A 32-year-old man was rushed to a local hospital on Monday afternoon after his motorcycle crashed on Fraternal Avenue, police said.

WORCESTER - A 32-year-old man was rushed to a local hospital on Monday afternoon after his motorcycle crashed on Fraternal Avenue, police said.

According to police, the investigation into the crash has revealed that the driver of the motorcycle was driving westbound on Hilma Street when he lost control of the vehicle and crossed over to Fraternal Avenue. The motorcycle jumped the curb and drove into the front yard of 15 Fraternal Ave. The rider was ejected from the vehicle and hit the side of the home. He was traveling at a high rate of speed, police reported.

The driver was taken to a local hospital and was suffering from serious injuries to his head and neck. On Tuesday police reported he was listed in critical condition.

Police with bomb-sniffing dogs have swept a Boston-bound commuter rail train after a man was overheard making what were interpreted by some as threatening remarks.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (AP) — Police with bomb-sniffing dogs have swept a Boston-bound commuter rail train after a man was overheard making what were interpreted by some as threatening remarks.

A spokesman for the MBTA says a man was overheard saying people "should not get on" the train at the Southborough station on Wednesday morning. The man then left the area without boarding and some commuters alerted police.

The spokesman said the train was stopped in Framingham, passengers got off, and police searched the train without finding anything suspicious.

The train then proceeded to Boston.

No one was arrested.

Authorities investigating the deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon have recovered a piece of circuit board that they believe was part of one of the explosive devices, and also found the lid of a pressure cooker that apparently was catapulted onto the roof of a nearby building.

EILEEN SULLIVAN
JAY LINDSAY
Associated Press

Authorities investigating the deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon have recovered a piece of circuit board that they believe was part of one of the explosive devices, and also found the lid of a pressure cooker that apparently was catapulted onto the roof of a nearby building, an official said Wednesday.

A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation confirmed to The Associated Press that authorities have recovered what they believe are some of the pieces of the explosive devices. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because this person was not authorized to publicly discuss evidence in the ongoing investigation.

A person close to the investigation previously told AP the bombs consisted of explosives put in 1.6-gallon pressure cookers, one with shards of metal and ball bearings, the other with nails.

Also Wednesday, a doctor at Boston Medical Center said two patients, including a 5-year-old child, remain in critical condition there. Dozens of others have been released from hospitals around Boston.

Law enforcement agencies pleaded Tuesday for the public to come forward with photos, videos or any information that might help them solve the twin bombings that killed three people and wounded more than 170 a day earlier. Investigators circulated information about the bombs, which involved kitchen pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails and other lethal shrapnel — but the FBI said nobody had claimed responsibility.

"Someone knows who did this," Richard DesLauriers, FBI agent in charge in Boston, said at a news conference where he detailed the type of clues a bomber might have left. "Importantly, the person who did this is someone's friend, neighbor, co-worker or relative."

President Barack Obama branded the attack an act of terrorism but said officials don't know "whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organization, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual." Obama plans to attend an interfaith service Thursday in the victims' honor in Boston.

Scores of victims of the Boston bombing remained in hospitals, many with grievous injuries. Doctors who treated the wounded corroborated reports that the bombs were packed with shrapnel intended to cause mayhem. In addition to the 5-year-old child, a 9-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy were among 17 victims listed in critical condition.

An intelligence bulletin issued to law enforcement includes a picture of a mangled pressure cooker and a torn black bag that the FBI said were part of a bomb that exploded during the marathon.

DesLauriers said cooperation from the community will play a key role in the investigation. He said the range of suspects remained wide open, but by midday Tuesday more than 2,000 tips had been received.

The bombs exploded 10 or more seconds apart, tearing off victims' limbs and spattering streets with blood. The blasts near the finish line instantly turned the festive race into a hellish scene of confusion, horror and heroics.

The blasts killed 8-year-old Martin Richard, of Boston, and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, of Medford. The Shenyang Evening News, a state-run Chinese newspaper, identified the third victim as Lu Lingzi. She was a graduate student at Boston University.

