Hawking awarded US medal of freedom

World-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking was presented with the US medal of freedom by President Barack Obama on August 12th.
The award is the highest US civilian honor. In a speech at the presentation, Obama said of Hawking, “From his wheelchair, he has led us on a journey to the farthest and strangest reaches of the cosmos. In doing so, he has stirred our imagination and shown us the power of the human spirit here on Earth.”