the final step in his long walk to freedom, nelson mandela is now laid to rest in his ancestorial village. the former leader helped to transform the country and inspired millions all around the world. jonah hall reports. >> reporter: the final moments of a sad farewell as his remainses were lowered into the ground out of public view. the roar of a military fly-past bearing the flag of the new south africa that mandela himself did so much to create. in the eastern cape hills of his birth and boyhood, it had been a funeral ceremony immaculately planned, executeded with precision.

beneath a giant dome built in the place he called home, invited guests, dignitaries, celebrities and the south african government joined the mandela family. some looking drawn with exhaustion and grief. ♪ >> reporter: south africa's president jacob zuma led them in a song reminiscent of the years of struggle. we, the nation, are crying the words go from the song sung at the funerals of fallen heroes to an expression of gratitude for perhaps the greatest hero of them all. >> we wish today to express two simple words, thank you.

thank you for being everything we wanted and needed in a leader during a difficult period in our lives. your long walk to freedom has ended in the physical sense. our own journey continues. >> reporter: in a blend of the formal with the traditional, there were deeply personal tributes as well from one of his 18 grandchildren. >> we shall miss you when you were not pleased with our behavior. we shall miss your voice as you told us stories of your childhood. we shall miss your laughter. >> reporter: from life-long fell friend and fellow prisoner in robben man addressing the man he called madala.

>> what do we say to you, madalmadal madala, in these days, the last final moments together before you exit the public stage? when walter died i lost a father, and now i've lost a brother. my life is in a void. i don't know who to turn to. >> reporter: many south africans will also wonder where to turn now with the passing of the man whose every life breath was reassurance, perhaps the country's greatest son, a man many knew as tata or grandfather, the tribal chief they called madiba. >> morgan was personally invited as a friend of the family to attend the ceremony with family members in qunu, south africa. morgan, give us a taste what this was like to be around the

family. tell us how the family is doing. take it from there. >> reporter: good afternoon, richelle. yes, it was a very powerful ceremony today. i believe i was the only press person inside. there was only 200 of us outside the tent with the seating they had for us. it was very, very powerful. you had military planes flying overhead and shots fired in honor of nelson mandela. where it hit home with me was watching the young immediate men of the family line up behind the casket and you watched them walk their grandfather to his grave. i admit, that's when it really hit home for me what was happening. they revealed the tomb stone and had kind words on the tombstone, and there were so many foreign dignitaries there and people who just had incredible stories to share about nelson mandela and the legacy he left not only to

the world but to them personally. in the building was idrie elba, oprah winfrey, prince charles, richard branson. it was an incredibly powerful ceremony where the family shed tears and walked up to the grave and said their good-bye and had flowers. the women stayed seated and they had friends and family around as well. it was once-in-a-lifetime watching literally the entire world mourn a man that had changed it. >> he absolutely did change the world. before i let you go, i'll pick on something you said about the young men now in this family. i wonder if you have any insight into what -- if they said anything about what it's like to have to carry on the mantle of being the grandson of nelson mandela. what is that like, the kind of

pressure that they're going to live with going forward? >> reporter: of course they feel pressure. they feel an incredible sense and need to really further his legacy. they mentioned that, you know, this has really been the world's affair, his burial and his memorial service. the world has been watching and watching the family. now they say we want to take a step back and have a chance to mourn privately after today. as you can see it's raining outside in qunu. the grandson said to me, you know, morgan, every man in our family when he died, it has rained. that's the god welcoming him back home. it rained not only the day he died but the day he buried. the family is certainly having a hard time. they lost a loved one who was loved by the world but also by them. >> the world feels he is theirs, but he is a member of his family first. it also rained on the day of the memorial. morgan radford, thank you so much for that report. we appreciate it.

foreign dignitaries as morgan mentioned and top government officials and celebrities and business tycoons and even members of royal families were among the 4500 people paying tribute to nelson mandela. among them is britain's principle charles and oprah winfrey. mandela's life is a perfect example of a man able to build bridges with people from all walks of life. that life is documented in films and books and will build a bridge for future generations. tonya paige took a tour of his official archive to see how his memory will live on. >> this year the -- >> the center of memory is full of the predictable but also the strange and unusual. >> if you look at this right here, it is from arnold schwarzenegger. >> it's arnold and mad da. >> it was another gift begin to madiba. >> he's behind her. >> he's behind her, yes.