Officials found that the bombs in Boston consisted of explosives put in ordinary, 1.6-gallon pressure cookers, one with shards of metal and ball bearings, the other with nails, according to a person close to the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe was still going on.

Both bombs were stuffed into black bags and left on the ground, the person said.

At Massachusetts General Hospital, all four amputations performed there were above the knee, with no hope of saving more of the legs, said Dr. George Velmahos, chief of trauma surgery.

"It wasn't a hard decision to make," he said. "We just completed the ugly job that the bomb did."

DesLauriers confirmed that investigators had found pieces of black nylon from a bag or backpack and fragments of BBs and nails, possibly contained in a pressure cooker. He said the items were sent to the FBI laboratory at Quantico, Va., for analysis.

Pressure-cooker explosives have been used in international terrorism, and have been recommended for lone-wolf operatives by al-Qaida's branch in Yemen.

But information on how to make the bombs is readily found online, and U.S. officials said Americans should not rush to judgment in linking the attack to overseas terrorists.

Pressure-cooker explosives have been used in Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Pakistan, according to a July 2010 intelligence report by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department. One of the three devices used in the May 2010 Times Square attempted bombing was a pressure cooker, the report said.

"Placed carefully, such devices provide little or no indication of an impending attack," the report said.

Investigators in the Boston bombing were combing surveillance tapes from businesses around the finish line and asking travelers at Logan Airport to share any photos or video that might help.

"This is probably one of the most photographed areas in the country yesterday," said Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis. He said two security sweeps of the marathon route had been conducted before the blasts.

___

Sullivan reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Steve LeBlanc, Bridget Murphy, Rodrique Ngowi and Meghan Barr in Boston; Julie Pace and Lara Jakes in Washington; Paisley Dodds in London; Lee Keath in Cairo; and Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee contributed to this report along with investigative researcher Randy Herschaft in New York.

A stadium full of Yankees fans stood arm in arm at the bottom of the third inning in the Bronx, singing along to "Sweet Caroline," the Boston Red Sox anthem. Irony and sarcasm were absent. Sincerity was the mood of the night.

JAKE PEARSON
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A stadium full of Yankees fans stood arm in arm at the bottom of the third inning in the Bronx, singing along to "Sweet Caroline," the Boston Red Sox anthem. Irony and sarcasm were absent. Sincerity was the mood of the night.

The rival teams have buried the hatchet — at least for now. Yankee fans belted the Neil Diamond hit during a game Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, showing solidarity with their neighbor to the north a day after explosions at the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured more than 170.

"Everybody in New York knows what they're going through," said Mike Petti, a 48-year-old nicknamed Yankee Mike who for 13 seasons has been a staple of the bleacher section where the most hardcore fans — those who hate Red Sox Nation the most — dwell. "When it happened here, Boston was singing 'New York, New York.'"

But look around New York this week, and you'll see nothing but love for Boston.

In what city officials said was a first, the bright-blue Boston city flag flew at half-staff at New York City Hall, on the orders of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who grew up in the Boston suburb of Medford.

"We stand shoulder to shoulder with our friends in Boston, as all Americans do," said Bloomberg, who in 2006 founded the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Bloomberg said he phoned his counterpart Monday to offer him any help New York could provide.

An Occupy Wall Street group, the Illuminator, on Monday night projected the two teams' logos in large lights on the walls of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. A heart was inserted between the logos, to read "NY(heart)B." The image has gone viral.

New York Roman Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan said a special prayer for Boston on Tuesday during his Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

"You've got our love, you've got our hope and you've got our solidarity," he said later. "You're going to get through it."

Joe Daniels, CEO of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, sent out an email offering comfort to Bostonians.

"The 9/11 Memorial is a constant reminder not only of what we have endured as a result of terrorism, but also of our ability to come together with limitless compassion," he wrote. "In the wake of the Boston attacks, this spirit of unity is more important than ever."

On Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," host Jon Stewart touched on the rivalry in his opening monologue Tuesday night.

