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Congress Faces Growing Fear Of A Partial Government Shutdown; More Than 70,000 Stuck After Heavy Rain Swamps Burning Man Festival; Manhunt For Escaped Inmate In Pennsylvania; Mark Meadows Awaits Ruling On Moving Case From Federal To State Court; Georgia Judge Rules Trump Trial To Be Livestreamed And Televised; Ukrainians Turn To Odessa To Soothe Their Trauma; "Little Richard: I Am Everything" Airs Tomorrow. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 03, 2023 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:01:40]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. Good evening.

Tomorrow is Labor Day, which means this week the presidential campaign is about to get a lot busier, and same for Capitol Hill as lawmakers begin to return from their August recess. The big item on the agenda, avoiding a partial government shutdown. To stop that from happening lawmakers have to pass at the very least a short-term spending bill to keep the government funded. If a spending bill is not passed by the House and the Senate, a partial government shutdown begins four weeks from today on October 1st. Members of both parties say they want to avoid that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): A government shutdown is not good for anybody. We want to avoid that. And that means Republicans and Democrats are going to have to come together to get a consensus in divided government. Let's not have a government shutdown but let's begin the process of talking about our spending.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Joining us now to discuss CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Alice Stewart and CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. They're the hosts of the podcast "Hot Mics from Left to Right."

Ladies, Happy Labor Day weekend. Great to have you both on. Thanks so much.

Alice, let me start with you. The House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has privately urged his fellow Republicans to back the short- term spending deal so we're told to avoid a government shutdown. What do you think his chances are given what we've seen before in his dealings with that far-right wing of the caucus?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, unfortunately, Jim, they are pretty slim. Look, the soundbite you just played said Republicans and Democrats need to work together. Well, Kevin McCarthy is having a difficult time wrangling fellow Republicans together. As you mentioned the very vocal, far-right fringe of the Republican Party, the Marjorie Taylor Greenes and the band of brothers are being extremely vocal and determined in their request.

And Kevin McCarthy is in a pickle really because he's faced with the decision, does he fight with the far-right wing of the party and not get anything done, and in essence have a government shutdown, or does he work across the aisle with the minority, Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats and get something actually passed? But then that does him in because we have Republicans with their hand on the motion to vacate lever and basically in essence kick him out of his position if he were to do so.

So he's got some very serious consensus building within the old Republican Party in the next few days and weeks ahead.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, Maria, if you're over at the White House, do you just let this play out, let this fight play out, and just sort of enjoy -- you know, pop the popcorn and enjoy the show?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I wouldn't say enjoy the show because playing, you know, this kind of game with the American economy, with American families, is not something that the president wants or frankly any Democrats either. But I do think what they will be doing is making sure that Republicans stick to the promise that they made when they did the debt deal earlier this year.

This is what they promised. They promised to fund the government and they are expected to keep their promises to the American people. But this is what you get when somebody like Kevin McCarthy goes into a corrupt bargain with the hardliners in his party, this is what he gets. This is what he negotiated in order to get the speaker's gavel.

[18:05:02]

And you can look at it from what Marjorie Taylor Greene is saying, right. She very vocally said she is going to push for a government shutdown unless she gets promises that there will be an inquiry into the impeachment of President Biden, which I think the majority of the American people understand that that would mean such a huge lack of leadership and frankly Republicans acting like babies. And that is not what the American people deserve.

ACOSTA: Yes, Alice, I mean, that -- the possibility of a government shutdown is not the only thing on McCarthy's plate. I mean, this prospect of an impeachment inquiry of President Biden? Former President Donald Trump says Democrats will be pressured to vote for one. That's what he says. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I actually think there'd be pressure on Democrats, could both work, because I don't know how you -- how do you run as a Democrat when you see such unbelievable corruption and then you say we're going to vote, you know, that Joe Biden is innocent?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, you know, I am not even sure that makes any sense. But, Alice, I mean, what of this impeachment stuff? Is this real?

STEWART: Look, I think these two issues should be completely separate. Look, we need to look at the appropriations and funding the government in one area, and we need to look at the impeachment completely separate. Look, Kevin McCarthy really needs to work across the aisle to get this appropriations agreement passed. And that works with Republicans and Democrats, and specifically Republicans on board to include spending cuts along with all of the other aid that is in this package.

