Now It's Official That It's Christmas

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was set aglow with 30,000 colored lights Wednesday night, officially kicking off the holiday season in the city.

With temperatures in the high 50s, thousands of people packed the midtown Manhattan plaza for the festivities, which were hosted by the "Today" show's Al Roker and Ann Curry.

Singers Martina McBride, John Legend, Christina Aguilera, Sting and Bette Midler were among those who performed during the two-hour event, part of which was televised nationally on NBC.

Also on hand were Mayor Michael Bloomberg, singer Lionel Richie and NBC's "30 Rock" stars Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey. Co-star Tracy Morgan, arrested earlier this week on drunken driving charges, was supposed to appear with his castmates but didn't show up.

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Which City in US is No. Uno?

San Francisco was named the No. 1 U.S. city in Conde Nast Traveler magazine's Readers' Choice awards, a spot the city has held for 18 of the past 19 years.

Santa Fe, N.M., which won the top honor in 1992, was No. 2 on the list this year, followed by New York.

The awards list, based on a poll of 21,000 travelers, will be published in the magazine's November issue.

Three Italian cities - Florence, Rome and Venice - were named the best European cities.

Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, took the top two spots on the list of best Pacific Rim cities, followed by Queenstown, New Zealand.

In Asia, Bangkok was No. 1, followed by Hong Kong and Thailand's Chiang Mai.

Other winners included the Maldives for top Asian island; JetBlue for top domestic route airline; Singapore Airlines for the No. 1 international airline; Regent Seven Seas for best large ship cruise line; Bermuda as best island in the Caribbean/Atlantic; Hertz as top car rental agency, and Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, Ariz., as best U.S. resort.

I don't care my favorite US City is: New York