Rove-Worthy: Unstable Supporter May Cost McCain Pennsylvania

CNN was abuzz early this morning with the story of Ashley Todd, a 20-year-old from College Station who was a phone bank volunteer for the McCain/Palin ticket in Pennsylvania who made a police report following what she claimed was a robbery and assault by a 6'4" black man near an ATM who carved the letter "b" into her face because he didn't like her McCain bumper sticker on her car.

Well, it's a hoax.

Todd has confessed to making up the story and will be charged with making a false report to police, according to the Associated Press.

Police later said details of Todd's story kept changing, prompting police to give her a polygraph test, the results of which were not released.

Other inconsistencies in the woman's story included the orientation of the "B" scratched onto her cheek (backwards, as if self-inflicted) and the absence of video surveillance or bank records backing up her claims.

Bail was set at $50,000 Friday night for Todd who was described as "very cordial, polite, cooperating."

"It's just a lot of wasted man hours," Pittsburgh Assistant Police Chief Maurita Bryant said at a news conference.

According to the AP

Dressed in an orange hooded sweat shirt, Todd left police headquarters in handcuffs late Friday and did not respond to questions from reporters. The mark on her face was faded and her left eye was slightly blackened when she arrived in district court.

Todd was awaiting arraignment Friday on the misdemeanor false-report charge, which is punishable by up to two years in prison. She will be housed in a mental health unit at the county jail for her safety and because of "her not insignificant mental health issues," prosecutor Mark Tranquilli said.