"Oftentimes the two cities are accusing each other of various levels of suckitude," he said. "But it is in situations like this that we realize it is clearly a sibling rivalry, and that we are your brothers and sisters."

Tension has bubbled between Boston and New York since the 17th century, when the Puritans, who founded Boston, and the Dutch, who founded New York, squabbled over Long Island.

"We're so small compared to New York, but we're so powerful," said Northeastern University historian Bill Fowler, acknowledging that Boston, with just over 600,000 residents, is smaller than the borough of Brooklyn. "On per capita basis, we've got you beat, it's just that you're bigger."

Yankees fan Steve Sanzillo, is still going back and forth with his wife, a Sox fan, over which baseball team their 19-month-old son, Jackson, will root for. For him, Monday's attack did more to unify the cities than any rivalry could divide.

"It just brings back all the memories of 2001," he said. "I think I speak for all New Yorkers by saying our hearts are with Boston."

At Yankee Stadium, where police helicopters buzzed overhead and counterterrorism officers patrolled the outside, there was a sense of empathy among residents of a city no stranger to terrorism.

"I've been getting a lot of looks, kind nods," said Boston native Christine Sanzillo, 34, wearing a Red Sox hat alongside her husband, a New York native. "It's a positive energy here today. Once my mother had a beer poured on her head."

During a moment of silence at the start of the game, a large commemorative ribbon with logos from the two teams was shown on the electronic board atop the ballpark.

"But what's going to happen when the Knicks and Celtics square off?" Petti — Yankee Mike — said, referring to the upcoming playoff game between the two cities' basketball teams.

"They'll show some respect," he said, "then they're going to want to beat each other."

___

Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.

The trauma surgery chief at Boston Medical Center says most of the injuries his hospital treated after the marathon bombings were to the lower extremities.

BOSTON (AP) — The trauma surgery chief at Boston Medical Center says most of the injuries his hospital treated after the marathon bombings were to the lower extremities.

Dr. Peter Burke says the hospital treated 23 people following the blasts, and 19 remained there on Wednesday morning. He says two patients, including a 5-year-old child, remain critical, but says all the patients are making progress and are expected to survive.

Dozens of others have been released from hospitals around Boston.

Massachusetts General Hospital says all but 12 of the 31 people sent there have been released. Eight are critical.

Beth Israel still has 13 of the 24 people sent there. Boston Children's has three remaining of its original 10 patients; and Tufts Medical Center has released half of its 14 bombing patients.

Dr. Pierre Rouzier has staffed a medical tent at the Boston Marathon for the past five years. No amount of training prepared him for the scene Monday in the aftermath of the bombings at the race finish line.

BY DIANE LEDERMAN

AMHERST - Dr. Pierre Rouzier has staffed a medical tent at the Boston Marathon for the past five years.

The University of Massachusetts doctor is the physician for athletes on campus as well as a member of the campus emergency response team.

No amount of training prepared him for the scene Monday in the aftermath of the bombings at the race finish line.

He had been working in the tent ready to assess whether runners needed medical assistance, from fluids to Mylar blankets, when he heard the first explosion. He said he initially thought it was some kind of cannon shot in celebration, similar to what he hears at UMass football games. But he said, "it was way too loud."

"Then we saw billowing smoke," he said. The second bomb went off, and he and Chad Beattie, an assistant working on a sports medicine fellowship with him, ran to the site of the explosion.

"It was horrible." People were lying on the ground or kneeling, parents were trying to comfort injured children. "There was blood everywhere," he said.

He could smell burning flesh and saw bones protruding from limbs. He said he had seen some awful things but nothing like this.

Yet, he said by the time he and Beattie had arrived, many of the injured had already received emergency treatment of some kind and were waiting for ambulances.

"Everybody was helping, doing the right thing, the right first aid," he said.

Rouzier said he took his belt off at one point to use for a tourniquet and saw someone had already placed a tourniquet higher on the limb. He started fashioning splints for others.

He said he was so focused on treating limbs that he momentarily forgot his bedside manner. He said he is always good with people.

And then a woman he was helping said, "I'm going to die here and nobody knows where I am." He said hearing that changed his focus, and he held her hand and told her she wasn't going to die and helped find her cell phone.

When all the injured had been transported to hospitals, he and other doctors looked for the runners who had been diverted from the finish line to see if they needed help. The ones they found were all doing well, he said.

Ruiz said he was unable to retrieve his car from the Prudential Center garage - the area was cordoned off as a crime scene - but he was able to get a ride back to Western Massachusetts late Monday night.

Despite the horror and the fear that another bomb could go off while they were treating the injured, Ruiz said he will back working the tent next year.

The break was reported at 9:48 a.m. near 26 Howard St.

SPRINGFIELD -- Emergency personnel closed Howard Street to vehicles Wednesday morning after a water main break left a large sinkhole in the road.

The break was reported at 9:48 a.m. near 26 Howard St. The water was shut off around 10 a.m.

A number of properties in the area have no water pressure because of the break, including the Hampden County Sheriff Department’s Western Massachusetts Correctional Alcohol Center.

Richard McCarthy, spokesman for the department, said there are no plans to evacuate the facility, which currently has 158 program participants. The Hampden County Correctional Center at Stonybrook in Ludlow will provide the Howard Street facility with water and meals until the water main break is fixed, he said.

This is a developing story. Details will be added as our reporting continues. An initial version of this story reported that the Western Massachusetts Correctional Alcohol Center may need to be evacuated; officials have since determined that no evacuation will be necessary. The story has been updated to reflect that change.

View Water main break, Howard Street, Springfield, MA in a larger map

In Hampden County, the region's largest housing market, sales rose 7.2 percent from 531 to 569.

This Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012, photo, shows an exterior view of a home sold in Palo Alto, Calif.. (AP Photo | Paul Sakuma)

SPRINGFIELD -- The median price of a homes sold in the Pioneer Valley rose 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2013, from $163,950 in the first quarter of 2012 to $168,000 this year, the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley said Wednesday.

The number of homes sold rose just 0.6 percent, from 790 in the first three months of 2012 to 795 in the same period this year.

The inventory of available residential property fell 15 percent, from 2,636 single-family listings at the end of March 2012 to 2,240 at the end of last month.

Homes also sold more quickly, the Realtor Association said. Average days on market feel from 170 accumulated days per home last year to 145 days for 2013.

In Hampden County, the region's largest housing market, sales rose 7.2 percent, from 531 to 569. Median prices rose 7.2 percent from $146,000 to $156,500.

In Hampshire County, sales fell 3.5 percent, from 170 to 164. The median sales price rose from $229,950 to $230,000.

In Franklin County, sales fell 30.3 percent, from 89 homes to 62, reflecting the relatively small housing market in the mostly rural county. Median prices rose 10.8 percent from $162,000 to $179,500.

Carlos Arredondo ran to the aid of a man lying on a sidewalk and help stem the flow of blood from is severely damaged legs.

Most people run away from chaos, especially after a bomb goes off. But in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, Carlos Arredondo, 52, ran to the aid of a man lying on a sidewalk and helped stem the flow of blood from his severely damaged legs. Terrell Brown reports.

Related

• Trauma chief at Mass General: Boston Marathon bombing patients said they feel lucky to be alive even though they lost legs [by Dan Ring | The Republican]

Nearly two decades ago, David Kaczynski made the wrenching decision to tell the FBI that his brother, Ted, might be the so-called Unabomber. And in the wake of Monday's bombings in Boston, the younger Kaczynski told MassLive.com's sister site, NJ.com, that "doing nothing is unacceptable."

David Kaczynski, brother of 'Unabomber' Ted Kaczynski, says telling the FBI his brother might be a murderer was a difficult ethical choice. Courtesy of David Kaczynski  

Nearly two decades ago, David Kaczynski made the wrenching decision to tell the FBI that his older brother, Ted, might be the so-called Unabomber. And in the wake of Monday's bombings in Boston, the younger Kaczynski told MassLive.com's sister site, NJ.com, that "doing nothing is unacceptable."

