RJ Hamster
AZ Briefing: Phoenix dad killed on neighborhood trip in…
Read in browser AZ BriefingYOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUPSun Dec 7 2025 Good morning, Arizona. Here’s what our reporters are working on and what you should know about what’s happening across the state before you start your day.After two debilitating strokes, a Phoenix father of three reclaimed his independence with routine trips in his motorized wheelchair. One such trip ended his life.More on Rodger Loar, a former pastor and well-known figure in his neighborhood.Other big stories➤ A provision tucked into the nation’s annual must-pass defense billcould prove a windfall for TYR Tactical, the military-gear manufacturer owned by Peoria Mayor Jason Beck.➤ One Camelback, a long-stalled luxury apartment project, is getting new life. Here’s why.➤ How cold does it get in Phoenix and will La Niña keep temperatures higher?➤ Rural Metro customers are facing billing issues as the company switches vendors.➤ When taking a historic journey on the Mother Road ― Route 66 ― across northern Arizona, you will want to know where to stop and eat. See the photos of some of our top picks. ➤ News alerts in your inbox: Don’t miss the important news of the day. Sign up for azcentral newsletter alerts to be in the know. ➤ Today, you can expect it to be mostly sunny and nice with a high near 74 degrees. Expect it to be mainly clear at night with a low near 46 degrees. Get the full forecast here.Phoenix restaurants featured on Guy Fieri show Burger Brulee, french fries and a lucky charm milkshake at Paradise Valley Burger in Scottsdale on Nov. 5, 2025.Mark Henle/The RepublicGuy Fieri returned to these Phoenix restaurants in 2025: “It’s pretty cool.”If you like our work, please consider becoming a subscriber.Today in historyHere are just some of the historic events on this date in the past.•On this day in 1917: The United States declared war on Austria-Hungary about eight months after Congress approved President Woodrow Wilson’s request to declare war on Germany, Austria-Hungary’s ally in the Central Powers. Germany had continued submarine attacks against merchant and passenger ships in the Atlantic from Britain, whose initial allies were France and Russia. The United States previously had been neutral since World War I broke out in 1914, though Germany said it broke a pledge and resumed submarine warfare because the United States was providing weapons and aid to the Allies, as well as supporting Britain’s shipping blockade of Germany.•In 1941: The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service killed 2,403 Americans ― 1,177 of them were on the sunken USS Arizona battleship ― during an aerial barrage at the Pearl Harbor naval base on Oahu in Hawaii. About 300 U.S. aircraft and 20 warships also were damaged or destroyed, while another 1,178 Americans were wounded in the surprise air raid that led the United States to enter World War II. In an address to a joint session of Congress the next day requesting a war declaration measure against Japan that was quickly approved, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called Dec. 7 “a date which will live in infamy.”•In 1944: A magnitude 8 earthquake that spawned a powerful tsunami killed a total of more than 3,300 people in southern Japan.•In 1967: Three days before he died with four members of the Bar-Kays in a Wisconsin plane crash, legendary soul singer Otis Redding finished recording a more-refined version of “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” at Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee. The song was released a month later and became Redding’s first single to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-March 1968.•In 1982: Texas delivered the first punitive dose of death by lethal injection in the United States when it executed Charles Brooks Jr. in Huntsville after failed appeals to the federal Supreme Court and Gov. William Clements. Brooks was 34 in December 1977 when he was convicted of murdering a mechanic, David Gregory, who had ridden along with Brooks as he test-drove a used car. Brooks’ accomplice, Woody Loudres, also received a death sentence for the murder, but it was reduced as part of a plea deal after the conviction was tossed on appeal.•In 1993: Aboard an evening rush hour commuter train, Long Island Rail Road passenger Colin Ferguson used a semiautomatic pistol to fatally shoot six people and injure 19 more. Ferguson was sentenced to serve six consecutive life sentences in prison after a February 1995 jury convicted him of the murders and attempted murders.– Charlie White, USA TODAY NetworkTOP STORIESPhone links man to 2 deadly shootings. Here’s howThe 21-year-old admitted to Phoenix police that he used the cell phone and owned a handgun found to be used in the shootings, court documents say.READ MORE Sign up for breaking news alerts and get real-time updates directly to your inbox.SIGN UP NOW Get world news FREESign up to receive GlobalPost, the leading daily newsletter devoted to world news. It’s free with your subscription.GET GLOBAL NEWS FREEPlay Your Way to a Relaxing BreakUnwind with crosswords and challenges that recharge you. USA TODAY PLAYCrosswords, Puzzles, Comics & HoroscopesSEE ALL GAMES |
