than 70,000 people ready to leave the iconic burning manifest val now stuck in the

mud, with one death being investigated, hear the message festival organizers are sharing. texas is now the largest state to block gender affirming care for minors. former lone star residents calling themselves political refugees, telling nbc news the state's legislation forced them to leave we're talking to both sides of the controversial issue. a new restaurant wants wisconsin to rock and roll all night. hear from paul stanley and gene simmons on how they're bringing vegas to the badger state. this summer brought the box office back in a major way with $4 billion movie theaters are official he alley at pre-pandemic levels. we're breaking down the biggest whippers. meet the 7-year-old who decided the best way to celebrate was giving back. it's september 4th happy labor day. "early today" starts right now good early morning to you, i'm jessica layton.

>> glad you could be with us, i'm frances rivera tens of thousands of rain soaked festivalgoers are hoping to make their exodus out of the desert today. roughly 70,000 people were thought to be stranded by the torrential rain that brought all traffic in and out of burning man to a standstill this weekend. police are also investigated a death at the festival. our liz has the latest. >> reporter: chaos, tens of thousands remain stranded after torrential rains led to a total lockdown of the festival in the desert, dust turning to mud. >> the entire place is absolutely soaked. >> reporter: authorities say one person died at the height of the storm, the cause of death under investigation. >> i think i could be trapped here for a couple more days. >> reporter: suzanne ford is among those burners still stuck. what's it been like? >> it's so muddy, getting around like just walking to your tent

in the mud is impossible everybody is putting garbage bags over their shoes or boots or going barefoot because the mud -- you just sink down into the mud, it's a quagmire. >> reporter: organizers telling attendees to shelter in place and conserve food, water and fuel the entrance to the camp and airport closed other than emergency services, no vehicles allowed in or out. >> i'm actually going to try to make a break for t they're saying the gates are still closed but i have a four-wheel drive car and i'm going to try to make it out. >> reporter: others finding ways to escape, trudging through the muddy desert, even comedian chris rock and dj dip low, the performer posting about the ordeal on social media. >> we walked three miles, we have, i think, five more. >> reporter: making it out after hiking for miles and then getting picked up by strangers the storm system causing problems across the state. in las vegas one person has died

and dozens rescued amid heavy rain and flash flooding. >> muddy, muddy, muddy burning man. >> reporter: back at blackrock city people trying to take it all in stride. >> maybe not the burning man experience you were expecting. >> it's a little bit like a raining man experience. >> reporter: instead of a burn feeling the brunt of a powerful storm. >> and our thanks to liz creut for that report. in ukraine russian drones attacked ports along the danube river, infrastructure critical to grain experts at least two people were issued in this rare assault close to nato borders ukraine is a major supplier of grain to developing nations and western leaders have accused vladimir putin of threatening global food security with his war in ukraine for the latest on this we want to go live to meagan fitzgerald. megan, good morning. what else do we know about this most recent attack

>> reporter: good morning, good to be with you according to ukrainian officials what we know is that they tell us some 25 of those iranian drones were launched, they received a barrage of these drones in the early morning hours on sunday, they were able to knock down 22, but a drone did hit and take out a port along the danube river this is critical and very important. this is one of the last remaining routes that ukraine has to be able to load up ships and ship them out from the black sea loaded with grain and other food to make their way to important countries on continents of africa in the middle east along with china as well so this is why they are accusing russia of trying to starve the world essentially, trying to create global food crisis along with famine. this comes on the backdrop of what we saw several weeks ago in

july when russia pulled out of the grain deal that was a deal that allowed the safe passage of these ships to leave the ports of odesa heading to the rest of the world without being touched, without being bombed or missiles being launched at them now comes the really important meeting that's going to be taking place in the next couple of hours in sochi, russia, the meeting between president putin and president erdogan of turkey. erdogan helped broker the deal along with the u.n the mission is to try to see if erdogan will be able to convince russia to once again rejoin this grain deal so that these ships can move without any fear of being attacked back to you. >> so all eyes on that meeting later today. thank you. india's moon recovery has completed its walk on the moon less than two weeks after landing near the south pole. the indian space organization says the rover is safely parked and set into sleep mode after completing all of its

assignments. it has transmitted all of its research data back to earth. no word on whether it detected water on the moon. something that would help future astronaut missions. covid numbers are up in the u.s. with an average of 10,000 people in the hospital now on a daily basis. those numbers are up by nearly a quarter in just the past two weeks. a similar jump in hospitalizations is being seen among children federal authorities stopped tracking covid cases so the scope of the current spread is a bit unclear. a lot of people self-diagnose using their own tests and then they recover at home without health authorities being notified but the cdc reports that wastewater surveillance indicates that california and the northeast are seeing big spikes in infections a new law has gone into effect in texas that blocks gender affirming care for minors the law drew protests throughout the summer and caused some families to leave the state entirely

nbc's noah pransky has the latest details >> reporter: texas now the largest state to block gender-affirming care for transgender children, the law going into effect after months of protests against it >> children need to be protected and allowed to develop into the gender they were born with. >> reporter: the bill would prevent transgender minors from accessing hormone therapy and puberty blockers, it also bans transition surgeries for anyone under 18,000 medical experts say those are rarely performed on children. >> this law only seeks to prohibit treatments only for transgender youth with gender dysphoria while allowing the exact same medical care, including puberty blockers and hormones to be prescribed to any other minor for any other reason or medical diagnosis. >> reporter: some families feeling forced to flee their home state because of the law. >> we are political refugees in our own country.

