Nelson Mandela Memorial Draws Mourners And Leaders From Around The World

Nelson Mandela Memorial Draws Mourners And Leaders From Around The World

Dec 10th 2013 5:19AM

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South Africa Obama Mandela

President Barack Obama, left, and first lady Michelle Obama, right, arrive at Waterkloof Air Base for a memorial service in honor of former South African leader Nelson Mandela on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013, in Centurion, South Africa. World leaders, celebrities, and citizens from all walks of life gathered for a memorial service on Tuesday to pay respects to Mandela. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) - World leaders and joyous, singing South Africans gathered Tuesday to honor Nelson Mandela at a Soweto soccer stadium that was half full, amid cold, driving rain.
The crowds twice booed South African President Jacob Zuma, who was to give the keynote address at the service, which started an hour late.
Crowds converged on FNB Stadium in Soweto, the Johannesburg township that was a stronghold of support for the anti-apartheid struggle that Mandela embodied as a prisoner of white rule for 27 years and then during a peril-fraught transition to the all-race elections that made him president.
Steady rain kept many people away. Shortly before the start of the ceremony, the 95,000-capacity stadium was about 50 percent full. The ceremony began at noon local time with the singing of the national anthem.
The mood, though, was celebratory. A dazzling mix of royalty, statesmen and celebrities was in attendance.
Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president who succeeded Mandela, got a rousing cheer as he entered the stands. French President Francois Hollande and his predecessor and political rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, arrived together. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon waved and bowed to spectators who sang praise for Mandela, seen by many South Africans as the father of the nation.
"I would not have the life I have today if it was not for him," said Matlhogonolo Mothoagae, a postgraduate marketing student who arrived hours before the stadium gates opened. "He was jailed so we could have our freedom."
Rohan Laird, the 54-year-old CEO of a health insurance company, said in the stadium that he grew up during white rule in a "privileged position" as a white South African and that Mandela helped whites work through a burden of guilt.
"His reconciliation allowed whites to be released themselves," Lair said. "I honestly don't think the world will see another leader like Nelson Mandela."
Workers were still welding at a VIP area as the first spectators arrived amid an enormous logistical challenge of organizing the memorial for Mandela, who died Dec. 5 in his Johannesburg home at the age of 95.
United States President Barack Obama landed in South Africa early Tuesday. Besides Obama, eulogies were to be delivered by U.N. chief Ban, Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao and Cuban President Raul Castro.
Other speakers include the presidents of Brazil, Namibia and India, as well as tributes from Mandela's grandchildren.
Mandela's widow, Graca Machel, and former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela were at the stadium. So were actress Charlize Theron, model Naomi Campbell and singer Bono.
Tuesday was the 20th anniversary of the day when Mandela and South Africa's last apartheid-era president, F.W. de Klerk, received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to bring peace to their country.
Mandela said in his acceptance speech at the time: "We live with the hope that as she battles to remake herself, South Africa will be like a microcosm of the new world that is striving to be born."
The sounds of horns and cheering filled the stadium ahead of the ceremony. The rain, seen as a blessing among South Africa's majority black population, enthused the crowd.
"In our culture the rain is a blessing," said Harry Tshabalala, a driver for the justice ministry. "Only great, great people are memorialized with it. Rain is life. This is perfect weather for us on this occasion."
People blew on vuvuzelas, the plastic horn that was widely used during the World Cup soccer tournament in 2010, and sang songs from the era of the anti-apartheid struggle decades ago.
"It is a moment of sadness celebrated by song and dance, which is what we South Africans do," said Xolisa Madywabe, CEO of a South African investment firm.
The soccer venue was also the spot where Mandela made his last public appearance at the closing ceremony of the World Cup. After the memorial, his body will lie in state for three days at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, once the seat of white power, before burial Sunday in his rural childhood village of Qunu in Eastern Cape Province.
Police promised tight security, locking down roads kilometers (miles) around the stadium. However, the first crowds entered the stadium without being searched.
John Allen, a 48-year-old pastor from the U.S. state of Arkansas, said he once met Mandela at a shopping center in South Africa with his sons.
"He joked with my youngest and asked if he had voted for Bill Clinton," Allen said. "He just zeroed in on my 8-year-old for the three to five minutes we talked."
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Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
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Follow Alan Clendenning on Twitter at www.twitter.com/alanclendenning.

