National Roundup

Washington Officials say Green River Killer victim ID'd SEATTLE (AP) -- Washington state authorities said they have positively identified the remains of a woman killed by the Green River Killer, one of the nation's most prolific killers. The King County Sheriff's Office said Monday that remains found in Auburn, Wash., in 1985 belong to Sandra Denise Major. The 20-year-old was reported missing on Dec. 24, 1982, and was last seen getting into a pickup in North Seattle. Relatives in New York state had already assumed that she had died at the hands of Gary Ridgway, just like dozens of prostitutes who worked in the Seattle area in the early 1980s. But it wasn't until April that Major's cousin called the King County Sheriff's Office after seeing a Lifetime channel movie about Ridgway, who was dubbed the Green River Killer because he dumped some of his victims in or along a river that runs through King County. It was the first time anyone from the missing woman's family had reached out to law enforcement, sheriff's Detective Tom Jensen told The Seattle Times. "He knew his cousin had come out here in '82," said Jensen, a longtime member of the Green River Task Force. "He said she was involved in prostitution and she disappeared." Ridgway has admitted to killing Major and 48 others. He is serving a life sentence at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. Virginia University of Virginia chooses interim president CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- The University of Virginia's Board of Visitors chose the dean of the university's undergraduate business school early Tuesday to become the interim president upon the departure of the ousted Teresa Sullivan. The board voted 12-1 with two abstentions to approve McIntire School of Commerce Dean Carl Zeithaml to serve as interim president after Sullivan's Aug. 15 departure. The decision came shortly before 3 a.m., nearly 12 hours after the meeting began. Zeithaml specializes in strategic management and has been McIntire's dean since 1997. He spent 11 years on the faculty of the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School. "I realize that it is a very difficult time for many people within our community, but I look forward to working with our faculty, students, staff, alumni and University leaders to move U.Va. forward," Zeithaml said in a statement. Rector Helen Dragas said a special committee to nominate a permanent president will form soon. She said the board hopes to engage faculty, staff and alumni in the selection process. She and the board had been roundly criticized for the lack of explanation and transparency in calling for Sullivan's resignation. Texas Vandalism of Picasso art videotaped HOUSTON (AP) -- Police have video recordings to help them search for a man who spray-painted Pablo Picasso's "Woman in a Red Armchair" at a Houston art museum. Officials say the vandalism happened Wednesday afternoon at the Menil Collection, where the 1929 painting is one of nine Picassos. Menil spokesman Vance Muse tells the Houston Chronicle that museum security officers detected the vandalism almost immediately, when the paint was barely dry. Chief conservator Brad Epley began repair work immediately, and Muse says the painting has "an excellent prognosis." The vandal fled and hasn't been arrested. However, police have security video -- along with a cellphone video taken by a witness and posted on YouTube. California Rodney King autopsy results are weeks away RIALTO, Calif. (AP) -- Results from toxicology tests could as long as six weeks to gather before coroner's officials can determine how Rodney King died. King was pulled from the deep end of his pool early Sunday by police who were called to his home by his fiancee. Investigators conducted an autopsy on his body on Monday. King became famous after he was severely beaten by Los Angeles police in 1991. The beating was captured on videotape and broadcast worldwide, as were photos of King's bloodied and bruised face. The more than 50 baton blows and kicks left King with 11 skull fractures, a broken eye socket and facial nerve damage. The trial of four officers charged with felony assault in the beating ended after a jury with no black members acquitted three of the officers on state charges; a mistrial was declared for a fourth. The verdict sparked one of the most costly and deadly race riots in the nation's history. Rialto police are investigating the 47-year-old King's death as an apparent drowning and said they have found no signs of foul play.Toxicology results will show whether King, who struggled with addiction throughout his life, had any alcohol or drugs in his system. New York U.S. sues to force dinosaur return to Mongolia NEW YORK (AP) -- The fossil of a dinosaur that roamed the earth 70 million years ago should be turned over to the United States by an auction house so that it can be returned to its home in Mongolia, a lawsuit brought by the U.S. government demanded Monday. The nearly complete Tyrannosaurus bataar skeleton was imported from Great Britain to Gainesville, Fla., in March 2010 with erroneous claims that it originated in Great Britain and was worth only $15,000, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. It sold at auction on May 20 for more than $1 million even though Mongolia's president had obtained a temporary restraining order from Texas State Civil District Judge Carlos R. Cortez prohibiting its auction, the suit said. The completion of the sale was made contingent upon the outcome of any court proceedings. Federal investigators said criminal smugglers misrepresented the fossil to customs officials. Texas Boy, 3, among 3 dead in Houston area glider crash WALLIS, Texas (AP) -- Authorities say three family members, including a 3-year-old boy, are dead after their glider crashed into a field in Texas. The Texas Department of Public Safety says the crash happened around 5 p.m. Sunday near Wallis, about 40 miles west of Houston. The department says 68-year-old Fred Blair of Wallis, 32-year-old Matilda Blair and 3-year-old Andrew Blair all died in the crash. Trooper Erik Burse said Monday that the Blairs are related and live in Houston. Published: Wed, Jun 20, 2012