>> reporter: this family moved from texas to maryland to get better care for their trans son leon, this mother testifying on behalf of children in texas. >> it is an immediate issue for my family. >> reporter: the lone star state is one of 20 that have passed bans on gender affirming care. 17 of those have taken effect. four others are on hold pending court injunctions and seven more state legislatures are considering bans of their own. for republicans transgender rights have become a major issue on the campaign trail. >> in florida it's have i clear, we think that that is mutilation, we think that that is wrong. >> i supported measures in my home state and around the country that would simply ban gender transition treatment for young people. >> president biden and democrats have denounced the bans. >> you do belong and i want you to know that as your president all of us on this stage have your back.

>> reporter: with nearly half of u.s. states having passed such legislation researchers estimate 150,000 trans children are without access to the care that major medical organizations recommend. a political debate with real world implications >> and our thanks to noah pransky for that report. another law went into effect in texas that targets drunken drivers. if a drunken driver kills the parent or guardian, this new law requires them to pay child support until the victim's child turns 18 if the driver cannot make payments because they are in prison they would be required to start paying within a year of their release. well, it might be the unofficial end of summer but the temperatures seem to be saying otherwise. nbc meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking record heat on the way for much of the country. hi, michelle. >> hi there, guys. yeah, we are looking at temperatures soaring into the upper 90s in a lot of spots, the midwest, the great lakes, into parts of the northeast, the mid-atlantic, we will be breaking some records today. that's a major story on this

labor day, monday, we're looking at record heat throughout the northern plains as well. also looking at the chance for some holiday showers mainly throughout the great basin into the plains, we are looking at the chance for heavy rainfall, too, that could lead to flash flooding, rain too, in the lower mississippi valley that could pull moisture off the gulf that severe weather threat that's throughout portions of the northern plains, bismarck to rapid city, we could see winds gusting over 60 miles per hour that could cause some damage also the chance for hail we have a low theft for tornadoes, it's not zero we will watch that as we go throughout this labor day. could see localized flooding in spots because we're going to see rainfall over 2 inches in some spots, where you see brighter colors that's where we are seeing the heaviest amounts of rain this came through portion its of the weste story in parts

of the northeast as well, the mid-a mid-atlantic, too. philadelphia 95, 96 in d.c all right. it is the unofficial end of summer, but we are looking at temperatures soaring once again into the 90s, even near 100 degrees in spots we will take a closer look at the numbers in a few minutes. coming up, jimmy buffet fans head to margaritaville to waste away and honor the legendary musician. the badger state is in for az czy nights. back in 60 seconds with the rock legends opening a new restaurant dryness and frizz that keeps coming back, could be damaged hair that can't retain moisture. you need pantene's miracle rescue deep conditioner. it's filled with pro-vitamins to help hair lock in moisture, visibly repairing six months of damage in just one use, with no weigh-down. guaranteed, or your money back. for hair that looks healthy and stays healthy.

if you know, you know it's pantene. hey guys, check it out: it's mrs. stevens. they say she can make things appear out of thin air. hey! you guys want to come in? my mom made dinner. make your table legendary, with country crock. sometimes jonah wrestles with falling asleep... ...so he takes zzzquil. the world's #1 sleep aid brand for a better night sleep. so now, he wakes up feeling like himself. the reigning family room middle-weight champion. better days start with zzzquil nights. if you are in wisconsin you have a new place to rock and roll gene simmons and paul stanley from the legendary rock band kiss have a brand-new restaurant we have the details. >> reporter: celebration was under way for the newest

location of the rock and brews restaurant. >> we're super excited. >> reporter: dominic ortiz is the ceo of the hotel and says this is a huge honor. >> look, when we sat down with paul and gene and said how do we bring excitement to this brand and how do we elevate our game and become next level, i think it was destined that we would be on this path. >> reporter: kiss rock stars paul stanley and gene simmons are the co-founders of rock and brews. for them the goal is to provide high quality entertainment in northern wisconsin. >> you don't have to go to vegas, we will bring vegas to you. so what we're doing here is doing a state of the art installation which will be unlike anything you can imagine. >> and this is what it's all about. you come here to these folks and you will meet culture, great experience, gaming, food, music. it's going to be the best time

you have had. >> but the fun doesn't stop there. kiss is set to perform at the international raceway with 60,000 expected to be in attendance. >> for us it's like coming home. it really s when we started out other bands were flying over these areas to play los angeles or play new york and this is where we made our mark. >> reporter: while it may almost be the end of the road for kiss they're ready to rock and roll until the very end. >> we will do the best we can with what we have, you know, there will be dirt flying and wet flying so it will be great. >> all right that is something. our thanks to mohammed for that report. the death of a music icon looms over us today as we say good-bye to jimmy buffet fans flocked to eateries and

raised their glasses buffet died peacefully friday night and was fighting cancer for years before his death still to come, we're looking back at how the summer box office managed to bring theaters to those pre-pandemic levels. >> including the newest action-packed thriller that topped the labor day listings. [exhales] easy to apply for the whole family. vicks vapostick and try vaposhower for steamy vicks vapors. when target's good and gather groceries, bring joy to the table for less. when sharing, the love starts with quality ingredients. and when great taste meets low prices. that's totally target. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ ♪ non-drowsy claritin knocks out symptoms from over 200 allergens. without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year.