Jameis Winston leads crowded Heisman field to New York

When asked if Jameis Winston was the best player in the country Saturday, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher let out a short laugh.
"I'm going to say this," Fisher said. "If he isn't it's a short roll call, I'll promise you that."

Florida State QB Jameis Winston (AP Photo)

Winston, a redshirt freshman quarterback, was named one of six of Heisman Trophy finalists Monday, along with Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel, Alabama's AJ McCarron, Auburn's Tre Mason, Boston College's Andre Williams and Northern Illinois' Jordan Lynch.
MORE: Top 10 freakish athletes in BCS | Week 15 photos | Bowl matchups
Winston set FBS records for a freshman in passing yards (3,820) and TDs (38) in the 45-7 win against Duke in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday.
"It means a lot, but as a teammate and having the guys right here beside me, our team is trying to make history," Winston said. "We're trying not to look at individual stats and things like that."
LINEMAKERS: Winston the favorite on our mock Heisman board
Winston’s breakout season hasn’t been without controversy. He was investigated for sexual assault, but was cleared of those charges on Dec. 5. Florida State cornerback Lamarcus Joyner said the adversity has made Winston a better leader.
PHOTOS: All-time Heisman Trophy winners
"To keep all that weight on his shoulders and step up like a grown man just because of his brothers, he's a special young man," Joyner said. "He deserves everything that is coming to him."
The Heisman Trophy presentation is Saturday. Winston leads No. 1 Florida State (12-0) against No. 2 Auburn (11-1) in the BCS championship on Jan. 6.

THE FINALISTS

QB: Jameis Winston, Fr., Florida State
Stats: 3,820 passing yards, 38 TDs, 10 INTs
Worth knowing: Winston is trying to become the third Florida State quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy, joining Charlie Ward (1993) and Chris Weinke (1999).
RB: Andre Williams, Sr., Boston College
Stats: 2,102 rushing yards, 17 TDs
Worth knowing: Williams has the ninth highest single-season rushing total in FBS history.
QB: A.J. McCarron, Sr., QB, Alabama
Stats: 2,676 passing yards, 26 TDs, 5 INTs
Worth knowing: McCarron is 36-3 as a starter and has won two BCS championships at Alabama.
QB: Johnny Manziel, So., QB, Texas A&M
Stats: The defending Heisman Trophy winner actually had more passing yards (3,732) and TDs (33) in 2013.
Worth knowing: Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman when he took home the award last year.
RB: Tre Mason, Jr., RB, Auburn
Stats: Mason's 304-yard effort in the SEC championship game helped, and he tied for third in the nation with 22 rushing TDs.
Worth knowing: Mason is not far behind Bo Jackson's single-season rushing record (1,786 yards) at Auburn. Jackson won the Heisman in 1985 and had 17 TDs. Mason has 1,621 rushing yards.
QB: Jordan Lynch, Sr., Northern Illinois
Stats: 1,881 rushing yards, 22 TDs and 2,676 passing yards with 23 TD passes
Worth knowing: No non-BCS school player has finished above third in the voting.

BCS championship: Florida State vs. Auburn will play for title

For weeks it looked certain that the BCS would go out with a bang.
Undefeated teams from power conferences were piling up with space for only two in Pasadena on Jan. 6.
But a series of upsets, culminating with Michigan State’s win against Ohio State on Saturday night wrapped up the final BCS matchup nice and neat.
HAYES: With FSU, Auburn — last team with ball wins
MORE: SEC photos | ACC photos | Big Ten photos | Spartans fans get wild
Florida State, No. 1 in the final BCS standings, will play No. 2 Auburn, which began the season unranked and bull-rushed its way through the field one season after finishing 3-9 and 0-8 in the SEC.
It's a matchup that most didn't see when the season began. In fact, Sporting News ranked FSU No. 18 to start the season. As for Auburn, SN had the Tigers finishing fifth in the SEC West. "Guarded optimism has greeted the start of the Malzahn era on the Plains, but despite Auburn's rocket ride to glory in 2010, realistic fans know the Tigers' football fortunes won't be rebuilt in one season," SN wrote in its preseason analysis.
The Seminoles will be making their second consecutive BCS bowl appearance. Last season, they beat Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl.

