The Full Belmonte, 7/23/2022
“ODESA, Ukraine — A string of explosions rocked Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa on Saturday, hitting one of the country’s most important ports less than 24 hours after a deal was signed to secure the transit of millions of tons of grain through Black Sea routes.
The strikes risk undermining the deal to facilitate the shipping of Ukrainian grain, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, before the agreement could even be put into action. The deal was seen as critical for shoring up global supplies after a steep drop in Ukrainian grain exports raised fears of food shortages in poorer nations.
Ukraine’s southern military command said on Saturday that Russian forces had fired four Kalibr cruise missiles at Odesa. ‘Two rockets were shot down by air defense forces, two hit port infrastructure facilities,’ it wrote in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
The condemnation from Ukraine was swift. Oleg Nikolenko, the spokesman for the country’s foreign ministry, said on Facebook that with the strikes, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had ‘spit in the face’ of the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey after the two ‘expended enormous effort to reach this agreement.’
There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin. The attack came a day before the Russian foreign minister was slated to start a tour of Africa, where he is expected to try to shift blame for food shortages to the West.
The blast wave from the missiles hitting the port could be felt from miles away, though it was unclear precisely where they struck. The huge port sprawls for miles along Odesa’s Black Sea coast with towering silver grain silos clustered in several different places.
It was unclear what the strikes were targeting and whether any grain infrastructure was hit. Russia may not have technically violated the deal, since it did not pledge to avoid attacking the parts of the Ukrainian ports that are not directly used for the grain exports, according to a senior U.N. official.
But the damage appeared to be extensive, and Mykola Solskyi, the country’s agriculture minister, said the strikes would affect Ukraine’s efforts to export grain.
‘If you attack a port, you attack everything,’ he said in a telephone interview. ‘You use a lot of the same infrastructure for oil, for grain. It has an impact on everything — it doesn’t matter what you hit.’
Mr. Solskyi added that some of the infrastructure destroyed was ‘important for processing all imports,’ but said that Ukraine would proceed as if the grain deal would still go into effect.
‘We understand that we still have a war with Russia,’ he said. ‘Our agreement was with the United Nations and Turkey, not with Russia.’
The strike on Odesa is part of a broader shift in the center of gravity of fighting in recent weeks, from Ukraine’s east to the country’s south. Russian and Ukrainian forces both launched strikes with long-range weapons in the south overnight into Saturday, apparently aiming for supply lines and antiaircraft weapons behind the front lines on both sides.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said that Russian strikes had caused 10 explosions in Odesa, and that the strikes on the port had caused a fire.
‘This is how Russia fulfills its responsibility to guarantee secure export of Ukrainian grains,’ he wrote on his public channel on the Telegram social media app. ‘Now not only the West but China and other countries that Putin was counting on to relieve pressure from sanctions know that you cannot trust Putin at all, not an ounce,’ he added.
On Friday, Biden administration officials expressed skepticism on Friday that Russia would follow through on its commitments to allow safe passage of ships through the Black Sea.
Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, condemned the strikes on Saturday, saying on Twitter that ‘striking a target crucial for grain export a day after the signature of Istanbul agreements is particularly reprehensible & again demonstrates Russia’s total disregard for international law & commitments.’
Since the war began, on Feb. 24, the Port of Odesa, where the missiles hit, has been frozen in time. Bails of steel remain stacked on loading docks ready for shipping, and multicolored cranes sit inert like huge slumbering birds.
In Odesa’s port, as well as the other five major ports in the region, 68 vessels have been stranded, along with some of their crew members, said Dmytro Barinov, the deputy head of the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority. The port authority has been providing the sailors with food and allowing them access to bomb shelters at the port when the air raid siren sounds, he said.” Read more at New York Times
Steve Bannon arrives at court in Washington on Friday. Photograph: Jemal Countess/UPI/Rex/Shutterstock
“Stephen K. Bannon, the right-wing podcaster and longtime confidante of former president Donald Trump, was convicted Friday of contempt of Congress for his refusal to provide documents or testimony to a House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
The trial, which lasted a week and only featured two witnesses, tested a rarely used criminal statute meant to ensure people comply with congressional subpoenas. As he prepared for trial, Bannon had vowed to go ‘medieval’ on his enemies. But most of his legal arguments were rejected by the trial judge, and the tough-talking defendant ended up calling no witnesses.
As he waited for the verdict, Bannon did not show much emotion, fiddling with a black mask on the defense table. His hand went still as ‘guilty’ was read twice. Outside of the courthouse, Bannon appeared unperturbed by the verdict, thanking the jury, the judge and the court workers.” Read more at Washington Post
Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official, sought to overturn the 2020 election results using unauthorized electors in swing states.Credit...Yuri Gripas/Reuters
“Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department attorney at the center of former President Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, was hit Friday with ethics charges alleging that his role in the post-election effort amounted to a breach of legal ethics.
The charges, filed by the District of Columbia Bar Office of Disciplinary Counsel, sets in motion disciplinary proceedings over allegations that Clark engaged in dishonest conduct and sought to interfere with the administration of justice and will culminate in findings that could affect Clark’s D.C. law license.
Clark, who specialized in environmental law at the Justice Department, attempted to send a letter to Georgia officials pushing the state to suspend certification of its 2020 election results until the Justice Department investigated fraud claims, despite agency leaders saying such claims were without merit.
After former Attorney General William Barr resigned in December 2020, Clark pushed Trump to nominate him to lead the Justice Department and pursue the president’s false election claims.” Read more at The Hill
President Biden talks on the phone with his national security team from the Treaty Room in the White House residence today. Photo: Adam Schultz/The White House via AP
“President Biden's COVID symptoms ‘have improved’ after completing his first full day of taking Paxlovid, Pfizer's antiviral pill, his physician said in a letter today.” Go deeper at Axios
“SACRAMENTO — On a Saturday night in December, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California was so frustrated by a Supreme Court decision allowing Texas residents to sue abortion providers that he went straight to social media to call for legislation allowing private citizens to enforce his own state’s gun laws.
It sounded so tit-for-tat that many Californians wondered if he was just trying to get a rise out of one of his favorite foils, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas. Others doubted he was serious because it would have meant embracing a bounty system of enforcement that he considered legally dubious.
Seven months later, Mr. Newsom not only signed the bill on Friday, but he has leaned harder than ever into his rhetoric against Republicans. He ran ads in Florida and Texas attacking the states’ Republican governors, Ron DeSantis and Mr. Abbott. He rebuked other states for banning abortion, as well as ripped the Supreme Court for its recent decisions overturning Roe v. Wade and giving Americans a broad right to arm themselves in public.
While Mr. Newsom has repeatedly insisted that he has no intention of running for the White House in 2024, his actions at times seem to belie his statements. The Florida ad — a $105,000 spot worth more in free publicity — turned heads in national political circles. So did his visit to Washington this month and his declarations this spring that fellow Democrats were too meekly responding to Republican moves.
‘I think he realizes that Democrats are hungry for a hero,’ said Kim Nalder, a political science professor at California State University, Sacramento. ‘He’s building a profile as an alternative on the left to this aggressive policymaking we’ve seen by Republicans in recent years.’
No piece of legislation better encapsulates Mr. Newsom’s fight-fire-with-fire attitude than the bill co-opting a Texas anti-abortion tactic to enforce California bans on assault weapons and ghost guns.
Ghost guns at the district attorney's office in San Francisco last year.Credit...Kelsey McClellan for The New York Times
Senate Bill 1327 aims to bury those who deal in banned guns in litigation. Awards of at least $10,000 per weapon, and legal fees, will be offered to plaintiffs who successfully sue anyone who imports, distributes, manufactures or sells assault-style weapons, .50-caliber rifles, guns without serial numbers or parts that can be used to build firearms that are banned in California.” Read more at New York Times
Pete Arredondo, Uvalde school district police chief, has been placed on unpaid leave two months after a botched response to a shooting at Robb elementary school. Photograph: Mikala Compton/Reuters
“School district officials in Uvalde, Texas, have cut off payments to their police force’s embattled chief, who had been on administrative leave from his job but was still being compensated.
The decision on Friday comes amid scrutiny and criticism of how police handled the deadly attack at Robb elementary, where a gunman killed 21 people nearly two months ago.
