Bombings

  It may be the most heartfelt ovation Neil Diamond has ever received. One of the legendary singer's best-known songs, "Sweet Caroline", has served as an unofficial anthem for the Boston Red Sox the last several seasons. It is played during the eighth inning of every home game, with fans coming to their feet and singing along. In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings last Monday, and after the two people allegedly responsible for the bombings were found, many Red Sox fans were looking forward to the game Saturday against the Kansas City Royals.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Militants laid siege to a hospital and bombed a women's university bus in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta in a wave of violence that killed at least 19 people and underscored the challenge facing new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as he begins to tackle militancy in the troubled South Asian nation. Gunmen had seized parts of the Bolan Medical Complex in Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province, and for several hours exchanged gunfire with police and special forces commandos surrounding the building, local police said.

WASHINGTON -- Despite reports that Tamerlan Tsarnaev harbored resentment over the U.S. denying his  citizenship application, the application was still pending at the time of the Boston Marathon bombings, a law enforcement source said Sunday.  Tamerlan, 26, filed an application for  citizenship six months ago and immigration officials had not yet made a decision on his case at the time of the Boston Marathon bombings, the source said. Immigration officials were aware of a domestic violence charge on his record and also knew that the FBI had questioned him, the source said, but it's unclear what Tamerlan was told about his prospects for citizenship.

Re "Preserving atomic history," Opinion, June 7 Though Stephanie Meeks seems to be convinced that a Manhattan Project National Park would provide space for thoughtful reflection about the legacy of nuclear weapons, there is strong reason to believe this would not be the case. Meeks states that the park would be jointly managed by the National Parks Service and the Department of Energy. The DOE is still very much in the business of manufacturing nuclear weapons. For example, its B61 program will spend billions to give new military capabilities and decades more of existence to an obsolete nuclear bomb that we deploy in five European countries.

Video surveillance, a market that was already on an upward trajectory, is expected to receive a big boost in spending following the bombings in Boston. The market for video surveillance equipment was already forecast to grow to $20.5 billion in revenue in 2016, up 114% from 2010's revenue of $9.6 billion, according to IHS , an insights and analytics company. But now, IHS says it is recalculating its forecast after the Boston Marathon bombings. IHS says high-profile terrorist attacks historically have driven governments to increase spending on video surveillance equipment, and the same is expected following the Boston bombings, in which surveillance cameras played a key role in the investigation.

Cousin Anthony says he's sorry. The outspoken baker on TLC's "Cake Boss" - full name Anthony Bellifemine - has backed down after he posted a tweet on Monday, just after the Boston bombings, that blamed foreign-born "animals" for "attacking us. " "We even pay for them to go to school hows that!," @cousinanthony ranted. The message was quickly denounced online, including by some of Bellifemine's 25,000 followers. He attacked one critic for her "typical liberal attitude. " PHOTOS: Celebrity portraits by The Times Although President Obama has called the Boston bombs "an act of terrorism," it is unclear who's responsible and the investigation is ongoing.  By Tuesday afternoon, Bellifemine had reconsidered the situation.

Usually, it would be best to ignore conspiracy-mongers such as Alex Jones and not reward him and his angry gaggle of paranoiac followers with any sort of attention. But, in a week when thoughts of the dead and maimed victims of the Boston Marathon bombings weigh heavy on the hearts and minds of most Americans, it is worth pointing out what a worthless waste of skin and bones Jones and his minions happen to be.  Nearly as soon as I heard about the bombings on Monday, I was certain that somewhere in the nutty right-wing blogosphere someone was already concocting a storyline that would blame the crime on President Obama and the federal government.

BAGHDAD - A string of bombings in Shiite Muslim neighborhoods in eastern Baghdad left as many as two dozen people dead and reflected Iraq's heightened sectarian tensions in the wake of nearly two months of Sunni protests. The bombs went off around 11 a.m., with three explosions in the Shiite slum of Sadr City and three in other nearby neighborhoods. Preliminary news reports put the death toll at 21 to 28, with more than 100 wounded. The attacks were the deadliest this month in the nation's capital and came amid anti-government demonstrations in Sunni regions of the country that began in late December.

BOSTON -- As people were allowed to return for the first time to homes and offices near the site of the Boston Marathon bombings, the youngest victim was laid to rest Tuesday. A private funeral Mass was held for 8-year-old Martin Richard, according to his parents. “We laid our son Martin to rest, and he is now at peace,” Denise and Bill Richard said in a statement. “We plan to have a public memorial service in the coming weeks to allow friends and loved ones from our community to join us for a celebration of Martin's life.” The couple thanked the community for support during “the most difficult week of our lives.” The boy was one of three people killed and more than 260 wounded when two bombs exploded near the marathon's finish line April 15. Health officials said 51 people remained hospitalized eight days later.