"If you have a real suspicion that you know who might be responsible, the chances are that coming forward is going to save many lives in the future." Kaczynski said Tuesday, as details continued to emerge from the Boston Marathon investigation.

David Kaczynski has spent years as an anti-death-penalty activist, and in 2001 became executive director of the group then known as New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty, NJ.com reported. The group has expanded to help those affected by all violence.

"We struggle to understand how human beings, with such a capacity for love and sacrifice, also have a capacity for cruelty and indifference," he said. "Unfortunately, through our history as a race, it's an enormous problem we have to face as human beings. And what do we do about it? I think doing nothing is not an option. But it's much, much easier to hurt and destroy than it is to heal and create."

Read the full report at NJ.com.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Tracy Rice  

Tracy A. (Rhodes) Rice, 68, of Wilbraham, died on Friday. Born in Harris, Texas, she lived in Wilbraham most of her life. She attended Cathedral High School and was a graduate of the physical therapy program at Springfield Technical Community College. For over 35 years, she worked with Wayne Rice and the Rice family as a manager at Rice's Lawnmower Co. and bookkeeper at Rice Fruit Farm. She was a member of the Wilbraham 10 Pin Bowling League, a Girl Scout leader, a school bus driver, Farm Bureau treasurer and worked election polls.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• 
  Chapin, Mary K.
  



• 
  Christopher, Christine
  



• 
  Cressotti, Doris A.
  



• 
  Davilli, Faustino V.
  



• 
  Dukette, Lillian T.
  



• 
  Foley, Rosemary A.
  



• 
  Garanin, Helena
  



• 
  Goulet, Norman G.
  



• 
  Harris, Robert H.
  



• 
  Healy, Frances M.
  



• 
  Keller, Carole A.
  



• 
  Kellogg Jr., Walter E.
  



• 
  Larkin SSJ, Sr. Martina Anne
  



• 
  Magee Sr., George W.
  



• 
  Manfredi, Daisy M.
  



• 
  Mathison, Jean C.
  



• 
  Moge, Susan E.
  



• 
  Narreau, Lois
  



• 
  Pelland, Vincent P.
  



• 
  Podsadowski, Rita E.
  



• 
  Rice, Tracy A.
  



• 
  St. Pierre, Robert L.
  



• 
  Streeter, Ralph W.
  



• 
  Therrien, Cecile M.
  



• 
  Visneau, Beverly F.
  



• 
  Willoughby, James C.
  



• 
  Wood, Irmgard L.
  



• 
  Woods, Ronland F.
  

The U.S. Secret Service has intercepted a letter addressed to President Barack Obama that contained a "suspicious substance."

JULIE PACE
AP White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Secret Service has intercepted a letter addressed to President Barack Obama that contained a "suspicious substance."

A law enforcement official said the letter is very similar to one recently mailed to Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker. That letter tested positive Tuesday for poisonous ricin.

The official requested anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

The letters were received at separate facilities that sort mail addressed to the White House and Capitol Hill. The mail facilities are not located on the main White House and Capitol Hill complexes.

Word of the suspicious letters comes amid already heightened tensions in Washington and across the country since the deadly bombings on Monday at the Boston Marathon that killed three people and injured more than 170. Law enforcement officials haven't said whether they believe the letters are related in any way to the Boston bombings.

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said the letter to Obama was intercepted Tuesday, the same day congressional officials alerted the public to the letter sent to Wicker. Secret Service is working with the FBI, as well as U.S. Capitol Police, on the investigation, Donovan said.

Police approached the vehicle after they determined that it was not registered.

Domenic Fowler Springfield Police Department

SPRINGFIELD -- Police arrested a 30-year-old Springfield man early Wednesday after he allegedly led them on what they described as a “low-speed chase” in the McKnight neighborhood.

The incident began shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday when officers Joseph Dunn and Matthew Longo spotted a 2003 Mercury Mountaineer heading east on Worthington Street, Sgt. John M. Delaney said.

Police ran the plate, determined that the vehicle was not registered and watched as it pulled into the parking lot of M.J.'s Pizza at 955 Worthington St. and stopped.

