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For Tell Me More's occasional 'In Your Ear' series, guests of the program talk about the songs they turn to for inspiration. Soul singer Ryan Shaw recently released his new album, 'Real Love,' and he performs some of his favorite tunes.

As the Democratic National Convention begins in Charlotte, host Michel Martin checks in with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is chairing the event. The Los Angeles Mayor says the Democrats have grown more jobs in the worst recession since the great depression in four years than President Bush did in eight.

"All three Detroit automakers saw double-digit sales increases in August compared with the same month last year," the Detroit Free Press writes. The gains "show that the automotive industry remains one of the economy's few bright spots," it adds.

A growing number of companies are changing their health insurance plans to include benefits for transgender employees.

Yet even though professional groups such as the American Medical Association recommend coverage of services for transgender people —who identify with a gender other than the one they were born as—many companies continue to hold back. One of their big worries is cost.

A top lieutenant to Chinese President Hu Jintao has been shifted to a lesser position because of "a lurid new scandal" involving the fiery crash of his son's Ferrari in March, The Associated Press writes.

According to the AP:

Nashville singer-songwriter Sarah Siskind makes her first visit to Mountain Stage, recorded live in Charleston, W.V. Though Siskind had never appeared on the show, her songs have, most recently in a set by The Infamous Stringdusters. In 2007, her song "Simple Love" was recorded by Alison Krauss, earning a Grammy nomination.

As is traditional, first lady Michelle Obama will be the featured speaker on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Thursday.

But the buzz in the political sphere and in the city is all about San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, who has the distinction of being the first Latino to deliver the keynote address at a Democratic convention.

Outside of Texas, however, Castro is essentially unknown.

Talk about your just deserts:

"A Colombian drug trafficker, known as the 'queen of cocaine,' has been killed in the city of Medellin," the BBC writes. "Griselda Blanco, 69, was shot dead by gunmen as she was leaving a butcher's."

That rather dry report doesn't do justice to the life and death of Blanco, though. As Miami New Times writes, her assassination on Monday:

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- Are You Better Off? That's The Question As Democrats Gather.

-- Power's Still Out For Many After Isaac, And They're Boiling.

Other stories in the news: