The View

As usual, Rosie and Elisabeth started in on one another on the topic of Iraq, but it quickly got personal when Rosie, clearly still miffed that Elisabeth hadn't defended her over the whole soldiers-as-terrorists fracas, demanded to know whether Hasselbeck really thought Rosie felt that U.S. soldiers were terrorists, "as my friend, since September." When Elisabeth didn't give her a yes-or-no answer, the verbal fisticuffs began in earnest. In fact, producers saw fit to go split-screen, just to amp up the volume.

Name-calling ensued, with Rosie calling Elisabeth "cowardly," and Elisabeth spitting back at Ro that she's not "poor little Elisabeth," even smacking down guest co-host Sherri Shepherd's suggestion that she chill for the sake of her unborn child, saying, "The baby's FINE."

Rosie O'Donnell sure is itching to be done with "The View," and she's definitely not hiding her displeasure with her co-hosts after what she called an "explosive" day yesterday on the air.

Likening herself on her blog at rosie.com to a "senior in highschool [sic],", the talk queen made it clear that the end of June -- and her tenure on the show -- can't come fast enough. "It's sunny and i wanna stay home/be done/move on," she writes. "The end is always rocky/one must focus."

Ro also addressed yesterday's show, in which she came under fire for supposedly equating American soldiers with terrorists on a previous show (which she explained was a misinterpretation of her words). Several fans wrote in to point out that her co-hosts Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar, and Barbara Walters seemed to "gang up" on her, with Babwa giving an especially pointed lesson in the definitions of "terrorist" and "jihadist."

So much for laying off Elisabeth.

Rosie O'Donnell went ballistic on her preggers "View" co-host Hasselbeck, pounding her for watching "crappy cable shows" -- namely the ones on FOX News -- and assailing her failure to weigh two viewpoints at the same time. Which Rosie does, of course, on a regular basis! Rosie had pledged to take it easy on E, given her gravid condition, but that didn't stop her this morning.

As ever, Babwa Walters tried to be Switzerland in the fray, but it didn't end up doing much.

Paris Hilton's mother Kathy took to the airwaves -- speaking through the oracle that is Barbara Walters on this morning's "The View" -- urging "young people who look up" to Paris to "learn" from her DUI arrest and impending imprisonment.

Babwa, friends with Kathy and husband "Ricky" for years, said she spoke to Mama Hilton yesterday, and read a brief statement from the convicted socialite's mom. "We can only hope that something positive will come out of this," said Walters for Kathy. "Hopefully the young people who look up to people like Paris can learn from this." Not to mention her videos.

TMZ spotted the train wreck taffeta-wrapped tastemaker outside Sugar last night, where he expressed his desire to join the daily gab-fest, telling our cameras, "I have many views and I love confrontation ... just give me a week on 'The View,' get the Trendy view." Wouldn't you just love to see Trendy sassing out Babwa or giving Joy a horrendous, pink-lace, tulle and rhinestone makeover? Maybe not.

Trendy then showed off his purported skills by commenting on current events, giving his glossy-lipped insight into Paris Hilton's upcoming jail stint.

So proclaimed Rosie herself in her blog late last night. After yesterday's show, in which she and Hasselbeck traded heated words on their favorite verbal battleground -- the war in Iraq -- Rosie decided to back down, especially with Elisabeth three months pregnant. Or, as she put it, in her free-verse style:

on the view
u have seen my last hasselbeck spat
2 day was it
no more - its done

there is a new life
there - inside
and in the end -
what else matters

Today, unavoidably, the discussion turned to President Bush and Iraq, and Rosie's restraint was evident -- she just changed the topic. We'll see how long the pseudo-haiku-inspiring truce holds.

Actor, producer, director Danny DeVito can now add a new title to his resume -- Limoncello Head!

DeVito caused quite a buzz when he made a "groggy" appearance on "The View" after drinking "seven limoncellos" during a night out with George Clooney in November. Although the funnyman went on to say that his bubbly veneer on the chatter was a joke, he is now looking to turn a profit from his love of the lemon-flavored liqueur -- and unveiled Danny DeVito's Premium Limoncello. Cheers!

It was all smiles and confetti between E and her elders on "The View" this morning, when Hasselbeck proclaimed the happy news about her second baby, though Barbara Walters admitted that she nearly plotzed when Elisabeth told her she had something to say, following on the heels of Rosie's exit announcement last week.

Alec Baldwin was welcomed with applause to a sitdown in a taped segment that aired on "The View" today, with Baldwin giving a heartfelt and somber tale of parental alienation that drove him to the boiling point.

Baldwin said that his "deep and endless frustration" in being unable to communicate with his daughter, Ireland, led him to misdirect his anger to the child, because he "can't address the other person in this dynamic," but stopped short of mentioning Kim Basinger.

Tyra Banks got a feel for what it's like to be on "The View' -- and what it's like to feel a "View" hostess.

Banks got couple handfuls of the soon-to-be-former "View" ringmistress during her visit with the "View"-isatas, copping a feel -- a rather long and grope-a-licious feel, we might add. This is one clip that Donald Trump will no doubt be keeping in his personal stash.

Of course, Ro isn't Banks' first bosom buddy: When the amply-breasted Katharine McPhee appeared on "The Tyra Banks Show," Tyra got a pretty good handle on the McJuggs to prove their naturalness.

TMZ has confirmed Alec Baldwin pre-taped "The View" today for a Friday airing, and it was an emotional scene.

Someone present recounts that Baldwin "was very heartfelt, apologetic and emotional." We're told the audience applauded multiple times as Baldwin discussed the events surrounding the voice mail.

On the show, Baldwin indicated he is interested in being released from his "30 Rock" contract. Sources tell TMZ, however, that if NBC does not release him he will fulfill his contractual obligations. We don't know how long those obligations run.

How's this for a shocker?! -- Alec Baldwin will appear on "The View" this Friday!

Earlier in the week, Rosie said she was sympathetic to Baldwin in the wake of the incendiary voice mail he left for daughter Ireland.

Rosie announced on today's show that Alec called her and expressed interest in doing a phone-in segment on the topic of parental alienation. Somehow, the ladies convinced Baldwin to come into the studio. That'll be interesting.

TMZ has now confirmed the buzz that we exclusively reported last night: Rosie O'Donnell will announce on today's show that she is leaving "The View." And TMZ has confirmed that "View" honchos are already searching for her replacement.

Stay tuned!

UPDATE: LOG ON TO TMZ AT 11:15 AM EASTERN TIME AND WE'LL HAVE A CLIP OF ROSIE'S ANNOUNCEMENT.

Crow made her comments on her blog last week, and Rosie took a moment on this morning's "The View" to express her incredulity at the supposedly enviro-friendly suggestion. "Have you seen my ass?!" bellowed Rosie, and Barbara Walters was good enough to warn viewers not to use their sleeves, another of Crow's helpful suggestions.

Pretty-headed HOmemaker Deirdre had been scheduled for "The View" this past Monday, but in the wake of her husband's I-mess, as TMZ reported last week, she canceled all appearances related to her book, "Greening Your Cleaning." But there she was on today's show hawking the tidy tome.