Tens of thousands of Burning Man festivalgoers are stranded at the Nevada desert due to flooding. Heavy rain forced nearby roads to be closed, prompting chaotic scenes at Black Rock. Those in attendance have been urged to conserve food and take shelter. Officials have also confirmed the death of one person "during this rain event" with no further details. Their family has been informed. Rumours online suggested the scenes were a result of an Ebola outbreak – claims officials have since shut down. In a statement to indy100, the Bureau of Land Management's (which oversees the Black Rock Desert site) public information officer for Burning Man said: "I can confirm the event entrance was closed for the year because unusual rainfall caused muddy conditions where there was a full stop on vehicles, and not for an Ebola outbreak. "We have heard no information of any participants with Ebola." Festivalgoers have since turned to TikTok to share the scenes... @burningmanfashion #burningman update by @Christine Lee #burningman2023 #burningmanvideos #thankslarry @angiepeacockmsw Burning Man is now Flooded Man. #burningman2023 #burningman #blackrockcity #fyp #nomad #vanlife @nadia_abraham Pray for him people ?? #burningman #burningman2023 #titanicsound #mud #festival @gracetbarr1 Barely made it out of Black Rock City to avoid the 2 day lockdown. Exodus is real. Stay safe everyone ? Part 2 when I make it home @chloecailletmusic #burningman #burningman2023 #apocalypse @ivannajackson Definitely unforgettable experience #burningman2023 #burningman #playa #burningmanmud @laylamolayem Reporting live from Burning Man post rain. The alkaline sand has turned into quicksand from the rain ? #burningman #burningman2023 #rain @ivoryringlord Replying to @Serena Lange #burningman #burningman2023 #liveupdate Meanwhile, others were making the most of a bad situation: @humminglion Mud at Burning Man? No prob! I’ll stay an extra week ? #burningman2023 #burningman #blackrockcity #brc #nevada @gilroygabe Old Testiment Burning Man ⛈️ #burningman2023 #blackrockcity @soulllvision Burning Man 2023 после того, как прошёл дождь. #Burningman2023 #blackrockcity #playa #бернингмен The world-famous festival returned to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada on Sunday (27 August) and ran until Monday (4 September). Organisers of the festival believe it can "produce positive spiritual change in the world," and "generate society that connects each individual to his or her creative powers, to participation in community, to the larger realm of civic life, and to the even greater world of nature that exists beyond society." Burning Man is expected to pump $60 million into the Nevada economy, according to Work Live Play, with tickets said to cost anywhere between $575 to $2,750. "Going to Burning Man, as I’m sure you’ve gathered, isn’t a straightforward operation," We Are Global Travellers shared. "It’s not cheap, it’s in the middle of the Nevada desert and it’s not something (unless you’ve been before or have friends in the know) that you can just whip together last minute." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Radio presenter Chris Arnold has apologised after a slip of the tongue left him saying something rather explicit live on the radio. Arnold was covering Mel Everett on BBC Radio Somerset and was trying to tell listeners there was "lots to come" for them to enjoy on the night's show. But he accidentally said something else with a completely different meaning. "Hello, good evening, Chris Arnold here until 10pm. Hope you've have a good day, lots of come... lots to come tonight," the presenter said before pausing and saying "right, OK". Posting on Twitter/ X he apologised to listeners, writing: "I can only apologise profusely to the listeners for this deeply unfortunate slip of the tongue on the show this evening." Reacting to his post, people thought it was pretty hilarious. Fellow radio presenter Greg James, for instance joked that it was "always exciting to be live on air". "I hope that the show had a happy ending". "Never knew radio cummerset was such good fun," another quipped. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A model who has undergone countless filler injections and is known for her controversial look has revealed her latest surgical procedure. Anastasia Pokreshchuk regularly hits the headlines due to her protruding cheekbones, claiming to have the “biggest cheeks in the world”. In a bid to maintain her title, the model often undergoes beauty treatments and says that she’s “lost count” of how many procedures she’s had. Most recently, Anastasia revealed a before and after photo of herself at 18 and now, at age 34 – also telling fans that she’s gone under the knife again to get the “biggest breast implants” available. And now, she’s planning a mysterious procedure with a gynaecologist which has left fans concerned. In a clip that has over 113,000 views and thousands of likes, the content creator speaks to the camera while sitting