>> who that? >> that's oprah winfrey. >> as well as being a historical record of nelson mandela's life, it's a play to cut through the mythology. his most personality docume -- personal documents are in the vault. >> this is his mother's death certificate. his mother died in 1968. this is where he wanted to bury her, but he wasn't allowed. >> there are private letters with winnie and journal entries to details an argument with his current wife. >> is this sense of carrying a burden in relation to the saintly image. he became the face of the struggle, but i think as he's grown older felt very uncomfortable with this. >> that is madiba's office since 2002. he used to come in here almost every day, and then as he really

retired in 2004, he reduced the amount of time he used to come. >> reporter: here mandela was surrounded by people that inspired and influenced him. famous faces fill the shelves. few knew the complexities of a man that millions look up, but the memory offers nelson mandela the man and the myth. tonya paige, al jazeera, johannesburg. the european union us spended efforts to work with ukraine after the country's president failed to sign a deal. in a show of solidarity senator john mccain joined hundreds of thousands of protesters in kiev. he told them washington standing with them. rory joins us live from kiev. how is senator john mccain being received there? what's his message? rory, can you hear me?

it seems that rory is having a difficult time hearing us, so we will try to get back to him shortly. in the meantime secretary of state john kerry says the re-sent execution of the north korean leader's uncle is a ominous sign of instability and says it underscores the danger in the region. >> it tells us how ruthless and reckless he is. it tells us a lot about how insecure he is to a certain degree. it tells us a significant amount about the instability spernlly with the regime with the number of executions. this is not the first execution. there have been a significant number of executions taking place over the last months, which we're aware of. most importantly it underscores the importance for all of us of finding a way forward with north korea in order to denuclearize the peninsula. >> kim's uncle by marriage was recently regarded the second

most powerful figure in north korea. gaza's only power plant is operating again for the first time since november. israel allowed about 120,000 gallons of diesel into gaza. the diesel was used to restart the plant that ran out of fuel six weeks ago. it provide a third of the electricity to the gaza strip. it was allowed in as aid to gaza after a winter stop damaged homes and crops. the pope is responding to conservative criticism on his stance on capitalism. pope francis said he's not a marxist and he called it a new tyranny. the pope says it conforms with catholic doctrine. he said marxism is wrong. let's go back now to rory live in kiev in ukraine. rory, i hope you can hear me

now. what i was asking is how is senator john mccain -- >> reporter: in ukraine it's been a day of notable absences and notable presences, too. i'll deal with the absences first. the government forces, where have they gone? yesterday they were in a rival demonstration to the one that i'm standing in at the moment. it's just 300 meters or so down the road. we were told that protest was going to stay here slojs this protest stays here. today they seem to have packed up and gone home, and the government doesn't really seem to have many people cheering it's cause like they were yesterday. the presence, we've had lot of people here in independence square today and a big, big turnout. we've also had two u.s. senators here. the most famous, of course, john mccain. john mccain came with a message of u.s. support. what he essentially told the crowds here on independence square is that america stands with it, and it also told them

that they should be moving towards europe. that europe was their future. now, russia is not going to like that message at all. russia is saying this procession of western diplomats through the ukraine is the west meddling in ukrainian affairs. it went down very well with the people here. they were cheering thank you, thank you usa. >> rory, well-done. a difficult report to deliver over the loud noise in the background. history was made last night in the sports world. this year's heisman trophy winner was the second freshman ever to win the prestigious award. a humanitarian crisis in central african republic. they're being critical of the slow response to the crisis. as we mentioned earlier in the broadcast, south africa buried nelson mandela today marking the end of an exceptional journey for the prisoner turned president who transformed the nation. here's the anti-apartheid leader in his own words.

