A major Nor’easter is starting to slam the East Coast with heavy rain, intermittent snow and strong winds. A major Nor’easter is starting…
A major Nor’easter is starting to slam the East Coast with heavy rain, intermittent snow and strong winds.
(Greg Derr/The Quincy Patriot Ledger via AP). Robin King grabs sandbags to use at his restaurant, Thursday, March 1,2018, in Scituate, Mass., ahead of Friday’s expected storm, predicted to bring high winds and the potential for coastal flooding.
Records obtained by The Associated Press show Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens used an email address for a veterans charity he founded to arrange political meetings as he prepared to launch his first bid for public office.
(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File). FILE – In this Jan. 29,2018 file photo, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens speaks in Palmyra, Mo. Missouri lawmakers are returning to the Statehouse for the first time Monday, Feb. 26,2018 since Greitens was indicted, with pl…
Novel proposals to ramp up school security are flying fast as districts respond to heightened safety fears in the aftermath of the shooting in Parkland, Florida.
(Claire Crouch/Lex18News via AP). This Feb. 21,2018 photo made available by Lex18 News, shows a group protesting school safety in Laurel County, KY. In the wake of a mass shooting at a Florida high school, parents and educators are mobilizing to deman…
The 46th running of Alaska’s famed Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race kicks off Saturday amid the most turbulent year ever for organizers.
(Bob Hallinen/Anchorage Daily News via AP, File). FILE – In this March 2,2014, file photo, musher Nathan Schroeder drives his dog team down the trail just after the start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race near Willow, Alaska. The 46th running of Ala…
When a gunshot was fired from a classroom in the north Georgia mountains and police identified the gunman as a teacher, it immediately pierced the national debate over whether educators should be armed.
(Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office via AP). This undated photo provided by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office shows Jesse Randal Davidson. Social studies teacher Davidson barricaded himself inside a classroom at Dalton High School in Dalton, Ga., We…
The rift between corporate American and the gun lobby is growing.
(Photo by Scott Dalton/Invision for DICK’S Sporting Goods/AP Images). In this Oct. 18,2016, photo, Chairman and CEO of DICK’S Sporting Goods Edward W. Stack poses for a photo as he visits a new store at the Baybrook Mall in the Houston. Stack is issui…
Delta gets swift retribution from pro-gun lawmakers in its home state for crossing NRA.
(Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP). Senator Steve Henson, D – Stone Mountain, speaks Thursday, March 1,2018, in Atlanta, in opposition to HB 918. He said that while he supported portions of the bill, he thought the state should look to…
West Virginia public school students are in limbo, with their classrooms closed for a seventh straight class day as teachers fight for pay raises.
(AP Photo/John Raby). Teachers rally outside the state Senate chambers at the Capitol in Charleston, W. Va., on Thursday, March 1,2018. Teachers were awaiting a Senate vote on a proposed 5 percent pay increase for them.
Mourners are gathering to pay their respects to the Rev. Billy Graham at a funeral that marks the culmination of more than a week of tributes to “America’s Pastor.”.
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton). Pallbearers carry the casket of the Rev. Billy Graham past family members as it returns to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N. C., Thursday, March 1,2018. His funeral will be Friday.
Residents of coastal Southern California neighborhoods are under evacuation orders ahead of a powerful winter storm sweeping in after bringing whiteout conditions to northern mountains.
(Randy Pench/The Sacramento Bee via AP). Heavy winds blow snow as Ryan Foster, 25, scrapes snow from his car in the parking lot where he lives at the Donner Summit Lodge in Norden on Thursday, March 1,2018, near Donner Summit, Calif. A major winter st…
(AP Photo/John Bazemore). An usher reads a program ahead of a funeral service at the Billy Graham Library for the Rev. Billy Graham, who died last week at age 99, Friday, March 2,2018, in Charlotte, N. C.
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton). Family members look on as the hearse carrying the body of the Rev. Billy Graham returns to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N. C., Thursday, March 1,2018. His funeral will be Friday.
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton). Pallbearers carry the casket of Rev. Billy Graham past family members as it returns to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N. C., Thursday, March 1,2018.
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton). Pallbearers carry the casket of the Rev. Billy Graham past family members as it returns to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N. C., Thursday, March 1,2018. His funeral will be Friday.
CHARLOTTE, N. C. (AP) – The Rev. Billy Graham’s five adult children and some of his favorite singers were preparing to offer memories, hymns and prayers at a funeral Friday that marks the culmination of more than a week of tributes to “America’s Pastor.”
Mourners were already taking their seats hours before the scheduled noon start time of the service in a tent on the grounds of Graham’s library in Charlotte. The invitation-only crowd of about 2,000 is expected to include President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. The service will also be streamed live online.
Neither Pence nor Trump are scheduled to speak during the service, but they are meeting privately with the family beforehand.
The Rev. Franklin Graham will deliver the main funeral address for his father after shorter messages from Billy Graham’s three daughters and younger son.
The funeral planning began a decade ago with Billy Graham himself, and it also reflects his family’s desire to capture the feeling of the crusades that made the world’s best-known Protestant preacher of his era.
“His fingerprints are on this service for sure,” family spokesman Mark DeMoss said in a phone interview. “The Graham family has long considered that his funeral eventually would really be his last crusade.”
Graham, who died last week at age 99, brought a message of salvation to millions during visits and live broadcasts to scores of countries.
The service features songs from gospel musicians who performed at Graham’s events: Linda McCrary-Fisher, Michael W. Smith and the Gaither Vocal Band. They are all friends who sang for Graham at his home in recent years, DeMoss said.