The Uvalde school board had scheduled a meeting for Saturday to consider firing Pedro ‘Pete’ Arredondo, days after the district superintendent recommended his dismissal in the wake of a state lawmakers’ report that detailed how Arredondo, along with numerous other police officers, failed to confront the shooter for more tha, apparently without sufficient reason.
School district officials ultimately decided to indefinitely postpone the board meeting, citing due process requirements and a request from Arredondo’s attorney. But in a statement announcing the postponement, school district officials noted that the paid administrative leave Arredondo had been would now be unpaid. Arredondo had been on leave from his job since 23 June as lawmakers examined his actions during the shooting.
The statement added that halting payments to Arredondo, 50, in that manner was ‘allowed under [the] law’. An attorney for Arredondo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Friday’s developments appeared to move the school district closer to dismissing Arredondo, something loved ones of those slain at Robb elementary have been demanding since one of the deadliest school shootings in US history.
State lawmakers’ preliminary report into the incident, released last weekend, listed a myriad of missteps from police who responded to 911 calls about the attack, which killed 19 students and two teachers while wounding 17 others.
Among those missteps: Arredondo did not follow his own agency’s active shooter protocols that called for him to set up a command center outside the targeted campus. Instead, Arredondo was inside the school trying to find a key to a door leading to the classroom where the killings occurred, which was possibly unlocked to begin with, the state committee found.
Arredondo has also said he did not believe himself to be in charge that day as more than 400 officers from numerous police agencies descended on Robb after the shootings. A lack of communication and organization among those officers led to a delay of nearly one hour and 20 minutes before officers stormed the classroom where the gunman was cornered and killed him.” Read more at The Guardian
“A small Mississippi city has a new police chief after its last was secretly recorded bragging about shooting and killing people in the line of duty — including a Black man who he claimed to have shot more than 100 times — in a racist and homophobic rant.
Former Lexington Police Department Chief Sam Dobbins was fired Wednesday after the city's board of aldermen voted to oust him in a session that lasted more than an hour, WLBT reported.
The vote came after a former officer leaked a recording of a conversation he had with the chief in April. The officer, Robert Lee Hooker, gave the secretly recorded audio to JULIAN, a civil rights and international human rights organization, which released it to the media — riling up the small city of 1,600 about 60 miles north of Jackson. About 80% of the city, nearly 1,300 people, are Black, census data shows.” Read more at USA Today
“Black Districts Gutted as Suburban Flight Reshapes Congress Maps
There are 22 majority-Black districts in the current US Congress, but there will be as few as nine next year. The lost seats are a casualty of highly politicized battles over redistricting bringing dramatic change to electoral maps that were already being reshaped by demographic forces, explains Gregory Korte.” Read more at Bloomberg
WWE chief Vince McMahon during WrestleMania in Texas in April.PHOTO: JOE CAMPOREALE/USA TODAY SPORTS/REUTERS
“Vince McMahon, chief executive officer and chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., WWE 0.62%▲ said Friday he is retiring.
The 76-year-old said the company will be run by chairman and co-CEOs Stephanie McMahon, his daughter, and Nick Khan. Mr. McMahon said he would continue to support WWE WWE 0.62%▲ ‘in any way I can’ as the company’s majority shareholder.
Mr. McMahon has been facing pressure after the company disclosed a board investigation into alleged misconduct, which The Wall Street Journal first reported on.
