Obama Gives 14 Medals of Freedom

President Obama is doling out 14 Medals of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Among the laureates are former President George H.W. Bush, German chancellor Angela Merkel, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, painter Jasper Johns, and poet Maya Angelou. Joe Lewis, a prominent Democrat and civil rights-activist, is also getting a medal, as is investor Warren Buffet. One medal will be awarded posthumously, to Tom Little, a New York eye doctor who was killed in Afghanistan when his group of aid workers was stopped by gunmen. "All of them have lived extraordinary lives that have inspired us, enriched our culture and made our country and our world a better place," Obama said in a statement. In other award news, the ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize may be cancelled this year because no one from Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo’s family will attend to collect the prize for him.