New York City woman celebrating 114th birthday may be oldest living person in America

HARLEM, Manhattan -- A New York City woman is celebrating a very special birthday this year, as she may now be the oldest living person in the United States.

Alelia Murphy turns 114 on Saturday, and family, friends and state officials will honor her Friday at the Harlem State Office Building.

She was born in 1905 and raised two children by herself, as her husband passed away at an early age. Her daughter, Rose Green, said her supercentenarian mother is a "gift from God."

Murphy now lives in Harlem.

Kane Tanaka, from Japan, is recognized as the world's oldest living person at 116.

Tanaka is six years shy of the all-time record for oldest person. Jeanne Louis Calmet of France lived to 122 years 164 days. She died in August 1997.