Texas politics exploded as Dan Moody, the 'youthful red-haired attorney general,' crushed Governor Miriam Ferguson in a Democratic runoff primary that wasn't even close. With returns from 252 counties, Moody led 417,180 to 211,958 — nearly 2-to-1 — effectively ending the Ferguson political dynasty that had dominated Texas. The Fergusons desperately played the race card, claiming Moody's victory would mean Ku Klux Klan control, while Moody countered that ridding Texas of 'Fergusonism' was the real issue. Meanwhile, American women were conquering the English Channel in droves. Mrs. Clemington Corson of New York, a 28-year-old mother of two, successfully swam from France to England in 15 hours and 32 minutes — just three weeks after Gertrude Ederle's record-breaking crossing. Her husband rowed alongside her the entire way, refusing to let anyone else take the oars. And President Coolidge was having the time of his life at his Adirondacks retreat, returning from the Rockefeller preserve with 50 trout, including some weighing close to a pound.

This front page captures America in 1926 at a fascinating crossroads. The Texas primary represents the ongoing battle between old-style political machines and reformist forces, while the Klan accusations show how racial tensions still simmered beneath the surface of 1920s prosperity. The Channel swimming craze reflects the decade's obsession with celebrity stunts and breaking barriers — especially by women pushing into traditionally male domains. Coolidge's leisurely fishing expedition perfectly embodies his hands-off governing philosophy during the boom years, when many Americans believed prosperity would continue forever. The mix of political upheaval, female achievement, and presidential leisure captures the contradictions of an era rushing toward the crash of 1929.

• Emma Williams, 22 and described as 'agile,' chased her husband James five blocks with a gun, followed him up onto a roof, and shot him in the side — while 'cops who climb trees are looking for Emma'
• A wild horse at a Santa Barbara rodeo threw its rider, broke through a fence, and plunged directly into the box occupied by William Gibbs McAdoo and his family, requiring six cowboys to drag the animal out
• Mrs. Corson's only nourishment during her 15-hour Channel swim was 'two pints of hot chocolate, four lumps of sugar and a few crackers'
• The entire fishing colony at Pointe Au Cine, Louisiana was completely wiped out by a hurricane — 'Not a member of the colony survived,' discovered by naval seaplanes circling the marshlands
• President Coolidge caught 50 trout in one day, with 'the biggest of them weighed close to a pound,' in the William Rockefeller preserve

• Dan Moody first gained fame prosecuting Klan flogging cases, yet the Fergusons accused him of being the Klan candidate — he'd become the youngest governor in Texas history at age 33
• Mrs. Corson swam approximately 40 miles due to shifting tides, yet her husband Clemington rowed the entire distance alongside her — talk about a supportive spouse during the Jazz Age
• William Gibbs McAdoo, who narrowly escaped that rodeo horse, was Woodrow Wilson's son-in-law and had nearly won the 1924 Democratic presidential nomination in a convention that took 103 ballots
• The hurricane that killed 25 people in Louisiana caused over $5 million in damage — equivalent to about $75 million today, showing nature's power even during the Roaring Twenties
• Miriam Ferguson was only governor because her husband James was impeached and barred from office — she was essentially a proxy candidate, and Texas voters finally said enough