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Super Bowl 2023 week kicks off with Opening Night at Footprint Center

PHOENIX – For the first time since 2015, Arizona will play host to the Super Bowl. The privilege comes with plenty of must-see live entertainment; tailgates; festivals; and, of course, football in the lead-up to the big game at State Farm Stadium. Follow along for live updates, featuring news, event highlights and more from the Cronkite News team, before the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs kick off on Super Bowl Sunday.

Footprint Center welcomed the Super Bowl contenders and fans Monday for a night of interviews, entertainment and the flat-out bizarre. (Photo by Reece Andrews/Cronkite News)

From airports to Old Town, Super Bowl’s presence will be felt throughout Valley

PHOENIX – During the week leading up to the Super Bowl, the NFL’s premier matchup will leave its mark, from large-scale advertisements to celebrity parties.

Signage to promote the 2023 Super Bowl can be found throughout the Valley, including in Old Town Scottsdale. (Photo by Nikash Nash/Cronkite News)

Super Bowl brings traffic headaches. Here’s what you need to know.

PHOENIX — There is an expected increase of traffic coming with Super Bowl events across the Phoenix, Scottsdale and Glendale area. Arizona traffic departments have advice to navigate traffic and road closures.

The Arizona Department of Transportation expects traffic to be thick in downtown Phoenix because of events at the Phoenix Convention Center, Footprint Center and Margaret T. Hance Park. Cars wait at a stoplight on 1st and Monroe streets in Phoenix on Feb. 2, 2023. (Photo by Logan Camden/Cronkite News)

Court says law limiting signs near Super Bowl events violates free speech

WASHINGTON - A Phoenix ordinance that let the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee accept or reject signs around the "NFL Experience" zone downtown is an unconstitutional infringement of free speech rights, a Maricopa Superior Court judge ruled Thursday.


SRP solar plant northwest of Flagstaff expected to offset 1 billion pounds of CO2 each year

FLAGSTAFF – SRP partnered with Clenera to develop the largest solar plant in Arizona. Solar and clean energy expansion in the state could lead to a low-cost carbon-free future.

SRP and Clenera will begin construction on Arizona's largest solar plan in 2023 northwest of Flagstaff. SRP has been working to expand solar, including at East Line Solar in Coolidge, shown here, which was initiated by SRP and is owned and operated by a subsidiary of AES. (Photo courtesy of SRP)

Fighting hate: Approaches range from expanding hate crime definitions to gathering data

LOS ANGELES – The system for reporting hate in America is broken. The FBI’s database has limited scope, and people often don’t – or sometimes can’t – report hate crimes to authorities. But federal, state and local entities are tackling hate in a variety of ways – from expanding definitions and launching hotlines to capturing data.

A chalkboard filled with drawings of staff and a large rainbow hangs near the front desk at the TransLatin@ Coalition office in Los Angeles on July 5, 2022. Jimena Sandoval, the group’s communications and marketing coordinator, says it was drawn for Pride Month. (Photo by Jessica Alvarado Gamez/News21)

6-week convergence of major sporting events could make Arizona betting capital of the world

PHOENIX – Sports gambling is expected to hit a crescendo when the Super Bowl, Phoenix Open and a CFP semifinal game are played within a six-week stretch in Arizona.

Arizona has embraced the legalization of sports betting, and sites including FanDuel at Footprint Center have helped the state become second fastest in the nation to reach a billion dollars in total wagers. (File photo by James Franks/Cronkite News)

Afghan refugees, many with uncertain immigration status, struggle with daily life

PHOENIX – It's been a little more than a year since the United States withdrew from Afghanistan after two decades. Refugees in Arizona are still dealing with finding jobs, technology, residency status and the memories of their escape.


How a talking cat is shaping the fight against Asian hate crime in California

ROSEMEAD, Calif. – LA vs Hate hopes to raise awareness about hate crime by displaying its message through multiple media. One artist on board is cartoonist MariNaomi.


British community in Phoenix mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II

PHOENIX – The British community in Arizona is small but closely connected, according to David Wimberley, owner of George & Dragon. Wimberley, a British migrant, was at home when a friend called with the news: Queen Elizabeth II died Thursday. She was 96.


House gives final OK to compromise gun-reform bill, first in decades

WASHINGTON - The House Friday gave final approval to a bipartisan gun-reform bill that is the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades, voting just hours after the measure cleared the Senate.


‘Helpless but not hopeless’: Arizona officials join surgeon general to address burnout in health workers

PHOENIX – Health care workers have reached crisis levels of burnout, prompting the U.S. surgeon general to issue an advisory spotlighting the problem. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy visited Phoenix recently to meet with health workers and find solutions.