In a video filmed while making Duck The Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas, Si Robertson gets a little emotional while sharing his favorite Christmas memory.
“We lived in a farming community. The hands that drive the tractors. . . they don’t make a lot of money,” Uncle Si Robertson recalls.
“Daddy had fell off an oil rig, broke his back and was not working.”
Si Robertson, 65, grew up in Vivian, Louisiana, with six siblings. When his mother, Merrit Robertson, was asked by a wife of one of the farmhands what she was getting the kids for Christmas that year, she said there wasn’t going to be a Christmas due to the lack of income.
Si Robertson gets a little emotional while sharing his favorite Christmas memory
“Two weeks later, [the woman] comes back and hands mama an envelope,” Uncle Si recalls.
“It was something like $500 or $600 in an envelope with <<Merry Christmas>> on it for the kids.”
“That’s my favorite Christmas memory,” Si Robertson adds, appearing to get a little choked up.
“This is people that didn’t have much, giving a lot. Which is what Christmas is all about: giving.”
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Dallas Buyers Club are among the seven films that remain in the running for the Oscar for makeup and hairstyling, the Academy announced on Saturday.
Surprisingly, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Rush and Lee Daniel’s The Butler were left off the shortlist, which also included American Hustle, Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters, The Great Gatsby and The Lone Ranger.
The seven-film shortlist was compiled after a vote by members of the Makeup Artists & Hairstylists Branch, who also recommended the specific individuals primarily responsible for the shortlisted work.
Bad Grandpa is making Oscars 2014 makeup shortlist
The 135 members of the branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from the shortlisted films at a bakeoff at the Academys Samuel Goldwyn Theater in January. Members who have seen all seven of the shortlisted films will then be invited to vote, and three nominees will be selected.
Oscars 2014 makeup and hairstyling shortlist:
American Hustle
Dallas Buyers Club
The Great Gatsby
Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger
Bruce Jenner is reportedly planning to flatten his Adam’s apple.
New reports claim that the former Olympic medalist is consulting with a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California, about having his Adam’s apple smoothed out via a laryngeal shave. According to TMZ, Bruce Jenner, 64, had made two visits to the doctor and was planning to have the surgery done in early 2014.
Bruce Jenner is planning to flatten his Adam’s apple
Kris Jenner’s estranged husband clarified that he discussed the procedure with the surgeon during a visit about having a scar on his nose (left by the removal of basal cell carcinoma) fixed. Asked why he was interested in the laryngeal shave, which TMZ notes is often used on male-to-female gender reassignment patients, Bruce Jenner simply said: “I just never liked my trachea.”
Around 50 of Paul Walker’s friends and family gathered at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles to pay their respects to the Fast and the Furious star, two weeks after the fiery car crash that killed him.
“A few people got up and gave tributes to Paul. It was hard for many people to talk, they were in tears and couldn’t finish what they were saying,” an eyewitness told Us Weekly.
The 40-minute service was a “somber” affair with a large picture of Paul Walker, who was 40 at the time of his death, standing on an easel and white flowers surrounding the gravesite.
Paul Walker and his friend Roger Rodas died on November 30 after their 2005 Porsche Carrera GT collided with a lamp post
“It was a really sad day for so many people, and you could tell they just weren’t ready to say goodbye,” the eyewitness said.
“His parents were there, along with his brothers and some other family members. Everyone was hugging each other tight and didn’t want to let go.”
Paul Walker and his friend Roger Rodas died on November 30 after their 2005 Porsche Carrera GT collided with a lamp post. Roger Rodas was behind the wheel at the time of the accident.
Paul Walker and Roger Rodas had attended a charity event moments prior to the crash.
Nelson Mandela’s state funeral is taking place in his ancestral home in Qunu, ending a week of commemorations for South Africa’s first black president.
Some 4,500 people – including foreign dignitaries – are attending the service, which blends state ceremonial with traditional rituals.
Nelson Mandela died on December 5 at the age of 95.
