Tag: funerals

Joint funeral held in South Miami-Dade for victims of fatal Florida turnpike crash

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Milena Malaver/Miami Herald

Sounds of music, song and sorrow swelled inside a small South Miami-Dade church on Saturday, as loved ones of victims killed in an August semi-truck crash on Florida’s Turnpike gathered to say their last goodbyes.

News of the crash made national headlines and landed one man in jail, a truck driver, Harjinder Singh, 28, who authorities say caused the deaths by making an illegal U-turn with his 18-wheeler, blocking the northbound lanes of the highway.

The crash took the lives of driver Herby Dufresne, 30, and passengers Faniola Joseph, 37, and Rodrigue Dor, 54. The three were visiting South Florida, where they had once lived, before returning home to Indiana. Dor and Joseph died at the scene. Dufresne died later at the hospital.

Inside Princeton Church of the Nazarene, two white coffins—matching and gleaming under the sanctuary lights—rested side by side holding Joseph and Dufresne. Nearly every seat in the church was filled, the air thick with grief and gospel.

READ MORE: ‘It’s a big loss for us.’ Family mourns Haitian immigrant killed in truck crash

Dor’s service had been held two weeks earlier on Sept. 20, at Haitian Evangelical Baptist Church. He was laid to rest at Vista Memorial Gardens in Miami Lakes.

In Princeton, the community came together to mourn Dufresne and Joseph, two friends who had died together and were buried at Palms Woodlawn Cemetery in Naranja.

Joseph was remembered as a woman of remarkable strength, someone who, as one loved one put it, was “born only to give love.”

She stood as a pillar for her family—a steady presence and a nurturing soul. At the heart of her life was her daughter, Angeline, whom friends and relatives said Joseph raised to be both resilient and tender, reflecting her mother’s own spirit.

Angeline was unable to attend the funeral because she lives in the Dominican Republic.

Memorial pamphlets for Faniola Joseph and Herby Dufresne given to the attendees of their funeral service at the Princeton Church of Nazarene on Oct. 4, 2025. Milena Malaver/Miami Herald

“She served as a guiding star for her family, and today, even though she is no longer with us, her light will always shine in our memories and prayers,” a loved one said in Creole during the service.

A loving father, brother and son

Dufresne was born in Port-au-Prince, the only son among five children, and was the father of two young daughters.

“He had a lot of love for all his family and friends. When he met you, he would hug you with a big smile on his lips,” said his cousin, Oscar Cedieu, speaking in Haitian Creole.

The service itself pulsed with sound with horns blaring, drums pounding and voices rising in song. Friends, relatives and reverends took turns at the podium singing in memory of a man who himself had loved music, playing several instruments.

Yet even the loudest music could not drown out the anguish. Sobs and screams split the air. Women clutched children in their arms, weeping uncontrollably. Some had to be carried out when grief overcame them. At one point, a woman fainted and was lifted out of the church.

Dufresne’s sister Katy Dufresne painted a picture of her brother: strong, kind, a man who cooked with passion and sang every morning in the kitchen.

“He loved to sing a lot in the morning,” she said at the podium in Creole. “The first thing that will wake you up is a song.”

Herby Dufresne, 30, a single dad with a 5-year-old and another child on the way, was killed Aug. 12 after the minivan he was driving slammed into a semi tractor-trailer that had made an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike near Fort Pierce. The accident garnered national attention after it was discovered the driver was an undocumented driver from India. Dufresne died in the accident along with his two passengers, who were also Haitian. Courtesy of friend of Herby Dufresne

But she also shared his hesitations about leaving Haiti. Though he was approved to come to the United States in December 2023, Dufresne had confessed that he didn’t want to leave their mother behind. Still, he sought a better life. Katy’s last memory of him was their visit together, with Joseph and Dor, just before the crash.

In one of their final conversations, he had told her she was the strength of their family.

‘Justice and reparations’

The fatal crash rippled far beyond South Florida’s Haitian community—it reached the Sikh community as well. Authorities have charged Harjinder Singh, a Sikh, and the truck driver in the fatal crash, with vehicular homicide. Singh is being held at the St. Lucie County Jail on no bond.

READ MORE: Sikhs rally at St. Lucie jail to honor three who died in Turnpike truck crash

Sikhs for Justice, an activist group, stepped in to cover funeral costs and pledged $100,000 in humanitarian aid for the victims’ families. The donation came entirely from Dr. Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, a Pennsylvania-based physician and co-founder of the group, who attended Saturday’s service and spoke during the service.

“No words can measure their loss, but we have stood with them to ensure their loved ones are laid to rest with dignity,” said Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the group’s general counsel.

READ MORE: Truck driver in fatal Florida Turnpike crash expresses grief in first statement

The aid was distributed in coordination with Haiti’s Consulate General in Miami. Consul General Yverick Delerme Cyril personally thanked the organization for its support.

Singh’s immigration status and commercial license sparked national debate, with Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican leaders seizing on the case as a flashpoint in immigration.

Back inside the church, Joseph’s cousin Fekel Morisette took the podium and called the congregation to its feet.

“Justice and reparation,” he said—then asked the packed church to repeat the words after him.

This story was originally published October 4, 2025 at 4:29 PM.

