nbc's ron allen is live in pretoria, south africa, ron, what are you hearing about reports that mandela may be going home soon? >> reporter: we'll see. the word from his family, doctors, government officials in recent days has been very upbeat and positive, suggesting that he's recovering from a lung infection that brought him to the hospital some 41 days ago. the scene behind me, there are literally hundreds of people arriving here for what a huge celebration. the national anthem was sung. the words of "happy birthday" resonating across the country wherever you go. mandela is 95 today. it's also his wedding anniversary, by the way, and he's still listed in critical condition, doctors will not upgrade his condition until he shows improvement over a greater stretch of time. they'll have a traditional family lunch later today. everyone wishing happy birthday to the man. >> ron allen live from pretoria. >>> this morning's dish of scrambled politics, new york mayor michael bloomberg is out with his next stop to stop obesity, the billionaire mayor has signed an executive order require city a

ron allen is in pretoria, south africa with more on this. good morning, ron. >> reporter: good morning, betty. this is the scene outside the hospital in pretoria where nelson mandela recovers. day 41 of his hospitalization now. there are hundreds upon hundreds of people gathering here to pay their respects to join the celebration and, of course, to sing "happy birthday" to mandela. it's also his wedding anniversary. the word from the hospital, from his family and others is his condition continues to improve, but he's still listed as critical and stable. the doctors say they were upgraup -- won't uch grade conditions until he recovers for a long time. he's recovering from a severe lung infection. we expect the mandela family to arrive here to have the traditional family lunch. president jacob zuma was here. they sang the national anthem and "happy birthday." everyone singing "happy birthday" everywhere. today is international mandela day around the world and the call is for people to do 67 minutes of community service. 67 being the number of y

we get our report tonight from nbc's ron allen in pretoria, south africa. ♪ >> reporter: today in southfrica, celebration after weeks of worry. nelson mandela, his health now said to be improve willing, has reached his 95th birth day. students across the country, like these at a school mandela himself attended, began their day in song. ♪ >> we all praying for you to get better soon. >> reporter: outside the hospital, thousands of well wishers, family members gathered in his hospital room. former wife, winnie mandela. >> thank you for showing how much you love your country. >> reporter: throughout the celebrations, encouraging word is reaching the crowd about mandela's help. his family continues to insist his overall condition is getting better day by day. mandela remains in critical condition, battling a lung infection, but well enough to watch tv, smile at birthday wishes, perhaps even leave the hospital soon says his daughter. >> i'm not a medical doctor, the one who determines whether he goes back home. i'm confident it will be some time soon. >> reporter: this was also a day of givi

. >> well, nbc's ron allen is live from pretoria, south africa. with the very latest. good day to you, ron. >> reporter: how are you, richard? >> so if you can tell us, we were just listening to a little bit here from, again -- about nelson mandela, how well he's doing. the wife speaking there just as you heard. how is he doing? what is she saying about his condition further than that? >> reporter: well, we know that he is in critical but stable condition and he's been that way now for a couple of weeks or so. his wife graca machel said he's uncomfortable sometimes, in pain sometimes, but he's fine. we understand he's on life support but we don't know what that means because the family has vehemently denied reports that he's in a situation where his life could be terminated if medical care is withdrawn, if the plug is pulled, if you will, for example. so they have denied vehemently that it is that kind of a situation where they could make a medical decision that could terminate his life. so we don't know all the details. they are trying to make him have as much dignity

. >> nbc's ron allen is live for us in pretoria, south africa. e the sun has gone down but well wishers still remain behind you. what's the spirit, the mood, of the people there? >> reporter: very subdued here at night. the crowds are smaller, thomas. people have gone home. there's kind of an understanding that the government is not going to make any big announcements late in the evening here so people tend to call it a day, if you will, of maintaining the vigille here. inside the hospital we believe his wife made a rare time of leaving. she's been at nelson mandela's bedside since june 8th. she said he's comfortable for the most part, basically he's "fine." critical condition is what the government is saying. we don't know what that means but we know the vigil continues, things remain stable and we await more word in the morning. >> ron allen, thank you. >>> coming up, we'll shift gears back home and talk about a big bash on the bayou. that bash includes beyonce, ll cool j and many, many more. we'll take you live to new orleans with a preview of

ron allen is live for us in south africa.h detail as we have received over the past number of weeks that we have been here. it's unclear exactly what that really means. sarnl with mandela, the government, his family, everyone involved are trying to handle this in as dignified a fashion as possible. the bottom line is it will be a month come july 8 he will have been in the hospital. he was raced to the hospital. he's been stable and critical. that's really all we know. it was the first time since the hospitalization began. it was unusual to be away. she said he's comfortable and fine and because she would leave suggest there was no urgency in the situation. we seal' what happens here. the vigil continues. there are people offering prayers, support and waiting for word. >> we can see the crowd of well wishers. ron, thank you very much. appreciate it. specifically for your gas tax. how to weather the volatile market. suggestions coming up next. ♪ for a strong bag that grips the can... get glad forceflex. small change, big differ