interactive television. we depend on you, >> you are one of the voices of this show. >> so join the conversation and make it your own. >> the stream. next on al jazeera america and join the conversation online @ajamstream. here is more. >> beneath the fluorescentsun in a former meat packing plant is the latest trim in farming. they call it "vertical farming." these fields grow on floors on at industrial park and farmer john adel and his staff agrees user. >> my shipping proceed did you say 1500, 2,000 miles to get are. >> the plant of the indoor -- as the indoor formers call it doesn't grow corn or soybeans

but mustard, high end micro greens on the plates of white-napkin restaurants. these fish supply the vert liser that number issues the >> i'm phil torres coming up this week on techknow... for some soldiersknow... the war never ends. watch as a battle once fought in a warzone, comes to life on a video screen. >> he was doused in deisel fuel and he was just in a lot of pain. >> can re-living trauma lead to a cure for ptsd? technow on al jazeera america >> al jazeera america is the only news channel that brings you live news at the top of every hour. >> here are the headlines at this hour. >> only on al jazeera america.

so as we mentioned a bit ago as we've been reporting for quite a while, south africa buried nelson mandela today marking the end of an exceptional journey for the prison turned president who transformed really the world. here he is in his own words. >> okay. so now i suppose we will check in with jalila ahmed to check out the forecast. >> we had quite a bit of snow from chicago to maine. we have to deal with the lingering snow into this afternoon and evening. from chicago all the way back towards maine we saw 4 to 6 inches of snow generally speaking. we also had heavy rainfall across portions of the southeast. with the heavy rain fall we saw

a tornado watch issued across the carolina down into portions of florida. now, across new york state the snow is coming down relatively hef last night. generally speaking we saw 10 to 18 inches of snow. the heaviest of the snow today is across portions of maine. how much? 10 to 18 inches of terrible snowfall expected across portions of maine really on into atlantic canada. conditions will be improving, however. the winds slow down quite a bit. winds right around 17 miles per hour in boston, 10 miles per hour in new york city. in the southeast conditions are certainly improving with the winds out of the north and west. see lingering showers across southern portions of florida and really across the southeast from general from jacksonville down into miami. as you said, going to be a cooler day and high pressure builds. some of those clouds push out of the way. leave room for some sunshine, but generally speaking a lot

cooler than it has been. now, there has been a storm aif he can affecting the middle east quite a bit over the last couple of days. it produced quite a bit of snow in jerusalem, 15 inches of snow in downtown jerusalem, and then across the gaza strip had to deal with heavy rainfall. heavy rainfall across portions of syria where the snow fell. we'll tell you more about that at the end of the show. richelle, back to you. >> thank you so much. the teenager involved in the colorado school shooting planned to harm a large number of individuals. authorities say 18-year-old karl pierson had a shotgun, a machete and three molotov cocktails strapped to his body. he legally purchased the shotgun at a fellow store a week before the shooting. claire davis is in critical condition after being shot in the head. pierson would later turn the gun on himself. >>

. >> pierson was likely targeting a faculty member who recently kicked him off the debate team. now to the most prestigious award in college sports. florida state quarterback jameis winston is the second freshman ever to win the heisman trophy. an accusation of sexual assault by a woman casted a shadow over his career however he was cleared. >> on paper jameis winston was a shoo-in for the heisman trophy: he was the unlike freshman quarterback that led his seminoles to an undefeated season and national title. this year it wasn't just about the numbers. voters had to peel back the layers of winston's historic record-breaking season and decide if winston's character was heisman-worthy. through it all the 19-year-old

somehow managed to keep his composure on the field and be exonerated off. he finally let his feelings show as he became the youngest heisman trophy winner. >> i trusted in the process that truth delivers positive outcomes, because after all the things i've been through this past month, i'll remember when my daddy trusted in the process and risked his job and was jobless three years ago when i was out there doing whatever i did to provide for my family because i know he couldn't have to do it. me and mama had to pay bills and make everything happen, and that man kept fighting for me but the truth prevailed because eventually the got me a scholarship and kept my education up and kept bringing everything home. we ate every single night. this heisman isn't just for jameis winston, but it's for florida state. i love everybody in here.

