Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, made his first public appearance on Sunday at the Kennedy Center Honors after being brutally attacked in late October.President Joe Biden made a fist pump to Paul Pelosi, who was seated nearby, as he was walking to his seat with first lady Jill Biden. Paul Pelosi was wearing a black hat as he recovers from injuries to his head.He was attacked with a hammer at the couple's home in San Francisco by a male assailant, who was searching for the speaker of the House, according to court documents. Following the attack, Paul Pelosi had surgery "to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands," Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Nancy Pelosi, said in a statement at the time.Earlier Sunday, Biden congratulated the class of the 45th Kennedy Center Honors, welcoming them to the White House ahead of the star-studded event celebrating the American arts."Tonight, we celebrate a truly exceptional, and this is not exaggeration, a truly exceptional group of artists — group of artists who embody the very spirit of 'we the people.' This year's Kennedy Center honorees — they're all an incredible group of people," Biden said.The president ticked through all the honorees, their accomplishments and contributions to the arts. Those being honored included George Clooney, Amy Grant, Gladys Knight, Tania León and all four members of the Irish rock band U2.The honorees, selected for their contributions to American culture by the Kennedy Center's Executive Committee of its Board of Trustees, were saluted at the Kennedy Center Opera House in front of their peers. The event will be broadcast Dec. 28.The Bidens' attendance marks the second year that the first family continues the longstanding tradition that was interrupted during the Trump administration.In 2017, then-President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump declined to attend the Kennedy Center Honors after two of the honorees that year — television writer and producer Norman Lear and dancer Carmen de Lavallade — said they would skip the Trump-hosted reception at the White House, citing political beliefs.At the time, the White House said Trump's decision would allow the artists "to celebrate without any political distraction."Addressing the honorees Sunday, Biden wrapped his remarks with a message about unity."In the midst of the great division, that was President Lincoln's plea. That we would do well to remember today at a moment when there's too much hate, too much anger, too much division here in America and quite frankly around the world. We have to remember today as their song goes — we are one, but we are not the same. We get to carry each other," Biden said, slightly misquoting the U2 lyrics, which go: "One life, but we're not the same."Some of the notable attendees at the White House included Sacha Baron Cohen, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Sean Penn, Julia Roberts, Amal Clooney, Matt Damon and former Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone, who was at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Also in attendance were Vice President Kamala Harris, second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

WASHINGTON —

The Kennedy Center Honors will return in December with a class that includes Motown Records creator Berry Gordy, "Saturday Night Live" mastermind Lorne Michaels and actress-singer Bette Midler. Organizers expect to operate at full capacity, after last year’s ceremony was delayed for months and later conducted under COVID-19 restrictions.

This 44th class of honorees for lifetime achievement in the creative arts is heavy on musical performers. The honorees also include opera singer Justino Diaz and folk music legend Joni Mitchell.

All will be honored on Dec. 5 with a trademark program that includes personalized tributes and performances that are kept secret from the honorees.

Deborah Rutter, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, said the current plan is to pack the center's opera house to full capacity and require all attendees to wear masks. But the plans remain fluid and Rutter said they're ready to adapt to changing circumstances depending on the country's COVID-19 situation.

"We don’t know for sure what it’s going to be like," Rutter said in an interview. "But don’t you think we all deserve to have a party?"

The 43rd Kennedy Center Honors class was delayed from December 2020 as the center largely shut down its indoor programming. A heavily slimmed-down ceremony was finally held in May of this year, with a series of small socially distanced gatherings and pre-taped video performances replacing the normal gala event.

"We know how to do it now. We will make whatever adjustments we need," Rutter said. "We're going to be wearing masks right up until we don't have to."

Midler, 75, has won four Grammy Awards, three Emmys, and two Tony Awards, along with two Oscar nominations. Her albums have sold over 30 million copies. In a statement, Midler said she was "stunned and grateful beyond words. For many years I have watched this broadcast celebrating the best talent in the performing arts that America has to offer, and I truly never imagined that I would find myself among these swans."

Mitchell, 77, emerged from the Canadian coffee shop circuit to become one of the standard-bearers for multiple generations of singer-songwriters. In 2020, Rolling Stone magazine declared her 1971 album "Blue" to be the third-best album of all time. In a brief statement, Mitchell, said, "I wish my mother and father were alive to see this. It’s a long way from Saskatoon."

The Dec. 5 ceremony will be the centerpiece of the Kennedy Center's 50th anniversary of cultural programing. The center opened in 1971 and a young Diaz, now 81, actually performed at the grand opening of the opera house.

"It's a very special thing," said Diaz, a bass-baritone from San Juan, Puerto Rico. "It's such a great privilege to be able to say I shared this space with all these geniuses."

Gordy, 91, founded Motown Records — the Detroit-based hit factory that spawned what became known as the Motown Sound and launched the careers of a huge list of artists, including Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Ritchie, Marvin Gaye and Martha and the Vandellas.

Gordy said in an interview that he always held President John Kennedy as one of the greatest leaders in American history.

"So to be honored in his name just means the world to me," he said.

Michaels, 76, is a comedy institution unto himself — creating and producing "Saturday Night Live" since 1975 and producing dozens of movies and television shows, including "Wayne's World," "Kids in the Hall" and "Mean Girls." He received the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Award for lifetime achievement in comedy in 2004.

Not normally an on-stage performer, Michaels recalls the Mark Twain evening as "mostly nerve-wracking" because he spent the evening dreading the traditional end-of-night speech he had to deliver.

But the Kennedy Center Honors bring no such pressures, and Michaels said he intends to sit back in the special honorees box at the opera house and see what surprises the organizers have in store.

"You don't have to give a speech at the end, which is huge," he said. "You're just there with your friends."