Two US graduate students who embody America’s innovative spirit wanted to do something to help improve the safety and living conditions of Haitians after the 2010 earthquake. So they designed a solar-powered plastic waterproof rectangular lightthat’s inflatable, portable and wireless — and can even charge cell phones. Now everyone, from people in disaster zones to campers in the wild, can  follow the light without electricity.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley, ‘the king of rock and roll,’ dies at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 42. Doctors determine the pop icon died of a heart attack that was likely brought on by his addiction to prescription drugs. Elvis is buried at his Tennessee mansion, Graceland, which becomes a popular tourist attraction. (Photo: Elvis Presley performs in Providence, Rhode Island, three months before his death.)

President Trump has repeatedly called the media the ‘enemy of the people.’ Some American media outlets are saying they’ve had enough of the president’s rhetoric, which they decry as dangerous. Newspapers across the country pushed back Thursday,  led by  The Boston Globe , which says nearly 350 news organizations pledged to participate in the unprecedented and coordinated editorial campaign.

America’s Melting Pot helps flavor the food along the Gulf Coast in the southern part of the United States, where two distinct cultures have settled — Cajuns , who descended from French colonists — and  Vietnamese refugees . Cajun food is known for its unique blend of spices in seafood, sausage and rice. Many of the Vietnamese who live along the Gulf Coast have not only embraced Cajun food, but have cooked up a new cuisine by blending the two cultures.

In less than three months, US voters will cast ballots in midterm congressional elections that could alter the course of Donald Trump’s presidency. Experts note that the president motivates Democrats to get out and vote against him as much as he helps to energize Republicans. With a political climate featuring galvanized Democrats and die-hard Trump supporters, there’s a sense that a politically polarized country is headed for a showdown in November.

Bittersweet reunion: Fewer than 100 family members from both North and South Korea will take part next week in a planned reunion for separated families. VOA met aging participants in Seoul, who are ambivalent about the meeting. They’ve decided to go primarily to learn how their relatives lived and died in the isolated and impoverished North, rather than to re-establish family ties with younger relatives they’ve never met.