Members of his family attended an overnight vigil, with a traditional praise singer believed to be chanting details of his long journey and life.
The coffin was taken on a gun carriage from Nelson Mandela’s house to a giant white marquee that had been specially erected.
The state funeral started shortly after 08:00 local time.
Inside the marquee, Nelson Mandela’s portrait had been placed behind two rows of candles, on one of three stages.
Nelson Mandela’s state funeral is taking place in his ancestral home in Qunu, ending a week of commemorations for South Africa’s first black president
After the national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel’I Africa (God Bless Africa) was sung, the service heard from a family spokesman, Chief Matanzima, who praised the army medical team that had treated Nelson Mandela before he died.
Two grandchildren then addressed the congregation.
Listening to the tributes were Graca Machel, his widow, and his second wife, Winnie-Madikizela Mandela, who sat either side of President Jacob Zuma.
African National Congress members, veterans of the fight against apartheid and foreign dignitaries – including several African presidents, the Prince of Wales – are among the guests.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu – a long-time friend of Nelson Mandela – is there, having earlier said he had cancelled his flight as he had not received an invitation.
Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey is also present.
Some guests have been singing and dancing to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s life.
After the two-hour service, Nelson Mandela’s Thembu community will conduct a private traditional Xhosa ceremony – including songs and poems about Mandela’s life and his achievements.
An ox will be slaughtered. A family elder will stay near the coffin, which has been draped with a lion’s skin, to talk “to the body’s spirit”.
Rival protests are expected in central Kiev, amid fears of possible clashes.
Activists and opposition parties are hoping hundreds of thousands of people will take part in a “Dignity Day” rally in the central Independence Square.
President Viktor Yanukovych’s supporters will gather in the nearby Mariinskyi Park.
Protests began last month after the president’s last-minute move to pull out of a landmark deal with the EU.
Viktor Yanukovych has said he fears the association and trade agreement will put at risk many enterprises dependent on trade with Russia.
The president – who says he eventually aims to sign the deal – has also admitted being under heavy pressure from Moscow, which wants Kiev to join a Russian-led customs union instead.
Rival protests are expected in central Kiev, amid fears of possible clashes
Several thousands pro-EU protesters remained overnight in Independence Square ahead of their rally, which is expected to start at 12:00 local time on Sunday.
Barricades around the perimeter of the main protest encampment in the heart of the capital have been strengthened following an attempt by special police to dismantle them earlier this week.
Opposition leaders have urged protesters to remain vigilant, fearing “provocateurs” could trigger clashes between rival demonstrators.
The opposition has also accused the authorities of bussing people into Kiev for the pro-government rally and providing them with money and food.
The authorities officially deny this, but a number of participants in the rally have said they were forced to take part.
The two rival camps held demonstrations close to each other on Saturday. There were no reports of any clashes.
President Viktor Yanukovych suspended his deputy security chief and Kiev’s mayor over the police violence against pro EU-protesters on November 30.
Prosecutors are investigating Volodymyr Syvkovych and Olexander Popov – alongside another two senior officials – on suspicion of abuse of office in the crackdown.
This has energized the pro-EU protesters, who are demanding that all those involved in the clampdown be sacked and punished. They also want the government to resign.
Chinese rover Jade Rabbit has driven off its landing module and on to the Moon’s surface.
The robotic vehicle rolled down a ramp lowered by the lander and on to the volcanic plain known as Sinus Iridum.
Earlier on Saturday, the landing module containing the rover fired its thrusters to perform the first soft landing on the Moon since 1976.
The touchdown in the Moon’s northern hemisphere marks the latest step in China’s ambitious space programme.
The lander will operate there for a year, while the rover is expected to work for some three months.
Jade Rabbit’s touchdown in the Moon’s northern hemisphere marks the latest step in China’s ambitious space programme
The Chang’e-3 mission landed some 12 days after being launched atop a Chinese-developed Long March 3B rocket from Xichang in the country’s south.