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Milena Malaver

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October 4, 2025
Extreme heat might have been the ‘nail in the coffin’ for these critical Florida coral | CNN

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CNN
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This summer’s record-breaking marine heat wave may have been the “nail in the coffin” for an iconic species of coral that serves as a building block of marine life around Florida. Still, scientists see other “signs of hope” in the state’s reefs.

Elkhorn coral populations – which had already been teetering on the brink of local extinction in Florida – have been “decimated” by the extreme ocean heat, according to Liv Williamson, a coral expert and assistant scientist from the University of Miami.

“This heat wave was the nail in the coffin for these populations,” Williamson said. “There were already so few elkhorn coral individuals on Florida’s reefs that various genetic rescue plans were underway, but now almost all the corals we would have used for such efforts have died.”

Elkhorn and staghorn coral are some of the only so-called branching corals found in the Carribean. They were also the first coral species to gain protected status under the Endangered Species Act, Jennifer Moore, a threatened coral expert for NOAA told CNN.

The branching part of these corals is key; their tree-like appendages grow faster than other coral and spread out like a rainforest canopy, providing protection for fish and other vertebrates, which helps the overall ecosystem thrive.

Both coral species are slightly more heat-tolerant than other corals to begin with, Moore told CNN, but more likely to die once they bleach – a process in which they turn white as they expel their algal food source in response to heat stress.

This summer’s die-off happened to both wild elkhorn and to corals bred to be more heat-tolerant. Coral conservationists have been trying for years to use those varieties to restore the disease-ravaged population.

Some of the planted corals were bred to withstand ocean temperature up to 2 degrees Celsius above normal. But the water around Florida and the Caribbean this summer was up to 3 degrees Celsius above normal, causing mass bleaching and the die-off, Williamson said.

As the world continues to warm because of human-caused climate change, marine heat waves are becoming more common and extreme, scientists say.

“This summer has just illuminated how extreme things can get so quickly and I just don’t think we are prepared for that,” Williamson told CNN.

Back in the 1960’s and 70’s elkhorn and staghorn corals “were so common it was like blades of grass,” Moore told CNN, but have become so rare “you cry in your mask when you see a live one on the reef.”

A 2020 study of the elkhorn coral population in the upper Florida Keys found it was “functionally extinct,” or unable to reproduce effectively on its own and contribute to the ecosystem, and may face local extinction over the next 6 to 12 years. The researchers said the trends likely applied to all of Florida’s elkhorn.

“There are simply too few, too far away from each other,” Williamson said.

“Although there are a small number of individuals still alive, the species has dwindled so much that they no longer play an effective role in the ecosystem in the way that they once did, and they no longer have a viable population,” Williamson said.

Any deaths would have a “dramatic impact” at restoration sites just starting to see enough coral density to make an ecological impact, Moore said.

Staghorn coral may have faired slightly better than elkhorn this summer, Williamson said, but still faces similar long term challenges.

The grim news comes despite other signs of hope at the region’s reefs. Florida reefs are only just able to start recovering now that ocean temperatures have dropped from bathtub-like 90s to levels the heat-sensitive corals can better tolerate.

Scientists have known since the summer that a mass bleaching event and die-off was happening, but they still don’t know the full extent of it or how bad it will be in the long run. Bleached coral may still be alive and recover now that water temperatures are cooler. Conversely, more coral could die because of vulnerability to disease in the months that follow bleaching, coral experts said.

“We are definitely looking at a major mortality event, we just won’t know the extent of it for a couple more months,” Moore told CNN.

For now, some coral scientists like Moore are hanging their hats on “shockingly fast” signs of recovery at reefs recently surveyed and on the prospects of using science learned from this event to give the species a better chance to survive the next heat wave.

“To see corals that were 100% bleached two or three weeks ago regaining their algae and regaining their color also shows there’s resilience in the system,” Moore said. “That gives me a lot of hope. I don’t really know where it’s all going to land, so I can’t really tell you if it’s worse or better than I feared in July, but I am cautiously optimistic because of these little glimmers of hope. We just need to figure out how to maximize it so that we can help this system recover.”

Others are still struggling to cope with the loss and the prospect of what feels like a Sisyphean effort to save such a vital species, especially in the face of climate change. Scientists like Williamson are left feeling “heartbroken” after witnessing their life’s work obliterated in a matter of weeks.

“It’s hard to express the loss that my fellow coral conservationists and I feel, watching the pillars of this vital reef ecosystem collapse and the fruits of our labors destroyed,” Williamson wrote on Instagram.

“Even if we do plant these nursery fragments back onto the reefs, what’s to say they will survive next summer, or the one after that?” Williamson told CNN.

The prospects for coral recovery lie in a herculean rescue effort this summer. Coral conservationists moved corals to deeper water, cooler nurseries and harvested diverse genetic specimens and then put them in a “living gene bank” on land. Scientists like Moore plan to use the specimens to plant corals yet again.

“Emotional fatigue was across everyone, because in some cases these were corals that they grew from babies and put out on the reef,” Moore said. “To see them bleach and potentially die is really, really emotionally draining. Yet, because we didn’t just sit there and watch them die – that’s what give me hope.”

“I think we have lots of tools to prevent extinction and I’m not going to quit,” Moore told CNN.

