Is now the time for the General Assembly to address expanded gambling? (Again.) With just more than a month before the 2013  session begins, observers of the Kentucky legislature are wondering.

A few new factors are at play: First is the governor’s continued interest in the topic. Second expanded gambling's chief opponent, David Williams, is gone.

Louisville Metro Councilman Dan Johnson is joining a panel discussion in downtown Friday on bringing an NBA team to the city.

The roundtable will feature Jefferson County Judge Executive Bryan Matthews and attorney J. Bruce Miller, who has been an advocate for bringing professional basketball to the city.

Mayor Greg Fischer has also been a vocal proponent of bringing the NBA to Louisville, but he's faced criticism from University of Louisville officials. Supporters are optimistic, but a study by a pair of media executives outlined how the cost of the NBA outweighs the benefits.

From WHAS-11:

A new study from Cambridge Economic Research showed a relatively unfavorable impact that an NBA team could have on Louisville.
 
It concluded that Louisville could not sustain a pro franchise.

At first blush, the video below looks like art -- tiny dots scurrying across a black backdrop with a blue squiggle meandering through the middle.

That's Louisville. Each dot represents a TARC bus. Watch:

There's a developing story this morning from Paulsboro, N.J., south and across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, where several railroad tank cars have derailed and fallen into a creek after a bridge collapse.

It's being reported that the cars were transporting vinyl chloride, which could ignite and would be highly irritating if breathed in. There are local reports of about 18 people being treated for breathing problems.

Bradley Manning, the Army private accused of leaking a massive cache of classified information to WikiLeaks, testified for the first time since he was arrested in May 2010.

According to CNN, Manning said at one point during his military custody, he considered suicide. CNN adds:

"He first discussed his arrest in Iraq and his transfer to Kuwait where he was held for a nearly two months before being transferred to the brig at Marine Base Quantico in Virginia in July 2010.

"No substantive progress has been made." That's what House Speaker John Boehner had to say Thursday about efforts to avoid automatic spending cuts and tax increases at year's end.

The administration's lead negotiator, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, met with congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle Thursday, looking for an agreement on the hazard Congress and the White House created last year to focus their minds on deficit reduction.

The University of Louisville football team is headed to its first top-tier bowl game in six years after defeating Rutgers 20-17 tonight in New Jersey.

Teddy Bridgewater and Will Stein shared duties at quarterback, and it was Bridgewater’s two touchdown passes in the third quarter that gave the Cards their first lead of the game.

Rutgers tied the game at 17 midway through the fourth quarter, but a 29 yard field goal by John Wallace with less than two minutes remaining put U of L ahead for good.

Harvard University divinity professor and feminist scholar Dr. Leila Ahmed is the winner of the 2013 Grawemeyer Award in Religion. Her 2011 book, "A Quiet Revolution: The Veil's Resurgence from the Middle East to America" explains why a growing number of Muslim women in the United States are wearing traditional veils and head coverings. 

Indiana Ninth District Congressman Todd Young is opening his offices in Jeffersonville and Bloomington as drop off locations for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots campaign.

From Young's office:

"As someone who served in the Marine Corps, I'm excited to partner with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in their Toys for Tots Program," Young said in a news release. "Especially in tough economic times, this is a great way to ensure that children around the district have a memorable Christmas."