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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.

With about 50 days to go before Election Day, both parties are focusing on what will lead them to victory in both the battle for the White House, as well as control in Congress. What everyone seems to agree upon is that the Latino vote will be crucial. Between 2000 and 2010, the Hispanic population in the U.S. increased by some 43 percent. Latino voters can mean the difference in several states.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

It's time to talk sports.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIFE IS A BALL GAME")

SISTER WINONA CARR: Life is a ball game being played each day. Life is a ball game...

WERTHEIMER: It's mid-September and for fans of Major League Baseball that means only a couple of weeks are left before playoffs get underway.

But before the games begin, NPR's Mike Pesca has been stacking up the baseball stats and he's here to share his findings. Hi, Mike.

MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: They're about to topple over just now.

(LAUGHTER)

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Tomorrow marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil War's Battle of Antietam, one of the bloodiest days of any war. In honor of the sesquicentennial, the battle site is hosting a slew of events commemorating the fight. Reporter Jacob Fenston went to Sharpsburg, Maryland, the site of the battle, and brings us this report.

JACOB FENSTON, BYLINE: It started just before dawn.

(SOUNDBITE OF BUGLE PLAYING)

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Of course, the Homestead Act was born during troubled times in American history. It passed during the Civil War, but just barely. And it came at the expense of Native Americans, who were displaced from lands they have settled for generation. We spoke to Jonathan Earle, an associate professor of history at the University of Kansas, and asked him why the Homestead Act was so difficult to pass.

Libya's president says he believes al-Qaida is behind a deadly attack in eastern Libya that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other U.S. staffers.

In an exclusive interview with NPR in Benghazi, President Mohammed el-Megarif says foreigners infiltrated Libya over the past few months, planned the attack and used Libyans to carry it out.