BOSTON GLOBE, BOSTON HERALD, CNN (USA), REUTERS
BOSTON – Amidst conflicting reports, the around-the-clock investigation continues three days after bombs killed three people and wounded more than 180 during the Boston Marathon.
U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to fly to Boston on Thursday to lead an interfaith service for the victims of the bombing, amid conflicting reports that may hamper the search for a suspect, Reuters reports.
Here is what we know...
-No arrests have been made.In a statement published Wednesday on its website, the F.B.I. scolded news outlets for mistakenly reporting that an arrest had been made: "Since these stories often have unintended consequences, we ask the media, particularly at this early stage of the investigation, to exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting."
-Investigators are making good progress and have spotted two men of "high interest" sifting through CCTV footage, the Boston Herald reports. The clear video shows one of the two potential suspects dropping a bag near the finish line and leaving the scene.
- The pieces of evidence recovered so far have helped experts determine that at least one bomb was fashioned from a six-liter pressure cooker stuffed with explosives laced with nails and ball-bearings, the Boston Globe reports.
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Fragment of a pressure cooker believed to be part of one of the bombs - Photo: FBI
-The FBI said there was "no indication of a connection" between the Boston bomb attacks and the letters containing the deadly poison ricin sent to Obama and two other officials on Wednesday.
- Obama declared an emergency in Massachusetts and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts, CNN reports.
... and (as of Thursday a.m.) what we still don't know:
-Foreign terrorists or inside job? Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft told Reuters there were no "clear indications" to support one theory over the other.
-One or many? While Obama described the bombings as an act of terrorism, it is still not known whether they were the work of a group or "a malevolent individual."
-Motive? The fact that the marathon bombings in April, a month particularly pregnant with violent events in U.S. history, makes it difficult to pinpoint a motive for the attack.