opposite a doctor, before showing the surgical chair. “Today I have an appointment with the gynecologist,” she says. “Soon I will have an operation and from today I will start treatment. “I will tell you everything in detail [...] “The first gynecologist I want to see again and whom I trusted.” Users have flocked to the comments to share their reactions, with many offering suggestions about the so-far unknown procedure to come. “A rose with extra lips,” Natalia added. Another user said: “Will you have a uterus extended? Or the sex lips? I’m just intrigued.” [sic] “Well, we don’t need to tell everything about gynecology and show it, I hope you didn’t grow extra lips there,” someone else commented. [sic] Anna added: “The only doctor that could move your silicone sex lips. No one could but she could.” [sic] “He has a bicycle seat face,” another user said. [sic] Anastasia, from Ukraine, first started having beauty and surgical procedures when she was 26. Aside from her obsession with big cheeks, she also has veneers, and breast implants and has had Botox injected into her forehead. Spending thousands of pounds on fillers alone, the once natural beauty has received mixed responses about her look – having been compared to a Marvel character in the past. However, the now blue-haired star loves her appearance. She previously sadi: "After I had the injections and saw the changes in my cheeks, I fell in love with them. "I understand that they look weird for other people, but I don't mind."

An argument between the founder of Barstool Sports and American businessman, Dave Portnoy and the owner of the Dragon Pizza restaurant in Sommerville, Massachusettes has led to the pizzeria being flooded with reviews. In 2017 46-year-old Portnoy began an internet series called 'One Bite Pizza' where he does video reviews of pizza outlets throughout the United States. The popular series also has an app and its own frozen pizza range. Portnoy's series is usually well-received and has featured the odd celebrity guest and wholesome interactions with the public that have gone viral. However, his latest review has gone viral for all the wrong reasons. His review of Dragon Pizza took an unexpected turn when the owner of the restaurant, wearing a tight Star Wars t-shirt, stormed out onto the street where Portnoy was filming his review to berate the businessman. At this point, Portnoy was already a little disappointed with the food he had purchased giving it a medium rating of 6.4 but did concede that it could have been his fault for leaving it in the box too long. However, the mood soon changed when the owner confronted him. "Enjoy your pizza as any customer but I don’t appreciate what you do, coming in and judging a business with one bite," the owner yelled at Portnoy before telling him to move on. Portnoy argues back and forth with the owner, criticising his appearance and highlighting all the work and money he had raised to help and promote small businesses. Dragon Pizza has subsequently gone viral thanks to this interaction and flooded with negative reviews on Yelp which appear to have emerged since Portnoy shared his own review so it's hard to determine how genuine they are. Barstool Sports has since shared an article calling the owner 'one of the worst humans in history.' The owner previously responded to the argument a week ago (presumably when the review was filmed) with a stinging Instagram post where he wrote: "F@$K you and the Stool you came in on, Dave Douchebag. Your show sucks. You suck, and you truly are the classless tool I thought you are." In Portnoy's article he conceded that he wasn't everyone's "cup of tea" but questioned why the owner would pick a fight with him and "say that I'm bad for small business and bad for the pizza industry?" He added: "Like even my most ardent haters have to begrudgingly admit that I've done more for small business than 99.9 of private citizens in this country. It just shows how little this guy actually knows about me that he couldn't name 1 actual reason he really hated me besides "The New York Times." And that is why this guy is everything that is wrong with America right now." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A woman who purchased a $4 (£3.15) painting from a charity shop may have just hit the jackpot, with experts valuing it at hundreds of thousands of dollars. Six years ago, a buyer who wishes to remain anonymous, stumbled across the artwork in Manchester, New Hampshire. She was said to be on the hunt for picture frames she could spruce up, according to New York Post. The artwork has since been put up for auction on Bonhams Skinner, which specialises in services for fine art, antiques, jewellery and more The listing describes the painting by Newell Convers Wyeth (1882-1945) as depicting "the tension between Ramona and her rigid and overbearing foster mother, Señora Moreno." It's approximately worth between $150,000 (£118,149) to $250,000 (£196,916). It comes after Elon Musk's college girlfriend bagged