7/11/08 Lightning Comes out of a Nose Ring, and a Not So Honest Storm Chaser

A 21-year-old Antrim woman is recovering after being struck by lightning Wednesday night. The bolt hit her feet and came out through her nose ring. 

Jessica Lafreniere was hit while she was walking through her family's garage. "She had walked into the garage to go outside to turn off the faucet. The light came in through the garage and hit her," Read the full story and listen to the 911call here… 

And now for a storm chaser(used loosely here) who tried to make an extra buck:

The Associated Press and video services operated by CBS and NBC have pulled video allegedly taken of a tornado in Nebraska last weekend after questions were raised about its authenticity.

A tornado chaser has claimed that the video was a doctored version of pictures he had taken of a twister that touched down four years ago in Rock, Kan.

The AP paid another storm chaser, Andy Fabel, $295 for footage of a tornado that briefly touched down Saturday afternoon near Valentine, Neb. The video was sent Sunday to nearly 2,000 Web sites that subscribe to the AP's Online Video Network, and more than 60 large digital customers that buy AP's online content individually.

Yet on Tuesday, a person who asked that his name not be used contacted the AP and said the supposed Nebraska footage was really video he had taken four years ago. The image was "flipped" to make it seem the tornado was pointed in another direction, and the action sped up. The Nebraska images add power lines and subtracts trees that were in the Kansas pictures.

Upon seeing the video evidence, the AP eliminated Fabel's video from the Online Video Network late Tuesday and contacted its other customers to urge them not to use it, said Kevin Roach, the AP's acting head of domestic broadcast news operations. More from the AP.

Well yesterday Andy Fabel stated that it was real and that other storm chasers are “"jealous of you if you got a tornado that they wanted. They'll pack it up and try to crucify you." Read “his version” here…

Well how about that for a weekend fix... 

See you soon,

Brian