The Latest: Funeral begins for opera star Jessye Norman

The Latest on the public funeral for international opera star Jessye Norman (all times local):

1:10 p.m.

The funeral for international opera icon Jessye Norman has begun in Augusta, Georgia, where the star grew up.

Deanna Brown Thomas, daughter of singer James Brown, greets Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority members outside Mt. Calvary Baptist Church before going in for the viewing of opera star Jessye Norman in Augusta, Ga., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. (Michael HolahanThe Augusta Chronicle via AP)

A musical prelude began the ceremony Saturday in the William B. Bell Auditorium. Norman's family proceeded into the auditorium following the performance. The funeral is being livestreamed from Augusta.

Actor Laurence Fishburne, who is also from Augusta, will speak during the public service. Performers will include Wycliffe Gordon, J'Nai Bridges and students of Jessye Norman School of the Arts.

Norman died Sept. 30 at age 74. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honor and four Grammy Awards.

This 1983 photo released by the Metropolitan Opera shows soprano Jessye Norman as Cassandre in Berlioz' "Les Troyens," the role of her Metropolitan Opera debut in New York. Norman died, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital in New York. She was 74. (Metropolitan Opera via AP)

1:10 a.m.

World-famous performers, civil rights leaders and people who know her good works are gathering in international opera star Jessye Norman's Georgia hometown for her funeral.

Norman will be laid to rest Saturday afternoon at the William B. Bell Auditorium in Augusta, Georgia, with a private burial to follow.

This 1995-1996 image released by the Metropolitan Opera shows soprano Jessye Norman as Emilia Marty in Janáček's "The Makropulos Case," in New York. Norman died, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital in New York. She was 74. (Erika DavidsonMetropolitan Opera via AP)

Actor Laurence Fishburne is expected to speak and musicians Wycliffe Gordon and J'Nai Bridges from the Metropolitan Opera will perform.

Norman's longtime friend and civil rights activist Vernon Jordan will talk about the singer's life at her family's church in Augusta, along with elders.

Norman died Sept. 30 at age 74. A trailblazing performer, she was one of the rare black singers to attain worldwide stardom in the opera world.

FILE - This Dec. 8, 2013 file photo shows Jessye Norman at the 2013 Kennedy Center Honors at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. Norman died, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital in New York. She was 74. (Photo by Greg AllenInvisionAP, File)

FILE - This Dec. 5, 2010 file photo shows opera singer Jessye Norman at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington. Norman died, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital in New York. She was 74. (AP PhotoJacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - This Sept. 18, 2007 file photo shows soprano Jessye Norman performing during The Dream Concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Norman died, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital in New York. She was 74. (AP PhotoJason DeCrow, File)

Mourners walk into the visitation for international opera star Jessye Norman at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Augusta, Ga., on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Norman died on Sept. 30 at age 74. Norman’s passionate soprano voice won her four Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honor. (AP PhotoJeffrey Collins)

Ladies from Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority line up outside Mt. Calvary Baptist Church for the viewing of opera star Jessye Norman in Augusta, Ga., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. (Michael HolahanThe Augusta Chronicle via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States will pull the majority of its troops from Chad and Niger as it works to restore key agreements governing what role there might be there for the American military and its counterterrorism operations, the Pentagon said Thursday.

Both African countries have been integral to the U.S. military’s efforts to counter violent extremist organizations across the Sahel region, but Niger’s ruling junta ended an agreement last month that allows U.S. troops to operate in the West African country. In recent days, neighboring Chad also has questioned whether an existing agreement covered the U.S. troops operating there.

The U.S. will relocate most of the approximately 100 forces it has deployed in Chad for now, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday at a press briefing.

“As talks continue with Chadian officials, U.S. AFRICOM is currently planning to reposition some U.S. military forces from Chad, some portions of which were already scheduled to depart. This is a temporary step as part of the ongoing review of our security cooperation, which will resume after Chad’s May 6th presidential election," Ryder said.

In Niger, the majority of the 1,000 U.S. personnel assigned there also are expected to depart, Ryder said.

U.S. and Nigerien officials were expected to meet Thursday in Niger's capital, Niamey, “to initiate discussions on an orderly and responsible withdrawal of U.S. forces," the State Department said in a statement late Wednesday. Follow-up meetings between senior Pentagon and Niger officials are expected next week “to coordinate the withdrawal process in a transparent manner and with mutual respect,” Ryder said.

Called status-of-forces agreements, these deals allow the U.S. to conduct critical counterterrorism operations within both countries' borders and have supported military partner training. The reversals have prompted concern that U.S. influence in Africa is losing ground to overtures from Russia and China.

Relations have frayed between Niger and Western countries since mutinous soldiers ousted the country’s democratically elected president in July. Niger’s junta has since told French forces to leave and turned instead to Russia for security.

Earlier this month, Russian military trainers arrived to reinforce the country’s air defenses and they brought Russian equipment, which they would train Nigeriens to use.

Niger plays a central role in the U.S. military’s operations in Africa’s Sahel region, a vast region south of the Sahara Desert. Washington is concerned about the spread of jihadi violence where local groups have pledged allegiance to al-Qaida and the Islamic State groups.

Niger is home to a major U.S. air base in the city of Agadez, about 920 kilometers (550 miles) from the capital, which is used for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations. The U.S. also has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in training Niger’s military since beginning operations there in 2013.

Officials from the State Department, U.S. Africa Command and the Pentagon will work with Chad’s government to make the case for U.S. forces to continue operations, Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Adm. Christopher Grady said Wednesday.

Grady told The Associated Press in an interview that if both countries ultimately decide the U.S. cannot remain, the military will have to look for alternatives to run counterterrorism missions across the Sahel.

“If we are asked to leave, and after negotiations that’s the way it plays out, then we are going to have to recalculate and figure out a new way to do it,” Grady said.

The news of the departure of U.S. forces in Chad was first reported by The New York Times.

FILE - Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Christopher Grady, right, arrives for a closed door briefing about the leaked highly classified military documents, on Capitol Hill, April 19, 2023, in Washington. Grady says there's been no final decision on whether or not all U.S. troops will leave Niger and Chad. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

US to pull troops from Chad and Niger as the African nations question its counterterrorism role

US to pull troops from Chad and Niger as the African nations question its counterterrorism role

FILE - A U.S. and Niger flag are raised side by side at the base camp for air forces and other personnel supporting the construction of Niger Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger, April 16, 2018. The United States is attempting to create a new military agreement with Niger that would allow it to remain in the country, weeks after the junta said its presence was no longer justified, two Western officials told The Associated Press Friday April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Carley Petesch, File)