Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
The White House on Wednesday announced the 20 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the prestigious prize given to civilians who’ve made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” On this year’s list are: basketball legends Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; television host and actress Ellen DeGeneres; actors Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, and Tom Hanks; musicians Bruce Springsteen and Diana Ross; Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels; famed architect Frank Gehry; sportscaster Vin Scully; businesspeople and philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates; actress Cicely Tyson; the late Native-American activist Elouise Cobell; Miami Dade College president Eduardo Padrón; former FCC chairman Newt Minow; computer scientist Margaret H. Hamilton; the late Naval leader and computer scientist Grace Hopper; physicist Richard Garwin; and designer/artist Maya Lin.