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October 8, 2023
Woman who was previously discovered to be alive in her coffin during her wake has died | CNN

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CNN
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A woman in Ecuador who was previously discovered to be alive in a coffin at her own wake has now actually passed away.

Bella Montoya, 76, died Friday afternoon after spending a week hospitalized in critical care in the coastal city of Babahoyo, according to Gilbert Barberán, the woman’s son.

Montoya was quickly transported to the Martin Icaza General Hospital when she was found alive after banging on her own coffin at the wake in Babahoyo.

“During her hospital stay, she received comprehensive medical care and periodic evaluation by hospital specialists. Likewise, the respective medical audit was carried out for this case,” Ecuador’s Ministry of Public Health said in a statement.

Montoya initially entered the hospital for a stroke and was reported dead once before.

Barberán told CNN that he has to register his mother’s death on the civil registry for a second time.

Montoya’s daughter, Zeneida Leal, said her mother’s condition had been worsening.

“The doctor said that my mom was sick, that she was very delicate, that she was suffering from kidney failure, that she couldn’t be saved because everything was getting complicated and she went into respiratory arrest,” Leal told CNN.

The Ministry of Public Health has said an investigation is underway into the events leading up to her presumed death.

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June 18, 2023
Woman presumed dead found alive in coffin at her wake in Ecuador | CNN

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CNN
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A 76-year-old woman who was declared dead at a hospital in Ecuador was found to be alive and knocking on her coffin during her own wake in the city of Babahoyo.

“I lifted up the coffin, and her heart was pounding, and her left hand was hitting the coffin… We called 911 to bring her here to the hospital,” her son Gilberto Barbera said in a video posted on social media.

In the video, people could be seen waiting and supporting Montoya as emergency services arrived at the scene, taking the 76-year-old woman back to the hospital.

A state investigation is now underway, according to the Ministry of Public Health.

It says the woman had been admitted Friday to the hospital with a possible stroke and cardiopulmonary arrest, and after she didn’t respond to resuscitation protocol, a doctor on duty declared her dead.

The video also goes on to show her hospital tags and then her son, who is shown pleading for an ambulance to arrive.

The woman’s full name is widely reported to be Bella Yolanda Montoya Castro, corresponding to the initials “B.Y.M.C” used in Ecuador’s Health Ministry statement issued on Sunday.

It said Montoya was in intensive care at the Martín Icaza Hospital in Babahoyo – the same facility that initially declared her dead. Her current condition is unknown.

CNN’s calls to the hospital for comment have not been returned.

The man recording the video later asked the name of the woman, to which someone in the room replied: “Bella Yolanda.”

The ministry went on to say that, in coordination with the Health Services Quality Assurance Agency, a national technical committee was formed “to initiate a medical audit to establish responsibilities for the alleged confirmation of death.”

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June 13, 2023
At Irvo Otieno’s funeral, calls for reform on treating those with mental illness | CNN

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CNN
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Irvo Otieno had a million-dollar smile, respected others and stood up for what he believed was right, family and friends said Wednesday at the funeral for the man who died after he was pinned to the floor by security officers at a Virginia mental health hospital.

Now it’s time for society to stand for what is right – by implementing law enforcement and mental health care reforms, speakers told mourners during Otieno’s service at First Baptist Church of South Richmond.

Seven sheriff’s deputies and three hospital employees are accused of second-degree murder in the March 6 death of the aspiring musician, 28, who prosecutors say was smothered during what the family said was a mental health crisis.

“What kind of sickness would make men pile on a man that’s already handcuffed and shackled?” Rev. Al Sharpton said during the eulogy.

“He had an illness. He should have been doctored to, not treated with brutality,” Sharpton said.

The minister and family attorney Ben Crump said police need to be better equipped to deal with those with mental illness.

They also encouraged Virginia officials to make reforms.

“We can develop mental health courts where they will be treated like they have illness and not like they are criminals and degenerates not worthy of dignity and respect,” Crump told mourners. “Irvo deserved dignity and respect.”

On March 3, Henrico Police responded to a report of a possible burglary and encountered Otieno. Police officers – along with the county’s crisis intervention team – put Otieno under an emergency custody order due to their interactions with and observations of him, police said.

According to Virginia law, a person can be placed under an emergency custody order when there is reason to believe they could hurt themselves or others as a result of mental illness.

The officers transported Otieno to a hospital where authorities say he assaulted three officers. Police took him to county jail and he was booked. At around 4 p.m. on March 6, Otieno was taken to Central State Hospital, a state-run mental health facility south of Richmond, by the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office, according to the commonwealth attorney’s office. It’s not clear why deputies transferred Otieno.

State police investigators were later told Otieno became “combative” and was “physically restrained” during the intake process, the commonwealth attorney’s office said on March 14.

Surveillance video recently released by a prosecutor shows Otieno being pinned to the floor.

Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill’s office released 911 calls about the incident in which a caller described Otieno as “very aggressive” and repeatedly asked for an ambulance, saying he was not breathing.

The video begins as Otieno, bound by his hands and feet, is forcibly taken into a room and dragged into an upright seated position on the floor with his back against a chair. Ten minutes later, after Otieno has turned onto his side with three people holding him, his body jerks, and five more deputies and workers move to pin Otieno to the floor.

