We’re back with another episode of NOTA. To our regular viewers – sorry for that week off, but Paul and I felt we earned a short breather after cranking out 100 of these ridiculous things.

Naturally, the theme for one-oh-one is 4th of July.  Not sure how you all are spending your holiday, but I just got back from running Atlanta’s famous Peachtree Road Race 10k.  Not my very best effort, but I’m proud to report that I didn’t end up lying dead in a gutter near 10th street.  Generally speaking, that qualifies as “having a bad race.”

So, here’s our latest episode.  Enjoy!

If you’re traveling to Hollis, Queens anytime soon, make sure you check out the new “Run DMC JMJ Way,” a street named after native rap group Run DMC.  And actress Laura Linney is moving from big screen to Broadway. Plus “High School Musical” star Ashley Tisdale is taking a break from acting to release her sophomore album.

CNN’s KJ Matthews has more on these tidbits in today’s buzz:

Barbra Streisand teams up with jazz singer Diana Krall to produce a new album, expected out on September 29. Michael Jackson is still topping the charts and R&B singer LeToya Luckett has a couple of side projects on the big screen. CNN’s KJ Matthews has more on these tidbits in today’s buzz:

Il Divo is a group of hunks with perfect harmony. And tonight, CNN.com is backstage with the internationally renowned quartet at Atlanta’s Fox Theater.

Il Divo’s Carlos Marin gets ready to hit the stage.

With the theater empty, it’s a real treat to stroll the stage with the group. Generous with their time, they took us backstage to see where they quick-change during the show and talked about their healthy habits — sipping fresh juices and munching on carrots and celery in the green room. David Miller, the group’s American tenor, keeps his energy up with an energy drink before the show.

Now on stage, before a packed house, their rich harmony is bouncing off the walls. It really does send chills through your body.

And there’s one other quality the group’s millions of fans are fond of: they’re handsome to boot.

The ladies love the operatic quartet, who are dressed in Armani suits and shiny blue patent-leather shoes.

“Absolutely scrumptious,” says a die-hard fan at a private meet-and-greet at tonight’s Atlanta concert. Fans say it cost them several hundred dollars to attend the quick private reception and snap a photo with Sebastien, Carlos, David and Urs.

Another fan — who’s attending her 12th concert  — calls herself an Il Divo Diva.  Marlene Chapman says she first heard the quartet on Oprah the year her husband died and they helped to get her through that tough time.

Brought together by Simon Cowell in 2004, the four singers represent four countries (U.S., France, Spain and Switzerland). Il Divo is currently on the U.S. leg of their worldwide tour, “An Evening with Il Divo.”

– Melissa Long, CNN.com Live

Stars are dropping like flies… another one today.

Actor Karl Malden, who starred in the classic films “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “On the Waterfront”, has died at the age of 97, we have confirmed.

Malden’s manager, Bud Ross, told CNN the actor died in his sleep early Wednesday at his home in the LA area. He didn’t know the cause of death.

“It could be a combination of things,” Ross told us. “He was 97 years old.”

Malden earned two Academy Award nominations, and won for his supporting role in “Streetcar” in 1952.

He also won an Emmy for a TV movie in 1985 and was nominated for another four Emmys for the television series “The Streets of San Francisco”.

A trench coat-wearing Malden also appeared in TV ads for the American Express card, imploring viewers, “Don’t leave home without it.”  Remember those ads?

A memorial service is expected to be held within the next three to four weeks, Ross tells us.

This makes at least seven celebrity deaths within the last week or so… Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, 50s actress Gale Storm, pitchman Billy Mays, comedian/impressionist Fred Travalena and now Karl Malden.

Celebs, check your pulse!  Make sure you have one.

Actress Amy Adams, seen previously as a nun in “Doubt,” will star as the love interest in the upcoming film “The Fighter.” And Jude Law is moving his rendition of “Hamlet” from London, England, to Broadway. Plus the Academy has invited a few new members to join its ranks… find out who in today’s buzz with JD Cargill:

Farrah’s son Redmond O’Neal DID attend the funeral and WAS seen in public!  His hair was cut so short he looked quite different than before (presumably a jail requirement that he get a buzz cut). 

He served as a pallbearer along with his father, Ryan O’Neal.  Many still photographers and TV crews covering the funeral didn’t recognize Redmond.

Among the other attendees were Marla Maples, Penny Marshall, comedian Garry Shandling, Robert Greenwald (who directed Farrah in “The Burning Bed”), actor Bruce Davison (who played Senator Kelly in the “X-Men” sequel) and fellow “Charlie’s Angels” star Kate Jackson. 

We did not spot Angels Jaclyn Smith or Cheryl Ladd.

We did not see Redmond O’Neal, Farrah’s son, who got a court order allowing him to leave jail to attend the service. He may have entered by a non-public route [see update under "New details on Farrah's funeral"].  The judge who let him out ordered that an LA sheriff’s deputy accompany him at all times.

The most shocking story is who did NOT get in. Ryan O’Neal’s son Griffin showed up but was banned from entering the cathedral, he told us.

He said his father did not want him inside because he (Griffin) “knows the truth” about what went down with Farrah’s last days. He alleged that his father was exploiting Farrah and only stayed together with her because he was “looking for a payday.”

Griffin O’Neal is Ryan’s son by Joanna Moore, so he is not related to Farrah.

But Griffin said he loved Fawcett and had known her for over 30 years.

Guests at the funeral are now at a reception at the exclusive Jonathan Club in downtown LA. I guess that doesn’t include Griffin O’Neal.

We just saw her longtime companion, Ryan O’Neal, enter the cathedral.

Their son Redmond, who has been undergoing drug treatment within the LA County jail, has been given permission by a judge to attend the funeral.

He’ll be let out for a maximum of three hours.

We also hope to see Farrah’s fellow angels, Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd. But Farrah’s publicist, Paul Bloch, won’t say who is expected to attend.

I wasn’t sure how many media outlets would be covering because of all of the focus on Michael Jackson. But a huge number of TV crews and still photographers are across from the cathedral.

Earlier we saw beautiful floral arrangements from Mark’s Garden brought in. Some workmen also toted in giant foliage (trees that looked like they had been freshly chopped down) but then they carted them back out about 30 minutes later.

 I’ll have more updates later.

Paul McCartney is speaking out for the first time about Michael Jackson’s shocking death.

McCartney and Jackson have a long history together — they worked on two big songs in the 80s: “The Girl is Mine” and “Say Say Say.”

Michael also owns the rights to the Beatles song catalog — he outbid Paul back in 1985.

Here’s what Paul has to say:

“I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael. He was a massively talented boy with a gentle soul. His music will be remembered forever and my memories of our time together will be happy ones.”

For the brand-new developments on Jackson’s final days and memorial plans, watch Showbiz Tonight tonight at 11p ET/PT on HLN.