Biden, in election year, gives top U.S. honor to leading Democrats

President Joe Biden will award the top US civilian honor Friday to a host of Democratic allies some six months before elections, including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, secretary of state John Kerry and vice president Al Gore.

The 19 winners of the Presidential Medal of Freedom also include Oscar-winning Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, Olympic swimming champion Katie Ledecky and, posthumously, a Black civil rights leader who was murdered in 1963.

The 81-year-old Biden, who...