Authorities ID suspect as Saudi national in marathon bombings, under guard at Boston hospital, [or not]Nearly two hours after bomb blasts at Boston Marathon’s finish line killed at least two and injured up to 100, the New York Post reported that authorities arrested a 20-year-old Saudi Arabian national.

Then, everyone else refuted it.

The report, citing unnamed sources, said the suspect was under guard at an undisclosed Boston hospital. Fox News reported that the suspect was severely burned. The tabloid’s supposed scoop was picked up by numerous sites, including Breitbart.com, TheBlaze and PolicyMic.

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said at a press conference at 6 p.m. that no suspects were in custody.

Earlier, a Boston police spokeswoman told Talking Points Memo’s Hunter Walker: “Honestly, I don’t know where they’re getting their information from, but it didn’t come from us.”[More]

So perhaps the Post reporters misheard or got it wrong, or were mislead by a rumor a police source heard over the radio. But if that's the case, and Post's clearly headlined report is the only source for this story, what possible excuse could there be for the following headlines?

Remember, this isn't about whether an Arab committed this particular attack—it's about whether we could trust the press to report it if he did.