NEW YORK (AP) — The New Orleans Saints' victory over Indianapolis in the Super Bowl was watched by more than 106 million people, surpassing the 1983 finale of "M-A-S-H" to become the most-watched program in U.S. television history, the Nielsen Co. said Monday.

Compelling story lines involving the city of New Orleans and its ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the attempt at a second Super Bowl ring for Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning propelled the viewership. Football ratings have been strong all season.

"It was one of those magical moments that you don't often see in sports," said Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports.

Nielsen estimated Monday that 106.5 million people watched Sunday's Super Bowl. The "M-A-S-H" record was 105.97 million.

The viewership estimate obliterated the previous record viewership for a Super Bowl — last year's game between Arizona and Pittsburgh. That game was seen by 98.7 million people, Nielsen said.

The "M-A-S-H" record has proven as durable and meaningful in television as Babe Ruth's record of 714 home runs was in baseball until topped by Hank Aaron. Ultimately, it may be hard to tell which program was really watched by more people. There's a margin for error in such numbers, and Nielsen's Monday estimate was preliminary, and could change with a more thorough look at data due Tuesday.

"It's significant for all of the members of the broadcasting community," said Leslie Moonves, CBS Corp. CEO. "For anyone who wants to write that broadcasting is dead, 106 million people watched this program. You can't find that anywhere else."

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. David Paterson on Monday lashed back at what he called a "callous and sleazy" assault on his character in statehouse rumors and media reports that include accusations about womanizing and drug use, allegations he flatly denied.

The Democratic governor told The Associated Press that the media and New York politics have hit new lows, but that the situation won't stop him from serving in office or seeking election to a full term in the fall.

He cited as fabricated a Jan. 30 New York Post report that he was caught by state police in the mansion with a woman other than his wife. He said the room in which he was reportedly caught doesn't even exist.

"We stand by our reporting," Post spokeswoman Suzi Halpin said.

The rumors about Paterson's personal conduct have been circulating in Albany — and sometimes appearing online and in newspaper reports — at a crucial moment in the governor's career. His popularity has fallen precipitously, but he has vowed to run for re-election, even though many Democrats would prefer the state attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, to run in his place.

Washington Democrats have sent a clear message that Paterson should step aside for Cuomo. They are concerned that a weak top of the ticket could hurt other Democrats, including Kirsten Gillibrand, whom Paterson appointed to fill the seat vacated when Hillary Rodham Clinton became secretary of state.

In his interview with the AP, Paterson would address most allegations only broadly but denied all sexual relationships and drug use that are among the accusations.

He said he hasn't been involved sexually with another woman since he and his wife separated more than a decade ago, an admission he made upon taking office 23 months ago. He also said he hasn't used drugs since his early 20s.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., praised the Army Monday for restoring some funding to Fort Drum and other installations — but not quite enough, in the senator's view.

Mr. Schumer and Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, urged the Army to completely reverse the cut, which would return some $36 million to Fort Drum, instead of roughly $28 million reportedly restored through the Army's latest moves.

The funding cut has already led to job cuts as well as cancellation of an annual air show, but Mr. Schumer's office has said the jobs could be restored.

“Friday's announcement by the Army to reverse $500 million in cuts to our country's bases means that we have cleared a significant hurdle in reversing the cuts to Fort Drum,” Mr. Schumer said in a press release.

Mr. Schumer and Mr. Owens had brought the issue to the attention of Army Secretary John M. McHugh, whose advocacy for Fort Drum was a highlight of his congressional career representing the north country. But Mr. Owens said last week that he was working more directly with Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, head of the Army's installation command, and making progress with him on restoring funds.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Rep. John Murtha, the tall, gruff-mannered former Marine who became the de facto voice of veterans on Capitol Hill and later an outspoken and influential critic of the Iraq War, died Monday. He was 77.

The Pennsylvania Democrat had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery. He died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., with his family at his bedside, the hospital said.

In 1974 Murtha, then an officer in the Marine Reserves, became the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress. Ethical questions often shadowed his congressional service, but he was best known for being among Congress' most hawkish Democrats. He wielded considerable clout for two decades as the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending.

