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Geopolitics

Extra! 'Relentless' Fires Wreak Havoc In Northern California

Fires rage in Santa Rosa, California on Tuesday
Fires rage in Santa Rosa, California on Tuesday

Hellish firestorms in northern California have killed at least 17 people and razed entire neighborhoods, destroying more than 2,000 structures. Dozens of other people have been reported missing, raising fears that the death toll could rise sharply.

The "disaster is relentless," Wednesday's front page of the San Francisco Chronicle reads above a photograph of the Coffey Park neighborhood in Santa Rosa, one of the areas hardest hit. It is also widespread, with multiple focal points, making it especially difficult for firefighters to control. As of early Wednesday, fires were still raging in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Yuba counties, all north of San Francisco.

Weather conditions aren't helping matters. Offshore winds that helped fuel the fires initially are expected to return Wednesday afternoon and continue into Thursday, the California daily reports. The blazes have also produced the "worst air quality ever in many parts' of the populous Bay Area, south of the fire zone. The cities and towns in the Bay Area together have more than 7.5 million residents.

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food / travel

Pasta v. Fascists: How Italy's Staple Dish Became A Symbol Of Resistance

Pasta may not be considered controversial today, but it played an important role during Italy's fascist years, particularly in one family's celebration of community and liberation.

Photo of the Cervi family.

Photo of the Cervi family, whose seven children were shot by the Fascists on December 28, 1943, at the Reggio Emilia shooting range.

@comunisti_alla_ribalta via Instagram
Jacopo Fontaneto

ROME — Eighty years ago — on July 25, 1943 — the vote of no confidence by the Grand Council of Fascism, leading to Benito Mussolini's arrest, set off widespread celebrations. In Campegine, a small village in the Emilian province, the Cervi family celebrated in their own way: they brought 380 kilograms of pasta in milk cans to the town square and offered it to all the inhabitants of the village.

The pasta was strictly plain: macaroni dressed with butter and cheese, seen as more of a "festive dish" in that period of deprivation. As soon as the Cervi brothers learned about the arrest of Mussolini, they procured flour, borrowed butter and cheese from the dairy, and prepared kilos and kilos of pasta. They then loaded it onto a cart to distribute it to their fellow villagers. Pastasciutta (dry pasta) specifically regards dishes with noodles that are plated "dry", not in broth. That would disqualify soup, risotto, ravioli...

Even though pastasciutta is the most stereotypical type of pasta today, it had a complicated relationship with the government during Italy's fascist years.

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