Auburn QB Nick Marshall (AP Photo)

“I built our program like I thought we need to build it to win a championship,” said FSU coach Jimbo Fisher, who is a former QB coach at Auburn. “We don’t model ourselves after nobody. We’re Florida State, we do things the way we do them and the way I think you have to play to win a championship and the kind of team you have to have to win a championship. That’s the way I think we tried to build this team.”

The Seminoles (12-0) moved just ahead of Oregon into the No. 2 spot in Week 11. After the Ducks lost to Stanford, the discussion turned to which team — No. 2 FSU or No. 3 Ohio State — would play top-ranked Alabama for the BCS title.
Then Auburn stunned Alabama on the game’s final play last week and the debate became something different: Is a one-loss SEC team a better choice to play for the BCS title than an undefeated Big Ten champion in a down year for the Big Ten?
Auburn (12-1) beat Missouri in the SEC Championship Game and the Spartans beat the Buckeyes and the argument was no more.

Here’s the BCS bowl games:

BCS Championship (Jan. 6): Florida State vs. Auburn
Orange Bowl (Jan. 3): Clemson vs. Ohio State
Sugar Bowl (Jan. 2): Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 1): Baylor vs. UCF
Rose Bowl (Jan. 1): Michigan State vs. Stanford

Final BCS standings

1. Florida State: .9957
2. Auburn: .9638
3. Alabama: .9061
4. Michigan State: .8600
5. Stanford: .8191
6. Baylor: .7722
7. Ohio State: .7705
8. Missouri: .7256
9. South Carolina: .7152
10. Oregon: .5811
MORE: Bowl schedule, matchups
11. Oklahoma: .5756
12. Clemson: .5553
13. Oklahoma State: .5233
14. Arizona State: .4416
15. UCF: .4343
16. LSU: .4322
17. UCLA: .3703
18. Louisville: .3199
19. Wisconsin: .2365
20. Fresno State: .1675
21. Texas A&M: .1663
22. Georgia: .1594
23. Northern Illinois: .1572
24. Duke: .1134
25. USC: .0672