Xinhua news agency reported that the craft began its descent just after 21:00 Beijing time, touching down in Sinus Iridum (the Bay of Rainbows) 11 minutes later.
Chang’e-3 is the third unmanned rover mission to touch down on the lunar surface, and the first to go there in more than 40 years. The last was an 1,900lb Soviet vehicle known as Lunokhod-2, which was kept warm by polonium-210.
But the six-wheeled Chinese vehicle carries a more sophisticated payload, including ground-penetrating radar which will gather measurements of the lunar soil and crust.
The 260 lb Jade Rabbit rover can reportedly climb slopes of up to 30 degrees and travel at 660ft per hour.
Left-wing candidate Michelle Bachelet appears as the favorite in the presidential run-off in Chile.
She faces Evelyn Matthei, a former minister in the governing centre-right coalition.
Michelle Bachelet, who was president in 2006-10, won the first round last month, but failed to secure an outright majority.
The contenders are the daughters of air force generals, once friends, who found themselves on opposite sides when General Augusto Pinochet seized power in 1973.
Polls across Chile are due to open at 08:00 local time and will close 10 hours later.
A paediatrician by training, Michelle Bachelet, 62, won 47% of the vote in the first round on November 17. Evelyn Matthei secured 25%.
Everything suggests Michelle Bachelet will comfortably win the run-off.
She leads an alliance of her Socialist Party, Christian Democrats and Communists and has campaigned on policies designed to reduce the gap between rich and poor.
Left-wing candidate Michelle Bachelet faces Evelyn Matthei, a former minister in the governing centre-right coalition
Chile is one of the richest countries in Latin America, but millions have staged protests over the past few years to push for a wider distribution of wealth and better education.
Michelle Bachelet wants to increase taxes to offer free university education and reform political and economic structures dating from the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who ruled from 1973 to 1990.
Her manifesto this time is much more radical than before, our correspondent says.
Michelle Bachelet was constitutionally barred from serving a second successive term but was very popular when she left office.
Evelyn Matthei, 60, entered the race after two candidates of the centre-right alliance resigned earlier this year – one for alleged financial irregularities, the other one after struggling with depression.
She has called for a continuation of the policies of outgoing President Sebastian Pinera, asserting that Chileans are “better off” now than when he came to power four years ago.
As children in the 1950s, the current rivals were neighbors and used to play together on the airbase where their fathers worked.
Evelyn Matthei’s father, Fernando, rose through the ranks to run a military school.
Michelle Bachelet’s father, Alberto, who was given a job in the Socialist administration overthrown by General Pinochet, died of a heart attack in 1974.
An investigation concluded that the 51-year-old general probably died of heart problems aggravated by torture at the military academy.
A judge ruled earlier this year that General Fernando Matthei had no knowledge of or involvement in the torture.
The Chilean lower house of congress and half the senate are also being elected.
Iran announces it has successfully sent a monkey into space for the second time this year as part of a programme aimed at manned space flight.
President Hassan Rouhani said the monkey – named Fargam, or Auspicious – returned from space in perfect health.
However, the success of the first monkey flight was disputed when a different animal was shown in images released after the landing.
Iran’s space programme has raised concern among Western countries.
Some fear the technology could be used in ballistic missiles.
Iran announces it has successfully sent a monkey into space for the second time this year as part of a programme aimed at manned space flight
Iran is already under international scrutiny over the scope of its nuclear programme, which opponents say aims to develop nuclear weaponry.
President Hassan Rouhani congratulated the scientists involved in the space mission, according to a message posted on the English-language version of his website.
On the Persian-language version, he said it was carried by a liquid fuel rocket – Iran’s first use of the technology.
There were few other details, including when the flight took place.
In January, Iran said it had sent a monkey to an altitude of about 75 miles in a Pishgam rocket for a sub-orbital flight before returning intact to Earth.
But the release of images showing two clearly different monkeys prompted international observers to wonder whether the animal had died in space.