When the officers got out of their cruiser to investigate, the suspect pulled away in the vehicle, jumping the curb at the parking lot at a high rate of speed. The impact flattened the vehicle's tires, said Delaney, aide to Commissioner William J. Fitchet.

“At speeds hitting 15 mph, the officers tailed the Mountaineer until it couldn’t drive anymore on the metal rims,” Delaney said, adding that the vehicle stopped on Ingersoll Grove .

The suspect, Domenic Fowler, 36, of 50 Ingersoll Grove, fought briefly with the officers before they were able to handcuff him, Delaney said.

Police found crack cocaine inside the Mountaineer after the arrest, Delaney said.

Fowler was charged with refusing to stop for police, two counts of failure to yield, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, operating without a license (second offense), and possession of crack cocaine.

Police believe the Mountaineer may have been stolen, Delaney said. They were not able to contact the owner after Fowler was arrested.

A bomber may have been seen amid the Boston Marathon revelers carrying an unusually heavy nylon bag, weighed down with shrapnel-packed explosives, the FBI has suggested. Or perhaps someone heard something beforehand as a culprit tested explosives or expressed an interest in attacking the race.

EILEEN SULLIVAN
JAY LINDSAY
Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — A bomber may have been seen amid the Boston Marathon revelers carrying an unusually heavy nylon bag, weighed down with shrapnel-packed explosives, the FBI has suggested. Or perhaps someone heard something beforehand as a culprit tested explosives or expressed an interest in attacking the race.

Law enforcement agencies pleaded Tuesday for the public to come forward with photos, videos or any information that might help them solve the twin bombings that killed three people and wounded more than 170 a day earlier. Investigators circulated information about the bombs, which involved kitchen pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails and other lethal shrapnel — but the FBI said nobody had claimed responsibility.

"Someone knows who did this," Richard DesLauriers, FBI agent in charge in Boston, said at a news conference where he detailed the type of clues a bomber might have left. "Importantly, the person who did this is someone's friend, neighbor, co-worker or relative."

President Barack Obama branded the attack an act of terrorism but said officials don't know "whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organization, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual." Obama plans to attend an interfaith service Thursday in the victims' honor in Boston.

Scores of victims of the Boston bombing remained in hospitals, many with grievous injuries. Doctors who treated the wounded corroborated reports that the bombs were packed with shrapnel intended to cause mayhem. A 9-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy were among 17 victims listed in critical condition.

Heightening jitters in Washington, where security already had been tightened after the bombing, a letter addressed to a senator and poisoned with ricin or a similarly toxic substance was intercepted at a mail facility outside the capital, lawmakers said.

There was no immediate indication the episode was related to the Boston attack. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the letter was sent to Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi.

In the Boston case, an intelligence bulletin issued to law enforcement includes a picture of a mangled pressure cooker and a torn black bag that the FBI said were part of a bomb that exploded during the marathon.

DesLauriers said cooperation from the community will play a key role in the investigation. He said the range of suspects remained wide open, but by midday Tuesday more than 2,000 tips had been received.

The bombs exploded 10 or more seconds apart, tearing off victims' limbs and spattering streets with blood. The blasts near the finish line instantly turned the festive race into a hellish scene of confusion, horror and heroics.

The blasts killed 8-year-old Martin Richard, of Boston, and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, of Medford. The Shenyang Evening News, a state-run Chinese newspaper, identified the third victim as Lu Lingzi. She was a graduate student at Boston University.

Officials found that the bombs in Boston consisted of explosives put in ordinary, 1.6-gallon pressure cookers, one with shards of metal and ball bearings, the other with nails, according to a person close to the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe was still going on.

Both bombs were stuffed into black bags and left on the ground, the person said.

At Massachusetts General Hospital, all four amputations performed there were above the knee, with no hope of saving more of the legs, said Dr. George Velmahos, chief of trauma surgery.

"It wasn't a hard decision to make," he said. "We just completed the ugly job that the bomb did."

