The Smoke Signal

By: Arts & Entertainment Editor Sarina Chitre & Staff Writer Kylie Cheung

Local

CA Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Lake and Napa counties on Sunday, Sept. 13. Devastating wildfires have since spread 61,000 miles through these counties. Local Bay Area business have responded by donating proceeds, tents, bedding, and other supplies to the more than 17,000 individuals who have been displaced by the fires. The restaurant Curry Up Now is currently donating its proceeds to Wine Country Animal Lovers & Petaluma Animal Services to help treat animals injured in the fires, while Kollar Chocolates created a s’more bar this week and will be donating 20 percent of the bar’s profits to victims of both the Lake and Napa County fires.

National

On Monday, September 14, 16 people were killed and at least four are missing after devastating flash floods occurred in Utah. Two vehicles were carried away by the large flow of debris and water, killing a total number of 12 women and children. The other four individuals had been canyoneering at Zion National Park’s Keyhole Canyon, 45 miles north of Hildale. There, a storm set off flash flooding, and more than half an inch of rain fell in an hour. Utah officials are urging residents to boil water before usage as recent flooding has possibly compromised the water quality of the Hildale/Colorado City water system.

International

Hundreds of migrants were stranded on the Serbian-Hungary border on September 15 due to Hungary closing a border used to reach the European Union. Harsh new rules have been implemented for anyone attempting to enter illegally. By September 16, Hungarian police officers had detained 519 people for illegal entry or damaging a border fence by the new rules. The border has been used by tens of thousands of refugees to escape bombings and terrorism in their homelands. UN workers and Serbian authorities have encouraged people to relocate to a camp a few miles from the border to receive aid, but many have rejected the proposition in case of a temporary opening of the border.

Quirky

Business Insider recently uncovered “Bernie Arcade,” a computer game that current Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders created during his 2006 race for the Senate, still available via an online archive. In the game, a pixelated version of the Vermont senator fights everything from “fat cats” to the “extreme right wing” by blasting them with “fact sheets.” Sanders flies a plane fueled with “environmentally friendly hydrogen” and responds to attacks with recordings of him saying phrases that include “absolutely abysmal”, “you’re being bombarded,” and “disastrous”, all of which have become well-recognized phrases from his presidential campaign. Sanders has yet to comment about the sudden return of the computer game.

Photos Courtesy of LA Times, NBC News, Global News, and Huffington Post