Biles, Denzel Washington, Rapinoe among Winners of Top US Honor

File: Actor Denzel Washington. AFP/Kevin Winter
File: Actor Denzel Washington. AFP/Kevin Winter
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Biles, Denzel Washington, Rapinoe among Winners of Top US Honor

File: Actor Denzel Washington. AFP/Kevin Winter
File: Actor Denzel Washington. AFP/Kevin Winter

Gymnastics star Simone Biles, actor Denzel Washington and the late tech visionary Steve Jobs have been named as recipients of America's highest civilian honor, the White House said Friday.

President Joe Biden designated 17 Americans to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, three of them posthumous, The Associated Press said.

The White House said the medal recognizes "exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors."

Among the recipients is Megan Rapinoe, the Olympic gold medalist soccer star, two-time Women's World Cup champion.

Ahead of a ceremony on July 7, the White House said those honored had "overcome significant obstacles... and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities -- and across the world -- while blazing trails for generations to come."

One posthumous recipient this year is John McCain, a one-time Republican presidential nominee, long-time senator from Arizona, and Vietnam War veteran who won a Purple Heart.

Previous winners of the presidential medal include the basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Motown singer Diana Ross and the actor Robert De Niro.



Robert De Niro Will Receive an Honorary Palme D'or in Cannes. Here's His History With the Festival

US actor Robert De Niro poses during a photocall for the film "Killers of the Flower Moon" at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 21, 2023. (AFP)
US actor Robert De Niro poses during a photocall for the film "Killers of the Flower Moon" at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 21, 2023. (AFP)
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Robert De Niro Will Receive an Honorary Palme D'or in Cannes. Here's His History With the Festival

US actor Robert De Niro poses during a photocall for the film "Killers of the Flower Moon" at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 21, 2023. (AFP)
US actor Robert De Niro poses during a photocall for the film "Killers of the Flower Moon" at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 21, 2023. (AFP)

Robert De Niro will receive an honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, a culmination for the 81-year-old actor whose history with the French film festival stretches back half a century.
In 1976, De Niro starred in two films — Martin Scorsese's “Taxi Driver” and Bernardo Bertolucci's “1900" — that premiered in competition at Cannes. “Taxi Driver" was an immediate sensation, and went home with the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or.
Since then, De Niro has been a regular on the Croisette, returning with “The King of Comedy” in 1983, Sergio Leone's “Once Upon a Time in America” in 1984 and Roland Joffé's “The Mission” in 1986. Joffé's film also won the Palme, making De Niro the rare actor to star in two Palme d'Or winners, The Associated Press said.
Though De Niro helps run his own film festival back in New York, the Tribeca Festival, he has remained a mainstay in Cannes. He presided over the jury in 2011 that selected Terrence Malick's “The Tree of Life” for the Palme. Most recently, he and Scorsese returned to premiere “Killers of the Flower Moon” in 2023.
“I have such close feelings for Festival de Cannes," De Niro said when his honorary Palme d'Or was announced last month. “Especially now when there’s so much in the world pulling us apart, Cannes brings us together — storytellers, filmmakers, fans, and friends. It’s like coming home.”
De Niro is to receive the award in the festival's opening ceremony on May 13.