Latest News

The Pentagon inspector general wrote to General Allen that the investigation had found no improprieties in the e-mail communications with the socialite, Jill Kelley, officials said.

The communications were discovered during an F.B.I. investigation into anonymous e-mails to Ms. Kelley warning her to stay away from David H. Petraeus, then the C.I.A. director. The F.B.I. found that the e-mails had been sent by Paula Broadwell, Mr. Petraeus's biographer; he admitted to having had an affair with Ms. Broadwell and resigned his position on Nov. 9.

Like General Allen, Mr. Petraeus, a retired four-star general, was a social acquaintance of Ms. Kelley's when he was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, headquarters of Central Command.

Even before Tuesday's disclosure, the outcome of the inspector general's inquiry was not unexpected. The decision was first reported on the Web site of The Washington Post.

What remains unknown is the fate of General Allen's nomination to become the top NATO commander, as was planned before the disclosure of the e-mails. General Allen could be nominated to that position or another senior post, or he could retire.

"The final decision has not yet been made on General Allen's nomination," one senior official said.

During the inquiry, about 15 investigators on the Pentagon inspector general's staff focused on 60 to 70 e-mails that "bear a fair amount of scrutiny," according to an official who was briefed on the inquiry.

Pentagon officials described the voluminous correspondence between General Allen and Ms. Kelley as potentially "inappropriate communication." Law enforcement officials say the e-mails number in the hundreds and cover two and a half years starting in 2010, when General Allen was the deputy commander of Central Command.

The F.B.I. sent the e-mails between General Allen and Ms. Kelley to the Pentagon on Nov. 11.

Investigators had been trying to determine whether the e-mails violated Defense Department policy, government regulations or military law. At issue was whether the e-mails contained inappropriate language on a government computer, whether they indicated an inappropriate relationship as defined under military law, whether they involved more than an incidental use of government property for personal matters and whether there were security breaches.

Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. has been confirmed to succeed General Allen as part of a standard rotation, and is expected to take up command in Kabul in the coming weeks.

Over all, the $142.6 billion budget announced by the governor represents a 5.3 percent increase over the current one, largely driven by a jump in federal aid to pay for the recovery from Hurricane Sandy and the cost of carrying out the new health care law championed by President Obama.

The increase in state operating funds would be held to 1.6 percent, if the governor's plan is approved by the Legislature. The state's fiscal year begins on April 1.

Education spending rises 4.4 percent under the plan, which includes money for new programs the governor has proposed. One program would help poorer districts offer extended school days and full-day prekindergarten programs.

A number of tax and fee changes are in Mr. Cuomo's plan, including several that would affect drivers. The governor is proposing to restrict them from pleading down the cost of speeding tickets and would add an $80 state surcharge to lesser traffic offenses. He would also establish new minimum fines for violating state laws related to texting or using cellphones while driving.

One change, however, is more likely to cheer motorists: The Department of Motor Vehicles could start opening its offices on Saturdays under the governor's plan.

Mr. Cuomo is also proposing to extend for three years a law that limits charitable deductions made by taxpayers who have an adjusted gross income over $10 million, and he also wants New York companies to start paying taxes on royalty income.

The governor would extend an assessment on electric, gas, water and steam utilities, which would raise $236 million in the new fiscal year, a cost likely to be passed on to ratepayers.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat who championed legislation aimed at bringing Las Vegas-style casinos to New York, continues to pursue gambling revenue. In his budget, he proposes allowing more stores to sell Quick Draw lottery tickets.

In his first two years in office, Mr. Cuomo put relatively austere spending plans in place, and he has sought to get the state's troubled finances in order. This year, he faces a budget gap of $1.35 billion, a relatively modest amount by Albany standards.

In his budget speech, the governor emphasized his fiscal centrism, saying, "The taxpayer's pocket is not a bottomless piggy bank."

He also noted that since he took office two years ago, budgets have been passed without the long delays that were common under his predecessors.

"The budget was historically the flash point for dysfunction," Mr. Cuomo said. "People are now seizing on the budget as a sign of a government that is now functioning once again."

Some of Mr. Cuomo's spending cuts will undoubtedly be the subject of intense lobbying over the next couple of months. Among other moves, he is proposing to defer cost-of-living increases, as well as an annual aid increase for health and human service providers.

Mr. Cuomo also focused on economic development initiatives for upstate New York that he sketched out in his State of the State address earlier this month. Those include the creation of a new marketing campaign, tax-free stores that would sell New York-made products and "innovation hot spots," where start-up businesses will not be subject to taxes.

The governor also outlined plans for the use of federal money that is headed to New York, for rebuilding in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

At least some of his proposals are likely to be met with skepticism from budget watchdogs. One would give local governments and school districts a new way to defer a portion of their pension payments and then pay more, with interest, later. A similar plan, already in place, has been criticized for allowing the government to delay dealing with runaway pension costs.

In addition, a hostage was killed with his two kidnappers in a police operation west of Samarra, a police source said. It was unclear whether the hostage, the cousin of a member of Parliament, was killed by the kidnappers or the police.

Since last month, the country has witnessed almost daily episodes of sectarian-related violence at a time of increasing political strife. Protests, led mostly by Sunnis, that broke out against the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki have spread from Anbar Province to other areas of the country.