Murtha voted in 2002 to authorize President George W. Bush to use military force in Iraq, but his growing frustration over the administration's handling of the war prompted him in November 2005 to call for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops.

"The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion," he said.

Murtha's opposition to the Iraq war rattled Washington, where he enjoyed bipartisan respect for his work on military issues. On Capitol Hill, Murtha was seen as speaking for those in uniform when it came to military matters.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — The Baseball Hall of Fame is staging a second Father's Day game.

Hall president Jeff Idelson says tickets for the June 21 old-timer's game at Doubleday Field will go on sale in Cooperstown on March 20, and the maximum ticket limit has been raised to eight.

The Hall began a Father's Day weekend last June with five Hall of Famers and more than 20 other former major leaguers making the trip. The game replaced the annual exhibition game between major league teams, which was canceled because it had become too difficult to fit into the regular season.

The hall said Monday that this year's contest will feature seven Hall of Famers — Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Bob Feller, Phil Niekro, Gary Carter, Harmon Killebrew, and Mike Schmidt.

Ogdensburg City Councilor Nicholas J. Vaugh announced his bid Monday for the Republican nomination in the 118th Assembly District.

Mr. Vaugh, 22, said he was compelled to run because "Albany is broken, dysfunctional and the north country's voice is unheard."

"Now more than ever we need bold new leadership to deal with the challenges and hardships that lie before us," the Clarkson senior said. "I am that bold new leader."

To read more, visit the Times' "All Politics is Local" blog.

Donn Rowe, president of the 23,000 member New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association said the Department of Correctional Service’s proposed plan to close four prisons would place the safety of his members and the general public in serious jeopardy.

The governor's budget proposal includes closing four prisons, including the medium security Ogdensburg Correctional Facility.

“While the Legislature is being forced to make difficult choices on the budget during these challenging times, keeping our communities safe and protecting good-paying jobs must be top priorities,” Mr. Rowe said in a statement. “DOCS’ has yet again refused to look internally at their own bloated bureaucracy for cuts and decided to balance their budget on the backs of the men and women who serve as our front lines of protection for a prison system that remains overcrowded and understaffed.”

In his testimony, Mr. Rowe pointed to the fact that NYSCOPBA leadership has repeatedly raised concerns with DOCS about overcrowding and problems with safety for inmates and officers posed by inmates living in double bunked cells designed to hold one inmate. Currently, New York’s prison system as a whole is operating at 102 percent capacity, with maximum security facilities operating at more that 122 percent capacity.

ALBANY, N.Y (AP) — A spokeswoman for New York Gov. David Paterson is calling rumors about his personal behavior "absolutely false" and says he will not resign.

Paterson spokeswoman Marissa Shorenstein made the statement Monday.

Rumors around the Capitol and anonymous reports in some media outlets about Paterson's personal conduct come as he considers seeking election later this year.

Many in his own Democratic Party prefer Andrew Cuomo, the more popular and better-financed attorney general.

Paterson became governor in 2008 after former Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned amid a prostitution scandal. When he became governor, Paterson admitted that he and his wife had been unfaithful to each other.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal workers got a day off as the Mid-Atlantic region dug out Monday from as much as 3 feet of snow that left tens of thousands without power while making travel nearly impossible. And there's another storm brewing.

With more snow expected Tuesday into Wednesday — as much as a foot in some places — stranded travelers and the tens of thousands struggling with no electricity wondered when they would escape the icy, gray mess.

At Washington's Reagan National Airport, where flights had resumed after more than two days, people could count on one hand the number of planes that had actually taken off by noon. There were still more workers than travelers at airport counters, and most flights on departure screens said "canceled" or "delayed."

Joyce McCann of Washington arrived at 6 a.m. for a flight to Houston, a stop on the way to a Hawaiian vacation.

"Now they're saying tomorrow," she said. But she hadn't given up and was hoping to fly standby.

Delays and cancellations were also expected at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Dulles International Airport.