Iran insisted that was not the case, saying archive images of another monkey tested for its suitability for the mission had been wrongly released.
In 2010, Iran successfully sent a rat, turtle and worms into space. But an attempt to send a monkey up in a rocket failed in 2011.
Former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher’s body was exhumed at his family’s request at a New York cemetery, the family’s attorney told the Kansas City Star.
The family hopes the exhumation will shed some light on why Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins nine times before shooting himself in the head at the Chiefs practice facility last year.
Jovan Belcher’s body was exhumed at his family’s request at a New York cemetery
“If his brain had been examined (when he died), we’d have a better understanding of why he did what he did,” Bennet Omalu, who is credited with discovering the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), told the newspaper.
“We would have a better understanding about concussions and playing football, and we would advance the understanding of the science of all of this.”
Jovan Belcher played all four seasons in the NFL with the Chiefs and did not have any diagnosed concussions.
The Chinese craft carrying Jade Rabbit robotic rover has successfully landed on the surface of the Moon, the first soft landing there for 37 years.
A landing module used thrusters to touch down, marking the latest step in China’s ambitious space exploration programme.
Several hours later, the lander will deploy a robotic rover called Yutu, which translates as “Jade Rabbit”.
The touchdown took place on a flat plain called Sinus Iridum.
Jade Rabbit robotic rover has been successfully landed on the surface of the Moon
The Chang’e-3 mission launched atop a Chinese-developed Long March 3B rocket on 1 December from Xichang in the country’s south.
The probe’s soft-landing was the most difficult task during the mission, Wu Weiren, the lunar programme’s chief designer, told Xinhua.
It is the third robotic rover mission to land on the lunar surface, but the Chinese vehicle carries a more sophisticated payload than previous missions, including ground-penetrating radar which will gather measurements of the lunar soil and crust.
The Jade Rabbit was expected to be deployed several hours after touchdown, driving down a ramp lowered by the landing module.
Reports suggest the lander and rover will photograph each other at some point on Sunday.
According to Chinese space scientists, the mission is designed to test new technologies, gather scientific data and build intellectual expertise, as well as scouting for mineral resources that could eventually be mined.
Paul Walker’s remains will be put to rest on Saturday – two weeks after he was killed in a tragic car accident.
Paul Walker, 40, and his friend Roger Rodas died on November 30 when their Porsche Carrera GT burst into flames, after hitting a utility pole and a tree in Santa Clarita, California.
According to autopsy results, Paul Walker died of “combined effects of traumatic and thermal injuries” and his friend of “multiple traumatic injuries”.
Radar Online reported that Paul Walker’s body was shifted from the mortuary at Hollywood’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park to a crematory in Glendale, ahead of the funeral service, and the burial will take place on Saturday.
Paul Walker’s body was shifted from the mortuary at Hollywood’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park to a crematory in Glendale, ahead of the funeral service
A source close to Paul Walker’s family had earlier told TMZ that the funeral service would be a private affair, keeping in mind the actor’s 15-year-old daughter Meadow, who is devastated by the sudden death of her father. The family does not want Meadow to be surrounded by strangers at a time when she is grieving the loss.
However, the Fast & Furious cast and crew would be there, as they were like family to Paul Walker.
Universal Pictures had earlier announced that Fast & Furious 7 production would be halted following the demise of Paul Walker, who played a vital role in the franchise’s films.
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo Season 3 starts on January 16 and is moving from Wednesday to Thursday nights, along with its fellow redneck realism series Trailer Park: Welcome to Myrtle Manor.
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo will air at 9 p.m. Eastern/Pacific, with South Carolina-set Trailer Park at 10 p.m.
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo Season 3 starts on January 16 and is moving from Wednesday to Thursday nights
After the second season culminated with June Shannon and Sugar Bear’s wedding, the new season will feature a family road trip.
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is produced by Authentic Entertainment for TLC.
