Mourners pray during a candlelight vigil in the aftermath of Monday's Boston Marathon explosions, April 17, 2013, at City Hall in Cambridge, Mass.
U.S. President Barack Obama goes to Boston on Thursday, where he will attend an interfaith memorial service as the city copes with Monday's deadly bombing at the Boston Marathon.
VOA correspondent Carolyn Presutti, who is in Boston, says the president will be bringing a message of resolve and commonality.
"I'm sure he will give that message of just how Americans mold together, how Americans come together in patriotism and in support of those who are hurting," she said. "And I'm sure it will be an encouraging type of speech, and again, just how faith always plays a role when we have these devastating events in the United States."
On Wednesday, the FBI, federal prosecutors and Boston police all denied widespread media reports that a suspect in the case had been arrested.
Officials take crime scene photos a day after two explosions hit the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, April 16, 2013.
Those investigators told news agencies that footage from a security camera showed a man carrying, and then dropping, a black bag near where one of the twin explosions killed three people and wounded 176 others at the finish line of the annual race.
VOA's Presutti said Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick offered some hope by saying the investigation was progressing, but that the false reports about an arrest weighed on citizens.
"It was very confusing, and especially for the people of Boston. They want something to hold onto, they want some closure to this. So for them to hear that someone was finally going to be arrested and maybe they would get some answers to their questioning, and then to have it pulled right from under them, they were left very confused," she said.
The investigators have collected a variety of fragments they say were part of the bombs, including pieces of pressure cookers that contained the explosives. The lid of one of the pressure cookers was found on the roof of a nearby building.
Investigators released photos of mangled pressure cooker pieces, a few inches of a charred wire attached to a small box, a battery attached to red and black wires, a small nail and the head of a blood-stained zipper. Authorities also found a circuit board believed to be part of one of the bombs.
Boston Marathon Explosion
1/15In this image from video provided by WBZ-TV, spectators and runners run from what was described as twin explosions that shook the finish line of the Boston Marathon, April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
2/15An emergency responder and volunteers, including Carlos Arredondo in the cowboy hat, push Jeff Bauman in a wheel chair after he was injured in an explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
3/15Medical workers transport the injured across the finish line during the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion, April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
4/15Medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion, April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
5/15One of the blast sites on Boylston Street near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon is investigated by two people in protective suits in the wake of two blasts in Boston April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
6/15Runner John Ounao cries when he finds friends after several explosions rocked the finish of the Boston Marathon, April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
7/15A police officer clears Boylston Street following an explosion at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
8/15Medical workers aid a wounded woman at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following two explosions there, April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
9/15Medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston, April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
10/15A woman is comforted by a man near a triage tent set up after explosions went off at the 117th Boston Marathon, April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
11/15A Massachusetts state police officer guards the area containing the medical tent, rear, following an explosion at the 2013 Boston Marathon, April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
12/15An unidentified Boston Marathon runner leaves the course crying near Copley Square following an explosion, April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
13/15A Boston police officer wheels in injured boy down Boylston Street as medical workers carry an injured runner following an explosion during the 2013 Boston Marathon, April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
14/15Justine Franco of Montpelier, Vermont, holds up a sign near Copley Square looking for her missing friend, April, who was running in her first Boston Marathon, April 15, 2013.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
15/15President Barack Obama leaves the podium after speaking in the press briefing room at the White House, April 15, 2013, following the explosions at the Boston Marathon.
Two explosions occurred near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, about four hours after the start of the race. At least three people were killed, and more than 170 were wounded.
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A doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital said Tuesday survivors listed as critical are improving. He called the wounded "amazing people" and said he was touched to hear victims who lost a leg say how glad they are just to be alive. Numerous other victims have been released from hospitals after getting treatment for their injuries.
Two blasts seconds apart near the finish line of the marathon killed an 8-year-old boy, a restaurant catering manager and a graduate student at Boston University.
The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.