Big storm dumps snow on East Coast, travel dicey

By DAN GELSTON and MICHAEL RUBINKAM

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A plodding storm that dumped heavy snow on the unsuspecting Mid-Atlantic region threatened to make roads dicey in the northeast corridor for Monday's commute while travel disruptions continued to ripple across the country days after the same system first began wreaking havoc in the skies.
The seemingly never-ending storm that coated parts of Texas in ice struck with unexpected force on the East Coast, blanketing some spots in a foot of snow and grinding highways to a halt.
Travel problems could linger into Monday afternoon, with freezing rain and icy conditions sticking around as wintry weather stretched from Missouri to Maine.
The storm canceled more than 2,500 flights Sunday and delayed thousands more, according to estimates from the website Flightaware.com. More than 1,000 of Monday's flights were already canceled, the greatest share from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which was still reeling from the effects of the ice storm that brought North Texas to a standstill.
The forecast for Monday remained up in the air for the northeast, depending on how quickly the system moves and temperatures rise, according to the National Weather Service. Meanwhile, a winter storm warning was in effect until 10 a.m. for Washington, D.C., and Baltimore where up to a quarter inch of ice was expected because of freezing rain that could cause power outages.
The expectation was for another weather system moving out of Virginia to follow the same path as Sunday's storm overnight. It was expected to dump icy drizzle and eventually freezing rain through the New York City area and into Boston, National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Heavener said.
Indeed, slippery conditions were reported overnight in the New York City area: a crash involving about 20 vehicles closed southbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Greenwich, Conn., for a couple of hours. No serious injuries were immediately reported.
Forecasters said air travel would likely remain a hassle, too.
"I think the further north you look, departures and arrivals could be affected because of icy issues," Heavener said.
What was forecast in the Philadelphia area to be a tame storm system with about an inch of snow gradually changing over to rain mushroomed into a full-blown snow storm. Bands of heavy snow made for a wide range of accumulation: a foot was reported in Newark, Del. Philadelphia International Airport received 8.6 inches, more than it had all of last year. Other areas received far less: a little over an inch was reported in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, which usually is hit harder than downtown Philadelphia.
Sunday's snow fell so heavily in Philadelphia that yard markers at Lincoln Financial Field - where the Eagles beat the Detroit Lions - were completely obscured. It was almost as bad in Pittsburgh, where the snow intensified after the opening kickoff.
Philadelphia fan Dave Hamilton, of Ivyland, layered up for the game in Eagles gear.
"Twenty-seven years I've been a season-ticket holder, I've never seen snow at the game like this," he said. "It just kept coming down."
Heavy snow in the Philadelphia area led to a number of accidents, including a fatal crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike that spawned fender-benders involving 50 cars, stranding some motorists for up to seven hours. More than two dozen vehicles were involved in another series of crashes on nearby Interstate 78.
Paul Jones, 24, a youth hockey coach from Warminster in the Philadelphia suburbs, was on his way to a game in Lancaster when he got stuck - along with his fiancee, another coach and three players - in a major backup on the turnpike.
The roadway was "snow-covered, slick," Jones said in an interview from the car, where he was a passenger and had been at a standstill for more than an hour.
"People are in and out" of their vehicles, he said. "Kids are having a snowball fight on the side of the road, making snow angels, people are walking their dogs.
Philadelphia International Airport spokeswoman Stacey Jackson said a number of passengers were expected to remain in the airport overnight since area hotels had been full for several days. She said staff would hand out pillows and blankets to travelers to make them "feel at home even though they are not."
Air passengers in the Washington-area experienced increasing delays at both Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National airports.
Virginia, parts of West Virginia and the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area braced for blackouts under steady freezing rain, wet snow and sleet. Parts of northwest and southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia got snow, while sleet and freezing rain prevailed west and north of Richmond.
In Maryland, a chain-reaction accident on Interstate 81 in Washington County involving more than 20 vehicles delayed snow removal efforts for hours. The highway was closed for more than three hours after a tractor-trailer ran into the median to avoid cars that had spun out. It was hit by another tractor-trailer that overturned and spilled its load. Several other tractor-trailers ran off the road and jackknifed as their drivers tried to avoid the crash.
But the nasty weather wasn't limited to the East Coast. Nebraska and Iowa saw snow; multiple weather-related crashes were reported in Wisconsin, including two that were fatal; thousands of customers lost power in Mississippi because of sleet and freezing rain.
A snowstorm that hit along the Utah-Arizona border left hundreds of travelers stranded on Interstate 15 overnight into Sunday. The Arizona Highway Patrol said passengers in about 300 vehicles became stranded after up to 10 inches of snow and slick road conditions prompted the closure of part of the highway. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries.
The specter of bad driving conditions for Monday's commute had some motorists concerned not just about getting to work, but getting out at all. New Jersey's new U.S. senator, Cory Booker, tweeted a promise to one Mount Holly resident to help him shovel out his car if he still needed the help in the morning.

Spiritual Quotes Of Nelson Mandela, Champion Of The Human Spirit

Nelson Mandela has died, but the power of his spirit will endure forever.
Mandela was a key leader in the liberation of South Africa, and his struggle included 27 years in prison. Eventually elected President, the peaceful yet powerful way that Nelson Mandela freed South Africa from apartheid continues to inspire those who fight for freedom everywhere.
Mr. Mandela embodied the power of the human spirit, and was living proof that the world can be transformed. The entire world owes Nelson Mandela a great debt that can be redeemed as we continue his work of peace, justice, and liberation.

• Media24/Gallo Images via Getty Images / Goodreads
  "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead." — Nelson Mandela
• AP / File / Goodreads
  "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." — Nelson Mandela (Long Walk to Freedom)
• Chris Jackson via Getty Images / Goodreads
  "I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying." — Nelson Mandela
• Media24/Gallo Images via Getty Images / Goodreads
  "I am not an optimist, but a great believer of hope." — Nelson Mandela
• The Sydney Morning Herald via Getty Images
  "Religion is one of the most important forces in the world. Whether you are a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Jew, or a Hindu, religion is a great force, and it can help one have command of one's own morality, one's own behavior, and one's own attitude." -Nelson Mandela
• Patti Gower via Getty Images / Goodreads
  "I am the captain of my soul." — Nelson Mandela
• (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam, File) /Goodreads
  "There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death." — Nelson Mandela (Long Walk to Freedom: Autobiography of Nelson Mandela)
• TREVOR SAMSON via Getty Images / Goodreads
  "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children." — Nelson Mandela
• API via Getty Images
  "One of the most difficult things is not to change society - but to change yourself." -Nelson Mandela
• DON EMMERT via Getty Images / Goodreads
  "Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished" - Nelson Mandela