But aside from that, the impeachment is absolutely valid. There are serious questions about Biden's foreign business deals and Hunter Biden, and the possibility of influence peddling when his father was vice president. That is a serious consideration. We do have evidence as much as my dear friend Maria and Democrats love to say that President Biden had nothing to do with it. Their narrative and communication has changed from he had nothing -- no knowledge of this whatsoever to now saying, well, he wasn't actually in business with them.

Well, the fact that their story has changed goes even more to the need to have a further investigation. I think Republicans should fully move forward with the investigation and potential impeachment on this. And Democrats need to let the information flow as it will. And whether or not there is a vote for impeachment will be determined when we get all of the information on the table.

CARDONA: Information has flowed for five years. That is how long the investigation into Hunter Biden has lasted. They have found absolutely nothing. All the headlines coming out of this supposed whistleblower actually said that there was nothing there. The actual whistleblower said that they couldn't prove anything, that there was absolutely no evidence. So my dear friend Alice is saying that we should go forward with this impeachment, well, I say to the GOP, bring it on.

It will only underscore what a lack of leadership the Republicans are demonstrating and how the American people frankly are going to look to them in 2024 and say they don't deserve another run at leading the House of Representatives because this is what we get, a game of chicken. You get somebody like Kevin McCarthy trying to point to something shiny over here, Biden impeachment, to make sure that his immature, incredibly lack of leadership, full of MAGA extremists Republicans don't try to shut down the government and ruin the American economy.

ACOSTA: Yes. Alice, if I could come back to you, impeach the president for what?

STEWART: Well, obviously there are questions about foreign business dealings. Look, I know Maria likes to talk about how there is no evidence from these whistleblowers, there is evidence. We have heard testimony about Hunter Biden having business meetings and dinner meetings with these foreign business dealers, and President Biden or Vice President Biden calling into those meetings, and they say they talk about the weather?

CARDONA: And saying hi.

STEWART: I doubt that very curiously.

CARDONA: And talking about the weather. Yes. Exactly.

STEWART: I doubt that very seriously. I have been in business meetings my entire life. My father never called in on any of those meetings. So this does raise the question of influence peddling.

CARDONA: Your dad wasn't the vice president.

(CROSSTALK)

STEWART: Well, there is the question about influence peddling. And this was a valid question raised by the whistleblower. And the fact that before the whistleblower, again, the administration said the president had absolutely no knowledge of these dealings to now saying they weren't in business together. The fact that the narrative has changed goes to show that there is more to the story than they first acknowledged.

CARDONA: Just one quick thing. Their narrative hasn't changed. And the fact of the matter is that Hunter Biden is not in the White House. Hunter Biden is not president, he's not vice president. He never was, he's never going to be. So if they want to continue to investigate Hunter Biden, and in fact we all know that that is happening, bring it on.

[18:10:04]

If he broke the law, if he did something wrong, he needs to be held accountable. This is a Democrat strategist saying it. Democrats are saying this over and over again. This has nothing to do with President Biden. They have not been able to make that connection. I know they are desperate to do so because that is the only way they are going to placate their extremist MAGA base and have people like Marjorie Taylor Greene play nice and do what she needs to do as a representative in Congress.

But there is absolutely nothing there. And frankly, if they go down that road, I think it's going to backfire on them. So as a Democratic strategist, I say bring it on. But as an American who wants her government to actually work, I say you should watch what you're doing.

ACOSTA: All right. We're going to keep this conversation going. Alice Stewart, Maria Cardona, thanks, ladies. Appreciate it very much. Happy Labor Day weekend.

CARDONA: Thanks so much, Jim.

ACOSTA: Thanks so much.

STEWART: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: In the meantime -- thank you. In the meantime, 70,000 people it's been estimated are stuck in the desert right now in a muddy mess. Why people at the Burning Man Festival are having trouble leaving and the problems all of that is causing. That's next. Plus a new clue in a massive manhunt. Surveillance video showing a convicted killer after his escape from prison. How the search is going just ahead. And later, how Taylor Swift is breaking records in movie theaters.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[18:15:30]

ACOSTA: Right now on this eve of Labor Day, some 70,000 people, it's been estimated, are stranded in the Nevada desert. This is new CNN drone video of people who came for the normally sun-soaked Burning Man Festival but extreme weather intervened.