A clear view of Otieno is blocked in much of the video, but one deputy appears to be lying across Otieno for most of the incident as he is forced onto his stomach. Eventually, Otieno is rolled onto his back, where several deputies appear to be restraining him with their knees. One deputy holds Otieno’s head still by grabbing his braided hair.

After 12 minutes of Otieno being pinned to the ground, one deputy can be seen shaking Otieno’s hair and attempting to take a neck pulse, but Otieno is unresponsive. Three more minutes pass before CPR begins, with Otieno’s limbs still shackled.

Medical workers from the hospital are seen converging on the room as CPR continues for nearly an hour. After he is pronounced dead, Otieno is covered in a white sheet, still lying on the floor, his body briefly left alone in the room.

An attorney for one of the deputies charged in the case told CNN he’s “disappointed” the prosecutor released the video because he thinks it could influence the jury pool.

Seven Henrico County deputies, who turned themselves in to state police earlier this month, are on administrative leave as investigations by their agency and state police continue, Henrico County Sheriff Alisa Gregory said in a statement.

CNN has sought comment from the deputies. Caleb Kershner, deputy Randy Joseph Boyer’s attorney, told CNN recently that they had yet to see video but claimed “nothing was outside of the ordinary” in the lead-up to Otieno’s death.

“They delivered him as fast as they could because obviously this was a man in tremendous need of some sort of medical attention,” Kershner said. He added that his client said they had dealt with Otieno “for a long time and he had a significant amount of violent noncompliance.”

Prosecutor describes VA death in custody

Three Central State Hospital workers who were arrested were placed on leave “pending the results of the legal proceedings,” the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and Central State Hospital said in a statement. Officials said they will ensure the family receives information about “the tragic events at the hospital.”

The Henrico Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 4, the local law enforcement officers’ union, “stands behind” the deputies, it said in a statement on Facebook.

CNN has reached out to attorneys, the hospital and jail for additional comment.

Crump has said Otieno was not being aggressive or resisting during the incident. “He was trying to breathe,” he told reporters. “If you were down there, restrained and all of these people on top of you, you would be trying to breathe. You would try to move, too, to let your lungs expand.”

The attorney told those attending Wednesday’s funeral that the situation should have been treated differently.

“When Black people in America have mental health issues, we cannot treat them like criminal issues,” Crump said.

Sharpton said Otieno was a man of talent whose life was unnecessarily cut short.

“If he’d been cared for, rather than cared-less law enforcement, he could have been a shining example of how people, despite their challenges, can be productive anyway.”

The musician’s mother spoke near the end of the service, saying her son had character and will be missed.

“May your spirit lead us in this pursuit of truth and justice. I will miss your infectious smile and your big hugs,” said Caroline Ouko. “We will get to the bottom of what happened to you.”

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March 29, 2023
Satellite images capture crowding at China’s crematoriums and funeral homes as Covid surge continues | CNN

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CNN
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Satellite images taken over a number of Chinese cities have captured crowding at crematoriums and funeral homes, as the country continues its battle with an unprecedented wave of Covid-19 infections following its dismantling of severe pandemic restrictions.

The images – taken by Maxar in late December and early January and reviewed by CNN – show a funeral home on the outskirts of Beijing, which appears to have constructed a brand-new parking area, as well as lines of vehicles waiting outside of funeral homes in Kunming, Nanjing, Chengdu, Tangshan and Huzhou.

China recently moved away from its strict zero-Covid approach to the virus, which had sparked mass unrest after more than two years of tight controls on citizens’ personal lives.

China’s strict policy shielded its population from the kind of mass deaths seen in Western nations – a contrast repeatedly driven home by the Communist Party to illustrate the supposed superiority of its restrictions.

Since those rules were lifted, people have regained freedom to travel around their country

The satellite pictures are consistent with CNN’s reporting and witness accounts shared to social media concerning overcrowding in funeral homes and crematoriums.

CNN has reported first-hand in Beijing on the makeshift facilities being used to store the deceased, as overworked staff try to keep up with the volume of crates containing yellow body bags, and families report waiting for days to bury or cremate their loved ones.

Meanwhile, China’s official Covid-19 death toll since it eased restrictions remains strikingly low – with only 37 deaths recorded since December 7.

As reports of overwhelmed hospitals and funeral homes roll in, China is facing accusations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and US that it is under-representing the severity of its current outbreak, as top global health officials urge Beijing to share more data about the explosive spread.

“We continue to ask China for more rapid, regular, reliable data on hospitalizations and deaths, as well as more comprehensive, real-time viral sequencing,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news briefing in Geneva Wednesday.

“WHO is concerned about the risk to life in China and has reiterated the importance of vaccination, including booster doses, to protect against hospitalization, severe disease, and death,” he said.

Speaking in more detail, WHO executive director for health emergencies Mike Ryan said the numbers released by China “under-represent the true impact of the disease” in terms of hospital and ICU admissions, as well as deaths.

He acknowledged that many countries have seen lags in reporting hospital data, but pointed to China’s “narrow” definition of a Covid death as part of the issue.

