Biden awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 politicians, activists, athletes and others

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a diverse group of 19 people. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Vice President Al Gore are among those who received the nation’s highest civilian honor from the Democratic president at the White House. Other recipients are slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers; actor Michelle Yeoh, the first Asian woman to win an Academy Award for best actress; and the late Jim Thorpe, the first Native American to win Olympic gold for the United States. Biden says his year’s recipients are “incredible people whose relentless curiosity, inventiveness, ingenuity and hope have kept faith in a better tomorrow.”