We should note as you're looking at this drone footage, conditions have improved a little bit in the last several minutes, we are told. So we'll effort some new video of that but that's how it looked when it was really bad. A storm dumped two or three months' worth of rain in just 24 hours. One death during the downpour is being investigated. Attendees are now bogged down in thick, ankle-deep mud, making driving impossible, walking a slug. They're being told to shelter in place, conserve water, food and fuel.

And last hour, I spoke to a woman who's still at the festival and amazed by the people who have tried to walk out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA PEACOCK, STRANDED AT BURNING MAN FESTIVAL: I can't believe they tried that because it's literally like a couple of miles to the gate.

ACOSTA: Wow.

PEACOCK: I mean, that is peaked, because just walking to the bathroom and here, I mean, it's a workout. Like you're heavy breathing and sweating by the time you get to the bathroom. So we were told this morning to shelter in place and to not try to drive out unless you have all-wheel drive or four-wheel drive because once some cars get stuck, it's going to back all these 70,000 people from getting out the next day or the day after. We don't want a bunch of cars stuck. So everybody is pretty cool about staying where we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: CNN's Camila Bernal joins us now.

Camila, what a mess out there. How are things going right now? Are things improving?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, people are positive, but it's definitely a mess. The people that tried to leave today have already done so. There was a line here when we saw dozens and dozens of cars trying to get out today. All of those cars have already left this area. So what you're seeing now is just a few of those stranded vehicles that are left behind. They were even digging, trying to get those vehicles from that mud, because they were completely stuck in some cases.

And so the video that you saw of those cars coming out, those are the people that decided not to listen to that shelter in place. The people that said we need to get out. I talked to many of them who kept telling me that it took them hours to try to get out of there, whether it was via car or just walking, some said an hour, others said about three hours. And there was the concern about food, supplies, because a lot of people just planned for a few days instead of planning for more which is what this weather situation has created.

It has forced people to stay for longer than they initially planned, and that's the concern here for a lot of the people. But again they are very, very positive and say they're having a good time, that they're helping each other and that they're doing everything they can to remain positive and helpful to each other. Here is one of the attendees that I talked to that walked all the way out to where I am now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We planned on leaving right after the burn which is Saturday night. And then it started raining on us like that night and we were like, oh, it's fine, it's OK, everybody was still partying, having fun. Everybody took their shoes off, started dancing in the mud. It was a great. And then the reality sunk in that we couldn't leave. Like we were stuck basically. People could barely walk let alone ride their bikes or drive out of here. And so that's when it started getting a little scary. We were running low on food and water, all that stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think that it's going to -- like people are going to like starve or do anything over there. I was waiting for the looting honestly. I thought that would've been great. But, no, like, it's like -- it's the community in itself would help each other. And there's a lot of people who overstock for this thing, too. It's really beautiful actually when you go into the camps. Everybody was helping each other out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And just to give you some perspective, what you're seeing there behind me is the playa so we're extremely close. The event is only a few miles from where I'm standing. Organizers are saying they're trying to figure out what they are going to do tomorrow depending on the weather and the conditions. They are going to try to get as many people out tomorrow as possible if those conditions allow for it -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Glad to see things are starting to get a little bit better. Camila Bernal, thank you very much for that. In the meantime, police in Pennsylvania believe an escaped convict is

within two miles of the prison where he was being held. The convicted murderer was spotted on a residential security camera early yesterday morning. An active manhunt is still going on. And police have received more than 100 tips since he broke out on Thursday.

CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us now with the very latest.

Polo, what can you tell us?

[18:20:02]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, here we are, over three days into that search. It remains very much active as authorities continue to try to track down this escaped inmate. Initially, on Friday, authorities had mentioned that they were afraid that Danelo Cavalcante, 34 years old, was potentially headed toward Mexico and eventually toward to his native Brazil.

But then yesterday, Jim, you mentioned this really important video. He was captured on camera about 1:30 in the morning in this surveillance video. This is only about a mile and a half from the Chester County Prison which is where he escaped from on Thursday. He's seen wearing a backpack. The video is kind of tough to see but nonetheless there is certainly sort of breathing new life into this search here.

Yesterday's sighting also prompting authorities to really narrow in on this area. This particular area about 30 miles west of Philadelphia. In fact today authorities said that hundreds of SWAT team members, U.S. marshals, local, state, federal law enforcement officers are really just focusing on that particular area where the sighting happened over the weekend.

