RJ Hamster

AZ Briefing: Will Loop 202 be named after Charlie…

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AZ Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Fri Jan 23 2026

Lorenzino Estrada
Digital Producer

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.

A bill, sponsored by Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, would rename the 77-mile Loop 202 freeway as Charlie Kirk Loop 202.

More on Senate Bill 1010 and what else could be named after Kirk.

Taste testing Pabst Blue Ribbon soup was a weird throwback

Campbell’s Chunky Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Cheese with Potatoes & Chorizo soup

Bill Goodykoontz/The Republic

Campbell’s Chunky Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Cheese with Potatoes & Chorizo soup is just the latest in a long line of PBR rehabilitation efforts. But why?

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Today in history

Here are just some of the historic events on this date in the past.•On this day in 1957: The Wham-O toy company released the first batch of their aerodynamic plastic discs now known all over the world as Frisbees. Walter Frederick Morrison, who invented the novelty with his partner Warren Franscioni, sold the idea to Wham-O in 1955, wanting to call it the “Pluto Platter.” Wham-O changed the name to Frisbee shortly after buying it from Morrison.•In 1964: The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited both Congress and any of the states from imposing a poll tax or any other tax to vote in federal elections, was ratified.•In 1977: The TV miniseries “Roots,” an adaptation of Alex Haley’s bestselling novel that chronicled a family through its roots in Africa and the Civil War, premiered. A groundbreaking program consisting of eight episodes, “Roots” became one of the most popular shows in the history of American television and a major moment in America’s reckoning with slavery.•In 1986: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, then in its third year, inducted its first members, some of whom were considered the founders of rock: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.•In 1997: Madeleine Albright, who had earlier served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, became the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State after she was sworn in by then-Vice President Al Gore at the White House.•In 2005: TV host and comedic legend Johnny Carson, best known for hosting NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” died of respiratory failure due to complications from emphysema at age 79 in Los Angeles.•In 2021: Talk-show host Larry King, who hosted CNN’s widely popular “Larry King Live,” died at age 87 of a sepsis infection.

— Hoang Tran, USA TODAY Network