herself $165,000 (£144,000) from snaps from their one-year relationship. Jennifer Gwynne, 48, from South Carolina, dated the tech mogul during university before he broke things off to move to California. Gwynne turned to Boston-based RR Auction with a collection of never-before-seen photos, a copy of his original coursework ($7,753/£6,793), a 14k-gold gifted necklace ($51,008/£44,690) and a birthday card in which he calls her "boo boo" ($16,643/£14,583). The photos show a youthful Musk hanging out with his then-girlfriend and friends on and around campus. Speaking about their relationship to the Daily Mail, Gwynne shared: "We met in the fall of 1994. I was a junior, and he was a senior... we were in the same dorm, and we worked together. "His shy nature attracted me at first... he used to be my type," she said, before describing Musk as "sweet, kind, smart and engaging." She continued: "He was very intense, very focused on his studies. Back then he was always talking about electric cars... he was definitely going somewhere. He just saw school as a stepping stone." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Nowadays, the internet has developed to play a key part in modern-day life but many will remember the early days when the unforgettable dial-up tone sound rang each time you logged on. With apps such as MSN and MySpace being the popular social media apps at the time. Looking back at this era, it also caused the earliest existence of memes - talk about historic. And in case you didn’t already feel old today, infamous video meme Badger Badger Badger will be celebrating its 20th birthday on September 1st this year. If you look back on these frolicking mammals with fondness, domain and hosting provider, Fasthosts, takes a trip down memory lane at the era of long-lost memes. Badger Badger Badger Age: 20 years old On its 20th birthday, Badger Badger Badger is an internet video meme that consists of badgers dancing to an electronic dance song. After three loops of multiple badgers and mushrooms, a snake slithers through a desert and the animation starts again. A ridiculous notion perhaps, but it captured the attention of kids and tweens in the early internet days. The original cartoon continues indefinitely, whereas the YouTube iterations sometimes only last a few minutes. Over the years, Badger Badger Badger has spawned numerous remixes and parodies and remains a fond favourite of early 90s kids. Badgers : animated music video : MrWeebl www.youtube.com Surprised owl Age: 20 years old If you enjoyed calling someone “Captain Obvious”, or have ever used the phrase “No s**t, Sherlock” – and you’re in your 30th decade – then chances are you’ve sent this meme over MSN. The greatness of this meme comes from its simplicity, its ease of use, and its ability to be used in a multitude of circumstances, the O RLY owl was the sickest burn of its time. SpongeGar Age: 19 years old There have been many Spongebob memes over the years, including his many beloved iterations. In episode SB-129, Squidward heads back in time to the prehistoric era and discovers that his annoying neighbour is exactly the same, just a little more caveman. SpongeGar – with his long canines, square loincloth and surprised expression – there was no more fitting response to the strange situations you can find online. Rickroll Age: 16 years old A meme familiar with millennials and one that has stood the test of time, so much so that Gen Z may even recognise what it means to be "Rickrolled." For the uninitiated, Rickroll is a good old bait-and-switch meme where an unsuspecting URL instead takes you to the music video for Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”. After more than 15 years of tricking people around the world, the official YouTube video has garnered before than 1.5 billion views. In 2008, the meme reached its peak, by being tweeted by the White House’s official account, and when YouTube turned every link on their homepage into a Rickroll in honour of April Fools Day. RickRoll'D youtu.be Trollface Age: 15 years old Drawn on Microsoft Paint back in 2008, if you can believe it, to mock trolls. Unfortunately, the image itself was hijacked by trolls and became very widely used, often alongside the phrase “U mad, bro?”. Originating on 4chan, Trollface quickly jumped to Reddit and Urban Dictionary, before making its way to Imgur and Facebook. Doge Age: 13 years old Many people have pondered what man’s best friend might be thinking, and this unassuming Shiba Inu dog allowed our imagination to come to life. The Doge meme was overlaid with Comic Sans to relay the dog’s inner thoughts, often utilising poor grammar and spelling. Whether you Photoshopped Kabosu – the pooch’s name – used as a response or a standalone meme, Doge certainly made his mark on the world. After all, what other meme do you know that inspired its own cryptocurrency? Nyan Cat Age: 12 years old The internet is a wonderful place. And it’s the only place an 8-bit rainbow cat travelling through space would be watched by more than 150 million people. Not only was Nyan Cat a YouTube sensation, but it crossed mediums easily with live recreations, video games, classical music covers, and fan art. Certainly one of the most popular of early MySpace and Bebo days. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