A bit of background on the 34-year-old who's actually beginning to serve a murder sentence of life without parole. He'd just been convicted of first-degree murder in mid-August after being found guilty of stabbing his girlfriend to death in front of her two young children. Hence the Chester County district attorney has repeatedly urged residents to remain on high alert. And just today, Jim, he called this individual an extremely dangerous man.

Again, take a close look at the screen. If you spot him, particularly there in Pennsylvania, pick up the phone and call authorities -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Polo Sandoval, definitely be on the lookout in Pennsylvania for that man. Polo, thank you very much.

When does legal advice go from being guidance to being a crime? That's one of the big questions in Donald Trump's four indictments. We'll ask a former federal prosecutor next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:26:12] ACOSTA: Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is waiting on a decision from U.S. District Judge Steve Jones. Meadows took the stand himself this past week in the sprawling Fulton County, Georgia, election subversion trial. He is trying to get the case moved from state court to federal court.

Gene Rossi is a former federal prosecutor and former assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, and joins us now.

Gene, great to see you, thanks for doing this.

GENE ROSSI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Thanks for having me.

ACOSTA: I guess key question here is what happens if, you know, this judge doesn't rule by September 6th, which is just a few days from now? The judge has said, Meadows should show up for his arraignment. I can't imagine being Mark Meadows right now. He's got to be on the edge of his seat in terms of, what does he do next in all of this? What is your sense of what might happen?

ROSSI: I think there's a fair chance it could get removed. If this case is removed to federal court for Mark Meadows, that will really hurt Fani Willis' case because he's a key player in the charge, the RICO charge against President Trump. If President Trump gets removed, that's another problem, too, because Fani Willis doesn't want a separation of the federal people from the other defendants. You want them all in one room, maybe not 19 at one time, but you want about nine people sitting at the table with the president in the middle who's the center of this conspiracy, allegedly.

ACOSTA: And Meadows is just trying to make the case that his various attempts to block the 2020 election results, overturn those results, were part of his official government duties, that he was just acting as the White House chief of staff. He's trying to land the plane, I think, or something. He's trying to make that kind of comparison in the transition to the incoming president, Joe Biden. Do you by any of that? What is the bottom line here?

ROSSI: Well, the first hurdle he has is he probably violated at the beginning the Hatch Act because he's going off doing things that are way outside the scope of a White House chief of staff. The second thing he did, and this was brought up by Marc Short, the chief of staff to Pence, whenever he did all these things, make calls, contacts, e-mails, he was never consulting the White House Counsel's Office or the DOJ.

So if you're not consulting the White House counsel or the DOJ, the lawyers with the brains, then you're probably not acting within the scope of your duties as the chief of staff. Plus, there was an offer to give money to the secretary of state to do a count. That is way outside your role as a chief of staff.

ACOSTA: And so if this doesn't get moved over, what happens next?

ROSSI: Well, if they don't go to federal court, then you just go back to Fani Willis -- ACOSTA: He's going to fight it out in Fulton County?

ROSSI: Absolutely. And that's the home-court advantage for Fani Willis, and there are so many advantage. The one big advantage for Fani Willis is she'll have a narrow majority pool. That is huge. I had a trial, an Oath Keeper trial last February or March, it is extremely difficult to get a fair jury in a pool that is weighted against Donald Trump. So if Fani Willis can keep it in Fulton County, the bet is going to be in her favor time. Big time.

ACOSTA: And what about Trump? I mean, is he going to want to sever his case from the others? I mean, one o f the hoses that has come out in all of this is Kenneth Chesebro. He wants to move his case sooner, have a speedier trial and the rest of these co-defendants Donald Trump wants to wait until later. I mean, all of these pieces, moving in all kinds of different directions here.

ROSSI: It's an octopus. He was talking about this after today, and after this show, we'd have a margarita.

ACOSTA: Yes.

ROSSI: So you need a margarita to put it all together.

ACOSTA: Fitting this weekend. Yes.

ROSSI: But Donald Trump needs to sever from this case. He cannot be in a room with about eight other people and he's the center of attention.

[18:30:04]

He's not only physically large but he just commands the stage. And if he's there with other minions, what I call minnow relative, it doesn't look good for him. He wants to be mano-a-mano against Fani Willis. That is his thing. He wants to be Ali against Frazier, fighting it out so he can just, you know, get some punches in and try and hopefully persuade one juror. And you only need one for a hung jury.

