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Tens Of Thousands Stranded At Festival After Rare, Heavy Rain; Congress Set To Return Amid New Race To Avoid Shutdown; Biden Slams Trump's Jobs Record Without Saying His Name. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired September 04, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:01:28]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: After days of being stuck in ankle deep mud, people at Burning Man could soon be heading home. Tens of thousands were left stranded. And the Nevada desert after less than an inch of rain made it nearly impossible to get out.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Biden celebrating Labor Day in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth I should say, taking shots at Donald Trump. The comparisons that could give us a preview of what's to come in 2024.

SOLOMON: And vital food supplies are on the line as Russian President Putin met with Turkish Leader Erdogan. Who Putin is blaming for the collapse of a critical grain deal? Kate and Sara are off. I'm Rahel Solomon along with John Berman, and this is CNN News Central.

SOLOMON: Right now, the road in and out of the annual Burning Man Festival is not ready for a mass exodus of people because it is still a muddy mess. And literally tens of thousands of people, cars and campers are stuck and really needing to get out soon. They have been trapped for days. That's after 0.8 inches of rain, fell in just a matter of hours.

Now, that might not seem like a lot, but for that area, that is typically what falls in about two to three months. Each year, more than 70,000 people who call themselves Burners descend upon the typically dry desert in Nevada, making this the year festival Goers won't soon forget. CNN's Camila Bernal leads off this hour.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's still muddy and that thick clay is not completely dry. But the sun is out. We're waiting to hear from officials here on whether the shelter in place will be lifted. But we're starting to see some people exiting the festival. They call the exit the exodus. And so what you're seeing here is some of the RVs and some of the cars that are making their way out of the festival if that shelter in place is lifted.

We could see thousands of people trying to get out. This is the main entrance and exit to the festival. We're right at the playa where the playa ends and the road begins. And we've heard people coming out and cheering and honking because of how happy they are that they've made it out. Many, many people that I've talked to over the last couple of days have told me that they walked for hours.

Many of them saying they had to wrap their shoes in plastic bags and use duct tape in order to make their walk out of there just a little bit easier. We also talked to people who got stuck in their cars who said they were there for hours. It has been a mess. And authorities did warn people and tell them to essentially portion off their food, their water, their fuel, to be extremely careful because a lot of the people that come here only prepare for the amount of days that they planned on being here. So if you extend that by one or two days, you could run low on food and supplies.

So authorities have been telling people to be careful and to just continue to pay attention to the announcements and the weather. I will point out that every single person that I've talked to has told me that they will remain positive, that they've had a lot of fun, that they've been making the best out of a difficult situation. This is a community that has come together and they're helping each other with the food and the water and everything that they need.

But again, we are waiting for organizers to see if that shelter in place is lifted as we continue to see more and more attendees come out of the festival.

[11:05:09]

Camila Bernal, CNN, Black Rock City.

BERMAN: And our thanks to Camila for that.

So there is some science behind why this situation got so gross so fast. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now with the science behind the muck. Derek, explain it.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: So gross, so gross so fast. I was encouraged to see at least the sun shining in Camila's shot there. So that's good news. That's going to help evaporate things. But what in the world led up to this? Well, we got to look to the 3D explainer here for a little bit more of an in depth explanation.

So what you're looking at is the difference between our typical earthy soil that you and I are used to, something we would plant our vegetable gardens in. We call that loam. Now compare that to the other side of your T.V. screen. That is clay that's surrounding this playa where Camila was currently located.

Well, unfortunately, when we get this incessant rainfall, when we have that earthy topsoil in loam that we're accustomed to, it gets absorbed very easily. But in the desert, over portions of the western U.S. and the playas where Camila is located and where Black Rock City is located, unfortunately, that water just puddles up and it eventually mixes with that clay surface and it creates that almost a muddy cement like mixture that inevitably stuck the tens of thousands of people, which you can see here from this aerial visual. Just incredible to see some of the trucks left behind by the RVs and some of the vehicles. Look at that gentleman. He's not getting anywhere anytime soon, right? That car is stuck. And that was the concern. They said, well, hey, what if more rain fell within this area after what already took place this weekend because unfortunately, that would lead to more problems and people running out of potential supplies, right, food, water, fuel, that type of thing.