What Greek Wisdom Can Teach The Rest Of The World About Living Well

“I came to the Greeks early, and I found answers in them," writer and classicist Edith Hamilton once said.
The Greeks have one of the oldest cultures in the world (not to mention the first known democracy), and to this day, we turn to the wellspring of Greek wisdom for guidance on living well. With both an ancient tradition of introspection and ethical inquiry, and also to one of the most heart-healthy diets in the world, the Greeks know a thing or two about how to live a good life.
But it's not just ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle who unlocked the secrets to a meaningful life. The health habits and leisure rituals of modern Greece also have a lot to teach the rest of the world about health and happiness.
Here are 11 Greek secrets to living well.
They eat a healthy Mediterranean diet.

The Mediterranean diet is heavy on vegetables, olives, healthy fats and oils, fish, whole grains and red wine (in moderation), and is thought to have extensive health benefits, contributing to lower rates of heart disease, obesity, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. Research analyzing 1.5 million healthy adults found that those who followed the Mediterranean diet had a lower risk of dying from heart disease and cancer and a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
They take naps.

Greeks believe firmly in many things, and afternoon naps are one of them. In some of the smaller towns and villages, businesses commonly shut down in the mid-afternoon for the Greek siesta time and open again around 5 p.m.
"Napping is a response, an adaptation to the hot climate," Dimitrios Trichopoulos, a Greek researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health, told NPR. "Siesta is a very pleasant habit. In a way, it doubles your day. Because you start all over again at 5 o'clock and you can go on until 11 or 12 o'clock which is not uncommon at all in our part of the world."
They appreciate the value of a good walk.
During the warmer months, small villages and towns in Greece turn to the daily tradition of volta (translated as stroll or outing). When the sun goes down, Greek families will take leisurely walks up and down the main streets of small towns, and on the islands, they'll enjoy a leisurely stroll along the shore.
They ask the big questions.

The Greek philosophical tradition is one of the oldest and arguably the richest in the world. Philosophical inquiry thrived in the culture of ancient Greek, and philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Epicurus and Epictetus asked the big questions: How do we live a good life? How should the city be governed? What is morality and how should we treat others?
In many ways, we owe the tradition of living the "examined life" to the ancient Greeks. As Aristotle once wrote, "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
They take hospitality and generosity very seriously.

Greek hospitality goes as far back as Odysseus, and it's been embedded in Greek culture and families to this day. (Ever seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding?"). This generosity and welcoming spirit derives from the word filoxenia, which translates to "love of foreigners." Historically, it has referred to the hospitality of villagers and residents of small towns who would take in travelers passing through, offering a meal and a bed, whereas now it generally refers to the hospitality offered to friends, family or acquaintances, according to Greek Care, a website that teaches Australians about traditional Greek culture.
They've unlocked the secrets to longevity.

The little Mediterranean island of Ikaria has one of the healthiest, longest-living populations in the world. Ikarian men are nearly four times as likely as American men to reach the age of 90, and often in better health, according to a 2012 New York Times article, "The Island Where People Forget To Die." They also have lower rates of depression and dementia. Their secrets to long life? A fresh, healthy Mediterranean diet, lots of outdoor and leisure time, strong families and communities and plenty of sleep.
“We wake up late and always take naps,” Dr. Ilias Leriadis, an Ikarian physician, told the New York Times. “I don’t even open my office until 11 a.m. because no one comes before then.”
They take time for leisure.

Another longevity secret of the Ikarians? They live by "island time."
“Have you noticed that no one wears a watch here? No clock is working correctly," Leriadia said. "When you invite someone to lunch, they might come at 10 a.m. or 6 p.m. We simply don’t care about the clock here.”
But taking time to savor life's little pleasure isn't limited to Ikaria; Greeks are known for having a slower pace of life, which allows them to linger over and savor family activities, long meals and small pleasures. As a Manchester Evening News travel writer advises visitors to the Greek isles:

Take a stroll along the waterfront where the fishermen are mending their nets and unloading their catches. Pause for a coffee. Buy fresh-from-the-oven bread. Enjoy breakfast. Then let the day unfold. Slow your pace of life to that of the locals, philosophise, read a good book, bathe, snooze.

They tell stories.

