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"Saturday Night Live" devoted its opening sketch to what was last week's most bizarre story: the scandal surrounding the sign language interpreter who said he has schizophrenia and was hallucinating while signing at Nelson Mandela's memorial service. Kenan Thompson portrayed Thamsanqa Jantjie, the interpreter, during a speech given by President Barack Obama, played by "SNL's" resident president, Jay Pharoah. Jantjie “clearly had no idea what he was doing,” Pharoah's Obama said, before Thompson's faux fake interpreter appeared from behind the podium.

'SNL' Open Mocks Obama Selfie And Mandela Sign Language Interpreter Aly Weisman Dec. 15, 2013, 12:12 AM 3,038 4 "Saturday Night Live" cast member Jay Pharoah opened this weekend's show with another spot-on Obama impression -- this time addressing multiple controversies that occurred at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela. Watch the funny segment below:

It's becoming increasingly clear that when President Obama arrived at the Nelson Mandela memorial service in Johannesburg, South Africa Tuesday, he stepped into an atmosphere so chaotic, disorganized, and unsafe that under any other circumstances the White House and Secret Service might well have insisted the president not appear. FNB Stadium, where the memorial was held, seats 95,000 people. Even with a steady rain and thousands of empty seats in uncovered areas, there were tens of thousands of people in the area with the president. It appears most of them got in without going through any security. "There were no...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)The man accused of faking sign interpretation while standing alongside world leaders like U.S. President Barack Obama at Nelson Mandela's memorial service said Thursday he hallucinated that angels were entering the stadium, has schizophrenia and has been violent in the past. Thamsanqa Jantjie said in a 45-minute interview with The Associated Press that his hallucinations began while he was interpreting and that he tried not to panic because there were "armed policemen around me." He added that he was once hospitalized in a mental health facility for more than one and a half years.....

Hiring a sign language interpreter who claims to have had a schizophrenic episode while translating at the Mandela memorial was a mistake, the government has said. Thamsanqa Jantjie, who was criticised for apparently making "meaningless gestures" while interpreting the speeches of world leaders on stage, said he takes medication for the condition. He said he did not know whether it was the scale of the event or the happiness he felt about being involved that triggered the episode. The 34-year-old, who was pictured signing next to the likes of US President Barack Obama, claimed he suddenly lost concentration and started...

Johannesburg (AFP) - The sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's memorial ceremony denied he was a fraud Thursday, claiming he gesticulated nonsense during the service because he was suffering a schizophrenic episode and hallucinating. Thamsanqa Jantjie has been branded a fraud by members of South Africa's deaf community, who said his signing for US President Barack Obama and other world leaders amounted to little more than "flapping his arms around." Jantjie on Thursday insisted he was a qualified signer, but said his behaviour was down to a sudden attack of schizophrenia, for which he takes medication.

<p>The man accused of faking sign interpretation while standing alongside world leaders like U.S. President Barack Obama at Nelson Mandela's memorial service said Thursday he saw "angels" at the event, has been violent in the past and suffers from schizophrenia.</p>

ou can't make things like this up, but this unnamed man apparently did. From AP via My Way News (12/11/2013): Mandela ceremony interpreter called a 'fake' JOHANNESBURG (AP) - A man who provided sign language interpretation on stage for Nelson Mandela's memorial service, attended by scores of heads of state, was a "fake," the national director of the Deaf Federation of South Africa said on Tuesday. Asked about the claim by The Associated Press, South Africa's government said it was preparing a statement. Three sign language experts said the man was not signing in South African or American sign languages....

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A man who appeared to provide sign language interpretation on stage for Nelson Mandela's memorial service, attended by scores of heads of state, was a "fake," the national director of the Deaf Federation of South Africa said on Wednesday. The unidentified man seen around the world on television next to leaders including United States President Barack Obama "was moving his hands around but there was no meaning in what he used his hands for," Bruno Druchen, the federation's national director, told The Associated Press. The allegation was yet another example of bad organization at the historic memorial...

The fake interpreter gestured during speeches by Mandela's grandchildren.The sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's memorial "made up his own signs," according to South Africa's deaf federation."He's a complete fraud," Cara Loening, director of Sign Language Education and Development in Cape Town, said according to ITV News. "He wasn't even doing anything, There was not one sign there. Nothing. He was literally flapping his arms around."Delphin Hlungwane, an official South African sign language interpreter at DeafSA, told Reuters: "Nobody knows who he is. Even at this hour we still don't have his name," Hlungwane said.People on Twitter were calling for him to be...

