Democrats are getting ready for their week in the spotlight. The speeches haven't started officially, but at a press conference Monday morning convention organizers got a head start on touting their candidate. President Obama's campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt began with a putdown of the Republican National Convention.

"Last week, Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan had the opportunity to lay out a vision of how we provide good paying sustainable jobs for the middle class and restore economic security, and they failed," LaBolt says.

Actor Michael Clarke Duncan has died at age 54, according to his fiancee, the Rev. Omarosa Manigault. Known for his huge size and deep, resonant voice, Duncan received an Oscar nomination for his performance in The Green Mile, the 1999 prison film in which he starred alongside Tom Hanks.

Duncan's death was announced by Manigault, who in July said that she performed CPR on the actor after finding him in a state of cardiac arrest late at night.

It's been a rough four years since Barack Obama accepted his party's nomination during a celebratory Denver convention that launched the freshman Illinois senator to the White House.

Recovery from the worst economy since the Great Depression has been excruciatingly slow. The national unemployment rate has remained stubbornly above 8 percent.

As the Democratic National Convention gets underway, a new poll has Mitt Romney with a f0ur point lead over President Obama in North Carolina. 

The poll conducted by Elon University in partnership with the Charlotte Observer and The Raleigh News and Observer says 47 percent of likely voters in North Carolina right now would vote for Romney.  Forty-three percent favor Obama.   Political analyst Charlie Cook says North Carolina is the only swing state where Romney has a measureable lead.

Social media experts Baratunde Thurston and Deanna Zandt answer questions about how to behave in the digital age. This week's topic: How should you address touchy subjects such as religion and politics on Facebook?

Melissa Block talks with BBC correspondent Emma Tracey, who is at the Paralympic Games in London. Yesterday the so-called "Blade Runner" — South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius — complained immediately following the 200m race that a Brazilian competitor who won the gold had cheated. Pistorius' initial reaction was to criticize the design of his competitor's prostheses as having given him an unfair advantage. Pistorius has since apologized for those remarks.

Melissa Block looks ahead to the week's tech news with Laura Sydell. They cover a big upcoming announcement from Amazon.

Melissa Block speaks with Ryan Lizza, Washington correspondent for The New Yorker, about his new piece on the relationship between President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama.

President Obama spent the day campaigning in Ohio and visiting Hurricane Isaac-ravaged areas in Louisiana. Scott Horsley joins Melissa Block to talk about the president's message.