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January 10, 2023
Pope Francis leads funeral for predecessor Benedict XVI, a first in modern times | CNN

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Rome
CNN
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Pope Francis paid tribute to his predecessor former Pope Benedict XVI Thursday, in a funeral attended by tens of thousands of mourners at St. Peter’s Square.

The event marked the first occasion in modern times that a pontiff had presided over the funeral of his predecessor – and the first ever of one who resigned. Benedict, the first pontiff in almost 600 years to resign his position, rather than hold office for life, died aged 95 on December 31 at a monastery in Vatican City.

It was an occasion characterized by simplicity, as per the wish of the former pope. “It’s difficult to have a simple service in St. Peter’s Square, but I think it was,” Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest, writer and editor, told CNN’s Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo on CNN Newsroom.

“You have to have some pomp and ceremony for a former pope, but I think within the guidelines of what Pope Emeritus Benedict wanted, it succeeded very well.”

About 50,000 people attended the funeral in St. Peter’s Square according to Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni, with many members of the crowd calling for the late pope to be consecrated a saint.

The attendance compared with an estimated 1.1 million people for the funeral of Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II. There were 500,000 people in St. Peter’s Square and the surrounding area in 2005, and another 600,000 who watched on video screens in other parts of Rome.

John Paul II’s funeral was the largest gathering of heads of state ever outside the United Nations. Delegations included nine monarchs along with 70 presidents and prime ministers.

Over the six days between John Paul II’s death and his funeral, an estimated 3 million people came to pay their final respects. Each hour, 21,000 people passed through St. Peter’s Basilica. The average wait to see the pope was 13 hours, and at its maximum the line was 3 miles long.

In pictures: The funeral of former Pope Benedict XVI

Dignitaries and religious leaders lined the square on Thursday, which can seat approximately 60,000 people, for the ceremony. Prime Minister Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic, was among those in attendance, according to CNN affiliate CNN Prima.

The ceremony was similar to that of a reigning pope but with some modifications. Benedict was named pope emeritus during the funeral, and the language of some prayers was different because he was not the reigning pope when he died.

Francis started leading the mass Thursday morning, during which he gave a homily at about 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET). Members of the crowd later took part in a Communion.

Benedict’s coffin was transported through the Basilica and transferred to the Vatican crypt for the burial, in the first tomb of John Paul II. The tomb was vacated after John Paul II’s body and remains were moved to a chapel inside the Basilica after he became a saint.

As Benedict’s coffin was carried to St. Peter’s Basilica, many members of the crowd could be heard chanting “Santo Subito,” which is a call for the Pope Emeritus to become a saint immediately.

“God’s faithful people, gathered here, now accompanies and entrusts to him the life of the one who was their pastor,” Francis said as he delivered the homily.

“Like the women at the tomb, we too have come with the fragrance of gratitude and the balm of hope, in order to show him once more the love that is undying. We want to do this with the same wisdom, tenderness and devotion that he bestowed upon us over the years. Together, we want to say: ‘Father, into your hands we commend his spirit.’

“Benedict, faithful friend of the Bridegroom, may your joy be complete as you hear his voice, now and forever,” Francis added.

At the time of the burial during the rite, a webbing was placed around the coffin with the seals of the apostolic chamber, the pontifical house and liturgical celebrations. The cypress coffin was placed inside a zinc coffin that is soldered and sealed, and subsequently placed inside a wooden coffin, which was buried, according to Bruni.

The ceremony is expected to end at around 11:15 a.m. local time (5.15 a.m. ET).

High-profile dignitaries including Queen Sofia of Spain and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are set to attend the funeral, alongside US Ambassador to the Holy See Joe Donelly.

Benedict was elected pope in April 2005 following John Paul II’s death. He was known to be more conservative than his successor, Pope Francis, who has made moves to soften the Vatican’s position on abortion and homosexuality, as well as doing more to deal with the sexual abuse crisis that has engulfed the church in recent years and clouded Benedict’s legacy.

The scroll that was put inside Pope Benedict XVI’s coffin, which is a biography of his life and mentions some of the most important moments of his tenure, recalls that he “firmly” fought against pedophilia.

“He firmly fought against crimes committed by members of the clergy against minors or vulnerable persons, continually calling the Church to conversion, prayer, penance and purification,” the scroll said.

His death prompted tributes from political and religious leaders including US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Dalai Lama.

About 200,000 mourners, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella, paid their respects to the former pontiff earlier this week during his lying-in-state in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The public viewing of Benedict finished Wednesday, before an intimate religious rite during which items including coins and medals minted over his tenure and a scroll about the pontificate were placed into his sealed cypress coffin ahead of the funeral.

Meloni paid homage to “enlightened theologian” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in a tweet on Thursday.

“Today in St. Peter’s to bid a last farewell to Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus. Enlightened theologian who leaves us a spiritual and intellectual legacy of faith, trust and hope,” Meloni tweeted after the funeral, which she attended.

“We have the task of always preserving and honoring it and of carrying on its precious teachings,” she added.

The Italian government previously announced on Wednesday that Italian and European flags would be flying at half-staff on public buildings across Italy on Thursday.

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January 5, 2023
Thousands bid farewell to Pelé | CNN

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CNN
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Soccer great Pelé was laid to rest on Tuesday after thousands lined the streets in the city of Santos to view his funeral procession.

The procession had started at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium, home of Pelé’s former club Santos, and his coffin was carried through the streets of Santos, including the street where Pelé’s 100-year-old mother, Celeste Arantes, lives.

It continued to the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery, where a private funeral would be held for family members.

The three-time World Cup winner died on Thursday at the age of 82 from multiple organ failure due to the progression of colon cancer.

Tributes from around the world have poured in ever since, with people of all ages flocking to his 24-hour public wake, which began on Monday at Santos’ 16,000-seater stadium, popularly known as “Vila Belmiro.”

More than 230,000 people, many wearing Brazil’s iconic yellow jersey, had attended the wake, according to Santos.

The doors to the stadium closed with thousands of mourners still in line and people were turned away, according to CNN teams on the ground.

Huge crowds then lined the streets, waving flags and applauding as the Brazilian’s coffin passed by.

Pelé’s sister, Lucia, was seen tearfully waving from a balcony at crowds who had gathered outside her mother’s house. The coffin then arrived at the cemetery.

Brazilian president Lula da Silva arrived at the wake on Tuesday morning with police security “very much” reinforced to accommodate the President’s presence, Santos told CNN.

“Pele is incomparable, as a soccer player and as a human being,” Lula said Tuesday, per Reuters.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino also traveled to Brazil to pay his respects on Monday.

“Pelé is eternal,” Infantino told reporters, per Reuters. “FIFA will certainly honor the ‘king’ as he deserves.

“We have asked all football associations in the world to pay a minute of silence before every game and will also ask them, 211 countries, to name a stadium after Pelé. Future generations must know and remember who Pelé was.”

For more than 60 years, the name Pelé has been synonymous with football. He played in four World Cups and is the only player in history to win three, but his legacy stretched far beyond his trophy haul and remarkable goalscoring record.

“I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint,” Pelé famously said.

Pelé, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in history and Brazil held three days of national mourning following his death.

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January 3, 2023
Brazilians to bid final farewell to Pelé with 24-hour wake and coffin procession | CNN

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CNN
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Brazilians will pay their final respects to football great Pelé with a 24-hour public wake, which begins on Monday at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium, the home of his former football club Santos.

On Tuesday, a funeral procession will then carry Pelé’s coffin through the streets of the city of Santos, including passing down the street where Pelé’s 100-year-old mother, Celeste Arantes, lives.

The procession will continue to Pelé’s final resting place, the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery, where a private funeral will be held for family members.

Fireworks greeted the hearse carrying Pelé’s coffin as it left the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo, where the three-time World Cup winner died on Thursday from multiple organ failure due to the progression of colon cancer.

The hearse was under a heavy police escort as it headed the stadium, where his coffin will be placed in the middle of the pitch.

Fans had already started lining the streets in the early hours of Monday morning, many holding flags or banners with messages for ‘O Rei’ (“The King”). “Pelé, you are eternal,” read one by the side of the highway.

Inside Santos’ 16,000-seater stadium, a number of large banners had been placed throughout the stands, with one reading “long live The King.”

For more than 60 years, the name Pelé has been synonymous with football. He played in four World Cups and is the only player in history to win three, but his legacy stretched far beyond his trophy haul and remarkable goal-scoring record.

“I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint,” Pelé famously said.

Pelé, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in history and Brazil held three days of national mourning following his death.

Tributes have poured in from sports stars, politicians and musicians from all around the world for a man that transcended his sport and became a global icon.

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January 2, 2023
Why people in China are panic buying canned yellow peaches as Covid surges | CNN Business

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Hong Kong
CNN
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An unprecedented wave of Covid cases in China has sparked panic buying of fever medicines, pain killers, and even home remedies such as canned peaches, leading to shortages online and in stores.

Authorities said Wednesday they had detected 2,249 symptomatic Covid-19 cases nationally through nucleic acid testing, 20% of which were detected in the capital Beijing. CNN reporting from the city indicates the case count in the Chinese capital could be much higher than recorded.

Demand for fever and cold medicines, such as Tylenol and Advil, is surging nationally as people rush to stockpile drugs amid fears they may contract the virus.

Canned yellow peaches, considered a particularly nutritious delicacy in many parts of China, have been snapped up by people looking for ways to fight Covid. The product is currently sold out on many online shops.

Its sudden surge in popularity prompted Dalian Leasun Food, one of the country’s largest canned food manufacturers, to clarify in a Weibo post that canned yellow peaches don’t have any medicinal effect.

“Canned yellow peaches ≠ medicines!” the company said in the post published Friday. “There is enough supply, so there is no need to panic. There is no rush to buy.”

The People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, also tried to set the record straight. It published a long Weibo post on Sunday urging the public not to stockpile the peaches, calling them “useless in alleviating symptoms of illness.”

Authorities also pleaded with the public not to stockpile medical supplies. On Monday, the Beijing city government warned residents that it was facing “great pressure” to meet demand for drug and medical services because of panic buying and an influx of patients at clinics.

It urged the public not to hoard drugs or call emergency services if they have no symptoms.

The rising demand and shortage of supply of Covid remedies have fueled bets on drugmakers.