Lionsgate Home Entertainment is putting together Blu-ray and DVD releases for Duck Dynasty: Season 4.
Unfortunately, the set won’t be out in time to buy a copy for someone as a holiday gift.
Lionsgate Home Entertainment is putting together Blu-ray and DVD releases for Duck Dynasty: Season 4
Duck Dynasty: Season 4 will street on January 7.
The Season 4 premiere episode brought in a whopping 11.8 million total viewers when it hit the schedule in August. That’s up from the 9.6 million total viewers that tuned in for the Season 3 finale.
Duck Dynasty Christmas Special averaged 8.9 million viewers on Wednesday night with back-to-back episodes at 10 p.m.
Among adults 18-49, Duck Dynasty brought in 4.5 million viewers, according to Hollywood Reporter.
And with adults 25-54, the Robertsons show had 4.6 million.
Duck Dynasty Christmas Special averaged 8.9 million viewers
In 2013, Duck Dynasty drove primetime ratings up 12% iamong the targeted adults.
However, Duck Dynasty Christmas Special was still down from several of the highs of 2013. The reality show hit a series high back in August with 11.8 million viewers, with a previous record set in April with 9.5 million.
Duck Dynasty Season 5 is set to bow on January 15, 2014.
Nelson Mandela’s body has arrived in his ancestral home in Qunu in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa, the final leg of its journey before burial.
Large numbers of people lined the roads in the rural region to pay their respects as the cortege passed by.
A state funeral will be held on Sunday, December 15, for South Africa’s first black president, who died on December 5.
The coffin was flown from Waterkloof airbase in Pretoria on a C130 military aircraft, escorted by two fighter jets.
In line with tribal custom, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla accompanied him on the journey, speaking to his coffin to tell him he was on his way home to rest.
It arrived in Mthatha, 450 miles away at 13:37 local.
Nelson Mandela’s coffin has arrived in his ancestral home in Qunu
To solemn music, the coffin draped in a South African flag was moved by a military guard of honor and placed in a hearse to begin the 20 miles journey to Qunu, where Nelson Mandela had said he wanted to be buried.
People waving flags and cheering and singing – in places 10 to 12 deep – lined the route taken by the cortege through Mthatha town to pay their last respects.
Tears as well as smiles could be seen on the faces of onlookers.
The cortege then drove through the gates of the Mandela homestead in Qunu, where it will rest overnight in the grounds of the royal house of Thembu.
The Thembu community will conduct a traditional ceremony – including songs and poems about Nelson Mandela’s life and his achievements – in a giant white marquee that has been specially erected.
Some 4,000 people, including presidents from Africa, several prime ministers, the Iranian vice-president, and the Prince of Wales, are expected to attend.
However, Archbishop Desmond Tutu – a long-time friend of Nelson Mandela – has cancelled arrangements to fly to the Eastern Cape for the funeral after saying he had not been invited.
Just days after Jang Sung-taek’s execution, the North Korean business people have been recalled from China, says a South Korean report.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may be purging associates of Jang Sung-taek, who was in charge of economic ties with China.
Kim Jong-un has been pictured by state media for the first time since the execution of his uncle Jang Sung-taek.
The South Korean government believes Kim Jong-un is trying to consolidate his power through a reign of terror.
The execution of Jang Sung-taek raised international concern about the stability of the nuclear-armed state.
North Korea has summoned back business people working out of the north-eastern Chinese cities of Shenyang and Dandong, sources told the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
They are in China to enhance bilateral trade and investment.
Kim Jong-un has been pictured by state media for the first time since the execution of his uncle Jang Sung-taek
Another source told the agency Pyongyang planned to bring all officials and staff home from China in stages.
It appeared to be a crackdown on those perceived as loyal to Jang Sung-taek, Yonhap said.
It could also be another sign that Jang Sung-taek’s downfall reflected discomfort at his enthusiasm for Chinese-style economic reform.
There have been other reports over recent days about officials being recalled to North Korea from abroad.
