Full Coverage: Helen Thomas resigns, BP Oil: Is Obama really mad now?

June 9, 2010
White House columnist Helen Thomas resigns over Israel remarks     Helen Thomas today is learning something many of the people she interviews have long known: say the wrong thing, and you can jeopardize your career in an instant. Ms.Thomas, the longtime Washington journalist, resigned Monday from her post as columnist for Hearst News Service, after she made remarks about Israel that many of her colleagues, and the White House itself, denounced as offensive. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Should she have just kept her thoughts about Israel quiet? Blanche Lincoln in surprise win in Arkansas; GOP women triumph   Pundits had all but written off two-term Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas in her tough Democratic primary runoff Tuesday against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter – with state insiders predicting a defeat by up to 10 percentage points. But Senator Lincoln defied election-eve polls and a furious onslaught from progressive groups like Moveon.org and major labor unions to beat Lieutenant Governor Halter, 52 to 47 percent. Gulf oil spill: Is Obama really mad now?   President Obama lit into the BP oil company Friday during a visit to Louisiana, complaining about the firm’s $50 million in spending “to manage their image” during the oil spill disaster and a plan to pay out $10 billion in dividends this quarter. The president said he didn’t have a problem with BP fulfilling its legal obligations. “But I want BP to be very clear,” he said, showing a flash of anger, “they’ve got moral and legal obligations here in the Gulf, toward the damage that has been done.”  Tighter sanctions on North Korea: Like squeezing lemon juice from a walnut? The current kerfuffle with North Korea raises an interesting point: Is it possible to tighten economic sanctions against a country that doesn’t have much of an economy? Unsure how to vote in California primary election, many turn to Twitter Voters in the California primary election and elsewhere cast increasingly cluttered ballots Tuesday, and many first turned to social media for a personal touch to help shape their opinions.