WASHINGTON -- Congressional leaders reflected with grief on the tragic loss of life in the bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday, but had few immediate answers as to the nature of the attack. The flag over the U.S. Capitol was at half staff and there were signs of increased security on the grounds Tuesday. House Speaker John A. Boehner said words can't express the “sorrow” lawmakers feel for the families that lost loved ones and for those who were wounded. The attack was a reminder “of just how vulnerable” we are, he said, “in this era of what I'll call modern warfare.” “We don't know who perpetrated this or for what reasons, but I'm confident that we'll get to the bottom of it,” he said at a news conference.

NAGASAKI, Japan - On my first trip to Nagasaki, just out of college, I knew what most of the world knows: An atomic bomb fell here on Aug. 9, 1945, bringing World War II to a close. It wasn't until my second visit, more than 20 years later on a guidebook assignment, that I realized how much I had missed. Although the A-bomb is rightfully front and center for overseas visitors, the Japanese concept of the city is very different. As Japan's westernmost major port, it was the nation's first landing spot for Catholic missionaries and martyrs; red-bearded, waistcoated, fancy-hatted traders; and exotic foods borne by trade winds.

The Manhattan Project, the secret research mission to develop an atomic weapon ahead of Germany and bring an end to World War II, was one of the 20th century's most ambitious feats of science and engineering. And one of its darkest moments. In many respects, the Manhattan Project ushered in the modern era. The creation and use of these early weapons of mass destruction raised profound ethical questions, which remain just as challenging and urgent today as in 1945. As a nation, we have a responsibility to grapple openly and objectively with the Manhattan Project's complex legacy.

  The Soviets put guns before butter, but we put almost everything before guns. " - Margaret Thatcher, January 1976 When Margaret Thatcher made the above observation in a speech that earned her the title "Iron Lady" from the Soviet army newspaper, she noted that the Soviet Union was spending 20% more each year than the United States on military research and development, 25% more on weapons and equipment and 60% more on strategic nuclear forces....

CAIRO - A battle over water has turned into a war of colorful rhetoric between Ethiopia and Egypt over the flow of the Nile, which begins in the African highlands but keeps Egypt from being swallowed entirely by desert. An ambitious Ethiopian dam project is diverting Nile waters that Cairo says will reduce the river's northward flow. The Egyptians have stumbled into crisis mode: At a meeting hosted by President Mohamed Morsi this week, several politicians, unaware TV cameras were rolling, suggested sabotaging or threatening to bomb the dam. Egypt can coordinate with Ethiopian rebels and "use them as a bargaining chip with the Ethiopian government," mused Younis Makhyoun, leader of an ultraconservative Islamist party.

KABUL, Afghanistan - Two bomb blasts killed at least 19 people in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, including 11 children and two soldiers from the U.S.-led coalition, as Taliban militants continued a wave of violence as part of their spring offensive. Nine schoolchildren and an Afghan police officer were killed when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated his explosives in a busy market in Paktia province along the Pakistani border, Paktia police chief Zalmai Oryakhail said. Two U.S.-led coalition soldiers were also killed in the attack, according to NATO forces.

Within hours of the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing, even as the tragedy was unfolding on live television, the machinery of victim fundraising had already started to hum. By 5 p.m. April 16 - less than 26 hours after bomb blasts killed three people and injured more than 260 - Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and a handful of business leaders had crafted the One Fund Boston. With "rabbit out of the hat" speed, the fund already had a post office box, bank account, website and articles of incorporation set for filing.

Both allies and opponents of the United States expressed horror at the deadly Boston Marathon bombings, as sympathetic statements emerged from Canada to China on Tuesday. Iran denounced the attacks as part of a scourge that should be prevented “irrespective of wherever they occur,” its Foreign Ministry told state news media. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that although some governments may believe that supporting terrorists can benefit them, “the evil phenomenon of terrorism will harm all, and all should rise to counter it,” the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The headline on this post has been corrected, as noted below. Friends and family are praying for the recovery of a Torrance man critically injured in the Boston bombings. John Odom was cheering on his daughter, who was running in the marathon, when the first explosion went off. He was standing just 20 feet from the blast. Odom suffered major injuries to both of his legs, including a severed artery in one leg. FULL COVERAGE: Boston Marathon attack He has been in and out of surgery since Monday's bombings, and his brother-in-law says there is still much to be concerned about.

REYHANLI, Turkey - Two weeks after twin car bomb blasts killed 51 people and injured hundreds in this southern Turkish city, residents remain in a state of shock and unease. Laborers silently lug sacks of cement or new windowpanes into damaged buildings, and sweep out dust and shattered glass. Electric drills growl while hammers beat against nails. Nobody says much, but those who do express a clear sense of fury about being dragged into the bloody conflict in Syria, just across the border from Hatay province.

A 22-year-old Disneyland employee was arrested on suspicion of setting off a so-called dry ice bomb in the Toontown section of the park, forcing the child-friendly area to be evacuated, Anaheim police said Wednesday. Long Beach resident Christian Barnes, an outdoor vending "cast member," was booked on suspicion of possession of a destructive device and is being held in lieu of $1-million bail. The explosion in a trash can was reported Tuesday evening and forced the evacuation of Toontown for two hours while police investigators and the Orange County Sheriff's Department's bomb squad moved through the amusement park.