Ellis Island medals go to Buzz Aldrin, Malala Yousafzai

NEW YORK (AP) - This year's Ellis Island Medals of Honor go to 90 Americans, from a former astronaut and a yogurt company founder to a television journalist.

An Ellis Island International Medal of Honor is also going to Malala Yousafzai (YOO'-sahf-zigh), the teenager who won the Nobel Peace Prize after being shot in her native Pakistan while fighting for a girl's right to an education.

National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations bestows the medals on Americans "who have distinguished themselves within their own ethnic groups." A ceremony is being held Saturday on the New York harbor island.

Recipients in 2017 include Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya, PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi, journalist Fareed Zakaria, and former astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

 

Copyright 2017. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.