is a change from the current stance, which is -- applies overtime pay rules to about those making about $36,000 a year. This would ultimately impact 3.6 million American workers. This is something that President Biden hopes will resonate with voters heading into the presidential campaign.

Of course, as the president has tried to sell his Bidenomics message, there still has been some anxiety and some frustration from Americans about the state of the economy. The president's approval rating specifically when it comes to the handling of the economy is about 37 percent. Now, while this is an official event, of course, this all has some political undertones to it as well. The president has often come to these labor communities as he has sought election and that is certainly something he will do once again as he is heading into the 2024 campaign, especially in this battleground of Pennsylvania.

SOLOMON: Yes, that's a great point.

Arlette Saenz, we'll check back with you shortly as the president speaks. Thank you, Arlette.

But, John Berman, separately, Philadelphia, great town. Great place. Great people from Philly.

BERMAN: I was - I was just thinking you must be looking at that longing for home.

SOLOMON: Yes.

BERMAN: All right, Congress returns to work this week, facing an end of the month deadline to fund federal agencies or risk a government shutdown.

In Ukraine, President Zelenskyy fires his defense minister. How the, quote, "new approach" could reshape the battlefield.

And millions of people making their way back home after a long holiday weekend. What to expect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:18:55]

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

As the Senate returns to work this week and the House reconvenes next week, lawmakers are already facing a new deadline to avoid a government shutdown. Congress needs to fund federal agencies by the end of this month. The fiscal year ends on September 30th.

Now, among the issues at hand, additional aid to Ukraine, funding for communities slammed by natural disasters and a House rule to pass legislation by a majority vote. And once again House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is caught in the middle as far right members make new demands.

Let's bring in CNN's Melanie Zanona. She joins us now from Washington.

So, Melanie, this is shaping up to be an intense potentially couple of weeks. Where do things stand now?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, with just weeks to go until this government funding deadline, there are still a number of key decisions to be made. The first one is how long a short-term funding patch would last. We're hearing it could go into November, possibly December.

The second big decision is whether the disaster aid Ukraine funding request from the White House, which is around $40 billion, is going to be attached to the funding bill. Now, conservatives in the House say that they would support disaster aid, but they would not support it if it is attached to Ukraine funding.

[09:20:05]

But this is just one of several demands that conservatives are laying out. They also want to start a Biden impeachment inquiry. They also want to boost border security. And they also want to defund parts of the DOJ in order to get their vote for a short-term funding bill, which none of those things are likely to happen. So, you get a real sense of the challenge that Speaker Kevin McCarthy is facing.

And I think Republican Mike Simpson, he actually serves on one of these spending panels, summed it up pretty well to me. He told me, "if he," McCarthy, "works with the Democrats, obviously, the Democrats are not going to do it for free. So, it's going to be a compromise. Then you're going to find a resolution introduced on the floor to vacate the chair.

And that is a reference to a procedural vote that would allow the sitting speaker to have a vote to be forced out of the speaker's chair. So, that is something that Kevin McCarthy desperately wants to avoid.

Now, in recent weeks he has tried to convince conservatives to back off. He had a conference call last week, according to me and my colleague Manu Raju, where he argued that they should hold their fire and that they should save these funding fights and demands for later in the year when they try to do long-term funding bills. But we'll see whether that actually works.

Rahel.

SOLOMON: Essentially play the long game. Sort of agree to the short- term funding bill and sort of fight for the priorities in the longer term funding bill.

ZANONA: Yes.

SOLOMON: We'll see, Melanie Zanona. Good to see you. Thank you.

John.

BERMAN: This morning, Ukrainian officials say two people were injured in Russian strikes south of Odessa. The target of the attacks appear to be infrastructure around a port area. It's the same port expected to be part of critical talks today between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Erdogan. Erdogan wants to revive a deal that allowed Ukraine's grain to be exported around the world. Russia pulled out of that deal in July and has been targeting ports ever since.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is with us now.

These are very important talks, not just for Ukraine and Russia, but for a lot of people around the world, Nic. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Absolutely. You

don't get grain from Ukraine and Russia on top of that then, that's going to drive up global food prices, instability. A lot of people are concerned about that. And that's Erdogan's message today to Putin. He said the world is watching. It's very important to get this Black Sea grain deal up and running.

Now, Putin, when he spoke, said that he was willing to negotiate. But what does that really mean? Well, Putin has his own plan, a different plan to the Black Sea grain deal, whereby he experts Russian grain to Turkey and then Turkey on exports it to the rest of the world. Continents like Africa could be a beneficiary of that. That seems to be Putin's sell. But the message from the international community, from the U.N. secretary general specifically has been, Russia, there is a concrete set of proposals here to get you back into the Black Sea grain deal. They're on the table. Go for it. The Russian's push back on that has been, it's all promises, no guarantees.

This does seem to be Russia trying to use its leverage of bombing these grain facilities and of pulling out of the original deal to get something of what it wants, sell more of its agricultural products, and specifically get better access to international financial markets. Of course, this was a war of Russia's choosing and it would have none of this economic pain if it hadn't instigated the war.

John.

BERMAN: Another major development over the weekend, Nic, President Zelenskyy, in Ukraine, appears to have fired his defense minister right in the middle of this counteroffensive. What's going on there?

ROBERTSON: Look, there have been a lot of allegations and even people -- lower people within the defense structure in Ukraine fired for what appears to be corruption. Some of the recruiting officers in particular and others.

Now, these charges are not being labeled against Reznikov. Far from it. There's no mention of him in terms of corruption. But I think the understanding is that these deficiencies, these corruptions that have happened within the defense ministry, the buck stops with him. And right now Zelenskyy is trying to provide and show the international community, NATO in particular, the EU in particular, that he can get rid of corruption.

And the guy that is hired is an ethnic tartar (ph), a guy that's been building quite a strong profile off of his economic background, into politics, into international relations. He was part of a group that brokered the original Black Sea grain deal. He has a great relationship with the Saudis. He is a Muslim. He helped with the Saudis negotiate the release of foreign prisoners that Russia had captured on the Ukrainian battlefield.

So, this is a guy that's got a profile and perhaps some drive and energy and certainly credibility from the Ukrainian point of view of retaking all its territories, in particular Crimea.

BERMAN: Yes, is, you know, where he's from and, obviously, his CV, compelling to say the least.

[09:25:04]

Nic Robertson, thank you very much.

Rahel.

SOLOMON: And still ahead for us, no more Mr. Nice Guy. Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott is shifting his campaign strategy, but will it work?

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning, Republican South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, presidential candidate, is stepping up criticism of his rivals in hopes of breaking through the crowded Republican field. Senator Scott has been taking jabs at the other candidates during a swing across key primary election states after what was seen by some as a lukewarm debate performance from him.

[09:30:06]

CNN's Eva McKend in Washington this morning.

This is a different.