QUOTE OF THE DAY “Expectations will be high, but the money is not going to be enough to satisfy everyone’s expectations.” Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers, on surpluses that have prompted debates in state governments about what to do with the money Article, this page

Ex-governor, wife told keep quiet on case

RICHMOND, Va. - Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and wife Maureen were given strict orders Monday not to discuss anything “substantive” about their coming trial on corruption charges with potential witnesses, including family and close friends.

Magistrate Judge David Novak reminded the former first couple multiple times that the punishment for breaking those rules could be jail time.

The McDonnells have denied charges they illegally accepted more than $165,000 in loans and gifts from a former CEO of a dietary supplement-maker in return for promoting his products. Their trial is set to begin in July.

Monday’s hearing followed a set-to last week between prosecutors and the McDonnells’ attorneys over a typically routine gag order prohibiting defendants from making contact with potential witnesses.

Gay-rights activists arrested in Idaho

BOISE, Idaho - Police arrested dozens of gay-rights activists Monday after a protest that blocked entrances to the Idaho Senate chambers for more than two hours.

Idaho State Police said they took 43 people into custody on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing after demonstrators stood shoulder to shoulder and prevented lawmakers from getting past.

Former state Sen. Nicole LeFavour, the Idaho Legislature’s first openly homosexual lawmaker and an organizer of the protest, was among those arrested. Ahead of the demonstration, she had said the group would block the entrances until lawmakers agreed to take up a bill adding anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender people or until protesters were removed by authorities.

After she was released, LeFavour said she was treated respectfully by law enforcement. “We have no issue with police,” she said. “Our issue is with a Legislature that won’t stand up and say ‘cruelty to gay, lesbian and transgender people is wrong.’”

White House sure of chief of staff pick

WASHINGTON - The White House expressed confidence on Monday in the Homeland Security Department’s new chief of staff, who played a key role in the prosecution of his father-in-law and former Pennsylvania state senator on corruption charges.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that Christian Marrone, among the first and most prominent new hires by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, held a senior position at the Defense Department during George W. Bush’s presidency, and that both the White House and Johnson have “complete confidence” in him.

Marrone’s appointment to Johnson’s inner circle and details about his ties to his father-in-law, Vince Fumo, were first reported Monday by The Washington Times and confirmed through court records by The Associated Press. Court records showed that Marrone, who was not charged with any crime, was a prosecution witness against Fumo during Fumo’s 2008 federal corruption trial. Fumo was convicted and served more than five years in federal prison.

Marrone, a lawyer who went to work for Fumo shortly after graduating from college, took the stand several years after he stopped working for Fumo.

Man kills wife, two kids near Chicago

ROBBINS, Ill. - A suburban Chicago man shot and killed his wife and two of his children, even following his daughter outside where he shot her a second time and dragged her body back into the house, police said Monday.

The alleged gunman, 43-year-old Michael Worsham, also was found dead inside the home, though police said he did not have gunshot wounds and the cause of his death was not yet clear. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said the bodies would be examined today.

The grisly slayings happened late Sunday in the small city of Robbins, just south of Chicago.

Robbins Police Chief Mitchell Davis said Monday that Worsham first shot his 17-year-old son, Steven, in the head in the kitchen before pulling his wife, 42-year-old Michelle Ollie, out of bed and fatally shooting her.

He also shot his 15-year-old daughter, Trisdion Worsham, in the back as she tried to flee, then went outside, shot her again and shot at witnesses before dragging the girl’s body back into the house, police said.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 02/04/2014