VIDEO: Just across the East Rive r from Manhattan, Brooklyn has a thriving local art scene. One of the borough’s most interesting artists is Misha Tyutyunik, known as MDot, who has found some interesting places to display his work.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On August 28, 1981, John Hinckley Jr. pleads not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan and other related charges. Hinckley opened fire on Reagan on March 30, 1981, seriously injuring Reagan, his press secretary James Brady as well as a police officer and a Secret Service agent. Hinckley’s defense worked as he was found not guilty on June 21, 1982. Instead of jail, he was committed to a mental institution. On September 26, 2016 he was released. As a result of Hinckley’s not guilty verdict, Congress passed the Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984, which made it harder for federal criminal defendants to use mental health as a consideration in their cases.

Few public officials are as close to the ground as America’s mayors and, in general, they seem to agree on what needs fixing in the country today. Not surprisingly, economic development and infrastructure top the list. Downtown development is a consistent theme across U.S. cities, big and small.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s border wall is expanding. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper recently approved another 20 miles of barriers for the United States’ southern border with Mexico, a defense official has confirmed to VOA.

VIDEO: In a remote part of Jordan, a first-of-its-kind solar energy plant is powering a Syrian refugee camp and is making a difference in the lives of 40,000 residents. The project is the innovation of the U.N. Refugee Agency and Sweden’s IKEA Foundation.

As the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s new president unveils his coalition government, opposition members are complaining about being left out.