But the rain, when it did come through, it came down in sheets and it brought about two to three months worth of rain in a 24 hours period. But the rain is coming to an end very quickly. You saw Camila's live shot, the sun comes out. We do expect that water to evaporate rather quickly and that will change the structure of that clay substance into more of a harder surface so the vehicles can start to exit safely, hopefully, hopefully getting that all clear to open things up.

But, yes, you know, I just love seeing the positive attitude that people have here in the playa, which you can see on space just north of Empire, Black Rock City right here, about 70,000 people descending on that area on annual basis just happened to coincide with this rainstorm typically dry months in the month of August and September here, but not this year, right? John?

BERMAN: Yes. The resilience they showed by partying at this giant party, admirable, admirable, Derek Van Dam to say the least.

VAN DAM: Not Burning Man, it's mud man, right?

BERMAN: It's mud man, exactly. Look not even into rain, but it's a great explanation for how even that little bit of rain could turn it into that claymation mess. Derek Van Dam, thank you very much. Rahel?

SOLOMON: I mean, John, I feel like if you're going to be stuck there, you may as well party, but OK. Joining us now is David Date. He is at the Burning Man festival right now in this mud. David, good to see you smiling. It looks like it's sunny behind you. What are things like right now on the ground?

DAVID DATE, ATTENDING BURNING MAN FESTIVAL: Still a little muddy, but a lot drier than it's been last couple of days. We got a little bit more rain last night and that kind of just splits things up. So people weren't going out so much last night, but we kept our bar open and spirits are high and we're still stocked, so we're good for probably Wednesday or Thursday.

SOLOMON: Good to hear that spirits are high. What's been the most difficult aspect of this weather and being trapped there?

DATE: I would say the most difficult aspect, you know, fundamental to this problem we have is the concept of a wook. Someone who shows up to this event with nothing other than their RV and, you know, their selfish indulgence, and they offer nothing. They offer nothing to this community. They don't add anything to this city. These are the people that are fleeing the city, leaving their trash and creating a crisis from which Burning Man might not survive. SOLOMON: Yes, and talk to me about that, right, because this is supposed to be a no trace event. How concerned are you about the environmental impact of now folks leaving and leaving behind their campsites?

DATE: Well, we have this agreement with the BLM. We're only allowed to be here because we do minimal impact supply. We pick up all of our mess. And, you know, when times get rough, the burners got to stick it out. We got to do what's right and make sure that this event can exist. But people who aren't burners have shown up in mass and they only party and they're leaving their entire campsites behind, ditching their cars, their trash, their tents, and we're going to end up having to clean this up.

SOLOMON: I mean, do you feel like people should not have left?

DATE: I mean, there was a high profile exodus by Diplo and Chris Rock and that kind of implanted in everyone's mind. Well, if the B rate celebrities can get out, then I can get out, too. The fundamental sentiment is that we're here, we're having a good time, we're taking care of each other. Everyone's got to stick it out.

[11:10:11]

SOLOMON: Yes. I mean, I will say that I've been speaking to other people who've been there. Some people say that they had to leave to go to work, I mean, all sorts of things. What's communication been like with organizers?

DATE: So Burner Man has their own radio stations, so they have everyday updates about road conditions. But reality, it's kind of word of mouth out here, you know. Some people have Starlink satellites so they can pull up weather reports and news and whatnot. And the work just kind of spreads throughout the community.

SOLOMON: Let me ask, would you go back to Burning Man next year?

DATE: Absolutely. I'm afraid there won't be a Burning Man next year if we can't clean this up.

SOLOMON: Fair enough. David Date, we appreciate you being with us and glad to see that spirits are so high. Enjoy the rest of the event. John?

BERMAN: Yes, look, I go back to the very first thing he said, which is the bar is still open. They were able to keep the bar open.

SOLOMON: Touche, the important things.

