10 things you need to know today: September 5, 2023

1. Biden courts unions on Labor Day

President Biden touted his administration's record on job creation and other economic matters in a speech to a union crowd in Philadelphia on Labor Day. "Bidenomics is a blue collar blueprint for America," Biden said. "My plan for the country is to make the economy work for people like you, because when it works for people like you, it works for everybody." Biden noted that the Covid-19 recovery has resulted in 13.5 million new jobs and historically low unemployment. He contrasted today's economy with the one left by former President Donald Trump, his likely Republican challenger in 2024, saying "the last guy" was one of just two presidents to leave office with fewer U.S. jobs than when he was inaugurated.

ABC News

2. Burning Man exodus begins after desert mud trapped thousands

Thousands of people were able to leave Burning Man on Monday after being stranded for days at the counterculture arts festival when an inch of rain transformed the normally hard-packed Nevada desert site into an impassable sea of mud over the weekend. The weather cleared and much of the ground was dry on Monday. Organizers had said the five-mile dirt road out of the Black Rock Desert site to the nearest highway would be open by noon, but festival attendees said a steady exodus of vehicles began before dawn. About 70,000 people had been told to stay at the festival for days and conserve food and water after officials closed the roads and exits due to the rain.

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Reuters

3. Kim Jong Un to visit Russia to discuss weapons sales

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un plans to make a rare trip to Russia this month for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on supplying Russia with more weapons for its war in Ukraine, The New York Times reported Monday, citing American and allied officials. Kim is expected to take an armored train to Vladivostok on Russia's east coast for the Eastern Economic Forum scheduled for Sept. 10 to 13. Kim also might travel to Moscow. Putin wants North Korean artillery shells and antitank missiles. In return, Kim is expected to ask for advanced Russian technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, the Times reported. Kim also needs food aid for his isolated communist country, beset by periodic waves of starvation.

The New York Times

4. Ukrainian defense minister resigns in shakeup

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov resigned Monday shortly after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced plans to replace him with Rustem Umerov, head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine and an ethnic Tatar from Crimea. Reznikov had served in the post since November 2021. As defense chief, he oversaw billions in military aid, including weapons supplied by Ukraine's allies. Zelenskyy didn't accuse Reznikov of wrongdoing, but said the ministry "needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole." Reznikov emphasized that he wasn't stepping down over "any corruption scandals." The ministry faced a backlash earlier this year for allegedly paying inflated prices for provisions meant for Ukrainian soldiers.

The Washington Post

5. Country Garden makes late interest payment to avoid default

Chinese real estate giant Country Garden has met a deadline to make an overdue interest payment, avoiding a default on its debt, several news outlets reported Tuesday, citing people close to the company. Country Garden, China's biggest property developer and one of the world's most indebted, missed the initial due date of Aug. 7 on $22.5 million in interest on a pair of dollar bonds, but had a grace period ending Sept. 5-6. The payments bought Country Garden time to deal with its $187 billion in liabilities. The company's debt crisis threatens to spread through China's real estate sector and damage the broader economy, which has sputtered since a brief recovery that followed the lifting of tough Covid restrictions.

Bloomberg

6. Gabon coup leader sworn in as interim president

The leader of Gabon's military junta, Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, was sworn in as the country's interim president on Monday. The ceremony came after Nguema seized power last week in the latest in a series of coups in West and Central Africa. Nguema had led Gabon's presidential guard, which seized power from President Ali Bongo Ondimba on Aug. 30, four days after Ondimba was declared the winner of an election marred by allegations of fraud. The uprising ended 56 years of Ondimba family rule in Gabon. Ali Bongo Ondimba was first elected in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who had led the country since 1967. The ousted president remained under house arrest.

NPR

7. Jill Biden tests positive for Covid

First lady Jill Biden tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday after spending the three-day Labor Day weekend with President Biden. "She is currently experiencing only mild symptoms. She will remain at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware," Jill Biden's communications director, Elizabeth Alexander, said. President Biden returned to Washington and tested negative for the coronavirus after the first lady tested positive. He is scheduled to leave Thursday for the Group of 20 summit in India. "The president will test at a regular cadence this week and monitor for symptoms," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The Washington Post NPR

8. Report: Chinese 'gate-crashers' test security at US military sites

Chinese nationals have accessed sensitive U.S. sites, including military bases, dozens of times in recent years, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing U.S. officials. Some of the intruders, whom officials refer to as "gate-crashers," posed as tourists. The incidents have involved people who crossed onto a missile range in New Mexico, and scuba divers swimming near a rocket-launch site in Florida, according to the Journal. Government officials say the people involved are usually Chinese nationals coerced into service to provide information to Beijing, which appears to be testing U.S. military security practices. China's embassy in Washington called the U.S. interpretation of the incidents "purely ill-intentioned fabrications."

The Wall Street Journal

9. 'Barbie' becomes top box office hit of 2023

"Barbie" has surpassed "The Super Mario Bros Movie" to become this year's biggest blockbuster. "Barbenheimer" — the same-day release of Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" and Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" — has lifted the domestic summer box office to the $4 billion mark for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. "Barbie" — a fantasy adventure about the iconic Mattel doll — has now brought in $1.38 billion globally, inching past "Mario Bros" and its $1.36 billion in worldwide ticket sales. But industry analysts say the rest of the year could be weaker now that films like "Dune: Part II," "Kraven the Hunter," and the "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" sequel have been pushed back to 2024 because of the Hollywood strike.

BBC News

10. Rolling Stones to release 1st album of new material since 2005

The Rolling Stones announced Monday they will soon release their first album of original material since 2005's "A Bigger Bang." Bandmates Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood will discuss the record, "Hackney Diamonds," at an event on Wednesday in East London's Hackney district, where "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon will interview them live. "Hackney may be at the heart of Hackney Diamonds, but this is a truly global moment we want to share with fans around the world via YouTube," the Rolling Stones said in a statement. The album will be the band's first since drummer Charlie Watts died in 2021.

The Associated Press