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Obama’s final round of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients reads like a fun celebrity dinner party

Politics Nov 16, 2016 3:10 PM EST

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is honoring actors Robert DeNiro, Cicely Tyson, Tom Hanks and Robert Redford with the nation’s highest civilian honor.

They are among 21 people Obama plans to recognize with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House on Tuesday.

Honorees from the sports world include basketball players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan, along with veteran sports broadcaster Vin Scully.

Entertainers include Ellen DeGeneres, Diana Ross and Bruce Springsteen.

JUST IN: Pres. Obama names 21 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, including Robert De Niro, Michael Jordan and Tom Hanks. pic.twitter.com/rScD061Ihh

— ABC News (@ABC) November 16, 2016

Other honorees are philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, polymath physicist Richard Garwin, architect Frank Gehry, designer Maya Lin, “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels, attorney Newt Minow, mathematician and computer scientist Margaret H. Hamilton, and Eduardo Padrón, president of Miami Dade College in Florida.

Posthumous honors will go to Native American advocate Elouise Cobell and Rear Adm. Grace Hopper.

Left: President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former professional baseball player Willie Mays in 2015. Photo by Carlos Barri/Reuters

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