DesLauriers confirmed that investigators had found pieces of black nylon from a bag or backpack and fragments of BBs and nails, possibly contained in a pressure cooker. He said the items were sent to the FBI laboratory at Quantico, Va., for analysis.

Investigators said they have not yet determined what was used to set off the explosives.

DesLauriers said there had been no claim of responsibility for the attack.

In the wake of the attack, security was stepped up around the White House and across the country. Police massed at federal buildings and transit centers in the nation's capital, critical response teams deployed in New York City, and security officers with bomb-sniffing dogs spread through Chicago's Union Station.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the stepped-up security was a precaution and that there was no evidence the bombings were part of a wider plot.

Pressure-cooker explosives have been used in international terrorism, and have been recommended for lone-wolf operatives by Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen.

But information on how to make the bombs is readily found online, and U.S. officials said Americans should not rush to judgment in linking the attack to overseas terrorists.

Pressure-cooker explosives have been used in Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Pakistan, according to a July 2010 intelligence report by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department. One of the three devices used in the May 2010 Times Square attempted bombing was a pressure cooker, the report said.

"Placed carefully, such devices provide little or no indication of an impending attack," the report said.

The Pakistani Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the 2010 attempt in Times Square, has denied any part in the Boston Marathon attack.

Investigators in the Boston bombing were combing surveillance tapes from businesses around the finish line and asking travelers at Logan Airport to share any photos or video that might help.

"This is probably one of the most photographed areas in the country yesterday," said Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis. He said two security sweeps of the marathon route had been conducted before the blasts.

Boston police and firefighter unions announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to arrests.

___

Sullivan reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Steve LeBlanc, Bridget Murphy, Rodrique Ngowi and Meghan Barr in Boston; Julie Pace and Lara Jakes in Washington; Paisley Dodds in London; Lee Keath in Cairo; and Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee contributed to this report along with investigative researcher Randy Herschaft in New York.

Today's Boston Red Sox coverage on MassLive.com.

Today's Boston Red Sox coverage on MassLive.com:

Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey wants to keep job, and he might be able to when Joel Hanrahan returns

Mike Carp strong in first start, Alfredo Aceves left in too long in 6-3 Red Sox win

Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara are rock solid for Red Sox

Jackie Bradley Jr., John Farrell have talks in Bradley's likely last days with team for moment; David Ortiz still set for Friday

• John Lackey to get on mound Thursday, Saturday; Joel Hanrahan throws off flat ground

• Franklin Morales throws three scoreless; Craig Breslow to rehab with Double-A Portland on Tuesday

• Friday's Red Sox return to Fenway Park to air nationally; Pair of Sox minor leaguers suspended

In case you missed it:

• Red Sox players contemplate Fenway Park, fan and player vulnerability in light of Boston Marathon explosions

• Milford's Chris Colabello nears majors, reunited with Red Sox scout Ray Fagnant in WBC

Social media:

• Follow Evan Drellich on Twitter

• Follow Ron Chimelis on Twitter

• Follow Ben Shapiro on Twitter

• Like us on Facebook: Boston Red Sox on MassLive.com

Join the conversation:

• Start a discussion thread in Red Sox Fan Talk

The post office, located at 600 Suffield St., remained closed shortly before 10 a.m.

An update to this story was posted around noon as the post office was set to reopen.

UPDATE, 10:53 a.m.: The story has been modified to include information from Agawam fire chief Alan Sirois, who told a reporter there were no serious injuries in the incident.

UPDATE, 10:13 a.m.: The story below was modified to include comments from a U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman.

AGAWAM -- The discovery of a suspicious package prompted the evacuation of the Agawam Post Office Thursday morning.

The post office, located at 600 Suffield St., remained closed shortly before 10 a.m.

Maureen Marion, a postal service spokeswoman, said the building was evacuated at about 8:15 a.m. Thursday after a postal clerk discovered a package that was leaking liquid. The clerk's hand started tingling after the clerk inadvertently touched the substance while handling the package.

Agawam fire chief Alan Sirois, serving as incident commander at the scene, said a second postal employee who was also exposed, and both underwent basic decontamination procedures and remain at the scene.