South Korean intelligence officials say two of Jang Sung-taek’s closest aides were executed last month, and analysts suggest the purging of such a high-profile figure is unlikely to take place without a “ripple effect” – a purge of others linked to them.
Kim Jong-un was pictured in photographs released by state media for the first time since the dramatic execution of Jang Sung-taek on Thursday following a military trial.
He was shown touring a military design institute, trailed by military officers, many taking notes. Among them was Kim Jong-un’s personal envoy, Vice-Marshal Choe Ryong-hae.
The pictures appeared designed to demonstrate Kim Jong-un’s continuing hold on power and “business as usual” for the North Korean leadership, said commentators.
The images will also be scrutinized for clues to Kim Jong-un’s inner circle, analysts say.
Among those pictured in the latest photographs are believed Hwang Pyong-so, vice departmental director of Party Central Committee (not in military uniform), Choe Ryong-hae, vice-marshal of the armed forces, and Jang Jong-nam, the nation’s new defense minister.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will observe a moment silence Saturday morning on the first anniversary of Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will observe a moment silence Saturday morning on the first anniversary of Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
At 9:30 a.m., around the time the first of Adam Lanza’s 26 schoolhouse victims died, houses of worship around Connecticut will toll their bells, once for each victim, a request from Gov. Dannel Malloy — repeating a similar gesture made a week after the shooting.
Across the country, people will find their own ways to pay tribute — the personal and the communal, the modest and the grand.
Many of such efforts have been underway for quite a while.
The Sandy Ground Project: Where Angels Play, which built 26 playgrounds in areas leveled by Hurricane Sandy, each named after one of the Sandy Hook victims.
There is the Newtown Documentation Project, which sought to preserve the thousands of letter and handmade gifts that have poured into the town in the past year.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a veteran anti-apartheid campaigner in South Africa, has said he will not be going to Nelson Mandela’s funeral because he has not been invited.
“I would have loved to attend the service to say a final farewell to someone I loved and treasured,” Desmond Tutu said in a statement.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said he will not be going to Nelson Mandela’s funeral because he has not been invited
But he did not want to gatecrash “a private family funeral.”
However, a presidential spokesman said Archbishop Desmond Tutu was on the guest list for Sunday’s funeral and a solution would be found.
The Beatles have decided to release 59 rare and unheard recordings in a bid to stop their copyright protection expiring.
The digital compilation includes four alternate takes of She Loves You and five of A Taste Of Honey.
EU law protects songs for 70 years after they are recorded, but only if they get an official release. Otherwise, copyright lasts 50 years.
In the case of The Beatles, that means their 1963 debut album Please Please Me is protected until 2033, but the unreleased session tapes for that album are not.
If the Beatles chose not to release the recordings before the end of the year, it would mean other record labels could theoretically put them out and profit from them.
The band’s 1962 debut single, Love Me Do, arguably slipped out of copyright last year, before the EU’s copyright extension was signed into law.
At least one record company issued a “remastered” version of the song, although that has since been deleted.
The new collection is expected to reach iTunes on Tuesday.
The Beatles have decided to release 59 rare and unheard recordings in a bid to stop their copyright protection expiring
News of its arrival first appeared on Norwegian Beatles blog, WogBlog, which also published cover art and a tracklisting.
According to the site, the collection contains three versions of There’s A Place as well as demos of two songs the group gave to other artists — Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s acoustic version of Bad to Me and Lennon’s piano demo of I’m in Love.
The Beatles are not the first band to issue rare material in a bid to extend copyright.
Bob Dylan’s record label rushed out 100 copies of an album last year containing early TV performances, alongside multiple versions of Blowin’ in the Wind, Bob Dylan’s Dream and I Shall Be Free.
Officially called The 50th Anniversary Collection, it carried a subtitle which explained its true purpose: The Copyright Extension Collection, Vol. 1.
A second volume followed this year, while Motown has also begun issuing rare recordings on iTunes under the “Motown Unreleased” banner.