Shares of Hong Kong-listed Xinhua Pharmaceutical, China’s largest manufacturer of ibuprofen, have gained 60% in the past five days. The stock has so far jumped by 147% in the first two weeks of this month.

“Our company’s production lines are operating at full capacity, and we are working overtime to produce urgently needed medicines, such as ibuprofen tablets,” Xinhua Pharmaceutical said Monday.

Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat pain and fever. It is also known as Advil, Brufen, or Fenbid.

The drug shortage has spread from mainland China to Hong Kong, a special administrative region which has a separate system of local government. On Sunday, the city’s health chief urged the public to refrain from panic buying cold medicines they do not need and urged residents “not to overact.”

In some Hong Kong drugstores, fever drugs such as Panadol, the local brand name for Tylenol, have sold out. Most of the buyers were sending the medicines to their families and friends in the mainland, sales representatives told CNN.

Shares of Shenzhen-listed Guizhou Bailing Group Pharmaceuticals, known for making cough syrup, have gained 21% this week and risen 51% so far this month. Yiling Pharmaceutical, the sole producer of Lianhua Qingwen, a traditional Chinese medicine recommended by the government for treating Covid, has also jumped more than 30% in the past month.

Even providers of funeral services and burial plots have gotten a huge boost. Shares in Hong Kong-traded Fu Shou Yuan International, China’s largest burial service company, have soared more than 50% since last month.

There is “strong pent-up demand for burial plots” in 2023, analysts from Citi Group said in a recent research report, adding that they’ve noticed increasing investor interest in the sector.

They cited the existence of hundreds of thousands of cremated remains, which are being temporarily stored in government facilities awaiting burial. Lockdowns across much of the country have halted funeral services, they said.

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December 15, 2022
It feels like dogs know just when we need them most. Well, they might, experts say | CNN

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When a family arrived at Koch Funeral Home in State College, Pennsylvania, to identify a loved one before cremation, Monroe took note — staying back to maintain the people’s privacy but ready to offer comfort if asked.

Monroe isn’t a grief counselor or therapist. She’s an Australian Shepherd and resident therapy dog at the funeral home, said Jackie Naginey Hook, a celebrant and end-of-life doula there.

“She has this affinity toward people who might be experiencing grief,” Hook said. “She is drawn to them.”

Sure enough, when members of the family came out, they saw Monroe and asked to say hello, Hook said. Petting her opened them up to telling others about their loss.

Some research has suggested that dogs — whether trained therapy and service animals or just friends in our homes — have a positive impact on human lives, said Colleen Dell, the research chair in One Health and Wellness and professor at the University of Saskatchewan.

Just 10 minutes spent with a dog helped reduce patients’ pain, according to a March study for which Dell served as lead author.

People often don’t talk about what they’re going through when grieving, Hook said. The process of mourning is as unique to a person as a fingerprint, and many don’t know how to be there for others who are going through it, she added.

For many people, dogs can offer intuitive, unconditional and loving support in times of grief, Dell said.

“We don’t give them the credit that’s due,” Dell said of the animals that provide needed support. “We don’t understand them to the extent that we should. When you start to pull it apart, there’s just so much going on there.”

There are nuances to what people need when mourning a loved one, but generally family and friends should be present, offer hugs and listen without saying too much, Hook said.

It sounds like a perfect job for a dog.

“Healthy healing is really about giving yourself permission to feel what you’re feeling,” Hook said. “Our bodies know how to heal from a cut, and we know how to deal with this, too.”

Luckily for us, dogs don’t judge or have expectations, Dell said.

If someone has developed a strong bond and relationship with a dog, the animal is often able to intuit the emotions of those it loves, Dell said. It can mean the dog knows when to offer a gentle cuddle, she said.

“When we lose a significant other … so many people say that coming home at the end of the day, coming home to an empty house is just hard,” Hook said. “Having a dog there to greet you can make a difference.”

Or a dog can bring a little distraction with a bid for a game of fetch or a walk outside.

“Getting up and going on a walk when you are grieving is incredibly difficult,” Dell said. “They are really good at living in the moment. That takes us away from thinking in the past or even too much in the future.

“They want to go on a walk now; they want to play now.”

When grieving and considering a dog, it’s important to think about how the animal would fit into your life and vice versa, Dell said.

“The relationship we have with an animal is different than that which we have with a human,” Dell said. There are more benefits in some ways but also more drawbacks, she added.

It’s a win-win situation when a dog can provide support and the owner can give the proper amount of care and attention, Dell said. But it helps to do your homework to find the right match and be prepared to make a long-term commitment.

Having a dog can sometimes cause extra stress if it is going to be an added strain on time or financial resources to get veterinary care, a sitter for when you are away and training, Dell said.

Dedicating time to learn how to train your dog can help it get the attention it wants and help you get more insight into building a solid bond that benefits you both, she added.

If you are looking for a dog to keep you outside and active, look for a breed with a lot of energy. If you are busy but want a companion, maybe find a canine more inclined toward naps. If you travel, a carry-on size pooch is the way to go, Dell said.

Often people grieving may find their patience lower — in which case consider a dog two years or older to avoid puppy antics, she added.

Often dogs become available through foster care after the death of an owner, Dell said. “What a beautiful thing that would be,” she said about fostering an animal. “You’d really be helping each other.”