"There are no serious injuries," Sirois said.

The building was evacuated as a precaution following the discovery of the package.

"I think everybody is on the same page -- better safe than sorry," Marion said.

The facility has about 80 employees.

At the scene were members of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, and the Agawam police and fire departments. State police hazardous materials and explosives investigators have also arrived at the scene.

Sirois said the liquid is being analyzed by state police, and the package remains at the scene, Marion said.

No details have been released about the size of the package or the address of its origin or destination.

This is a developing story. Details will be added as our reporting continues.

Boston Bruins fans joined together at Wednesday night's game against the Buffalo Sabres to deliver a stirring rendition of the National Anthem.

Boston Bruins starters, including defenseman Dennis Seidenberg (44), stand next to a ribbon projected onto the ice at TD Garden in Boston, Wednesday, April 17, 2013, during a ceremony before an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres in the aftermath of Monday's Boston Marathon bombings. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)  

Boston Bruins fans joined together at Wednesday night's game against the Buffalo Sabres to deliver a stirring rendition of the National Anthem.

• Read full coverage of how the Boston Bruins teamed up to raise money in support for victims of Boston Marathon bombings.

One of the youngest victims of the Boston Marathon bombings is improving and no longer in critical condition.

BOSTON (AP) — One of the youngest victims of the Boston Marathon bombings is improving and no longer in critical condition.

Dr. Peter Burke, chief of trauma surgery at Boston Medical Center, said Thursday the 5-year-old boy is getting better and "is going to be OK."

Burke says the boy, whose name has not been released, had significant soft tissue injuries and pulmonary injuries. He says a blast can often compress a child's chest, bruising the lungs and heart. Burke says he's pleased with the boy's progress.

Lisa Allee, head of the hospital's Community Violence Response Team, says the boy has family around him. But she says the child's mother also was injured and is at another hospital.

She says in cases such as this, they are able to connect patients through Skype.

Two police officers were injured on Wednesday morning while trying to arrest a 31-year-old man on firearm charges.

WORCESTER - Two police officers were injured on Wednesday morning while trying to arrest a 31-year-old man on firearm charges.

According to police, officers were called to the area of Perry Avenue and Endicott Street for reported gun shots. They were given a description of the suspect by several people before locating a man who matched the description of the suspect.

Amir Brown-Simmons, of 114 Endicott Street, Worcester was confronted by officers, but attempted to flee and reached for a gun located in his waistband, police said. Brown-Simmons slipped and fell to the ground and began punching the officers, who struggled to place him under arrest, police said. He then ran from police and officers ordered him to stop resisting arrest. The suspect turned and, according to police, allegedly attacked the officers. Additional units arrived at the scene, and Brown-Simmons was placed under arrest.

Brown-Simmons was charged with two counts of assault and battery on a police officer, assault with a dangerous weapon, use of a firearm in a felony, carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a loaded firearm without a license and two counts of willful destruction of property.

According to police, one officer injured his hand and the other officer hurt his leg. One of the officer's eyeglasses were broken on his face by the punches, police said. The officers were brought to the hospital to treat their injuries.

Police located the firearm Brown-Simmons was carrying during the incident.

This investigation is ongoing.

Multiple emergency agencies were called to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation site on North King Street in Northampton Thursday morning, after two people reportedly became trapped under a trailer.

NORTHAMPTON - Multiple emergency agencies were called to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation site on North King Street in Northampton Thursday morning, after two people reportedly became trapped under a trailer.

According to emergency personnel on the scene, the trailers are each 50 feet long and about 10 feet wide. They are arranged side by side behind the building and had been intended for use as additional office space.

A dispatcher from the Northampton Fire Department confirmed that the situation was ongoing at 10:30 a.m., but declined to provide additional information.

As of 11:50 a.m., more than 50 public safety officials were at the scene along with a large crane that had not yet been set up to help lift the trailers off of the victims.

Although the condition of the victims isn't clear, the LifeFlight helicopter was requested to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.