The Journal reported in June that WWE’s board was investigating a secret $3 million settlement the longtime CEO agreed to pay to a departing employee with whom he allegedly had an affair, according to documents and people familiar with the board inquiry. Mr. McMahon stepped aside as CEO and chairman shortly after the report.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“US public pension funds are on pace for their deepest financial setback since the Great Recession as turmoil in global markets this year threaten to leave taxpayers and government workers on the hook. Steep stock and bond losses are set to leave state and local pensions with enough to cover 77.9% of all the benefits that have been promised, down from 84.8% in 2021.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Exclusive: Jay Carney, White House press secretary under President Obama, will move from Amazon to Airbnb as global head of policy and communications. He'll start in September, based in D.C.” Go deeper at Axios
“Twitter blamed Elon Musk’s contentious takeover bid, combined with macroeconomic factors affecting the ad market, for missing Wall Street’s revenue expectations for the second quarter.” Go deeper at Axios
“After a hiring frenzy, companies from Alphabet to Apple and Ford to Coinbase are rethinking staffing plans and even starting to fire people. While very bad news for those employees, it could be good news for consumers, with a tighter labor market meaning less wage pressure, assisting the Federal Reserve in its fight to lower inflation. Indeed, US jobless claims reached an 8-month high, suggesting some softening. But there’s another possible wrinkle in the outlook: a dollar doom loop.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Boris Johnson Tells Successors Stick With the US and Ukraine
Johnson made his final appearance as prime minister in the UK’s House of Commons, giving advice to his successor and declaring his mission is “largely accomplished,” reports Ellen Milligan. Stay close to the Americans, stick-up for the Ukrainians, cut taxes, deregulate where possible, he said.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Mario Draghi Saved the Euro, But Italian Politics Beat Him
Mario Draghi managed to keep the euro together at the height of the sovereign-debt crisis but he failed to keep Italian political parties in line — just as the euro-zone grapples with a new energy and inflation crisis, Chiara Albanese, Alessandro Speciale and Alessandra Migliaccio explain. The premier resigned after three coalition allies withdrew support.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Behind in Polls, Bolsonaro Is Shunning His Own Campaign’s Advice
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is shunning the advice of his political allies and marketing advisers to run a more conventional campaign for re-election in October. As Daniel Carvalho and Simone Iglesias report, guidance on topics that should be addressed or avoided in public are usually ignored by the president and even mocked by his inner circle.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Corn yields are waning, milk output is shrinking and chickens are sipping electrolytes as unprecedented heat bakes some of Europe’s key farming regions. France, an agriculture heavyweight, is at risk of record-breaking temperatures and fires, while the UK has issued its most severe heat warning and half of Italian farms are parched, writes Megan Durisin.” Read more at Bloomberg
The dry river Trebbia, a tributary of the river Po, in Piacenza, Italy, on July 18. Photographer: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images Europe
“Pope Francis' Indigenous tour in Canada signals mission legacy rethink
Pope Francis' trip to Canada to apologize for the horrors of church-run Indigenous residential schools marks a radical rethink of the Catholic Church's missionary legacy, spurred on by the first pope from the Americas and the discovery of hundreds of probable graves at the school sites. Francis has said his weeklong visit, which begins Sunday, is a ‘penitential pilgrimage’ to beg forgiveness on Canadian soil for the ‘evil’ done to Native peoples by Catholic missionaries. Another one of the agenda items awaiting Francis, is the restitution of Indigenous and colonial-era artifacts, a debate for museums and collections across Europe. The Vatican's Anima Mundi Ethnological Museum houses thousands of artifacts and art made by Indigenous peoples from around the world, much sent by Catholic missionaries for a 1925 exhibition. But Indigenous groups from Canada, who were shown items in the collection while at the Vatican last spring, question how some of the works were acquired. Some say they want them back.” Read more at USA Today
“Foreign ventures in China are declining, and investors cite one major reason: President Xi Jinping’s policies, from unpredictable regulations to his relationship with Russia. Xi’s strict Covid policies are helping push out thousands of wealthy Chinese. The middle-class is openly revolting, refusing to pay mortgages on apartments developers have failed to deliver. For America, ‘endless confrontations’ with China aren’t wise, according to Henry Kissinger.” Read more at Bloomberg
A neighborhood of Shanghai after a lockdown was lifted Source: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
“Red-hot housing prices, remote work, political rancor and a strong dollar have spurred a wave of Americans to move to Europe. Expats are buying up homes in smaller cities and towns, benefitting from new visa programs to attract investment. The outlook for home affordability in the US is poised to hit lows last seen before the financial crisis, S&P Global Ratings predicts.” Read more at Bloomberg
“The drone revolution has been slow to materialize in part because of congestion: millions of drones competing in already crowded skies. NASA and the FAA have been collaborating since 2017 on new rules for US airspace. Done wrong, lives could be lost. Done right, the system could mark the biggest evolution in US transportation since the interstate highway system.” Read more at Bloomberg
The MBTA in Boston, America’s oldest subway system. Photograph: Craig F Walker/AP
“Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz will be inducted into the baseball hall of fame this weekend. Aside from the three World Series he helped bring to the city, among the memories this is likely to stir up among fans is the rousing speech Big Papi gave shortly after the Boston Marathon bombing. ‘This is our fucking city!’ he shouted at Fenway Park.