ACOSTA: And does this speedy process request, speedy trial request that Kenneth Chesebro was trying to push forward here, does that make a mess for Fani Willis?

ROSSI: It does because --

ACOSTA: She wants to keep all of these defendants corralled and --

ROSSI: Jim, she's never going to have a trial with 19 people. It's just physically impossible. It may be nine, it may be eight, but it's got to be Trump with eight or nine other people. For Fani Willis, if they started the trial in October, jury selection is going to take two to three months. So that trial date is meaningless. So we're looking at -- probably at a trial for Fani Willis maybe in March, April, or May. So you're going to have a perfect storm of four cases or three cases going together. And you'll need another margarita.

ACOSTA: Yes. And what is your sense of it? Do you think we see Donald Trump going to trial in this Fulton County case before the election of November 2024?

ROSSI: I think you will see -- I think they will begin jury selection in May of next year if I had to bet money.

ACOSTA: But by that point he might already be the nominee.

ROSSI: Absolutely. But, Jim, here's the thing. That trial is not going to last three weeks. It's probably going to last four months. So that trial won't end until after the election. If there is a guilty verdict in any of these cases, it could be after the election.

ACOSTA: All right. Gene Rossi, thank you very much. Great insights.

ROSSI: Good to see you.

ACOSTA: Enjoy that margarita. We appreciate it.

ROSSI: Two margaritas.

ACOSTA: Exactly. Make it a double.

All right. In the meantime, President Trump has spent a lot of time in front of television cameras but not like this. A Fulton County judge said this week that all court proceedings for the former president and his 18 other co-defendants in the election interference case down in Fulton County will be televised and live streamed.

CNN's Oliver Darcy joins us now.

Oliver, what do you think? I mean, could this become like a trial of the century type spectacle, O.J. Simpson type spectacle, if this whole thing is being televised day after day after day? Donald Trump going in and out of the courthouse and so on?

OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim. This is a huge deal, obviously. It's hard to imagine how this won't be the most watched trial of all time with the former president being in court day after day, week after week. And I think, Jim, this will help the public have a better understanding of what happens obviously in that courtroom, particularly with Donald Trump who is used to being able to misinform the public about what happens.

And so allowing the public to watch in real time, allowing news organizations to have video where they can debunk things, where they can fact check things quickly, I think that will give a better picture to the public of what is happening and what exactly the evidence against Donald Trump is.

ACOSTA: Right. And it's also an environment that he can't control. You know, he can't throw, you know, the camera crew that's live streaming it out of the courtroom and do those sorts of things. I mean, they're going to be in there. I mean, this is kind of an environment that is not really tailored to what he knows how to do.

DARCY: It reminds me very much of when the right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was in court because he was similarly used to an environment which he controlled, which he broadcast from, and all the antics. And suddenly he was in the court of law, the judge was in control of the courtroom. He couldn't lie freely. And so you saw a much more subdued Alex Jones.

I think with Trump you might see a very similar person. Someone who's used to controlling the cameras, used to controlling the narrative, having to play by someone else's rules, being held accountable for, if he tries to tell a lie. It's going to be a totally different environment for the president, the former president, and it's not one I think he would do particularly well in.

ACOSTA: And I got to ask you about this. Forgive me for doing this to you, Oliver. Taylor Swift's tour is breaking even more records this time at the box office movie theaters. I mean, you know, she is helping save movies just like she's saving concert going. I mean, it's just incredible what she's been able to accomplish. What do you make of what this might have in terms of an impact on the movie theater industry?

DARCY: This is going to be huge. I mean, AMC says it broke the record for first 24-hour presales of all time.

[18:35:02]

She sold $26 million in the first 24 hours just for AMC alone. And so there is no real telling of how big this movie could be in its opening weekend. Of course "Barbie" earlier this year was -- you know, sold about $160 million some worth of tickets in the first weekend in the U.S.

But, Jim, given the way this thing is selling, you know, I don't want to say it's going to be "Barbie" levels, but it's going to be huge. I was talking to a box office analyst who said that this is basically a blockbuster that's been invented out of thin air.

ACOSTA: Wow.

DARCY: And so I will be paying close attention to see how much she is able to sell at the box office.

