could this tragedy have been avoided? and george zimmerman facing new charges. what his girlfriend says about zimmerman and guns. gun was the shotgun. proesident obama is about t speak live. it is the presidential medal of honor dinner. we ll bring that to you live as soon as it begins. it is a critical day and a moment for this president. so far today there has been mental of pomp and circumstance for the white house. this morning, president obama awarded the presidential medal of freedom, the nation s highest civilian honor to 16 people. those included former president bill clinton and oprah winfrey. the obamas and the clintons then together made their way to arlington national cemetery, along with some of the members of the kennedy family.
president obama today getting some laughs as he presented oprah winfrey and others with the medal of freedom, the nation s highest civilian honor. he soluted her as someone whose greatest strength has been her ability to help us discover the best in ourself. for man owe americans, that s exactly what oprah represents. but to the right, that s just not the case. as we speak, they re in a fury over these comments she made about racism. as long as people can be judged by the color of their skin, the problem s not solved. there are still generations of people, older people who were born and bred and marinated in it in that prejudice and racism. and they just have to die. oprah s making the point that racism still exists, but it s getting smaller and smaller with
they say come on, like the jig is up here. irin carmon, msnbc.com. it s great to see you. thanks for being here. i appreciate it. we continue to wait on the start of the ceremony at the white house. we ll take you back and show you live pictures as everyone is starting to get settled there. president obama will be awarding 16 presidential medals of freedom, the nation s highest civilian honor. this year s recipients including former president bill clinton, civil rights leader bayard rustin and country music legend loretta lynn. joining me live from the white house is nbc news correspondent luke russert. i understand the president will pay special tribute to president john f. kennedy during this morning s ceremony? reporter: that s right, thomas. president kennedy was in fact the first president to sign into law the modern day presidential medal of freedom. sadly they were not live long enough to get to a war that the inaugural class was given that honor. but president obama two d
jen, busy day at the state department. thank you very much. good to see you. great to be here. president obama has announced this year s recipients of the medal of freedom, the nation s highest civilian honor. the president says this honor goes to men and women dedicating their own lives to enriching ours. among 16 recipients, former president bill clinton and oprah winfrey and ben bradley. and baseball player ernie banks, known as mr. cub. this is the 50th anniversary of the medal of freedom being awarded first established by president john f. kennedy. [ man ] look how beautiful it is. honey, we need to talk.
charged in her child s death. police say 34-year-old shannon johnson was on facebook and left her son unattended in a bathtub. the 13-month-old infant drown. and sargent shriver died yesterday. he married into the kennedy clan but made quite a name for himself. shriver ran the peace corps and later coordinate johnson s war. and also won the medal of freedom, the nation s highest civilian honor. shriver s daughter maria remembers him as a gentle man as he struggled through alzheimer s. sometimes, she didn t say anything, sometimes, he ll say you re beautiful. i ll say, i m your daughter maria. he goes, you are? i go, i am. you re my dad. he goes wow. sargent shriver was surrounded by their five children and their families when he died.