WASHINGTON (AP)—Civil rights icon John Lewis, poet Maya Angelou and Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell are among the 2010 winners of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

President Barack Obama will present the awards to the 15 honorees early next year, the White House announced Nov. 17.

JOHN LEWIS, MAYA ANGELOU and BILL RUSSELL

winners include former President George H.W. Bush, investor Warren Buffett, St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan “The Man” Musial, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

“These outstanding honorees come from a broad range of backgrounds and they’ve excelled in a broad range of fields, but all of them have lived extraordinary lives that have inspired us, enriched our culture, and made our country and our world a better place,” Obama said. “I look forward to awarding them this honor.”

RICHMOND, Va. (NNPA)—Christine Richardson was a basketball standout at Virginia State University. Tina Watkins was a track and field star at Huguenot High School in Richmond, Va. Now as adults, they’ve used that competitive spirit to knock down barriers and climb to the top in a male dominated profession.

Richardson and Watkins recently became the first women to rise through the ranks and become battalion chiefs with the Richmond Department of Fire and Emergency Services. Both Watkins and Richardson ran the full gauntlet; recruit, firefighter, lieutenant, captain, to battalion chief.

HISTORIC PROMOTION—New city Fire Department Battalion Chiefs Tina Watkins, left, and Christine Richardson chat at their historic promotion. (Photo by Jerome Reid/Richmond Free Press)

NEPTUNE, N.J. (AP)—Thou shalt not commit adultery. And thou also shalt not use Facebook.

That's the edict from a New Jersey pastor who feels the two often go together.

The Rev. Cedric Miller said 20 couples among the 1,100 members of his Living Word Christian Fellowship Church have run into marital trouble over the last six months after a spouse connected with an ex-flame over Facebook.

ISSUES EDICT—Pastor Cedric Miller delivers the sermon during a service at Living Word Christian Fellowship in Neptune, N.J. (AP Photo/Asbury Park Press, Mary Frank)

In an interview with CNN's Larry King scheduled for airing Monday, Bush says she sat next to Palin once and "thought she was beautiful."

PALIN'S ALASKA—Sarah Palin waits by her husband Todd's boat before heading up river to see fish being counted in Dillingham, Alaska as part of a documentary for the TLC channel. (AP Photo/Discovery Communications, Gilles Mingasson)