Many locals had a similar reaction to the heroics of another Boston figure on Thursday morning when an MBTA train heading into the neighboring city of Somerville caught on fire. Thankfully no one was injured, but the sudden fire, as the train crossed over the Mystic River – known in part for its historic use, and misuse, in local industry – was a frightening experience for the 200 or so passengers who climbed out of windows on to the tracks.
One commuter remained undaunted, though. She jumped off the tracks into the water, swam to shore, and carried on with her morning. ‘An unidentified female passenger jumped off the bridge into the river,’ Somerville fire chief Charles Breen told the Boston Globe. ‘Our marine boat happened to be in the river for training and was on scene immediately. The woman refused to get into the boat. She was provided a life jacket and proceeded to swim to shore … then she walked away.’
No emergency support. No shot for whatever bacteria is lurking in the Mystic River – cleaner now than it was in its industrial heyday, sure, but still no one’s ideal of a recreational spot. No one else’s business. Just on to the shore and on with her day. A common refrain among local commenters was that she was probably already late for work anyway, knowing the MBTA, and just needed to keep moving by any means possible. Maybe she’d had a large iced Dunkin’ and felt invincible.
Many on Twitter heralded the mystery woman as a Boston archetype: people here have very little patience for nonsense or having their time wasted. Jokes also abounded about the absolute state of America’s oldest subway system, often beleaguered by trains in disrepair, derailments, accidents and unreliable schedules.
But elected officials weren’t laughing. Boston’s mayor, Michelle Wu, posted that the fire was ‘more evidence of an ageing transit system in crisis’.
‘Obviously, today is just a colossal failure,’ Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker said.” Read more at The Guardian
“David Ortiz leads new inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame
The Baseball Hall of Fame is getting seven new members with the induction of the Class of 2022 on Sunday (1:30 p.m. ET, MLB Network). David Ortiz, who hit 541 homeruns in his career and became a Boston Red Sox legend after helping lead the team to three World Series titles (2004, 2007, 2013); the Brooklyn Dodgers' Gil Hodges; pitcher Jim Kaat; Minnie Miñoso, the first known Black Latino player in the majors; Twins outfielder Tony Oliva; Bud Fowler, the first Black professional player; and Buck O'Neil, the face of Negro League baseball, will all be inducted at the Cooperstown, New York, museum. Ortiz was elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, while Hodges, Kaat, Miñoso and Oliva are electees of the Golden Days Era Committee. Fowler and O'Neil were selected by the Early Baseball Era Committee.” Read more at USA Today
“Tour de France cyclists will cross the finish line in Paris
The Tour de France is coming to a close this weekend, with one big test left: a 25.5-mile time trial scheduled for Saturday. Cyclists are set to then finish the tour in Paris on Sunday, with Jonas Vingegaard the favorite to win. Vingegaard responded to a series of attacks from defending champion Tadej Pogacar on Thursday and ultimately dropped his main rival in the last big mountain stage of this year’s race. Pogacar, the two-time defending champion, cracked about four kilometers from the finish after spending the day on the attack, taking all the risks and ultimately crashing on a downhill.” Read more at USA Today
Chris Froome out of Tour de France with COVID-19
Photo gallery: Cycling odyssey through the French countryside in the Tour de France
Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
“Team USA's Sydney McLaughlin celebrates with ‘Legend the Bigfoot,’ mascot of the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore. — after winning gold and setting a world record in women's 400-meter hurdles.
It's the fourth time in 13 months that she's broken the world record in that event.” Read more at Axios
The Fenway Park scoreboard shows the damage. Photograph: Michael Dwyer/AP
“Raimel Tapia put his head down and started a slow jog to first base, not sure he’d gotten the pop he wanted when he drove a bases-loaded fly ball to deep center field in the third inning. Then everything about the play and the rest of the night changed.
