Rail bombs imperil talks

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh casts a suspicious eye toward Pakistan, saying “elements across the border” indirectly supported this week’s deadly bombings. His comments raise concerns over whether the nuclear-armed neighbors can forge a lasting peace.

While Pakistani officials deny they bear any responsibility, Indian investigators blame the bombings on the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group of Islamic militants. But Pakistan accuses the Indian government of using the bombings as a pretext to derail peace talks tentatively scheduled to resume late next week. Page A4

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Iraqis focus on different war

After months of escalating sectarian violence, Iraqis turn their attention to another war -- the one brewing between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah.

Shiite Muslim leaders seek to equate Israel’s response to the abduction of two of its soldiers by Hezbollah to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. But the Iraqi violence itself barely pauses -- 11 Iraqi soldiers are killed at a checkpoint, two mosques are bombed and at least three people are beheaded. Page A9

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Violence unsettles oil, stock markets

The Israeli-Hezbollah conflict keeps international markets jittery, and oil sets a record for the second day in a row, ending at $77.03 a barrel. That causes another decline in the U.S. stock market, the fourth triple-digit loss in six sessions. Page C1

But in Japan, the central bank raises a key short-term interest rate to 0.25% from virtually zero -- the first increase in six years -- reflecting the country’s emergence from a long economic slump. Page C3

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Day laborers raise their own wages

Day laborers in Agoura Hills are trying to give themselves a raise -- to $15 an hour, more than double the state’s minimum wage.

The laborers report a drop-off in offers after raising the rate three months ago, but say many employers will pay the higher wages, which are $5 to $7 more than at other sites. Page B3

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Vegas police shootings spike

FBI officials have begun looking into one of a series of officer-involved shootings in Las Vegas, a surge that began in February after the first killing of an on-duty officer in 17 years.

Of particular concern to civil rights organizations is a local review system that cleared officers of wrongdoing in 19 shootings, nine of them fatal. The sheriff raised concerns about two incidents and his department’s relative inexperience -- an average of four years on the job. Page A11

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Maybe he should have Googled it

During a speech last month, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) referred to the Internet as “a series of tubes,” earning him the full-flame enmity of an online world that disparaged him as “completely clueless.”

It didn’t help that Stevens, 82, runs the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees telecommunications. At least he didn’t claim to have invented the tubes. Page A15

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The Beltway version of ‘Garbo Talks’

Valerie Plame, whose unmasking as a CIA spy led to the indictment of a top White House aide, speaks out for the first time since her cover was blown three years ago. Plame, above with husband Joe Wilson, is suing top Bush administration figures over their “shameful conduct.” Page A11

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CALENDAR

Will the luck run out?

Comedian Louis CK’s new HBO sitcom “Lucky Louie” is dividing viewers and critics between those who like its honesty and those who hate its raunchiness. Ratings are sliding, but CK is determined. “I have to be totally suicidal about it,” he says. “There is no failure for this show.” Page E1

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Let’s hope he’s kidding on the hair

If your achy breaky heart longs for the days of line dancing, mullet-haired singers and the country sounds of Billy Ray Cyrus, you’re in luck.

The singer’s first non-gospel album in four years, “Wanna Be Your Joe,” is due out Tuesday.

Cyrus includes an ode to his days as a county heartthrob with “I Want My Mullet Back,” a tribute to his signature haircut then.

Cyrus, 44, never really disappeared, making a living as an actor. These days he plays second banana to his 13-year-old daughter, Miley, star of the hit Disney Channel series “Hanna Montana.” Page E1

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Getting down to the basic

Basic cable, those channels you once had to subscribe to when all you really wanted was HBO, has arrived.

As TV critics gather in Pasadena, basic cable is glowing from scores of Emmy nominations and big ratings.

Credit such popular offerings as “Rescue Me,” “Project Runway,” “The Closer,” “Monk,” “Into the West” and “High School Musical.”

The trend suggests basic cable has found a cultural sweet spot between the often bland fare on networks and boundary-pushing offerings on pay cable. Page E1

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Another excuse to shop on Rodeo

You can now view some of the outfits the devil undoubtedly wears at “Waist Down: Skirts by Miuccia Prada” in Beverly Hills.

The Prada Epicenter on Rodeo Drive is featuring 100 of the Italian designer’s skirts dating from 1988.

It’s the fourth stop for the exhibit, after Shanghai, Tokyo and New York.

Gallery patrons may purchase a $120 catalog and $75 commemorative T-shirt.

Proceeds from sales of those items will go to the Los Angeles Free Clinic.

The exhibit ends Aug. 27.

Page E1

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SPORTS

Barbaro sees a familiar face

The vigil for ailing Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro continues, with jockey Edgar Prado paying the colt a visit at a Pennsylvania veterinary hospital.

“He looked much better than I thought he would,” Prado says. “He is very smart, and he knew me right away. I fed him, walked with him, and he put his head on my shoulder and fell asleep.”

Injured May 20 during the Preakness Stakes, Barbaro’s condition took a dire turn in recent days when he developed a severe complication called laminitis in his previously sound left hind foot.

Dr. Dean Richardson, Barbaro’s veterinarian, describes the horse’s condition as “extremely serious.” Richard, who has called Barbaro’s chances of survival “a longshot,” says the Derby winner was “acceptably comfortable” and responding to treatment. Page D10

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ON LATIMES.COM

Critics converge in Pasadena

The Television Critics Assn. meets for three weeks each July in Pasadena to study the coming fall TV lineup. Read up-to-the-minute coverage of all the news and tidbits from the conference as industry honchos and the stars try to put the best face on their networks’ new looks.

Throughout the meeting, the Entertainment News page will feature a running reporter’s notebook, and Channel Island blogger Scott Collins will provide ongoing analysis of the shifts and strategizing.

See photos of the stars who drop by to make their pitches.

latimes.com/tca