Given the low-key nature of the release, it is likely that Apple Corps, the Beatles’ record label, will take down the new material after a brief period, allowing them to exploit the recordings in a more considered way later on.
However, it is likely that the release of rare material will become an annual event, as the band seek to protect their works for another 20 years.
Meanwhile, a more glossy campaign is being mounted to promote a new Beatles box set, which is being released to mark the 50th anniversary of the band’s first trip to America.
The 13-disc set includes all of the band’s American albums, including five that have never been available on CD before.
Many of the records feature different titles, track listings, mixes, and artwork from their UK versions.
The Beatles will also be given a lifetime achievement award by the Grammys in 2014, during a special ceremony the night before the main event.
German electro pioneers Kraftwerk, country star Kris Kristofferson and soul group The Isley Brothers will also be honored.
The African National Congress (ANC) members have paid final tributes to Nelson Mandela at a ceremony in Pretoria ahead of Sunday’s funeral.
President Jacob Zuma and other ANC leaders attended the event, which included a multi-faith service and a musical tribute.
Afterwards, Nelson Mandela’s coffin began the journey by air and road to his ancestral home at Qunu.
It is being accompanied by family members and officials.
At least 100,000 people saw the former South African president’s body lying in state in Pretoria over the last three days, but some had to be turned away.
The 95-year-old former leader died on December 5.
More than 1,000 members of the ANC, which Nelson Mandela once led, attended the ceremony at the Waterkloof air base in Pretoria.
US civil rights activist Jesse Jackson and Ireland’s Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams were among the foreign guests invited.
Nelson Mandela’s coffin began the journey by air and road to his ancestral home at Qunu
Mourners heard President Jacob Zuma pay his own tribute to Nelson Mandela, calling him a “towering figure”, “a man of action” and a “democrat who understood the world.”
“Yes, we will miss him… He was our father, he was our guardian. He was something special.”
“We’ll always keep you in our hearts,” Jacob Zuma said.
The coffin is being flown to Mthatha airport in the Eastern Cape ahead of the burial in Qunu.
The C130 military aircraft carrying the coffin was escorted by two fighter jets after take-off.
Chief mourners from Nelson Mandela’s Thembu clan and family, as well as senior government officials, would be accompanying the coffin, army officials said.
However his widow Graca Machel, and former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, were travelling on a separate flight, in accordance with Thembu tradition.
A military guard of honor will welcome the flight in Mthatha, and the coffin will be placed on a gun carriage and transported to a hearse.
People have been invited to form a human chain to pay their last respects as the cortege makes its way to Qunu.
In Qunu, the Thembu community will conduct a traditional ceremony in a giant white marquee that has been specially erected.
Some 4,000 people, including presidents from Africa, several prime ministers, the Iranian vice-president, and the Prince of Wales, are expected to attend.
On Friday, the South African government said in a statement that “the third day closed with over 50,000 paying their respects to our national icon and first democratically elected president of our country”.
Authorities have identified 18-year-old Karl Halverson Pierson as the suspect gunman who opened fire at Arapahoe High School in suburban Denver, Colorado.
Karl Halverson Pierson may have had a grudge against a teacher when he opened fire at school.
Quick-thinking students alerted the targeted teacher, who quickly left the building. The scene unfolded on the eve of the Sandy Hook massacre anniversary, a somber reminder of the ever-present potential for violence in the nation’s schools.
The wounded student, a 15-year-old girl, underwent surgery and is in critical condition. Authorities originally said a second student was wounded, but Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said Friday night that the other girl taken to a hospital was covered in blood from the first student and wasn’t injured.
Grayson Robinson did not elaborate on any possible motive except to say Karl Halverson Pierson had a “confrontation or disagreement” with the teacher. He didn’t know if the injured girl was intentionally shot.
Karl Halverson Pierson may have had a grudge against a teacher when he opened fire at Arapahoe High School
Karl Halverson Pierson made no attempt to hide his weapon after entering the school from a parking lot and asking for the teacher by name, Grayson Robinson said.