At the same time, the prospect of a resurgence in attacks by Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the homegrown insurgent group, resurfaced as the group announced its support for the antigovernment demonstrations and the rights of Sunnis, and claimed responsibility for the assassination last week of a Sunni lawmaker, Efan al-Essawi.

The attacks on Tuesday included a suicide bomber's blowing himself up at a military checkpoint in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, killing 2 soldiers and 3 civilians and wounding at least 20 people, the police said. Also, a bomb in a parked car exploded in the Baghdad neighborhood of Shula, where Shiites are a majority, killing 5 people and wounding 15.

Another car bomb was reported near a checkpoint in Taji, a suburb north of Baghdad, killing 7 and wounding 26, according to The Associated Press.

Near Baiji, about 155 miles north of the capital, gunmen killed two government employees and three guards who were carrying salaries between oil facilities, The A.P. said. The money was stolen.

In Tikrit, a police source said, gunmen killed an employee in the Ministry of Health and a member of the Awakening movement, the American-backed group of Sunni militias that switched sides to fight against Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Mr. Essawi, the slain Sunni lawmaker, was also a leader of a local Awakening council.

He was killed as he was inspecting a road in Anbar on Jan. 15 when, officials said, a suicide attacker disguised as a worker approached Mr. Essawi and blew himself up, killing him and wounding one of his guards.

"Your mujahedeen sons will not let you down, as you will find them in front of you defending your religion and your rights," said the Qaeda statement, posted Monday on a Qaeda Web site.

It referred to Mr. Essawi's role in the Awakening movement, calling him a "criminal infidel" whom Al Qaeda killed "just like we killed a previous sheik of the shamed Awakening council."

On Tuesday, Mr. Essawi's largely Sunni bloc of lawmakers, Iraqiya, reiterated its commitment to boycotting sessions of Parliament in protest over the inability of the government to respond to the demands of the demonstrators. After Mr. Essawi's killing, it also criticized Mr. Maliki's government for its failure to provide adequate security.

A college in Houston on Tuesday moved to evacuate its campus after reports of a shooting and some injuries.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office said it was responding to a report of shooting at the north Harris County campus of Lone Star College in Houston. The campus, at 2700 West W. Thorne Drive, near George Bush International Airport, is about 20 miles north of downtown Houston.

The college posted an alert on its Web site at 12:47 p.m. local time asking students and faculty to "take immediate shelter where you are." Live video from the scene showed emergency responders at the campus. At 1:08, the college posted this alert: "LSC-North Harris campus evacuation is in progress. A couple of armed suspects reported.; injuries reported."

It was not immediately clear how many people may have been injured or whether a gunman was in custody.

The reinstatement effectively ends the tumultuous period for the Saints that began last March, when the league announced it had uncovered a bounty system within the team. Payton was suspended for most of the off-season, including the draft and minicamps, and for the entire regular season. General Manager Mickey Loomis and the assistant head coach Joe Vitt, who were also suspended last summer, have been back on the job for months. Recently, the former N.F.L. commissioner Paul Tagliabue vacated the discipline imposed on four players for what the league said was their role in bounties. Last week a defamation lawsuit brought against Goodell by one of those players, Jonathan Vilma, was dismissed by a judge.

Gregg Williams, the former defensive coordinator who the league said was at the center of the bounty system, left the Saints even before the N.F.L.'s investigation became public. He was suspended indefinitely but is currently not employed by a team.

The scandal upended the Saints because of Payton's leading role in personnel decisions and in offensive play-calling. It also created enmity between the franchise and the city and Goodell, whom the Saints and their fans steadfastly believed conducted a poor investigation and dealt too harshly with the figures involved. When Tagliabue vacated the player discipline, he made clear he was doing so to bring an end to the bitter public battle between the players and Goodell.

Payton and Goodell met in Goodell's office for about four and a half hours Monday, and for much of that time they were the only two present. In its statement, the league said that at the meeting Payton acknowledged "his responsibility for the actions of his coaching staff and players."

"Sean fully complied with all the requirements imposed on him during his suspension," Goodell said in the statement. "More important, it is clear that Sean understands and accepts his responsibilities as a head coach and the vital role that coaches play in promoting player safety and setting an example for how the game should be played at all levels. We are committed to delivering football that fans love and the safety players deserve. Coach Payton agrees and I look forward to working with him going forward to do that."

Payton's reinstatement is effective immediately, so he was free to attend Senior Bowl workouts this week in Mobile, Ala., and to begin work on free agency.

In his own statement, Payton reiterated that he and Loomis took full responsibility for all aspects of the Saints. But in his careful wording Payton stopped short of admitting guilt. The league had said Payton did not exercise enough institutional control and did not put a stop to the system in which players were offered money for hits that knocked opponents from games, even after warnings from the league.

"I clearly recognize that mistakes were made, which led to league violations," Payton said in his statement. "Furthermore, I have assured the commissioner a more diligent protocol will be followed. Lastly, I feel we have learned from our mistakes and are ready to move forward."

Earlier this month the Saints signed Payton to a five-year contract extension which, reports indicate, could pay him $8 million a year. His value to the Saints was never more obvious than it was during the season when he was gone. The Saints lost their first four games, which Vitt also missed because of his suspension. Despite a strong midseason rally after he returned, they finished 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2008 season. They won the Super Bowl in the 2009 season and with Payton's return are likely to be playoff contenders again next season.