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people's business. >> whatever it is you and your friends do, do it somewhere else. >> are you warning me? >> i'm preparing you is that a timex? we are back breaking down the biggest news in entertainment this weekend denzel washington once again proved he has no equal "the equalizer iii" took the top spot, it took in $34 million making it the second highest labor day weekend debut in

history. can't beat denzel coming back for some action on the holiday. >> i don't love the action movies but when he is in it i see it. it should come as no surprise what two flicks dominated over the last few months "barbie" may have painted hollywood pink but it also took in the green raking in over $600 million. "oppenheimer" proved it was no bomb coming in fourth with $310 million. "spider-man: across the spider-verse," guardians of the blacksy volume 3 and the little mermaid. summer box office receipts eclipsed $4 billion for the first time since the pandemic. we are talking about a summer when besides these movies there's also the franchises for mission impossible, indiana jones. >> yes. >> so what a summer it's been for the movies and i've only checked one out of all of these this summer. >> i'm worse than that i need to get to the movies. closing in on some sad news,

a spokesperson for former smash mouth lead singer steve harwell said the 56-year-old is receiving hospice care following long time health issues. his rep said harwell is resting at home and will only be with us for a short time he is the voice of several pop histories, including "all-star" and "walking on the sun. pelly wish him the west as he hofucan make a recovery. michelle is back with the labor day forecast stay with us in clinical trials, entyvio helped many people achieve long-term relief and remission. infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. entyvio may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. although unlikely, a risk of pml, a rare, serious, potentially fatal brain infection cannot be ruled out. tell your doctor if you have an infection,

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degrees in many spots, over 100 in dodge city, the record there is 103, upper 90s in minneapolis, fargo detroit 91 degrees. warm in d.c., 96 warm day tomorrow, kids get back to school tomorrow, into the 90s in many spots. 96 degrees into philadelphia, into the 90s, too, in buffalo and also toledo. >> michelle, thanks. when we come back, meet the boy in virginia making a ffen o bkpack at a time hey guys, check it out: it's mrs. stevens. they say she can make things appear out of thin air. hey! you guys want to come in? my mom made dinner. make your table legendary, with country crock. want luxury hair repair that doesn't cost $50? pantene's pro-vitamin formula repairs hair. as well as the leading luxury bonding treatment. for softness and resilience, without the price tag. if you know... you know it's pantene. air wick.

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>> i just like to help people. >> reporter: with that in mind, 7-year-old gregory carrie is on a mission to. >> make sure everybody has a book bag. >> reporter: an idea inn spiertd through a conversation with his mom candice. >> what ended up happening is he had one of his book bags that didn't last so we had to go out and buy a book bag for him and he said what about all the other kids who may not have book bags that last them all year. i said what are you going to do about it >> reporter: a question opening up an opportunity to start a backpack drive. >> i typed up a flier, posted the flier to facebook, shared it with some friends and money started rolling in people started messaging me, how can i help how can i donate >> reporter: over the summer gregory bought over 200 backpacks. >> we also had donation of school supplies as well. >> reporter: handed them out during back to school nice on august 23 st.

>> i was to happy. >> reporter: bringing a smile to gregory's face and his peers as well. >> a lot of people in the community were like thank you because i couldn't find any more glue sticks or i didn't buy enough glue sticks or thanks for the book bag. >> reporter: gregory plans to continue this give away for years to come saving $290 of his birthday money to do it all again next summer. >> i always want him to always remember that, you know, being kind to people, good things come back to you. >> reporter: a lesson going beyond the textbook showing how a helping hand can make a difference. >> i wanted him to understand that you don't have to have all the money in the world to be able to go out here and help people that's in need or people who you love or just help the community just being generous, i think that's what we need in this world >> and our thanks to desiree for that. the holiday is just getting started. here is craig melvin with a look

at what's coming up on "today." >> this morning on the third hour of "today" we are grilling up the perfect labor day steak. plus we're getting down with a new trend, puppy yoga. then we're going to grow do you say you to a father son duo helping train the next generation of track stars. that's all this morning on the third hour of "today." and we cannot go yet without saying happy birthday to our beautiful friend frances rivera. you deserve to be celebrated every year, every day. so happy birthday. >> you are very, very sweet. and i am blushing because, all right, regular old day, but thank you. celebrating franceld day,

stranded in the desert more than 70,000 people ready to leave the iconic burning man festival, no