When the teacher learned that he was being targeted, he left “in an effort to try to encourage the shooter to also leave the school,” the sheriff said.
“That was a very wise tactical decision.”
Jessica Girard said she was in math class when she heard three shots.
“Then there was a bunch of yelling, and then I think one of the people who had been shot was yelling in the hallway, <<Make it stop>>,” she said.
Two suspected Molotov cocktails were also found inside the school, the sheriff said. Grayson Robinson said one was lit and thrown, but no one was injured.
The school was swiftly locked down. Within 20 minutes of the first report of a gunman, officers found Karl Halverson Pierson’s body inside the school, Grayson Robinson said.
Several other Denver-area school districts went into lockdown as reports of the shooting spread. Police as far away as Fort Collins, about a two-hour drive north, stepped up school security.
Arapahoe High students were seen walking toward the school’s running track with their hands in the air, and television footage showed students being patted down. Grayson Robinson said deputies wanted to make sure there were no other conspirators. Authorities later concluded that Karl Halverson Pierson had acted alone.
Nearby neighborhoods were jammed with cars as parents sought out their children. Some parents stood in long lines at a church. One young girl who was barefoot embraced her parents, and the family began to cry.
The shooting came a day before the anniversary of the Newtown, Connecticut, attack in which a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Arapahoe High stands just 8 miles east of Columbine High School in Littleton, where two teenage shooters killed 12 classmates and a teacher before killing themselves in 1999. The practice of sending law enforcement directly into an active shooting, as was done Friday, was a tactic that developed in response to the Columbine shooting.
Mega Millions jackpot for the next draw on December 17 raised to an estimated to $550 million as no winning ticket was sold yesterday.
The next drawing is slated for Tuesday, December 17 at 11 p.m. ET, according to the lottery’s website, megamillions.com.
If a jackpot winner chose to take that prize, which remains the second largest in Mega Millions’ 17-year history, as a lump sum payout rather than in 30 annual payments it would amount to $295 million, the lottery said.
Mega Millions jackpot for the next draw on December 17 raised to an estimated to $550 million
No one has won the jackpot in more than two months, pushing the purse steadily higher, although it remains below the record $656 million won on March 30, 2012. The next-largest Mega Millions prizes were $390 million and $380 million.
No purchased ticket matched the winning six numbers drawn on what some consider an unlucky date – Friday the 13th – for an estimated $425 million, or $228 million for the annuity option. Those numbers were: 19, 24, 26, 27, 70 and 12.
Terry Lee Loewen has been arrested in Kansas and accused of planning to detonate a suicide car bomb at Wichita airport, authorities have said.
Terry Lee Loewen, 58, has been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
The man, an aviation technician, does not appear to have been affiliated with any religious group, police said.
Authorities said Terry Lee Loewen was snared by undercover FBI investigators and the public was never in danger.
“There was no breach of Mid-Continent’s Airport’s security,” said Kansas US Attorney Barry Grissom in a statement.
“At no time was the safety of travelers or members of the public placed in jeopardy.”
erry Lee Loewen has been arrested in Kansas and accused of planning to detonate a suicide car bomb at Wichita airport
Terry Lee Loewen was charged in federal court on Friday with attempting to detonate a car bomb at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport.
He has also been charged with attempting to damage property by means of an explosive and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
If convicted, Terry Lee Loewen could face a sentence of life in prison.
Authorities arrested Terry Lee Loewen on Friday morning after he attempted to enter the airport tarmac and drive a vehicle loaded with what he believed were high explosives, authorities said.
The US justice department said he spent months developing a plan to use his access card to carry out the plan.
“He planned to pull the trigger on the explosives himself and die in the explosion,” the department said in a statement.
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback thanked the law enforcement authorities who captured Terry Lee Loewen.
“In our ongoing war on terrorism, the good guys won one today,” he said.
