California man convicted of 1980s rape-murders of two women with help of genealogy websites
CBSN
Los Angeles — A California man prosecutors called a serial killer was convicted Thursday of raping and killing two women in the 1980s after investigators linked him to DNA evidence, prosecutors said.
Horace Van Vaultz Jr., 67, was found guilty of first-degree murder with the special circumstance allegations that the crimes involved multiple murders, rape and sodomy, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said in a statement.
Vaultz, a former Bakersfield resident, has been jailed since his 2019 arrest. He could face life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced next month.
Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider whether university "bias-response teams" chill students' speech in violation of the First Amendment, sidestepping a clash of free speech rights and university efforts to root out bias on campus.
The U.S. military scrambled fighter jets Saturday to intercept three civilian planes flying near President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). All three aircraft had violated temporary flight restrictions in the area, the command said.
Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen is resigning following a probe into his personal conduct, the grocery chain said Monday.
Siletz , Ore. — Authorities in Oregon are searching for a 2-year-old boy last seen playing in his home's front yard but out of sight of his parents, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office says.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted vaccine skeptic, voiced support for the measles vaccine Sunday amid a deadly outbreak in the Southwest, mainly in Texas.
In early January, an endangered 2-year-old Florida male panther known as UCFP479 became the first to die this year in a vehicle collision along a rural southwestern Florida road. Two weeks later, a 10-year-old female panther was fatally struck by a car about 70 miles away.
Adrian, Mich. — A Michigan woman is asking a judge to declare her three missing sons dead nearly 15 years after their father didn't return them after Thanksgiving. The disappearance has tormented a small town near Ohio and remains unsolved.
Multiple U.S. officials tell CBS News that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a directive to U.S. Cyber Command to pause planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions.
The 2025 Oscars are underway as "Conclave," "Emilia Pérez," "A Complete Unknown," "Wicked" and "The Brutalist" are each looking to turn their multiple nominations into big wins, including for best picture, at the 97th Academy Awards.
President Trump on Sunday named five cryptocurrencies under consideration for a new U.S. "strategic reserve," sending their values skyrocketing and partly reversing a recent slump.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is considering a petition to have Pete Rose posthumously removed from Major League Baseball's ineligible list, a person familiar with the situation told CBS News on Sunday.
Warren Buffett rarely gives interviews. But also rare is his friendship with the late, trailblazing publisher of the Washington Post, Katharine Graham. "If there's any story that should be told, it should be her story," he said. "If I was a young girl, I'd want to hear that story. It would change my self-image.
It's Oscar night, and TV funnyman Conan O'Brien is taking the stage as host of the 97th annual Academy Awards as the 2025 nominees compete for top honors.