ron allen is in south africa this morning. what is the latest on his condition? what do we know?er: we know the government insists he's in critical, but stable condition. it's been that way for the better part of two weeks. there's not a lot of detail. that's created a huge void with a lot of speculation and rumor. we know he was brought here because of a respiratory infection. he's having recuring problems with his lungs. he's on a ventilator helping his breathe, but we don't know if it's the only thing helping him breathe. he is comfortable, not in a lot of pain and he is quote, fine. you were referring to a report suggesting he's in a permanent vegetative state. they have pushed back hard saying it is not true. during the time we have been here, any indication, any suggestion that nelson mandela's condition is in some way able to be determined by the family has been rebuked by them. they say, again, his wife, he is fine. critical, but stable. beyond that, we don't know, craig. i dare say, if this were happening in the united states, we would have heard briefings from his docto

>> ron allen there for all the celebrations. ank you so much and for some progress to be reported on nelson mandela's health. thanks, ron. >>> and in southern california thousands of residents are now scrambling to get out of the path of a rapidly growing wild fire near palm springs. strong winds are fanning the flames and driving the so-called mountain fire towards the desert town of ottawa. it has grown to 35 square miles. more than a dozen homes have already been destroyed. firefighters are combatting the blaze in triple digit temperatures today. the better , he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the res

nbc's ron allen joins us now from outside the hospital in pretoria. till see people there in the background. tell me a little bit more, at least the feel of the day, ron, since you are there. you had a chance to interact with so many people. >> reporter: well, it's been an amazing day, tamron. it's all the more celebratory and exciting for people here. there's a big feeling of relief because a lot of people feared that this day might not come. remember, nelson mandela's been in the hospital now for 41 days, much of that in critical yet stable condition. still critical, very dire. even today he's still in that condition even though we're hearing reports from the family suggesting that he may be coming home soon. the doctors are not saying that. they still want to see him continue to improve over a longer period of time before they upgrade or change his condition from critical. and he is today, yes, 95 years old. he's very -- he's still a very sick man, but across this country today, especially school children this morning, began their day singing happy

nbc's ron allen is in pretoria, south africa, with the latest. day to you, ron. >> here the hospital in pretoria, the crowds continue to arrive at the hospital offering their prayers, singing hymns and paying respects to nelson mandela. the official word from the government is he remains in critical but stable condition, although very little detail has been released about his condition inside the hospital. that's why there's a lot of rumor and speculation. a report making the rounds he is in a persistent vegetative state on life support and his family has been advised to discontinue care. the government flatly denies that and says it's not true. in the past the mandela family has reacted negatively to simpler reports. we heard from mandela's wife graca, who says he is at times uncomfortable but not in pain and in her words doing just fine. meanwhile, here in pretoria, the vigil continues. back to you. >> all right. ron allen in pretoria, thank you very much from there. from now we go to egypt, a lot of developing news out of that country this mor

there are conflicting reports this morning about just how grave his situation is help nbc's ron allenns us live with the very latest. ron, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, thomas. the crowds continue arriving here outside the hospital, offering prayers, sing hymns and paying respects to nelson mandela. the official word of the government is that he remains in critical, but stable condition, but there's been very little detail and that's why there are rumors and speculations about his condition. there's been a report making the rounds that he is in a persistent vegetative state on life support and his family has been advised to discontinue care. the family denies that report and they made a direct statement saying it is not true last night. we also recently heard from nelson mandela's wife, saying he is at times uncomfortable, but that he is not in any pain and to use her word, he is fine. also during this long period of waiting, a number of mandela family squabbles and feuds. some of them quite ugly, for example, one involving the final resting place of nelson mandela a

nbc's ron allen is in pretoria, where there's a huge celebration outside the hospital. good morning, ron. >> reporter: good morning, tamron. it's been an amazing day, full of celebration, a day that many feared might not be a celebration. he's still in critical condition, but everywhere across this country the word from the hospital is that he's improving. we understand he was sitting in a clair, fully aware and cognizant when his family came with a huge card and the giant cake. his doctors still have him listed in critical condition, because they want to see improvement over a longer period of time, but there is some talk from relatives he may be going home soon. perhaps sometimes in the not-too-distant future. also international nelson mandela day today, asking people to do acts to help make this world a better place. the celebration here, tamron continues. >>> thank you, ron. >>> today president obama is talking up the health care law, saying it is working. hi comments come one day after the house approved the so-called employer mandate on health care, and also approv

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