Tapia hit an inside-the-park grand slam after a misplay by Boston center fielder Jarren Duran and the Toronto Blue Jays set a franchise record for runs in a game, rolling past the Red Sox 28-5 on Friday night.
Toronto came within two of the modern major league record for runs in a game after stranding two runners in the ninth inning with Boston infielder Yolmer Sanchez on the mound. Every Blue Jays starter had at least two hits, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr tied Frank Catalanotto’s franchise record with six of them. Danny Jansen homered twice and drove in six runs. Matt Chapman and Teoscar Hernandez added solo homers for Toronto, who topped their previous single-game mark of 24 runs set in June 1976 against the Baltimore Orioles.” Read more at The Guardian
Raimel Tapia is congratulated after his inside-the-park grand slam. Photograph: Bob DeChiara/USA Today Sports
The edition contains a collection of 36 plays and was bought by a private collector. Photograph: Quinn Bender/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock
“An original copy of William Shakespeare’s first collected book of plays has been sold for more than £2m at Sotheby’s auction house in New York.
The First Folio, often referred to as one of the most important books in English literature, was auctioned on Thursday night and bought by a private collector.
The edition is more than 400 years old and contains a collection of 36 plays. Only 750 copies of the manuscript were printed, of which only about 220 are known to survive.
Without the First Folio, it is possible that 18 of Shakespeare’s best-known works, including Macbeth, The Tempest, Julius Caesar and Twelfth Night, would have been lost as no contemporary manuscripts of Shakespeare’s plays survive.” Read more at The Guardian
“Dana Canedy, the first Black woman to serve as publisher of Simon & Schuster’s flagship imprint, left her position.” Read more at New York Times
“HarperCollins workers went on strike for a day.” Read more at New York Times
“The leading Quidditch organizations renamed the sport quadball, citing a wish to ‘distance themselves’ from J.K. Rowling.” Read more at New York Times
The Earth is all that lasts
“Joel Sartore is on a grand mission to photograph all 20,000 animal species in captivity (note that captivity here means in human care). The photographer said he got the idea while working for National Geographic, when he witnessed with his own eyes how quickly wildlife populations can diminish. He calls the project his ‘desperate, last-ditch attempt to try to get the public to pay attention.’ So far, he has captured 13,000 images for what he calls the National Geographic Photo Ark. There are more than an estimated 2 million species around the planet, so Sartore knows his goal only covers a tiny sliver of the world's wonders. But it's something. And by focusing on little-known, critically endangered animals like the spoon-billed sandpiper or the last-known surviving Rabbs' fringe-limbed tree frog, he can show people exactly what we are losing when we neglect the Earth's cries for help. Check out the full story for charming, wonder-sparking photos and videos of chameleons, tarsiers, primates and more.” Read more at CNN
“Whenever a super rare lobster nabs headlines, you best believe we'll be on the story! This beautiful orange gal is Cheddar, and she arrived in a shipment at a Red Lobster restaurant in Hollywood, Florida. She was saved from becoming someone's date night dinner when staffers noted her extremely unusual coloring. They called Ripley's Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, who sent two members of its husbandry team to inspect the citrus-hued crustacean. Sure enough, they identified her as an orange lobster -- a one in 30 million find. Cheddar has now found a new forever home at the aquarium, whose staff said they are grateful the Red Lobster team recognized how special she was. And yes, she was named ‘Cheddar’ after Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits!)” Read more at CNN
“Ooh, this one will make your toes tingle. The Messner Mountain Museum Corones is embedded high in the side of Kronplatz Mountain in the Italian Dolomites, offering a spectacular, not-for-the-faint-hearted view of the Alps. The museum is one of CNN Travel's best remote museums that are worth the trip. Mountaineer Reinhold Messner was the first known climber to ascend all 14 peaks over 8,000 meters, and he started this museum project in his native South Tyrol in northern Italy. It now has six different locations around the country, but none are quite as grand as this one. The inside contains exhibits devoted to traditional alpinism, and gives the mountain a much-needed travel boost during the summer off-season. It was also designed by pioneering architect Zaha Hadid, who by sheer serendipity we have gotten to honor two weeks in a row. Love it.” Read more at CNN