For the first time since the early 1980s, the federal government will spend less on American children this year, the Urban Institute's latest "Kids' Share" study (pdf) finds.

Celeste Holm, the actress of stage and screen, passed away of a heart attack on July 15. She was 95 years old.

Made famous on Broadway for her role as Ado Annie in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, Holm earned more fans for her performances in All About Eve (1950), The Tender Trap (1955) and High Society (1956).

Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches are a big part of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign. The story of the sandwich chain founder's success is now a regular part of the Romney stump speech, and, according to our political correspondent Ari Shapiro, "It's a reliable bet that almost any time the Romney press bus provides lunch, it will be a big box of Jimmy John's subs."

The Syrian conflict has been declared a civil war by the Red Cross and violence continues with no end in sight. Many civilians have been forced to leave Syria for neighboring countries. Tell Me More brings the story of one man who is living in a Turkish refugee camp with his family and host Michel Martin discusses whether the conflict has reached a turning point with Al Jazeera International's Abderrahim Foukara.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's tenure at Bain Capital and his refusal to release more extensive tax records continue to dog his campaign. Host Michel Martin takes up these topics and other political news of the week with Republican strategist Ron Christie and Joy-Ann Reid, managing editor of The Grio.com.

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. We're continuing our series called Make Me Laugh. All summer long we're talking to some of the country's most popular entertainers, who have brought their unique comedy styles to film, television and standup.

In the new USA Network miniseries Political Animals, Sigourney Weaver plays smart, tough Secretary of State Elaine Barrish. It's a role many critics have likened to current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but Weaver says the show's creators were thinking beyond Clinton when they devised the role.

"We've had three remarkable women who've been our secretaries of state in our last three administrations, but somehow we're not willing as a country to elect a woman president," she says. "And I think this show partially investigates what that's about."

For this week's On Point, Chancellor Kent Hance discusses Social Security.