Author and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison died Monday at age 88. The acclaimed writer, editor and professor helped transform American literature, bringing forth a black perspective that had rarely been heard. Jeffrey Brown reports and talks to Princeton University’s Tracy…

By Jeffrey Brown, Anne Azzi Davenport

The seven recipients include retiring Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, one of the longest-serving senators in U.S. history; Alan Page, who was elected to the Minnesota Supreme Court after an NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears;…

By Darlene Superville, Associated Press

At the White House, President Obama handed out the Medal of Freedom to twenty-one notable American figures, from Kareem Abdul Jabbar to Bill and Melinda Gates, Diana Ross, Michael Jordan, Vin Scully, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Redford, and many others.

By PBS NewsHour

NEW YORK -- At a time when interest in civil rights memorabilia is rekindled, a lifetime's worth of Rosa Parks' belongings - among them her Presidential Medal of Freedom - sits in a New York warehouse, unseen and unsold.

By Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press