ACOSTA: And she is a force of nature. And we shouldn't talk about movie theaters without getting into the strike. Summer is coming to a close. The Writers Guild of America is still on strike four months after it began. Any light at the end of the tunnel on this?

DARCY: We haven't seen any light, Jim. I mean, earlier, a few weeks ago, I think there was some hope that the studios were going to come to the writers with an agreement that they could negotiate off of. But when the studios went back to the writers, the Writers' Guild scoffed and said it was grossly insufficient on a number of front. And so right now you're at a standstill.

And the real worry, Jim, is that if this isn't solved in, you know, maybe six weeks or so, the idea that you're going to have somewhat of a season for a show, you know, that normally a show debuts the second half of a season in January, that idea goes out the window, it just evaporates as one studio executive told me. And so studios are really worried that, you know, if they can't hammer out a deal basically this entire season is lost.

ACOSTA: Yes. And I saw something just the other day, the "Dune" sequel might have to be pushed back into 2024. Say it ain't so. Just the ripple effects, unintended consequences, they're going to be pretty far-reaching.

Oliver Darcy, great to see you as always. Thanks so much.

And to sign up for Oliver's "Reliable Sources" newsletter, make sure you go to CNN.com/ReliableSources.

Some Ukrainians are trying to ease the trauma from Russia's war on their country by going to the beach. But is it working? Our Christiane Amanpour shows you next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:41:27]

ACOSTA: Two people were injured in overnight Russian attacks in the Odessa region. According to Ukrainian officials, the target of the attacks appear to be infrastructure in the port area. Odessa firefighters battled fires started by those attacks. Ukrainian officials say 22 of 25 drones launched in the attack were destroyed.

Even as Russia continues to target Odessa, some Ukrainians are now heading to its beaches for some temporary relief from the war. And CNN's Christiane Amanpour has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voiceover): In the waning days of a second summer at war, under the blazing Black Sea sun, you find, well, people at the beach. It's actually the first time some of this Odessa coastline has been open for business since the Russian invasion. And while Olga has brought her family for a change of scenery, there is no getting away from it.

(On-camera): Here, can you forget the war for a little bit?

OLGA, ODESSA RESIDENT (through translator): Sirens at night don't let you forget. No, we don't forget. At least I don't. But I hope my kids and parents get distracted a little bit.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Still, those who can make the most of it. Life goes on even in wartime. And here at the Kaleton Beach Club, it's somehow comforting to watch parents slap protective gear onto their infants as if sunburn is the worst that can happen. But of course it's not.

(On-camera): So does that mean orthopedics or anything? (Voice-over): Fifteen minutes away in the center of town is a modern

private recovery and rehabilitation unit. One of 10 set up around the country by a Ukrainian philanthropist.

Here in a full body sling, 41-year-old Vitali (PH) tells us that he volunteered for the front as a deminer until he was blown up by an anti-personnel mine eight months ago in Kherson. The first wave hit my face because I was bending down, he says, and shrapnel entered my eye, another bit hit my finger, and three of my toes were blown off.

On the rehab bed next to him, 43-year-old Ruslan's (PH) injury is less dramatic, spine and back problems from suddenly having to haul heavy gear around.

(On-camera): Do you need to get into better shape?

(Voice-over): If I was 20, he tells me, it would be different, but I'm 43 and so it's difficult. But he wants to go back to the front like Vitali (PH) does just as soon as they're patched up. Still motivated, still sure of victory. But then the talk suddenly turns.

(On-camera): Vitali (PH), what do you think you need?

(Voice-over): Immobilized and prone he's crystal clear. We need more weapons and jets to close the sky from the Russian missiles, he says. When a soldier is fighting there and his family is here, I'm protected. What do you think goes through our minds?

Andriy (PH) tells me his psychological trauma is worse than the shrapnel to his hand because he like all of them want to be back at the front with their comrades to fight for their country and their family. I have a mother, a father, a wife, and a cat, he tells me.

Back at the seaside, Sergei (PH), a 59-year-old conscript based in Kherson, defends his beach time break.

(On-camera): In the middle of war you don't feel strange?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's slightly little bit strange, but we need some relaxing.

[18:45:02]

AMANPOUR (voice-over): He'll be back under arms after his 15-day furlough but he insists their counteroffensive is going according to plan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And our thanks to Christiane Amanpour for that report.

