JANIS JOPLIN - Summertime Recording Session (1968)

Nelson Mandela in critical condition days before Obama visit

Former South African President Nelson Mandela's family visited him Monday as he lay in a hospital bed in critical condition.

His ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and daughters Zindzi Mandela-Motlhajwa and Zenani Mandela-Dlamini spent time with him at the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria, the South African Press Association reported.

Government officials paid visits as well.

His wife, Graca Machel, spends every night at the hospital, where the former president has been since June 8 for a recurring lung infection. Previously, authorities had described his condition as serious but stable.

But over the weekend, his health took a turn for the worse, with the South African president's office saying he was in critical condition.

"The doctors are doing everything possible to ensure his well-being and comfort," President Jacob Zuma told the nation Monday.

The former president's health will not affect U.S. President Barack Obama's planned visit to the country this week, Zuma said, according to the press association.

Mandela, 94, has become increasingly frail over the years and has not appeared in public since South Africa hosted the World Cup in 2010.

Outside the hospital Monday, a security wall was awash with get-well cards, balloons, flowers, cards and paintings, the press association reported.

Ready for the spiritual realm

For Mandela's family, these are very personal times -- times to be cherished as the end nears.

"I believe he is at peace," said Makaziwe Mandela, who was born in 1953 to Mandela's first wife, Evelyn.

"All we do every day is take one day at a time and pray to the good Lord," Makaziwe told CNN's Robyn Curnow.

"All I pray for as a daughter is that the transition is smooth. ... He is at peace with himself. He has given so much to the world."

In and out of hospital

The anti-apartheid hero has been in and out of the hospital in recent years.

His history of lung problems dates to when he was a political prisoner on Robben Island during the apartheid era, and he has battled respiratory infections.

Considered the founding father of South Africa's democracy, Mandela became an international figure while enduring 27 years in prison for fighting against apartheid, the country's system of racial segregation.

South Africa's governing African National Congress noted "with concern" Sunday the change in Mandela's health.

"The African National Congress joins the presidency in calling upon all of us to keep President Mandela, his family and his medical team in our thoughts and prayers during this trying time," it said.

A Nobel laureate

In 1993, Mandela and then-South African President F.W. de Klerkjointly won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The iconic leader was elected the nation's first black president a year later, serving only one term, as he had promised.

Even as he has faded from the spotlight, he remains popular and is considered a hero of democracy in the nation. Last year, South Africa launched a new batch of banknotes with a picture of a smiling Mandela on the front.

His impact extends far beyond South Africa. After he left office, he mediated conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.

Word of his worsening health drew global expressions of concern.

"We have seen the latest reports from the South African government that former President Mandela is in critical condition," Caitlin Hayden, a U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman, said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and the people of South Africa."

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Heart attack killed 'Sopranos' star James Gandolfini

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Autopsy confirms heart attack as cause of Gandolfini's death, official tells CNN
• Doctors will provide a final report on his death later in the day
• Gandolfini was taken to a Rome hospital Wednesday after falling ill at his hotel
• The actor was scheduled to receive an award at an Italian film festival

Rome (CNN) -- An autopsy has confirmed that actor James Gandolfini died of a heart attack, an Italian official familiar with the autopsy results told CNN on Friday.

Gandolfini, 51, died Wednesday while vacationing in Italy. Hotel staff reportedly had to break down the door to his bathroom to get to him after his son, Michael, alerted them.

Doctors had not noted any suspicious factors, such as alcohol, on his medical report, emergency room physician Claudio Modini said.

A van ferrying relatives of the deceased "Sopranos" star arrived Friday at the hospital morgue in Rome where his body lies. They were expected to speak to reporters about Gandolfini's death later.

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Died at his hotel

Gandolfini's son Michael alerted hotel staff after his father did not answer his knocks, said Tiziana Rocca, the head of a film festival the actor was scheduled to attend.

Staff then broke down a bathroom door to get to him, said Rocca, who spoke with Gandolfini's son by telephone.

The hotel called an ambulance.

Reactions to his death

Death certificate

Before Italian authorities can release his remains for transport back to the United States, the U.S. Embassy in Rome must issue a death certificate.

'Sopranos' cast mourns Gandolfini

The U.S. Embassy said it was "deeply upset" by the news of the actor's death, but had not received any official confirmation from local authorities.

It said the family will get assistance from the embassy when it requests it.

Had he survived

Gandolfini was to arrive Friday in Taormina in Sicily, a quaint town packed with historical architecture and nestled between lush green hills and the azure waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

There, he would have received an award at the Taormina Film Festival, set in the ruins of an ancient Roman arena.

Festival organizers announced their deep sorrow over his passing and will replace the award ceremony with a tribute to Gandolfini's lifetime achievements.

They believe that no one has ever portrayed the Italian-American saga as brilliantly as he did.

Breath No More

I've been looking in the mirror for so long.
That I've come to believe my soul's on the other side.
All the little pieces falling, shatter.
Shards of me,
Too sharp to put back together.
Too small to matter,
But big enough to cut me into so many little pieces.
If I try to touch her,
And I bleed,
I bleed,
And I breathe,
I breathe no more. 

Take a breath and I try to draw from my spirits well.
Yet again you refuse to drink like a stubborn child.
Lie to me,
Convince me that I've been sick forever.
And all of this,
Will make sense when I get better.
But I know the difference,
Between myself and my reflection.
I just can't help but to wonder,
Which of us do you love.
So I bleed,
I bleed,
And I breathe,
I breathe no...
Bleed,
I bleed,
And I breathe,
I breathe,
I breathe-
I breathe no more.