BERMAN: Crisis averted.

All right, Congress returns to work this week, and they are up against a fast approaching deadline to reach a deal or risk a government shutdown.

Investigators getting new clues in the manhunt for a convicted killer who escaped from the Pennsylvania prison and hitting the roads today.

How about the airport? Labor Day travel expected to break records. What you need to know.

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[11:16:05]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. Lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill with another potential government shutdown on the calendar. They have just a few weeks to agree on funding for federal agencies before the fiscal year ends at the end of this month.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is urging GOP hardliners to support a short term funding deal for now and leave the bigger fight for later this fall. Let's bring in CNN's Melanie Zanona. She joins us now from Washington, and CNN national reporter Daniel Strauss. Welcome to you both. Melanie, let's start with you. Where do things stand as Congress returns from recess?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, Congress is nowhere near completing their work on their long term funding bills, so a short term patch is going to be needed. But, Rahel, even that is proving to be complicated. They have still not decided what, if anything is going to be attached to that short term funding bill.

The White House has requested $40 billion for both disaster relief and for Ukraine funding. But it's not yet clear whether Republicans are going to be OK with linking those two issues together, because conservatives in the House want to see that disaster aid separated from Ukraine funding. They do not support Ukraine funding.

And that is just one of several demands that conservatives are already laying out in this funding fight. They also said they want to see the House start a Biden impeachment inquiry. They also want to boost border security as part of this CR, this short term funding bill.

And they also want to see parts of the Department of Justice defunded. All of those, very unlikely to happen, but it shows you the type of challenge that Speaker Kevin McCarthy is facing. And I think Republican Mike Simpson, he serves one of these key spending panels, really summed it up perfectly.\

He told me if he, as in 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. That is a reference to a procedural tool that would allow any single member to force a vote on ousting the sitting speaker.

Conservatives have threatened it in the past. They are threatening to do so again if they don't get their way on spending. McCarthy is trying to avoid that, of course. He held a conference call with his colleagues last week. And sources told me and my colleague, Manu Raju, that McCarthy argued that they should save these funding fights for later in the year when they actually do their long term spending bills.

So we'll see if that's enough to convince conservatives to back off of their demands. But time is ticking, and right now there is no obvious solution in sight. Rahel?

SOLOMON: Yes, Daniel, let me bring you into the conversation. So this -- what appears to be McCarthy pushing for, look, play the long game, get this done in the short term, and then fight for your priorities in the long term. I mean, how do you see that playing out? Do you think it actually is enough to placate some of these hardliners?

DANIEL STRAUSS, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: I mean, that's what McCarthy is going to try to do. But he's very aware, on the other hand, that there are just a bunch of red lines that Democrats won't pass here and that he really can't pass. You have to remember also that this isn't -- there's a split not only among McCarthy's conference, but among congressional Republicans on Capitol Hill in general.

Senate Republicans, for instance, are very interested in keeping Ukraine aid in any sort of spending package, and that pressure is going to play a major role in whatever deal eventually comes about, too. But it's not -- it's -- I mean, look, McCarthy has gotten out of straits like this before, but it is not an ideal situation for him.

SOLOMON: Yes. Melanie, let me bring you back into the conversation and just remind us sort of what's at stake here politically for Kevin McCarthy if he is not able to thread this needle that he appears that he'll have to in order to get this done, but also keep members of his party happy.

ZANONA: Yes, McCarthy is really stuck in the middle here. I mean, his choice right now is either to placate conservatives, but then risk a potential government shutdown on his watch, which he does not want to happen, or he works with the Democrats, with the Senate Republicans who want Ukraine aid and then risks angering those conservatives who have vowed to force this vote to remove him at any given point. So he is really trying to thread a very, very thin needle here.

[11:20:10]

And one of the other arguments that he's tried to make is that to his conservative members, if the government shut down, they will also have to halt all of their investigations into the Biden administration. Of course, conservatives want to investigate and potentially impeach Biden, so he's kind of trying to dangle that in front of them as a way to get them on board. But conservatives so far are just not buying that argument. Rahel?

