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The Excerpt

A sea of mud at Burning Man

The Excerpt

USA TODAY

News, Daily News

4.11.2K Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2023

⏱️ 14 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Rains hit this year's Burning Man, stranding tens of thousands of people in the Nevada desert.

Ukraine announces a new defense minister.

USA TODAY Congress, Campaigns and Democracy Reporter Rachel Looker explains how a State Department office aims to build relationships with young people around the world.

USA TODAY Senior Reporter Jessica Guynn looks at the recent wave of recalls from Trader Joe's.

Flamingos show up across the eastern U.S. after Hurricane Idalia.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

Good morning and a happy Labor Day. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is five things you

0:06.1

need to know Monday, the 4th of September, 2023.

0:19.8

Today, mud and muck at Burning Man. Plus, how a State Department office aims to

0:26.2

build relationships with young people around the world. And what's with these latest food

0:31.4

recalls?

0:39.5

It was a rare weekend of rain and mud at Burning Man. Some 73,000 attendees at the festival

0:45.8

in the Nevada desert became stranded after rains turned a usually sandy area into deep mud,

0:52.3

nearly impossible to walk or drive on. Organizer said people were free to walk out of the event,

0:58.0

but the majority stayed hunched down in their RVs or tents. Burning Man takes its name from a

1:04.1

giant sculpture that's ignited and burned to cap off the event. And it began in 1986.

1:10.8

Today, tens of thousands of people gather each summer for about nine days in Nevada's Black Rock

1:16.6

Desert to create a temporary city known for its communal living and eccentric displays of

1:22.5

art and expression. Burners create a kind of utopia, building villages, a medical center,

1:28.5

and airport, along with performance stages. That utopia was put to the test this weekend.

1:35.0

Port-a-potty toilets went days without being service, despite being the main bathroom options.

1:40.3

And during the heaviest rains, many people were unable to move around even short distances.

1:45.9

Authorities said yesterday they were also investigating a death at the festival. The organizers

1:51.4

say the man died on Friday, unrelated to the weather. Deaths at Burning Man are not uncommon.

1:57.8

A man died in 2019 after he was found dead in his vehicle with a lethal concentration

2:03.4

of carbon monoxide found in his blood. And in a disturbing 2017 incident, a man died after throwing

2:10.6

himself into the main fire display. It was another foreign trip for former Iowa Congresswoman

2:19.9

Abby Finkenauer, in her new role as Special Envoy for the Global Youth Issues Office,

...

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