i can't be -- i mean, i'm so blessed right now, man. >> reporter: even though 115 voters left winston off the ballot, he still won in a landslide. 2,205 points to a.j. mccarron 704 in second place. it's the seventh largest margin of victory making it back-to-back seasons where a freshman has taken home football's most coveted award. what can winston do for an encore? win a national title, of course. jameis winston and the seminoles take on auburn in the national championship game january 6th at the rose bowl. reporting from manhattan, jessica taft, al jazeera. coming up the neighborhood of watts in south l.a. is pretty touch but another side shows an incredible collection of murals. as we go to break here's antipa -- anti-apartheid leader nelson

mandela in his own words. >> never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will have the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world. the sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement. let freedom ring. god bless africa. i thank you.

the anger all one sided? i hear rumblings from the people who cover the heat that the heat are not in love with players in the payer side, there is real hate here. >> there better be. they can really mess it up for them. when they dislike there, yeah, i think there is dislike but they've got the bravado. they got their chests out. it's still their game. but that's where the home court advantage is important, this game is important because miami used game seven to advance to the championship. they don't get one tonight, i mean, they don't get one in the end, that game seven here in indianapolis could be a problem. .

welcome back to "al jazeera america." i'm richelle carey. let's look at today's headlines. nelson mandela has been buried.

450 people attended the burial services. the burial ends ten days of ceremonies. mandela died on december 5th. he was 95 years old. the president central african republic is calling for an end to sectarian violence. hundreds of people have died in the fighting between muslims and christians, and citizens are now facing a critical food shortage. turf wars between street gangs are a fact of life in some parts of los angeles, but as jennifer london reports one neutral zone let's groups come together to create instead of destroy. >> reporter: this is the watts in south los angeles most people know. 2 1/2 square miles of rundown neighborhoods and housing projects controlled by rival gangs. this is the other side of watts most people don't see, a neighborhood of murals, street art telling the story of the city's troubled past and hopes for the future.

isabel rojas williams is with the mural conservation to her of l.a. >> the mural in los angeles had specifically were indicative of people for social economical issues, issues of empowerment and connecting with our roots. >> reporter: roots that extend all across los angeles, but for more than 11 years the art stopped after a citywide ban on murals went into effect back in 2002. >> can you imagine gray walls? are we gray walls? we are a richly diversity. we're one of the most creative cities in the world. i totally believe that murals should be part of our community. >> reporter: the city now agrees and earlier this year lifted the ban so now color is returning to the streets. >> you can do like the bottom piece, and i can do the top. we can do it. >> reporter: the great wall of watts doesn't just represent a victory for artists and curators liar warren brant.

it's a rare, multi-cultural collaboration. >> we're in the middle of the watts, traditionally two group it is of people that are kind of considered enemies here. >> i try to figure out, what's the best message to send? to me, equality, unity, friendship, teamwork. >> reporter: the project is bringing together students from different schools. >> latinos and blacks don't really get along, but today we see that we are getting along. >> reporter: it took the artists about two hours to sketch out the ideas, but it will take three days and more than 100 cans of spray paint to bring the great wall of watts to life. the hope is once this mural is completed, it will help change the narrative of this troubled neighborhood, telling all who see it of that day when the blacks and latinos came together, worked side by side. >> you come from the left and i'll come from the right. >> reporter: to meet in the middle. jennifer london, al jazeera, watts.

the aftermath of that storm in gaza is causing quite a few problems. we have more on that. how unusual is this storm? >> this hasn't happened in 60 years, richelle. this is an awful system that pushed across from turkey into portions of egypt and into syria. so across the gaza strip we all know very small area, 139 square miles, about the size of the district of columbia twice over. they had flooding downpours there. several inches of rain fell. they had to have boats go out and rescue people from the streets. 40,000 people had to be taken to shelters. >> frightening. >> it's frightening and upsets given the fact that a lot of the area lost electricity. in jerusalem they received about 15 inches of snow from the same system. we have some reports that we also are looking at a child that

passed away in syria all due to the same system. >> thank you for that. homeowners, one minute home he is. what is going on. talk rabbiting numbers we have more homeless school age kids in america than ever before. >> right. >> so we have to