When you’re describing a rare astronomical event on television – one we won’t see again until 2032 – it’s good to have a picture to hand to bring the news report to life and illustrate exactly what it is you’re talking about. Yet when BBC News were unable to show an image of the rare blue supermoon (which isn’t actually blue, but rather the second full moon in a calendar month which is within 360,000km of Earth), presenter Maryam Moshiri was forced to improvise, using her hands to give viewers an idea of the shape of a moon and exactly what it looked like. “I’m so sorry I don’t have pictures to show you. It looked a little bit like this, here you go, supermoon,” she said on Wednesday afternoon, bridging her hands together in a curve to form a circle. It came after a technical issue saw images appearing to show the impact of Hurricane Idalia in Florida pop up on screen, instead of the moon which appears bigger and brighter than usual during the rare event. Always quick to spot a BBC News meme in the making, the hilarious moment was captured and shared on Twitter/X by TV critic Scott Bryan amongst others – and the reactions soon followed: Thankfully, Ms Moshiri took the mishap in jest, issuing a series of replies to those who spotted the slip-up by saying she was “so sorry to all the moon lovers [out] there” and that she “should have taken a photo [last night] and shown that to the camera”. “I think it’s a pretty good impression given what I had to play with,” she added. We’d be inclined to agree – it was out of this world, in fact. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Tiffany Gomas, the woman behind the viral "not real" rant on board an American Airlines flight, has now released merchandise to help victims of the Maui wildfires. In a post to Instagram on Thursday (31 August), the marketing executive shared a snap of herself in the T-shirt. "I’m so proud to support Maui Strong through Branding Aloha’s T-shirt fundraiser," she wrote. "There is so much healing and rebuilding to do. Do your small part to help and get your T-shirt today for $36. 100% of sales proceeds are going to the Hawaii Community Foundation". The post was flooded with comments praising Gomas for her efforts. "Way to use your platform. Beautiful inside and out," one commented, while another added: "Just bought some! Awesome you’re supporting Maui!" Meanwhile, conspiracy theorists took no time in accusing her of not being the real Tiffany Gomas. One person wrote: "But is the shirt real though?" Another said: "I’m telling you right now this not same woman" A third added: "Maui dies but your doppelganger lives on." The 38-year-old was recently spotted boarding her first flight since the 2 July incident in which she claimed a fellow passenger wasn't real. Gomas told TMZ she felt a little bit of anxiety" being in the airport again, before responding to a question on what she actually saw on that initial flight. Gomas told the reporter that she had been told she "cannot comment on it right now." When asked whether people could expect an interview, she said: "The rate it's going, I feel like it's gonna have to happen. There's some things in the works, mostly non-profit charity stuff." Despite Gomas remaining tight-lipped on what she actually saw, she said she "100 per cent" was getting off the plane, and still stands by that decision. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Amanda Holden has revealed the reason she didn't respond when Andrew Tate recently mocked her. Tate trolled the celebrity last month after Holden posted a photo of herself wearing a black bikini and standing under an outdoor shower. For some reason he seemed outraged by the innocuous image, and the controversial influencer responded to the post, and wrote: "You are a wife and a mother and you’re far past a teenager. There is no need for this post.” Holden was defended by fans who stuck up for her and slammed Tate in equal parts and now, she has had the last laugh. In an interview with the Telegraph in which she said the reason she didn't respond to Tate at the time was because she didn't want to "give him oxygen." "Honestly, I had another shot of me in a bikini with just a close-up of my bum and I was tempted to post it with the caption: 'Kiss my 52-year-old arse,'" she told the publication, reportedly laughing. She continued: "But you just know something like that’s going to go on and on – and in the end, why give him the oxygen?" Tate, is currently charged with rape, human trafficking, and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women. He will stand trial on these charges in Romania. So really, he is the last person who should comment on what people do and do not post online. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The “Girlhood” website is going viral on TikTok, but what is it and why are young girls flocking to the site? Being a teenage girl is hard at the best of times, but mix in social media, phones and other technology and it can be made even harder. But, equally, girls are now finding community and advice online thanks to the Girlhood website that has gone viral on social media. On the site, youngsters can find advice about anything from break-ups to school from “big sisters” who are older young women who have been through it themselves. What is Girlhood? The Girlhood website is a blog-style forum that offers young girls and teens the chance to get advice and help with issues. Girls around the world can communicate, share advice and vent their thoughts and feelings with peers. It was created by two girls, Mia Sugimoto and Sophia Rundle, who explained on Instagram that it is an “organization encouraging teenagers to share their stories and find the support they need”. @gir1hood Its okay cuz now i give the best advice? link in bio to visit our site :) #girlhood #fyp #trending #positivity #teengirls #breakup #ex They explain: “Stories can be funny, scary, relatable or entertaining! We want every girl to know that they belong, and there are girls all over the world willing to help.” Girls can submit questions in order to receive advice or submit amusing stories that can be anonymously shared on the blog. Those over 15 can also apply to become a respondent and offer their advice to girls who are trying to navigate similar situations. To do this, you have to apply via a form that seeks to “gauge your character” and assess the kind of advice you might give. While Girlhood does not profess to offer professional help or mental health services, it does create a safe space for people to share their advice based on personal experience. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

An influencer who splurged £130,000 on leg extension surgery now has regrets. Theresia Fischer, 31, added 5.5 inches to her height after claiming her husband encouraged her to do so. Fischer, who appeared on Germany's Celebrity Big Brother, spoke on the radio station MDR, where she claimed her partner said: "Theresia, you know I like big ladies. So I would really like this. You could get up to 14cm more." She continued: "[He would say] 'You can’t do anything without me. You need me'. And if you are told that 20, 30, 60, 70 times – then you believe that you are nothing without him." Fischer said she didn't even know such surgery existed until her husband brought it to her attention. The influencer, who was 5 foot 6 inches and is now 6 feet after the surgery, had adjustable telescopic rods inserted into her shins at the age of 24. "I am ashamed because I consented to an operation that I shouldn’t have had," she said. Around the time of the procedure, Fischer reportedly claimed the operation had improved her sex life and that she followed through with it after years of bullying as a teenager. She also previously described the grueling procedure to Bild, candidly sharing how the shin bone was broken and the calf muscles were split. "You stretch your lower legs independently by holding your knee with one hand and screwing your foot inward with the other hand until it clicks," she said. "Ten clicks a day on each side bring an additional 0.5 millimetres ." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A Thai father has received warm messages for his gesture to his adoptive daughter by turning up dressed as a mum for a Mother's Day event at school so she wouldn't feel left out. In the heartwarming clip, Pratchaya Tadeebu can be seen wearing a dress and wig as he surprised his 15-year-old daughter Cream so that she wouldn't be alone for the Mother’s Day ceremony in school on August 12. Overwhelmed with emotion, Cream can be seen bowing down to Tadeebu before hugging him tightly for his meaningful Mother’s Day gesture. The clip has since gone viral with over 395,000 views, and a number of comments from people praising the father and sending messages of support to the father and daughter. One person said: "What a great blessing for this relationship! you both deserve the best, best dad." "My tears hmmm proud of you Best Dad to this kid," another person said. Someone else added: "I finally see there's such thing called loving father." @joey_kp "แม่" ฉันก็เป็นให้แกได้555 After surprising his daughter, Tadeebu spoke to a local Thailand news outlet about why he decided to do this. "Even though I am a single father and her stepfather, I always tell Cream that she is my daughter, and I love her like my own biological child,” he said. “I will do my best as both father and mother in order to take care of my girl.” He added that when the idea of dressing as a woman came up, he "felt no embarrassment at all," and added: "We always find ways to have fun together." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.