NEW ORLEANS | A perfect night, a star-filled sky and a chilly breeze put everyone in the right spirit as the French Market Corporation rang in the Christmas season at Washington Artillery Park across from Jackson Square.

“The historic French Market was the perfect place to kick off holiday traditions in New Orleans,” announced master of ceremonies Kenneth Ferdinand, executive director of FMC. “We are honored to be the first event of the season. Come celebrate and share our rich heritage in the French Quarter!”

NEW ORLEANS | The city plans to hold its first bond sale in two years next month, though the outcome of three high-stakes meetings with rating agencies could push it back again.

Mayor Ray Nagin wants to use the proceeds from the $40 million sale to help keep New Orleans' street projects on track. Some of the highest profile city work since Hurricane Katrina has involved roads, with orange cones and blocked lanes now snarling traffic in some rebuilding neighborhoods. Nagin said there have been no "serious delays," outside of some design work, due to the pushing back of sale dates. But that could change with another postponement.

NFL players Drew Brees, DeMarcus Ware and Troy Polamalu filmed a public service announcement with President Barack Obama that will air during the league's Thanksgiving games.

The 90-second spot shows Obama and the NFL stars playing touch football with local children on the White House lawn. The PSA promotes the league's Play 60 campaign, which encourages physical activity to combat childhood obesity, and the president's community service initiative United We Serve.

NEW ORLEANS | The federal government could be vulnerable to billions of dollars in claims after a judge ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in Hurricane Katrina.

U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval on Wednesday awarded seven plaintiffs $720,000, but the government could eventually be forced to pay much more. The ruling should give more than 100,000 other individuals, businesses and government entities a better shot at claiming damages.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. | Former Louisiana congressman William Jefferson, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison on bribery charges, will be allowed to remain free on bond while he appeals his conviction.

Wednesday's ruling from a federal judge makes it likely that Jefferson, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans, will not serve any prison time for at least a year or more.

NEW ORLEANS | NewOrleans.Com announced today that award-winning journalist Brian Allee-Walsh is joining its editorial sports staff.

Allee-Walsh joins NewOrleans.com/Sports after spending over 32 years with the Times-Picayune, including the last 23 covering the New Orleans Saints and the National Football League.

NEW ORLEANS | Louisiana's state-licensed casinos, continuing to wade through the economic downturn like their counterparts in other states, recorded a 6.9 percent drop in gambling revenue last month from the previous October, state police reported Tuesday.

The 13 riverboat casinos, Harrah's Entertainment Inc.'s downtown New Orleans casino and the three race track casinos won $193.3 million from players in October. That's down from $207.7 million in October 2008 — the month after the national economic meltdown began.

NEW ORLEANS | Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro and his staff reoccupied the building at 619 S. White St. three weeks ago but couldn't slow down for an opening ceremony and dedication until today. At least that's how assistant district attorney and ceremony emcee Kevin Guillory sees it.

"It's good to be in a comfortable place," he semi-joked, "because as much time as we spend here, it seems like home."

• Click here to see photos from the event

NEW ORLEANS | With hurricane season ending, film and TV production in south Louisiana is picking up, and New Orleans is on track to break last year's filming record.

There were at least eight film and TV projects in the New Orleans area this fall — and more than a dozen statewide — providing an end-of-the-year boost after a sluggish summer, said Sherri McConnell, head of the state film office.

COVINGTON | One of the last surviving aviators from World War II's famed Black Sheep Squadron has died in Covington, La.

Henry Mayor "Hank" Bourgeois was 88.