The challenger skateboards in fast-food parking lots. He sang in a punk band. Some of his campaign events feature bounce houses. The incumbent usually wears a dark blue suit with a red tie. The word “liberty” is liberally sprinkled in his campaign materials. Both candidates are courting young voters in the red state of Texas.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On September 26, 1960, John F. Kennedy, then a senator from Massachusetts, and then Vice President Richard M. Nixon participate in the first televised presidential debate in Chicago. Kennedy appeared to have the better performance as he appeared more comfortable on camera. Nixon also declined to wear makeup, making him appear to sweat. Nixon performed better in subsequent debates, but went on to lose the election to Kennedy. Nixon was elected president eight years later.

China’s growing prowess in cyberspace is a bigger, more dangerous threat to the United States than Russia’s attempt to undermine U.S. elections, Washington’s top intelligence official said, warning that Beijing is on a path that could lead to global supremacy.

VIDEO: Many materials change shape when exposed to heat, electricity or some other kind of energy. That change is usually random, but scientists are now learning how to direct that energy to turn the material into a predetermined shape. VOA visited a lab at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh that experiments with morphing materials .

VIDEO: Amnesty International has documented thousands of cases of so-called forced disappearances, people held in secret detention facilities across Nigeria without charge or trial. Kidnapped girls have made headlines, but boys are also victims.

The Islamic State (IS) terror group claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack on a military parade in Iran’s southwestern city of Ahvaz, but Iranian officials continue to accuse Saudi Arabia and the U.S. for being behind the attack .