Martin Richard, 8, of Dorchester, Mass., was killed in Monday's terror attack at the Boston Marathon. | Facebook photo

The Boston Globe is reporting that the 8-year-old killed in Monday's bomb attack at the Boston Marathon is Martin Richard of the Dorchester section of the city.

The Globe talked to community members who gathered to pay respects - and offer prayers for the family.

The grief resonated sharply in Dorchester, where locals gathered Monday night at Tavolo Restaurant in memory of 8-year-old Martin Richard, who was killed in the attack, and his mother and sister, who suffered grievous injuries. Martin's father, Bill, is a community leader in the Ashmont section of Dorchester. A third child was reportedly uninjured.

"They are beloved by this community. They contribute in many ways. That's why you see this outpouring," said City Councilor at Large Ayanna Pressley, who was among the mourners. "It's surreal, it's tragic, it's incomprehensible. Everyone here tonight is trying to comfort one another and be prayerful."

A candle burned on the stoop of the family's single-family home in the city's Dorchester section Tuesday, and the word "Peace" was written in chalk on the front walkway.

Neighbor Betty Delorey says Martin loved to climb the neighborhood trees, and hop the fence outside his home.

The children's father, Bill, is the director of a local community group. The boy's mother, Denise, works at the Neighborhood House Charter School, where her children attend classes.

AP contributing

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A 41-year-old Chicago man died Monday night while aboard a plane bound for O'Hare Airport, authorities said.

Christopher Allen, of the 3500 block of West Jackson Boulevard, was taken to Resurrection Medical Center after he was found unresponsive aboard the the Spirit Airlines flight, which landed about 10:50 p.m., authorities said.

He was pronounced dead at 11:39 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.

Authorities said Allen died at some point during the flight, though police could offer few other details. His cause of death has not been determined.

A death investigation was underway, police said.

Reporting via Sun-Times Media Wire

In this Jan. 12, 2011 file photo, Pulitzer Prize-winning movie critic Roger Ebert works in his office at the WTTW-TV studios in Chicago. | AP

Andy Ihnatko is a columnist covering technology for the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Grid.

But for years he has also been fortunate enough to call Roger Ebert a friend. Sharing a love of classic films and, increasingly, technology, the two became close.

On Sunday, Ihnatko and several dozen of those closest to the Eberts gathered to remember their friend. Here are some of Ihnatko's thoughts on the day, the full telling of which can be found on his blog:

Yesterday, about a hundred or more of Roger's friends and family gathered in a small chapel for a private service. His wife, Chaz, didn't eulogize Roger. She testified, in many senses of that word. She paced around the wood-paneled room like the trial attorney she once was, speaking with resolution and without notes. And she spoke of her love for Roger the way that a deeply religious person speaks of their love for God.

"This is the day The Lord has made," Chaz began. Many in the room were able to complete the verse from the 118th Psalm: "Let us rejoice and be glad in it." She said that she felt that and said it every morning when she woke up next to Roger. "He was a humble man who walked with kings. And he was my prince."

I learned more about Roger's final days. He was hospitalized and on painkillers, but his mind was at its usual full luminosity. There was a curious difference in his final days, she said. Roger, of course, communicated largely through handwritten notes. During the last week, he started to initial and date them. Chaz wishes she'd saved them. Roger went through countless sheets of note paper throughout the day and nobody had any idea that he'd be gone.

Roger did get in one last joke. His family asked him if, after he died, he could send some sort of sign that there was life beyond the grave. They were kidding around. Roger was an agnostic, not an atheist, but he was a skeptic at heart and didn't go in for that kind of theatrical nonsense.

So they were surprised when he agreed, earnestly and seriously. "Well, what will the sign be?" they asked. "When the first female black president is elected," he responded.

Andy has more on his memories and thoughts about Ebert here and here.

Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement about the attack in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, that killed 25-year-old Chicagoan Anne Smedinghoff:

"Our State Department family is grieving over the loss of one of our own, an exceptional young Foreign Service Officer, killed today in an IED attack in Zabul province, along with service members, a Department of Defense civilian, and Afghan civilians. Four other State Department colleagues suffered injuries, one critically.

"Our American officials and their Afghan colleagues were on their way to donate books to students in a school in Qalat, the province's capital, when they were struck by this despicable attack.

"Just last week in Kabul, I met our fallen officer when she was selected to support me during my visit to Afghanistan. She was everything a Foreign Service Officer should be: smart, capable, eager to serve, and deeply committed to our country and the difference she was making for the Afghan people. She tragically gave her young life working to give young Afghans the opportunity to have a better future.

"We also honor the U.S. troops and Department of Defense civilian who lost their lives, and the Afghan civilians who were killed today as they worked to improve the nation they love.

"I spoke this morning with our fallen Foreign Service Officer's mother and father and offered what little comfort I can for their immeasurable loss. As a father of two daughters, I can't imagine what her family is feeling today, or her friends and colleagues."

