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This Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011 file photo shows Rosie O'Donnell as she talks to the audience during a taping of her show in Chicago.Nam Y. Huh/The Associated Press

MAKING TROUBLE

Rosie O'Donnell is catching online heat for her comments regarding this week's fatal shooting incident in Ottawa.

As reported by CTV, Thursday's edition of The View opened with O'Donnell and her fellow co-hosts discussing the tragic shooting on Parliament Hill that resulted in the death of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo while he stood guard at the National War Memorial.

O'Donnell said, "Most of these shooters have severe mental illness."

She went on to express support for a contentious tweet issued Wednesday by model Chrissy Teigen, who used the Ottawa tragedy to make her own point regarding gun control in the United States.

Teigen's contentious tweet: "active shooting in Canada, or as we call it in america, Wednesday."

When Twitter users bridled at her comment, Teigen followed up with a second tweet, "Sorry you don't understand that is a knock at America and our issues with gun control. No one is minimizing the Ottawa shooting."

O'Donnell's take on Teigen's initial tweet: "I thought it was brilliant and on-point but some people thought it was insensitive."

Not surprisingly, some of the other panelists on The View took issue with O'Donnell's comments.

ABC News anchor Amy Robach was guesting on the panel on Thursday and said, "Timing is everything. And I think when you tweet something like that in the middle of an active shooting, people are afraid, people are running for their lives and a man is dead."

View co-host Nicolle Wallace also weighed in by telling O'Donnell, "I know it's important to you that mental health is always raised as a possible unaddressed cause. It's also possible that he was an evil terrorist, okay? So I don't want that to get lost."

Added Wallace: "The Canadian government has classified this as a terrorist attack. The definition of terrorism is arbitrary violence and death rendered on innocent people who are just doing their jobs."

Said O'Donnell in response: "I get it. But 86 people a day are killed in America with guns, and you know what? That is terrorism here."

O'Donnell then attempted to further back up Teigen's original tweet by saying, "I think she's saying: I'm an American. I live here. I see two people shot this week in Canada and the entire country of Canada is in mourning. However, in America this happens on a daily basis and we don't even pay attention any more."

O'Donnell's comments stirred up a firestorm on Twitter and included this tweet from Angela Woodward (@angelaleighwood): "Rosie O'Donnell is insensitive and just plain ignorant about the Canadian shooting yesterday."

In the same vein, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, who flew to Ottawa this week to report on the Ottawa shooting, took a Canadian journalist to task for asking to take a photo with him near Parliament Hill.

Also on Thursday, musician Torquil Campbell, a founding member of the Montreal indie-rock band Stars, created further controversy with several tweets criticizing Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper in connection to the Ottawa shooting – less than an hour after Cpl. Cirillo had been shot.

On early Friday morning, Campbell announced he was temporarily shutting down his Twitter account (@torquilcampbell) with a tweet stating simply, "see ya guyz."

EVERYTHING'S ARCHIE

Get ready for Archie, the TV series. Fox Television has signed a deal with Archie Comics to produce a new live-action drama series to be titled Riverdale. Named for the fictional American town that serves as home to the beloved comic-book characters, the series is being mounted by TV veteran Greg Berlanti (The Flash, Arrow) and will focus on the longstanding love triangle between Archie Andrews, girl-next-door Betty Cooper and snooty socialite Veronica Lodge. As per the source material, the show's support characters will include Jughead Jones, Reggie Mantle and Kevin Keller, a gay character added to the comic-book universe a few years back. No casting decisions or shooting schedule have been announced for Riverdale, which is expected to begin filming early next year.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

BARBIE'S BETTER?

Aaron Paul has lashed out at Toys 'R' Us for pulling a line of Breaking Bad action figures from its stores. Earlier this week, the toy retailer pulled the figures off shelves following an online petition launched by a Florida mother. On Thursday, Paul, a two-time Emmy-winner for his portrayal of drug dealer Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad, responded by tweeting, "Wait, so @ToysRUs pulled all of the Breaking Bad figures from their shelves and still sells Barbie? Hmmmm…I wonder what is more damaging?"

Source: Us Weekly

THERE GOES HONEY BOO BOO

TLC has cancelled the reality series Here Comes Honey Boo Boo after it was revealed that series star Mama June was allegedly dating a convicted child molester. Earlier this week, TMZ reported that Mama June had secretly been dating a man named Mark McDaniel, who was released from a Georgia prison last spring following a 10-year sentence for having sex with an underaged victim. Mama June subsequently denied that she was dating McDaniel, but photo evidence surfaced showing them together at an event. TLC cancelled the show on Friday and issued a statement saying, "Supporting the health and welfare of these remarkable children is our only priority. TLC is faithfully committed to the children's ongoing comfort and well-being."

Source: TMZ

LAUGH SESSION

Comedian Louis C.K. recently crashed an interview between Brad Pitt and Zach Galifianakis on the web series Between Two Ferns. Airing on the Funny or Die website, the video shows Galifianakis bumbling his way through the interview with Pitt (whom he refers to as "Bradley Pitts") when Louis C.K. abruptly interrupts to tell some jokes about Ebola and ISIS.

Source: Slate

BOTTOMS UP

Finally, some good news about booze. A new study has shown that people aged 60 and older could benefit from having one or two alcoholic drinks each day. Researchers at the University of Texas recently analyzed date – including medical history, brain scans, drinking habits and genetic disease risks – from more than 660 patients, all of whom were deemed dementia-free. Among those who drank daily, the consumption of alcohol was shown to correlate with the brain's larger hippocampus – which relates to episodic memory. Those same participants also performed better on cognitive and memory tests.

Source: UPI

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