Today@VOA: Whose land is this?

Informing, engaging & connecting the people of the world. September 13, 2016

The largest gathering of Native American tribes in memory is happening in North Dakota at the site where a planned $3.8 billion oil pipeline would cross treaty land seized from the Standing Rock Sioux Nation decades ago. The Native Americans say the pipeline would not only violate land that is sacred to the Lakota people, but also pose a threat to the reservation's own water resources. The U.S. government has called a temporary halt to the project, but the Native Americans still pledge to put themselves in the way of any future construction there.

On This Day in American History On September 13, 1814, Francis Scott Key writes 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' which later becomes America's national anthem. Key writes the poem, originally titled 'The Defence of Fort McHenry,' after witnessing the Maryland fort being bombarded by the British during the War of 1812. Key is inspired after seeing a U.S. flag still flying over Fort McHenry the following morning.

5 things to keep in mind about polls. Since the start of the general election season, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has enjoyed a significant and fairly consistent lead over Republican rival Donald Trump in most national opinion polls. However, her lead has narrowed in recent weeks. What does the change mean?

Tun Sovan has a unique perspective on the current political battles over refugees and immigrants. That's because his American experience has included being a foreign student, refugee, immigrant and U.S. citizen.

The immigrant fabric of America is very evident at the first Thai mosque in the U.S., which is celebrating the four-day festival of Eid al-Adha, one of the most important events in the Islamic calendar. A community meal that included Middle Eastern food and dishes from Thailand was shared by the multi-ethnic congregation.

After 6 long months of night, the sun has finally started to spiral upwards at the South Pole . VOA blogger Refael Klein, who is working and living in the South Pole for one year, shares what it's like to finally see glimpses of daylight after months of darkness.

VIDEO: Child marriage is a human rights violation, but the practice remains widespread in part due to poverty and gender inequality. In Kosovo, the practice is found especially among the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. VOA asked child brides in Fushë Kosova whether they regret marrying young.

France sees its prisons as 'Ground Zero' in the terror battle. New prison 'de-radicalization' units will try to disengage prisoners from violence and do away the isolation that could tip potential radicals toward extremism, but will doing so breed more radicals?

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