Bob McDonnell

RICHMOND, Va.-- The president of Virginia Tech announced his retirement Tuesday, satisfied he had elevated the university's reputation and acknowledging that the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history on his campus would be a part of his legacy.

The Washington Post on Tuesday reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was trying to determine whether McDonnell had taken any government actions that would have benefited the donor's company, Star Scientific Inc, a nutritional supplements maker in Henrico County, Virginia.

*Virginia calls out National Guard. WASHINGTON, March 6- A major snowstorm blanketed the Appalachian Mountains on Wednesday, leaving 150,000 homes and business in nine states without power, but Washington got mostly rain after officials had shut down the U.S. capital as the storm approached.

The National Weather Service posted storm warnings for much of the Ohio River Valley and the mid-Atlantic states and as far south as eastern Tennessee. Although the federal government ordered its 375,000 Washington- area workers to stay home, only rain mixed with light snow had fallen on the capital's largely deserted streets by early afternoon.

WASHINGTON, March 5- Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley is seeking an overhaul of his state's transportation funding, less than two weeks after neighboring Virginia approved a reorganization of how it funds road, bridge and highway repairs.