Sally Field, 'Sesame Street' to receive Kennedy Center award

Actress Sally Field and the long-running children's TV show "Sesame Street" are in the latest class of Kennedy Center Honors recipients.

Others chosen to receive the award for lifetime achievement in the arts include singer Linda Ronstadt, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the musical group Earth, Wind and Fire.

The recipients announced Thursday will be honored during a gala ceremony in early December. For the third straight year, the attendance of President Donald Trump seems likely to be a subject of speculation in advance of the event. Trump has skipped the past two celebrations. The first time , multiple recipients threatened to boycott the event if he attended.

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2013 file photo, American musician Linda Ronstadt poses in New York. Iconic actress Sally Field and foundational children’s show Sesame Street top this year’s class of Kennedy Center Honors recipients. Other chosen to receive the award for lifetime achievement in the arts include singer Linda Ronstadt, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the R&B group Earth, Wind and Fire.(Photo by Amy SussmanInvisionAP, File)

The Kennedy Center's president, Deborah Rutter, said it was too early to tell whether Trump or first lady Melania Trump would attend.

"They are always invited," she said. "He is the president of the United States of America, and it would be good to have these extraordinary individuals acknowledged by the president."

Field was a television star at age 19 and went on to forge a distinguished career that included two Academy Awards and three Emmys. At 72, she remains active and starred last year in a Netflix miniseries called "Maniac."

FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2008 file photo, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas of the San Francisco Symphony is shown during an interview in New York. Iconic actress Sally Field and foundational children’s show Sesame Street top this year’s class of Kennedy Center Honors recipients. Other chosen to receive the award for lifetime achievement in the arts include singer Linda Ronstadt, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the R&B group Earth, Wind and Fire.(AP PhotoBebeto Matthews)

"Sesame Street" debuted in 1969 and remains a force in children's educational television. The show now airs new episodes on HBO, and they are rebroadcast months later on the show's original home, PBS. In recent years, the creators have worked to embrace more modern issues, introducing a puppet named Julia with autism. The co-founders of "Sesame Street," Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, will accept the award on behalf of the show.

Ronstadt was one of the faces of American music in the 1970s and 80s, landing on the cover of Time magazine in 1977. Her four-decade career moved smoothly between country, pop and rock with occasional deviations into Mexican folk songs. In 2011, she announced her retirement from singing, citing the advancing effects of Parkinson's disease.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Ronstadt professed to a fairly ambivalent relationship to the mountain of prices, awards and honors she has accrued. "I don't think a lot about prizes," she said. "You do the work for the work."

FILE - In this Aug. 9, 2017 file photo, Earth, Wind and Fire performs on stage at the Verizon Center on in Washington. Iconic actress Sally Field and foundational children’s show Sesame Street top this year’s class of Kennedy Center Honors recipients. Other chosen to receive the award for lifetime achievement in the arts include singer Linda Ronstadt, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the R&B group Earth, Wind and Fire.(Photo by Brent N. ClarkeInvisionAP)

Tilson Thomas, who has served as music director of the San Francisco Symphony for the past 14 years, has become particularly renowned for his interpretations of the entire works of Gustav Mahler. Asked why he felt he was chosen for the award, Tilson Thomas laughed and said, "I guess I've just been around a long time! I started out always being the youngest person on stage, and now I'm the oldest person on stage."

Earth, Wind and Fire was originally formed in Chicago by lead singer Maurice White. The group drew elements from rhythm and blues, funk, and disco in a flashy crowd-pleasing mix that spawned eight No. 1 hits. Songs such as "September" and "Shining Star" remain in heavy rotation for both radio station programmers and wedding DJs.

Maurice White died in 2016, but his brother Verdine, the group's longtime bassist, said he was proud of how their songs have become part of the soundtrack of American music.

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2010 file photo, characters from Sesame Street Live appear on the street by Madison Square Garden to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the live touring stage shows based on the PBS television series in New York. From left are Ernie, Bert, Elmo, Cookie Monster (foreground), Abby Cadabby, and Zoe. Iconic actress Sally Field and foundational children’s show Sesame Street top this year’s class of Kennedy Center Honors recipients. Other chosen to receive the award for lifetime achievement in the arts include singer Linda Ronstadt, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the R&B group Earth, Wind and Fire. (AP PhotoKathy Willens, File)

"We're part of the culture. We're part of people's lives," he said. "The music makes people happy. When you come to a show you leave happier than when you came."

The 42nd annual Kennedy Center Honors Gala will be held on Dec. 7. The presenters and performers are usually kept secret from the honorees until the show.

Ronstadt played a role in the tribute to The Eagles, 2016 Kennedy Center Honorees, and she said she enjoys the surprise format of the evening. "I'll be curious to see who they come up with," she said.

The event will be broadcast on PBS on Dec. 15.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war against Russia.

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days, but he was released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnias ($1.77 million), a statement said.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth 291 million hryvnias ($6.85 million) and attempted to obtain other land worth 190 million hryvnias ($4.47 million).

Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. A dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.

That has caused embarrassment and unease as Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to help fight Russia’s army, and the European Union and NATO have demanded widespread anti-graft measures before Kyiv can realize its ambition of joining the blocs.

In Ukraine's capital, doctors and ambulance crews evacuated patients from a children’s hospital on Friday after a video circulated online saying Russia planned to attack it.

Parents hefting bags of clothes, toys and food carried toddlers and led young children from the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital No. 1 on the outskirts of the city. Medics helped them into a fleet of waiting ambulances to be transported to other facilities.

In the video, a security official from Russian ally Belarus alleged that military personnel were based in the hospital. Kyiv city authorities said that the claim was “a lie and provocation.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that civic authorities were awaiting an assessment from security services before deciding when it was safe to reopen the hospital.

“We cannot risk the lives of our children,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold online talks Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has been the key international organization coordinating the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said late Thursday that the meeting would discuss how to turn around Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.

Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the U.K. defense ministry said Friday.

It’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught, which is using glide bombs — powerful Soviet-era weapons that were originally unguided but have been retrofitted with a navigational targeting system — that obliterate targets.

“Russian forces do pose a credible threat of seizing Chasiv Yar, although they may not be able to do so rapidly,” the Washington-based think tank said late Thursday.

It added that Russian commanders are likely seeking to advance as much as possible before the arrival in the coming weeks and months of new U.S. military aid, which was held up for six months by political differences in Congress.

While that U.S. help wasn’t forthcoming, Ukraine’s European partners didn’t pick up the slack, according to German’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Ukraine support.

“The European aid in recent months is nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by the lack of U.S. assistance, particularly in the area of ammunition and artillery shells,” it said in a report Thursday.

Ukraine is making a broad effort to take back the initiative in the war after more than two years of fighting. It plans to manufacture more of its own weapons in the future, and is clamping down on young people avoiding conscription, though it will take time to process and train any new recruits.

Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainian young acting student Gleb Batonskiy plays piano in a public park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)