Biden to recognize Hillary Clinton, Bono and more with Presidential Medal of Freedom
CNN
President Joe Biden will award the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to 19 people Saturday, recognizing a broad swathe of luminaries across politics, culture and the arts, including former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, designer Ralph Lauren, soccer superstar Lionel Messi, U2 frontman Bono and philanthropist and megadonor George Soros.
President Joe Biden will award the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to 19 people Saturday, recognizing a broad swathe of luminaries across politics, culture and the arts, including former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, designer Ralph Lauren, soccer superstar Lionel Messi, U2 frontman Bono and philanthropist and megadonor George Soros. The medal is presented to people “who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors,” according to a White House statement. Biden himself is a recipient, having been presented with the medal by then-President Barack Obama in the closing days of his administration. “President Biden believes great leaders keep the faith, give everyone a fair shot, and put decency above all else,” the White House said in the statement. “These nineteen individuals are great leaders who have made America a better place. They are great leaders because they are good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world.” Two prominent American political figures will be posthumously honored: former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and former Michigan Republican Gov. George Romney, the father of former Sen. Mitt Romney. In remarks eulogizing Kennedy’s wife Ethel last year, Biden said he had “only two political heroes in my life: Dr. [Martin Luther King Jr.] and Bobby Kennedy,” while noting he’d decorated his Oval Office with a bust of Kennedy. The storied political family had made national headlines in recent months with the Kennedys’ second-eldest son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., controversially chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to be the next Department of Health and Human Services secretary. Biden has previously recognized a number of political allies with the award, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn last year.
The newly constituted board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has elected President Donald Trump as its chairman.
Health influencer Calley Means helped orchestrate the shotgun marriage of MAGA and MAHA supporters.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reemphasized Canada’s independence during a press conference in Brussels as he wrapped up his visit with world leaders in Europe.
Two transgender girls who attend high school in New Hampshire challenged the Trump administration’s recent executive order banning transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ sports, according to a court filing.
President Donald Trump said negotiations to end the Ukraine war will start immediately after holding a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday morning.
The Senate voted Wednesday, to confirm former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.
Elon Musk acknowledged Tuesday that there might not have been a federal plan to spend $50 million on condoms for Gaza – two weeks after the White House press secretary told the false story at an official briefing and more than a week after the president baselessly doubled the phony figure to $100 million.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the war between Ukraine and Russia “must end,” that Kyiv joining NATO is unrealistic, and that the US will no longer prioritize European and Ukrainian security as the Trump administration shifts its attention to securing the US’ own borders and deterring war with China.
The phrase “El que se enoja, pierde,” (“he who gets angry, loses”) is a popular refrain in Mexico.
Officials in Sangamon County, Illinois, have agreed to a $10 million settlement with the family of Sonya Massey –– a Black woman who was shot and killed by law enforcement in her home last year.
The inspector general of the US Agency for International Development was fired on Tuesday, a day after his office released a report critical of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the agency, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East is leaving Russia with Marc Fogel, an American teacher who was jailed in Russia and deemed “wrongfully detained” by the United States, according to a statement from National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.
The novelist Salman Rushdie showed a jury his blinded right eye on Tuesday as he testified against the man charged with trying to murder him at a talk at a rural New York venue in 2022.