Federal agencies that employ 230,000 in Washington were closed, as were many local governments, businesses and school districts across the region.

The charming sight of cross-country skiers gliding down monument steps and people throwing snowballs had given way to images of people hunched over snow shovels or huddled next to fireplaces.

Hundreds of thousands of people across the region lost power during the storm, and utilities warned it could be days before electricity is restored to everyone.

The National Weather Service called the storm historic and reported a foot of snow in parts of Ohio and 2 feet or more in Washington, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Parts of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia got closer to 3 feet.

Forecasters expect highs in the low- to mid-30s for the next few days, and sunshine Monday should help melt some of the snow before more arrives Tuesday, said weather service meteorologist Bryan Jackson.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A day before the New York state Senate is expected to decide whether to expel a senator convicted of misdemeanor assault, Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada has proposed legislation to require the automatic expulsion of senators in such cases.

Sen. Hiram Monserrate, a Queens Democrat, was convicted of dragging his girlfriend, but was acquitted of a felony. A felony conviction would have automatically cost him his job.

Monserrate and Espada, a Bronx Democrat, teamed up last summer to make a Senate coup possible that paralyzed the chamber for more than a month.

The measure Espada filed Monday wouldn't be retroactive and wouldn't affect Monserrate if it's passed as proposed.

SCHROON, N.Y. (AP) — Police say two people died in separate snowmobile accidents in the Adirondacks.

State police say 21-year-old Benjamin G. Round of Warrensburg died in a snowmobile crash Sunday on Schroon Lake when his sled hit an ice ridge. Round and a passenger were thrown from the snowmobile. Round suffered a fatal head injury and the passenger was hurt. Neither man was wearing a helmet.

Police in the Town of Webb say 22-year-old Nicole Robertello of Oriskany died when her snowmobile became submerged Saturday night in open water in the Fulton Chain of Lakes. She was driving between Second and Third lakes with her boyfriend on separate sleds when they came to a body of water. Robertello's boyfriend accelerated to get across the water, but she fell through.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina judge wants security officers to accompany a former John Edwards aide as he goes to retrieve a sex tape of his former boss.

Superior Court Judge Abraham Penn Jones said in an order released Monday that the Orange County sheriff has appointed a security firm to help recover the video and other items. Former Edwards loyalist Andrew Young has said he has the original tape and copies stored in an Atlanta safety deposit box. Jones wants the security officer to accompany Young into the vault.

Jones has declared Young was in contempt for not immediately turning over the tape. Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, has sued Young for invasion of privacy. Young says the tape shows Edwards in a sexual encounter with a woman he assumes to be Hunter.

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota plans to recall about 300,000 Prius hybrids worldwide over a brake problem and is likely to notify both the U.S. and Japanese governments Tuesday, news reports said, as a top executive will testify before U.S. lawmakers about defects that have tarnished its reputation for quality and safety.

The recall of the gas-electric Prius will cover the latest version of the cars that went on sale from May last year, Kyodo News agency reported late Monday.

Kyodo, which did not identify its sources for the information, said the automaker planned to notify authorities in Japan on Tuesday and probably also in the U.S. on the same day. The recall will cover about 270,000 of the hybrids sold in the two countries — 170,000 in Japan and 100,000 in the U.S., Kyodo said.

Japan's Nikkei business daily carried a similar report about Toyota's recall plans on its Web site, saying the automaker would notify authorities in Japan on Tuesday and was also likely to do so in the U.S. at about the same time.

Toyota Motor Corp. spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said no decision on a Prius recall has been made. Kenji Sugai, an official in Japan's Transport Ministry section in charge of recalls, said it had not been informed of any such plan by Toyota.

The automaker is still weighing its options on how to handle the Prius repairs in the U.S., but it intends to begin fixing them soon, according to a person briefed on the matter who asked not to be identified because the remedy hasn't been made public.

Toyota has said among its options are a service campaign in which owners would be notified to bring their cars in for repairs, or a full-fledged safety recall. Toyota is communicating with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on how to handle the fix.

