Key Charge Dropped in Boston Bomb Hoax

That "performance artist" accused of a bomb hoax at this year's Boston Marathon is off the hook—at least for the heftiest charge he faced. The charge of making a false bomb threat, which could have landed 25-year-old Kevin Edson in prison for 20 years, has been dropped, CNN reports. That's because, even though he was carrying a rice cooker in a backpack and yelling, Edson did not make an "overt threat that an incendiary device would be detonated," says a district attorney spokesman.

"It would be inappropriate to indict a case that we know we could not prove," the spokesman notes, per Reuters. But "it doesn’t change the allegations at all. The fact pattern is exactly as it was back in April.” Several other charges remain, including possession or use of a hoax device, which could result in five years in prison. (More Boston stories.)