The desert outside Reno, Nevada, has turned into a massive mud pit. A live report from the Burning Man Festival. That's straight ahead.

Stay with us. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: The legends surrounding the birth of the uniquely American art form rock and roll have long been dominated by performers like Elvis and the Beatles. Now the new CNN Film "LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING" takes a closer look at this icon's contributions to the origins of rock and roll.

[18:50:05]

Meet the man who brought it all to life, Little Richard. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just like a shot out of a cannon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His voice, the -- he created the rock and roll icon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry, y'all. It wasn't Elvis.

LITTLE RICHARD, MUSICIAN: I am the king of rock and roll.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first songs that you love that your parents hate is the beginning of the soundtrack of your life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Little Richard's lyrics were too lewd to get airplay on the radio.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were just as clean as you were.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was very good at liberating other people. He was not good at liberating himself.

LITTLE RICHARD: Michael was inspired by me, Prince. James Brown, I discovered him. Jimi Hendrix was my guitar player.

PAUL MCCARTNEY, THE BEATLES: I used to stand on the desk and do Little Richard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone was beholden to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The director of "LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING," Lisa Cortes joins us now.

Lisa, this looks incredible. Congratulations to you on this work. It looks amazing. There's no doubt that Little Richard's story is fascinating. What made you interested in telling his story?

LISA CORTES, DIRECTOR, "LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING": Well, there is nothing little about Richard's story and that the story hadn't been told, it was such a natural space for me to want to explore as a filmmaker. ACOSTA: And we're watching some of the, I mean, just incredible

footage of him back in the day. I mean he is an icon. He was an icon. The film takes us through his origins in Macon, Georgia, to what's been called the Chitlin Circuit in the south, all the way to his national fame that he enjoyed for so many years.

How did he -- and let's just come out and say it. How did this openly gay black man with this very sexualized performance style become such a huge star in the conservative 1950s?

CORTES: Richard is part of actually a long continuum of gender non- conforming artists. You know, there's records of drag kings and drag queens going back to Victorian times. But I think what Richard does is he's using the radio and his sound and his spectacle in such a unique way, and he doesn't play things on 10. He comes at 13.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CORTES: So it's his ingenuity and, you know, just we've never seen anyone like Little Richard before. And I think there's so much joy that comes with his presence and his music that it was undeniable, and it speaks to how Americans have not been as uniformly conservative as we'd like to think.

ACOSTA: That's a very good point. But I guess can you talk about his bravery, the bravery that it must have taken when he was coming up in the business to perform the way he did? I mean he just went for it. He did not hold back. And I think that is what -- that is what so many Americans love about him.

CORTES: Richard was incredibly forthright and brave to be a black queer man in 1955, traveling through the south, exciting white women. You know, it took someone of great vision and fortitude, and we oftentimes forget of how dangerous it was. But, you know, when he comes out with "Tutti Frutti" in 1955, that's the same year that Emmett Till is killed. So you see that he is navigating it through popular spaces that are fraught with danger, but there's something about the armor that he puts on of performance, of forthright, and just this, you know, I think incredible other worldliness about who he was and what he wanted to bring.

ACOSTA: Well, I mean, this is just beautifully told. We were just showing clips of Mick Jagger there. I mean, the tributes that came pouring in as you put this together, the story together, it is just so remarkable. It's going to be just amazing to watch later on tonight.

Lisa Cortes, thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate it.

CORTES: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. And don't miss Lisa's CNN Film, "LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING." He truly was, truly is. It premieres tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.

Coming up, never mind the mud. People are leaving the Burning Man Festival despite being told to shelter in place.

[18:55:02]

We'll talk to one festival-goer who is there right now and trying to get through it. We'll go live to Burning Man next. Stay with us.

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ACOSTA: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. Good evening.

We begin this hour where thousands of people in a sticky situation in the Nevada desert. This is new CNN drone video of people who came for the normally sun-soaked Burning Man Festival, but extreme weather intervened. This video taken just a short time ago as the revelers were making their way out of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. A storm dumped two or three months' worth of rain in just 24 hours.

One death during the downpour is being investigated. Attendees have been bogged down in thick, ankle-deep mud, making driving impossible, walking a slug. They're being told to conserve water, food, and fuel. But things are slowly improving.