A service campaign wouldn't have the stigma of a safety recall, but regulators may press for the recall.

The town of Henderson is asking a judge to annul the town of Hounsfield Planning Board’s site plan approval for the proposed Galloo Island Wind Farm.

The Henderson Town Council filed a state Supreme Court Article 78 proceeding Friday at the Jefferson County Clerk’s office against Hounsfield, the project’s developer, Upstate NY Power Corp., Seneca, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Henderson claims, among other things, that DEC, as lead agency on the project under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, failed to take the requisite “hard look” at numerous environmental concerns covered by the act and that the agency has yet to release its findings on the matter.

The town also maintains that the Hounsfield Planning Board, among many other things, did not fulfill several public notice requirements before approving the site plan Jan. 6.

Henderson is asking a judge to declare that DEC failed to comply with SEQRA requirements and to vacate the Planning Board’s site plan approval.

A Cornwall Island man was acquitted Friday in U.S. District Court, Syracuse, on all drug charges for allegedly attempting to smuggle about $1.5 million woth of Ecstasy across the border at the Massena port of entry in July.

Silas Benedict, 51, was found innocent on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to import a controlled substance and importation of a controlled substance, defense attorney Brian Barrett said.

A jury of seven women and five men spent about seven hours Thursday afternoon and Friday morning deliberating.

“I think they saw the lack of evidence the case had,” Mr. Barrett said. “The jury was brilliant.”

His codefendant, Mitchell M. David, 54, pleaded guilty Tuesday on the eve of trial to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to import a controlled substance and importation of a controlled substance. He will be sentenced June 11 in Syracuse.

WEST CARTHAGE — A town of Champion man was jailed Thursday on a child pornography charge.

Cory D. McCarty, 26, of 34517 S. Lake Road, was arrested by state police on a felony charge of promoting a sexual performance by a child under age 17. He was being held Friday in the Metro-Jefferson Public Safety Building, Watertown, with bail set at $1,000 by Carthage Village Justice S. Lucille Shettleton.

State police allege in a court document that on the night of Nov. 9, Mr. McCarty, using another person’s e-mail account, sent an image of a male child “obviously under the age of seventeen” engaging in a sexual act with an adult male.

The investigation was conducted by the state police computer crimes unit. No other details were available.

WADDINGTON — A 46-year-old man is accused of having sexual contact with a child under age 11.

Timothy J. Johnson, of 640 County Route 33, Waddington, was charged Friday with first-degree criminal sexual act, a felony, and child endangerment, St. Lawrence County sheriff’s deputies said.

He was arraigned in Town Court before Judge Lloyd Grandy and sent to St. Lawrence County jail, Canton, on $20,000 bail or $40,000 bond.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Corning Inc. said Friday that strong sales of flat-screen televisions, computers and handheld devices will again boost demand for its liquid-crystal-display glass this year.

The specialty glass maker, which is holding its annual investor meeting in New York, said the global appetite for LCD-TVs and laptops will be the primary driver behind an anticipated 14 percent to 22 percent jump in LCD glass industry volume in 2010.

Total glass volume could reach 3 billion square feet, up from 2.45 billion square feet in 2009, it said.

Corning expects 171 million LCD-TVs will be sold this year, about 21 percent more than last year.

Based in western New York, Corning is the world's largest maker of LCD glass, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the market.

The company said it plans to boost investment in China, building its first glass-melting factory there — possibly this year — at a cost of $400 million to $700 million.

Growth of LCD-TVs sales in North America will slow as market penetration in the United States reaches 90 percent this year, and China will become the global leader in total TV sales — about 70 percent of them LCD models. The Chinese market for LCD-TVs could reach 37 million, up 32 percent from 2009.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Corning, on average, to earn $1.75 in 2010 on $6.28 billion in sales.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A powerful winter storm bore down on the Mid-Atlantic on Friday with as much as two feet of snow in store for the nation's capital, where the federal government prepared to shut early.