But there are still ways to get the benefits from a furry friend without taking on any responsibility, Dell said.

A pet belonging to a neighbor or family member can offer cuddles and play, she added. Or you can spend time in parks where dogs play or venues where therapy dogs might visit.

“(Grieving people) need to feel loved,” Dell said. “These dogs (are) able to provide that in ways that have no strings attached.”

Volunteering with a shelter or rescue group can also bring joy, she said. Just spending time caring for dogs or taking them on a walk can make a huge difference, Dell added.

“You’re doing those things that are normal, that you never, ever think will feel normal again,” she said. “But they do.”

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November 11, 2022
Father of teen killed in school shooting says he has to plan a funeral instead of the girl’s sweet 16 | CNN

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CNN
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Alexandria Bell was just a month away from her 16th birthday – a milestone she was supposed to celebrate with her father, who lives out of state.

“My daughter was planning on coming out here to California and celebrate her birthday with me on November 18,” Andre Bell told CNN affiliate KSDK.

“But now we have to plan her funeral.”

Alexandria was one of two people killed Monday at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis.

Teacher Jean Kuczka, 61, also was killed when a gunman armed with almost a dozen high-capacity magazines opened fire in the school.

“I really want to know: How did that man get inside the school?” Bell told KSDK.

“It’s a nightmare,” he said. “I am so upset. I need somebody – police, community folks, somebody – to make this make sense.”

As the shooting unfolded in St. Louis, a Michigan prosecutor who just heard the guilty plea of a teen who killed four students last fall said she was no longer shocked to hear of another school shooting. “The fact that there is another school shooting does not surprise me – which is horrific,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said.

“We need to keep the public and inform the public … on how we can prevent gun violence. It is preventable, and we should never ever allow that to be something we just should have to live with.”

Alexandria was a member the Saint Louis Dazzling Diamonds dance group. Her fellow dancers created a poster with Alexandria’s image that is now part of a growing memorial in front of the school.

Her friend Dejah Robinson said the two were planning to celebrate Halloween together this weekend.

“She was always funny and always kept the smile on her face and kept everybody laughing,” Robinson said, fighting back tears.

The slain teen’s father said his daughter could make every day better.

“Alexandria was my everything. She was joyful, wonderful and just a great person,” Bell told KSDK.

“She was the girl I loved to see and loved to hear from. No matter how I felt, I could always talk to her, and it was alright. That was my baby.”

Robinson, who attends another school, said she wants lawmakers to act on gun control.

“They been knowing what’s happening, and they could have been did something,” she said. “But clearly they ain’t doing nothing and they won’t.”

Kuczka, a health and physical education teacher, was looking forward to retiring in the next few years, her daughter Abigail Kuczka said.

“Jean was passionate for making a difference and enjoyed spending time with her family,” her daughter said in a statement sent to CNN.

Alexis Allen-Brown was among the alumni who fondly remembered Kuczka’s impact on her students. “She was kindhearted. She was sweet. She always made you laugh even when you wasn’t trying to laugh,” Allen-Brown said.

“She made you feel real, inside the class and out. She made you feel human. And she was just so sweet.”

In her biography on the school’s website, Kuzcka said she had worked at Central VPA High School since 2008. “I believe that every child is a unique human being and deserves a chance to learn,” she wrote in her bio.

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October 25, 2022
Californians will soon be able to turn their remains into soil with human composting | CNN

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California has become the latest state to provide its residents with an eco-friendly, if unorthodox, option for their remains after death: composting.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law last Sunday, according to a news release from the bill’s author, state Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia.

The process is officially called “natural organic reduction,” and involves “fostering gentle transformation into a nutrient-dense soil, which can then be returned to families or donated to conservation land,” the release explained.

Natural organic reduction is less harmful to the environment than the other two legal options (cremation and burial), according to the release. Burial can allow chemicals to leek into the soil, and cremation requires the burning of fossil fuels and releases carbon dioxide.

The law will not go into effect until January 2027, according to the text of the bill. The law stipulates the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, a subdivision of the Department of Consumer Affairs, will develop regulations for facilities performing the process.

In the release, Garcia called natural organic reduction “an alternative method of final disposition that won’t contribute emissions into our atmosphere and will actually capture CO2 in our soil and trees.”

“If more people participate in organic reduction and tree-planting, we can help with California’s carbon footprint,” she said. “This bill has been in the works for the last three years, and I am very happy that it was signed into law. I look forward to continuing my legacy to fight for clean air by using my reduced remains to plant a tree.”

Recompose, a company which has been offering natural organic reduction services since 2020, also lauded the law in the release.

“Recompose is thrilled that the options for nature-based death care in California have expanded,” said the company’s CEO and founder Katrina Spade in the release. “Natural organic reduction is safe and sustainable, allowing our bodies to return to the land after we die.”

According to Recompose’s website, natural organic reduction works much like composting your vegetable scraps does. The body is placed in a vessel along with wood chips, alfalfa, and straw. Over a month, microbes work to break the body down into a cubic yard of soil, which can then be used in a loved one’s garden, or anywhere else.

Washington became the first state to legalize so-called “human composting” in 2019. Lawmakers similarly cited the ecological benefits of reduction over burial and cremation.

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October 1, 2022