Authorities believe they have identified a suspect, source says

(CNN) -- [Breaking news update at 2:36 p.m. Wednesday]

"There is conflicting information as to whether someone has been arrested in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings. A federal law enforcement source told CNN's Fran Townsend that someone was arrested. But later, two senior administration officials and another federal official told Townsend that there had been a misunderstanding among officials and that no one has been arrested."

(CNN) -- [Breaking news update at 2:44 p.m. Wednesday]

"Investigators in Washington and Boston denied Wednesday that an arrest had been made in the bombing of the Boston Marathon. They had earlier said there was "substantial" progress in the case."

Sigh. No, they don't, CNN was wrong and still refuses to admit it by describing "conflicting information". The only conflicting information is in the CNN newsroom.

How much would the world lose if we just waited 30 minutes for verification before reporting? News being such a cut-throat competitive environment isn't always a good thing. They may well have arrested someone and chosen for it to not be announced in order to guarantee safety. Who knows. All I know is that I don't trust CNN to make sensible decisions around this.

Using the phrases "believe" and "source says" together doesn't exactly instill trust especially considering all the recent speculation.

With that being said, I hope this is true and isn't just a move by law enforcement to arrest someone due to the pressure.

Even though I deeply sympathize with all the people in Boston (and everywhere else) that suffered from these attacks, I still believe HN is no place for this kind of news.

From the FAQs:

> If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic.

Nothing on Google News. Remember Richard Jewell and that the news industry invented click bait.

http://www.popehat.com/2013/04/16/richard-jewell-cannot-acce...