The full State Department statement is available here.

Anne Smedinghoff | via her Twitter page

The world lost a truly beautiful soul today. Our daughter, Anne, a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, died in the service of her country as she was traveling with a group to deliver books to a local school in the Zabul Province of Afghanistan. She joined the Foreign Service three years ago right out of college and there was no better place for her. Anne absolutely loved the work she was doing. Her first assignment was in Caracas, Venezuela. She then volunteered for an assignment at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, which she began in July, 2012. Working as a public diplomacy officer, she particularly enjoyed the opportunity to work directly with the Afghan people and was always looking for opportunities to reach out and help to make a difference in the lives of those living in a country ravaged by war. We are consoled knowing that she was doing what she loved, and that she was serving her country by helping to make a positive difference in the world. She was such a wonderful woman--strong, intelligent, independent, and loving. Annie, you left us too soon; we love you and we're going to miss you so much.

Tom & Mary Beth Smedinghoff

UPDATE: Fenwick High School community honors Anne.

Family and neighbors remember Anne Smedinghoff: "We are so proud, but also very sad."

Read the State Department's statement from Sec. John Kerry.

At the end of tonight's episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart's "Moment of Zen" was a clip of Stewart reading a clip of Ebert's Death To Smoochy review out loud to Roger during an interview. It was a hilarious moment for both men and a great display of Roger's sense of humor.

Below, find the interview in its entirety.

Oh, and read that half-star Death To Smoochy review here.

In this Jan. 30, 2009 photo, Internet activist Aaron Swartz poses for a photo in Miami Beach, Fla. Swartz was found dead Friday, Jan. 11, 2013, in his Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment. (AP Photo/The New York Times, Michael Francis McElroy)

On Tuesday, Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Rafael Reif addressed the college community about the university's decision to release documents related to the prosecution of Aaron Swartz.

Below is the letter Reif wrote explaining the action:

To the members of the MIT Community:

I am writing to explain an important step that MIT has decided to take relating to the Aaron Swartz situation. Since this action affects members of our community, directly or indirectly, I want you to hear about it from me.

On Friday, the lawyers for Aaron Swartz's estate filed a legal request with the Boston federal court where the Swartz case would have gone to trial. They demanded that the court release to the public information related to the case, including many MIT documents. Some of these documents contain information about vulnerabilities in MIT's network. Some contain the names of individual MIT employees involved. In fact, the lawyers' request argues that those names cannot be excluded ("redacted") from the documents and urges that they be released in the public domain and delivered to Congress.

At MIT, we believe in openness, and we are not afraid to reexamine our own actions; indeed, it was with those values in mind that I asked Professor Hal Abelson to undertake his analysis following Aaron Swartz's tragic suicide. But I believe that openness must be balanced with reasonable concern for privacy and safety. That is especially true in this situation. In the time since Aaron Swartz's suicide, we have seen a pattern of harassment and personal threats. In this volatile atmosphere, I have the responsibility to protect the privacy and safety of those members of our community who have become involved in this matter in the course of doing their jobs for MIT, and to ensure a safe environment for all of us who call MIT home.

Therefore -- in the spirit of openness, balanced with responsibility -- we will release the requested MIT documents, redacting employee names and identifying information as appropriate to protect their privacy, as well as redacting information about network vulnerabilities. We will release these documents at the same time that we release Professor Abelson's report. In this way, our own community and those outside can examine both these primary documents and Professor Abelson's analysis, which he is now forming through a careful process that includes a review of this written material as well as extensive in-person interviews.

I am eager to receive his report; I am sure that many of you are, as well. But I trust Professor Abelson to take the time he needs to complete a thorough analysis. In the meantime -- because this is being played out in public -- I wanted you to know what I am thinking and doing, and why.

Sincerely,
Rafael Reif

In a bizarre story out of Texas Saturday night, it was reported that Chris Kyle was murdered at a gun range.

If you're not familiar with Kyle, there's a few reasons why this should be shocking - aside from the fact that it's the sad loss of an American hero.

Kyle was a sniper. The former Navy SEAL, author of American Sniper, was maybe the deadliest U.S. warrior ever, earning him the nickname "Devil of Ramadi." Credited with 160 confirmed kills - 255 claimed - in his career with SEAL Team 3, the decorated vet had become something of a celebrity in recent years, a staple on the talk show circuit and himself a host of his own show.

"It just comes as a shock and it's staggering to think that after all Chris has been through, that this is how he meets his end, because there are so many ways he could have been killed" in Iraq, American Sniper co-author Scott McEwen told Reuters.

In one of his last interviews, Kyle talked to guns.com about gun ownership, Obama administration plans to tackle assault weapons and the recent increase in mass shootings in the U.S.:

The Texas native Kyle was just 38. He had a new book due in May - American Gun - A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms. He also had a pending legal action - a defamation lawsuit brought against him by Jesse Ventura over an alleged altercation at a SEAL bar in California in 2006.