The rich tradition of Greek mythology is alive and strong in the culture today. Through these classic tales of gods and mortals, children learn classic wisdom and moral values. Traditionally, it is through stories -- which our brains use to give our lives structure and meaning -- that the Greeks have made sense of their world.
As Arianna Huffington wrote in The Gods of Greece:

"In our longing to understand ourselves and our world, the gods of the past, very much alive today, can show us our way into the future. Because they are so natural, so human in their divinity, they can help heal our culture's split between the earthly and the sacred, the secular and the religious. In the Greek gods, the eternal and the divine are fully at home with the ephemeral and earthly. The natural is the divine, and therefore nothing is accidental or meaningless."

They spend time outdoors.

With Greece's temperate climate, warm sunshine, beautiful beaches and islands, why wouldn't you soak up the health benefits of spending time outdoors?
They come together over good food.

Greeks love food, and they love gathering with family, friends and community members. So naturally, it's a Greek tradition to bring people together for healthy meals.
"[My mother] loved how food brought people together," Unbinding the Heart author Agapi Stassinopolous wrote on Oprah.com. "Eating dissolves the separation between strangers. That's the Greek way, and that was our family way also -- to feed people, to show love and attention through dishes like spanakopita. At the table, my mother mended old wounds and made new friends. She reminded us that excluding anyone is simply denying yourself an opportunity to grow -- and live."
They know where to find happiness.

Stoicism was one of the ancient Greek schools of philosophy founded in Athens that remains relevant to this day. The Stoics believed that stress and unhappiness are not the result of external events, but rather the product of our own internal judgments, and therefore that happiness, too, can only be found within. The Stoic philosopher Epictetus said that the one way to happiness was to look within; to "cease worrying about things which are beyond the power or our will. ”
"Stoicism took off because it offered security and peace in a time of warfare and crisis,” HuffPost Managing Editor Jimmy Soni wrote in his book Rome's Last Citizen, a biography of noted Stoic, Cato the Younger. “The Stoic creed didn't promise material security or a peace in the afterlife; but it did promise an unshakable happiness in this life."

Icy Storm Slams Southwest, Shuts Down North Texas

DALLAS (AP) - Freezing rain and stinging winds slammed the Southwest on Friday, covering highways in frost and closing schools and businesses, as millions of residents hunkered down for icy conditions expected to last through the weekend.

In California, four people died of hypothermia in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Despite warm temperatures earlier in the week, Texas faced the same wintry blast that has slammed much of the U.S., bringing frigid temperatures, ice and snow.

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The weather forced the cancellation of Sunday's Dallas Marathon, which was expected to draw 25,000 runners, some of whom had trained for months. A quarter of a million customers in North Texas were left without power, and many businesses told employees to stay home to avoid the slick roads.

Friday's storm stretched from southern Texas, where anxious residents bagged outdoor plants to protect them from the cold, through the Midwest and Ohio Valley and up into northern New England and the Canadian Maritimes.

PHOTOS ON SKYE: Icy Storm Hits Texas, Midwest
People in the Dallas area raided grocery shelves and home improvement stores Thursday in advance of what one store manager joked was the Black Friday of bad weather - "Ice Friday." Most people appeared to heed warnings Friday to stay inside.

The weather led to more than 1,000 cancelations at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, one of the nation's busiest airports and a key hub for Fort Worth-based American Airlines. Many travelers were stuck waiting - and hoping for another flight. Those arriving in North Texas were having trouble finding cabs as many drivers stayed home. Dallas-area light rail trains were not running.

Rosibel Gutierrez Artavia, shivering in a light sweater as she waited for a taxi, had traveled from Alajuela, Costa Rica, to suburban Fort Worth to see family. Relatives called her before she left Costa Rica to warn her to pack warm. But she got the call when she was already at the airport.

"I did not come prepared with snow clothes," Artavia said in Spanish.

Police in Arlington, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Dallas, reported one driver was killed when his car slammed into a truck. Authorities in Oklahoma reported two weather-related traffic deaths.

In California, four people died of hypothermia in the San Francisco Bay Area as the region dealt with freezing temperatures, according to the Santa Clara County coroner's office. The San Jose Mercury News reported that three of the victims died in homeless encampments while a fourth person died in a garage.

Storms this week had already dumped up to 2 feet (0.6 meters) of snow in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin and draped many communities in skin-stinging cold. The temperature in parts of North Dakota on Thursday was a few degrees below zero, but wind chill pushed it to nearly 40 below.