Airlines canceled flights across the region and school districts closed for the day ahead of heavy, wet snow forecast from Virginia and West Virginia across Maryland into southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Washington residents scrambled for milk, bread and snow shovels ahead of the storm that was due to move across the region through Saturday.

"As you see, I'm in front of Whole Foods and half of the food is gone already," Denise Wright said on a shopping trip for staples.

Michael Bloomfield, working at Logan Hardware, said snow shovels, ice melter and salt were selling fast. "Everybody's been scrambling, calling us, ringing off the phone all day long," he said.

The federal government, the region's largest employer, told workers they could take Friday off as unplanned leave and prepared to shut offices four hours early.

Those who can work from home should do so, said Joan Morris, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation. Across the region, state officials were deploying thousands of trucks and employees and had hundreds of thousands of tons of salt at the ready.

"This is not a good mix," Morris said. "Heavy, wet snow with gusting winds is going to make it a very tough storm for us. I expect visibility will be very poor in spots, and we'll have to deal with drifting snow."

The National Weather Service issued a warning stretching from Baltimore to northern Virginia and parts of West Virginia. Total accumulations of 16 inches to 24 inches are expected.

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota's president apologized Friday for the massive global recalls over sticking gas pedals as the automaker scrambles to repair a damaged reputation and sliding sales.

But Akio Toyoda, also Toyota's CEO, said the automaker is still deciding what steps to take to fix brake problems in the popular Prius gas-electric hybrid.

Speaking at a hastily announced news conference, a stern-looking Toyoda promised to beef up quality control.

He said the company is setting up a special committee he would head himself.

It would review internal checks, go over consumer complaints and listen to outside experts to come up with a solution to the widening quality problems.

"I offer my apologies for the worries," he said in Japanese. "Many customers are wondering whether their cars are OK."

Toyoda said the company was moving quickly on the global recalls covering 4.5 million vehicles for sticking gas pedals, about half of them in the U.S.

Dealers are scrambling to make repairs on the gas pedals that need a new steel part to prevent sticking, he said.

"Please believe me. We always put customers first," he said, when asked by a reporter to speak in English.

He said a decision on what to do about the Prius braking problem will be reached as soon as possible. The automaker said this week a recall was being considered.

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) — A retired New York state prison guard sought in connection with the fatal shootings of his ex-girlfriend and the man she was dating surrendered to police after a standoff at an upstate motel, authorities said Friday.

State police said Anthony Pavone, 52, of Morrisonville surrendered around 4 a.m. Friday after more than four hours of negotiations with police as law enforcement SWAT teams surrounded the Del Motel in Binghamton.

Senior Investigator Patrick Mitchell of the state police in Plattsburgh said a Broome County Sheriff's Department patrol spotted Pavone's pickup truck in the parking lot of the motel late Thursday night.

After police evacuated the motel, police began negotiating with Pavone to surrender. Pavone, who worked 25 years at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, told police he was armed, but surrendered without incident.

Authorities launched a search for Pavone last Sunday after troopers found the bodies of 52-year-old Timothy Carter and 43-year-old Patricia Howard inside Carter's home in Dannemora, in the northeastern Adirondacks 140 miles north of Albany.

Police say Howard and Pavone had dated but had recently broken up. Carter and Howard had gone on their second date last Saturday, Howard's birthday. Authorities said Howard called state police in Plattsburgh at 3:54 a.m. Sunday to report that Pavone was outside the house and wouldn't leave.

Troopers later arrived and found Howard and Carter dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

Mitchell said police were alerted to Pavone's location after the license plate reader on the Broome County sheriff's patrol car scanned the plate on his truck.

Motel owner Ashok Patel told The Associated Press that Pavone checked into his $50-a-night room on Tuesday. He said police didn't tell him why they were interested in the guest in Room 20 at the 26-room motel, only that "they were looking for one guy with a black truck."

Patel said he had no idea Pavone was wanted in connection with a double slaying.

"His behavior is like a normal guy," Patel said.

Mitchell said state police investigators from Plattsburgh were en route to Binghamton to return Pavone to Clinton County, where he'll face murder charges.