Helen Thomas Gets Hamas' Support

Friday Follow-Up

Updating stories we've been tracking -- Hezbollah is saluting veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas for her comments that Israel should get the hell out of Palestine; remarks that surfaced last week and prompted her resignation.

A Hezbollah member of parliament said Thomas' answer shows, "a courageous, bold, honest, and free opinion which expresses what people across the globe believe, that Israel is a racist state of murderers and thugs."

Thomas is also getting support from talk show host Rosie O'Donnell. Discussing Thomas' comment that Jews in Israel should return to Germany, Poland or the U.S., O'Donnell had this analysis --

(BEGIN CLIP)

ROSIE O'DONNELL: I think in the year 2010, what she was saying was not "Go back to the ovens'"… What she was saying was the homeland was originally Palestinians' is what she was saying and that it's now occupied by Israel and Palestinians should be afforded human and civil rights."

(END CLIP)

Smoke Signals

President Obama says he's kicked his smoking habit. During a conversation with President  Obama, Filipino President-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III said he brought up their shared vice of smoking.

President Obama told him, "I quit that already.  I have quit.  It's your sole problem. At the time that you decide to quit -- I'll send the advice."

In the Spotlight, Again

White House party crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi will be partying it up at their annual charity polo match this weekend even though the event is not without a little drama.

Politics Daily reports America's Polo Cup will happen despite an ongoing investigation into the event's fundraising practices.

The Washington Post reports some of the vendors have sued the Salahis for bills that were never paid. And though it is billed as an international polo match between the U.S. and India, Indian embassy officials say they are in no way affiliated with the event.

Meanwhile,Virginia's wine festival is alleging its copyrighted logo was "Salahi'd", ending up on a Salahi Facebook page promoting the polo match, "The Salahis have done enough damage to the whole concept of polo and Virginia wines that we thought it was compelling to distance ourselves from that couple."