A man who provided sign language interpretation on stage for Nelson Mandela’s memorial service, attended by scores of heads of state, was a “fake,” the national director of the Deaf Federation of South Africa said on Tuesday. The unidentified man seen around the world on television next to leaders like U.S. President Barack Obama “was moving his hands around but there was no meaning in what he used his hands for,” Bruno Druchen, the federation’s national director, told The Associated Press.

The international deaf community is angry over what they say was a fake sign language interpreter used at Mandela's memorial. Watch: The sign interpreter signing at the Mandela memorial service https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJlttIL2PSs (Real SASL in the box to the left. My comment.) It was an event the whole world was watching, but some deaf people couldn't understand a word spoken at Mandela’s memorial and took to Twitter to vent their frustration. Allegations have been made that the sign language interpreter used at the memorial may have been unqualified. Braam Jordaan, a deaf South African citizen and board member of the World...

The sign language interpreter used at Nelson Mandela's football stadium memorial was a fake, it was claimed this morning. Braam Jordaan, a deaf South African and board member of the World Deaf Federation, said he believes the interpreter was making up signs as he went along. "The structure of his hand, facial expressions and the body movements did not follow what the speaker was saying", Mr Jordaan said. Mr Jordaan claimed the man, who signed for a portion of the ceremony including Barack Obama's speech, was simply making up his own signs.

Parents of a deaf child named Hunter were told by his Nebraska public preschool that they must change his name because he was in violation of the school district’s weapons policy. To sign his name, the three-year-old crosses his index and middle fingers then wags his hands. This sign apparently appeared to school officials to represent a gun. Grand Island Public Schools’ policy section 8470 — Weapons in Schools states: “Students are forbidden to knowingly and voluntarily possess, handle, transmit or use any instrument in school, on school grounds or at school functions that is a firearm, weapon, or looks...

A deaf three-year-old has been asked not to sign his name at school because it resembles a deadly weapon, according to 1011Now.com. “”It’s his name. It’s not like he’s going to bring a gun to school when he’s three years old,” Dana Schwieger told 1011Now.com. “Meantime, Hunter’s parents say that by Monday, lawyers from the National Association of the Deaf are likely to weigh in for Hunter’s right to sign his own name.” See the broadcast here: http://www.1011now.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7652612.

Created for OMG! for America. Original photo is from the White House blog. They really need to do a better job with their selecting.

TUSCON, Ariz ( KTLA) -- Jared Lee Loughner, the alleged Tucson gunman, was described Saturday as a politically radical loner. Now an internet trail emerged in which he apparently railed against the US government and told friends: "Please don't be mad at me". There are unconfirmed reports that 22 year old Jared Lee Loughner once met with Rep. Giffords in 2007. A former high school friend said that he had often talked about meeting and talking with the congresswoman. Arizona court records show Loughner has twice been charged with previous offenses. The first, in October 2007, related to the possession...

Roseville police arrested a man and two women early today who were reportedly stealing "Yes on Proposition 8" signs from residents' yards. Officers recovered 53 signs from the suspects' vehicle - all in support of Proposition 8, said Dee Dee Gunther, police department spokeswoman. The arrests occurred about 12:32 a.m. after a resident in the 200 block of Sierra Boulevard spotted someone taking a sign out of a neighbor's yard. A few minutes later an officer spotted a green sedan, matching the description of the suspect vehicle in the 700 block of Shasta Street. All four doors and the...

New York Times VideoIn Sadr City, Hashem Hadi Obaid translates sermons by preachers loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric, into sign language.Iraq's most anti-western demagogue is determined to bring the message to those who can't hear it. In Sadr City, Hashem Hadi Obaid translates sermons by preachers loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric, into sign language.

CHATTANOOGA — A Democratic retiree's yard sign that criticizes President Bush with messages such as "Bush Lied, Soldiers Died" has prompted a lawsuit, but Paul Gearinger said he has free speech rights even if his "Bush world" neighbors don't like it. The Hamilton Mill Homeowner's Association lawsuit filed against Gearinger and his wife, Linda, contends they violated a neighborhood covenant that forbids such signs. The suit says the sign created a "private nuisance" that is discouraging prospective home buyers. The professionally made sign, nearly the size of a door, states, "Bush Lied; Soldiers Died" and "If The War Is So...