SOLOMON: Yes. And Daniel, to that point, I mean, McCarthy's efforts to sort of incentivize some of these hardliners with the impeachment inquiry, I mean, will that be enough? Will that be effective?

STRAUSS: I mean probably. When you -- you can see what the incentive looks like here? On the one hand, you have moving forward to some extent, which impeachment inquiries and investigations, and on the other hand, a government shutdown. And the last few government shutdowns have really not helped conservatives at all.

Polling after those shutdowns have shown Republican approval plummeting for a short amount of time. So it's clear what the argument would be. It's just hard to see at this point whether conservatives will buy it.

SOLOMON: So much to watch in the weeks to come. Melanie Zanona, Daniel Strauss, we appreciate you both being here. Thank you. John?

BERMAN: All right. President Biden highlighted his economic plan and previewed what a 2024 rematch with Trump might look like in remarks just finishing a few moments ago. But how are voters feeling about the state of the U.S. economy?

A critical meeting happening in Russia right now. We have an update ahead.

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[11:26:18]

BERMAN: So this morning, President Biden highlighted how he thinks his economic agenda is boosting the economy. He talked in front of a group of union leaders at a Labor Day event in Philadelphia. And it happened just as a new "Wall Street Journal" poll is out this morning with a stark warning as he seeks reelection.

A majority of voters, 58 percent said they believe the economy is worse since Biden took office, 51 percent of voters see Donald Trump as having a record of accomplishment as president, according to 40 percent who said the same about Biden. Trump's also up by a 10 point margin when it comes to who voters think is mentally up to the presidency, 46 percent said that Trump is mentally fit to serve versus 36 percent who said the same of Biden.

Joining us now was former U.S. Congressman and one-time Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, Tim Ryan. Congressman, great to see you. Those are some pretty bleak numbers if you're a Democrat who wants to see Joe Biden get reelected. How do you explain them?

TIM RYAN (R-OH), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Well, I think people really aren't paying attention, honestly. And I think there is still a lot of anxiety in the economy, inflation, gas prices, food. That's real. But the reality is, you know, President Biden, regardless of how you feel about him, John, he has reindustrialized the United States of America.

You take the CHIPS Act, where we're insourcing chip manufacturing right here in Columbus, Ohio. It's going to be tens of billions of dollars invested and the average job is going to pay about $150,000 a year because we're going to start making chips here and not in Asia. You look at the infrastructure bill, you look at the Inflation Reduction Act. We're building factories here to build electric vehicles, batteries, charging stations. Things are happening. And that's what the campaign has to be about, getting that message out. BERMAN: And President Biden was talking about all that today. He was laying out what he sees as his economic success, and he was comparing it to his predecessor. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In fact, the guy who held his job before me was just one of two presidents in history. He was one -- but here's an important point, one of two presidents left office with fewer jobs in America than when he got elected office. By the way, you know who the other one was? Herbert Hoover.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, Congressman, is that the right way in your mind, for President Biden to be talking about his possible general election opponent, or should he be going after Trump for the four criminal indictments?

RYAN: My opinion is, John, and there's a lot of different views on this is that you have to frame this up, you chalk the field. You've got to be clear on Donald Trump. He's been indicted four times in four different jurisdictions. If this guy was your kid's school teacher, you'd want him removed. If he was the superintendent of your school district, he'd be out. And I think you have to frame it up that way.

But then the contrast, I think, with Trump from an economic standpoint, and I was there, he cut taxes for the wealthiest people in the country. He cut taxes for his friends. Joe Biden is bringing back manufacturing. Joe Biden we're building electric vehicles, taking on China. We're building chips. We're building infrastructure. I was at a union conference in West Virginia a few days ago, John. The union halls, we can't find enough union workers.

They're going so aggressively to get apprentices because of all the building that's going to happen in the next 10 years. That's worth bragging about. And again, I was in Congress for 20 years screaming at times about, we have to re industrialize the country. We've got to make stuff again.

[11:30:05]

I don't care how you feel about Joe Biden. The record is clear on what he has done.