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American movies have been telling stories that idealize hard work, strong character and the rise of the little man for decades. But there's always a catch. NPR's Bob Mondello looks at what Hollywood means when it talks about the American dream.

The senators said permitting a live broadcast would bolster public confidence in the judiciary. The Supreme Court has never allowed live broadcasting of its proceedings.

The White House didn't do a great job selling the health care overhaul. But the media didn't help, either, according to a new analysis of media coverage between June 2009 and March 2010.

The company has spent $4 billion since 2007 on preparations to explore for oil off the north coast of Alaska. Many Alaskans welcome the venture, which could lead to the development of trillions of dollars worth of oil. But not everyone's convinced Shell has all the environmental safeguards in place to protect areas of the pristine Arctic.

Mark Kington was vice rector of the state-appointed Board of Visitors. It sent the campus into uproar last week when it unexpectedly fired popular president Teresa Sullivan. Robert Siegel talks to Anita Kumar, who has been covering the story for The Washington Post.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will meet Wednesday to consider a report holding Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over documents related to Operation Fast and Furious, a botched gun-trafficking operation. A meeting between the committee's head and Holder on Tuesday failed to resolve differences.

Vannak Prum was forced to work on a Thai fishing boat for three years before he escaped by jumping overboard. With little oversight, rogue captains buy men like Prum from traffickers and use them to plunder the fishing grounds of surrounding nations. One expert calls it "a perfect storm of slavery and environmental degradation."

Teachers in the country's third-largest school district have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if the city and their union can't come to terms this summer. The vote is just the latest example of the gulf between teachers, Chicago school officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

One privilege — or burden — of the Oval Office is that each inhabitant gets to decide how dirty to get his hands in wartime. Although the CIA program is classified, published accounts say President Obama has decided to take personal responsibility for making decisions about whom drones will target and kill.

President Obama's announcement that he will implement some portions of the DREAM Act pre-empts a plan by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to introduce a compromise bill. Rubio says he believes Obama overstepped his constitutional authority with the move.