May 20th, 2008 · Joseph Epstein, contributing editor to The Weekly Standard, talks about an awkward honorary degree situation at Northwestern University; the university offered and then rescinded a degree to Jeremiah Wright, Obama's former pastor, who made headlines with inflammatory remarks.
May 16th, 2008 · Along with more than 400 other Japanese-American students, Ruby Inouye never finished her degree at the University of Washington in Seattle because she was sent to an internment camp in Idaho during World War II. The university is awarding honorary degrees 66 years later.
Mar 27th, 2008 · For nearly three decades, the late Johnny Grant posed and schmoozed on the Walk of Fame as Hollywood's honorary mayor. Now, a handful of senior celebrities and an aging billboard queen are pushing to become his replacement.
Mar 15th, 2008 · Barack Obama's minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, was removed from his honorary post on the senator's Spiritual Advisor Committee. The move comes after broadcast and publication of some of the pastor's more controversial speeches and sermons. Obama refused to repudiate Rev. Wright but strongly condemned the minister's controversial remarks.
Jan 10th, 2008 · Tinsel Town is mourning an elder statesman. Johnny Grant, who died Wednesday at the age of 84, never became a star himself. But the honorary mayor of Hollywood did become a familiar -- and beloved -- face along one of the world's most famous boulevards.
Jan 10th, 2008 · Hollywood is mourning its honorary mayor. For 50 years, Johnny Grant was Tinseltown's biggest booster, guiding hundreds of stars to the Walk of Fame. He also took the stars to soldiers at war, leading dozens of USO tours. Grant was 84. "I tell people I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have the name Hollywood attached to mine," he once said. "I mean, that is the key to the world."
Dec 8th, 2007 · NPR's Scott Simon talks with Culver City, Calif., honorary historian Julie Lugo Cerra in the Culver Hotel. It was there that the Munchkins stayed during the filming of The Wizard of Oz, just down the street at the MGM Studios. When that many little people got together, a wild time ensued.
Sep 6th, 2007 · California Attorney General Jerry Brown is recalling honorary badges, those shields and stars that resemble official law enforcement badges. Brown's office has declared the practice of distributing honorary badges illegal.