US Domestic News Roundup: Illinois shooting; Ford Explorer rollover case; Border wall and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Catholic Church credibility on the line at abuse meeting

The Vatican will gather senior bishops from around the world later this week for a conference on sex abuse designed to guide them on how best to tackle a problem that has decimated the Church's credibility, but critics say it is too little, too late. The unprecedented four-day meeting, starting on Thursday, brings together presidents of national Roman Catholic bishops conferences, Vatican officials, experts and heads of male and female religious orders.

Alabama jury awards $152 million in Ford Explorer rollover case

An Alabama jury awarded $151.8 million to a young man paralyzed in 2015 rollover accident involving a Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle, Ford and lawyers in the case said on Sunday. The jury awarded $100 million in punitive damages and the rest in compensatory damages after finding on Friday that the 1998 Ford Explorer did not meet Ford's own safety guidelines and that Ford "acted wantonly" in designing the vehicle, according to a court document seen by Reuters and lawyers for plaintiff Travaris "Tre" Smith.

Former U.S. Cardinal McCarrick defrocked for sex crimes

Former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has been expelled from the Roman Catholic priesthood after he was found guilty of sexual crimes against minors and adults, the Vatican said on Saturday. Pope Francis has decided that the ruling, which followed an appeal by McCarrick, a power-broker as Archbishop of Washington, D.C. from 2001 to 2006, was now final.

Illinois factory gunman obtained firearm permit despite felony conviction

The gunman who killed five co-workers and wounded five policemen at an Illinois factory was a violent felon who nevertheless obtained a state permit to buy a firearm despite being legally barred from owning one, authorities said on Saturday. Gary Martin, 45, who carried his pistol to work on Friday apparently suspecting he faced dismissal from his job, opened fire after being told of his termination in a meeting at the Henry Pratt Company plant in Aurora, Illinois, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Chicago, police said.

Lee Radziwill, Jackie Kennedy Onassis' younger sister, dies at 85

Lee Radziwill, the younger sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis who was witness to history in the "Camelot" White House, married a prince and counted Andy Warhol, Truman Capote and Rudolf Nureyev as friends in a star-studded life, has died at the age of 85, according to U.S. media reports. CBS News, citing family friend Mathilde Favier, the public relations director for Christian Dior, said Radziwill died on Friday. Women's Wear Daily had first reported the death on its website, saying it occurred at Radziwill's New York City home. The cause was unknown.

California tells Trump that lawsuit over border wall is 'imminent'

California will "imminently" challenge President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency to obtain funds for a U.S.-Mexico border wall, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said on Sunday. "Definitely and imminently," Becerra told ABC's "This Week" program when asked whether and when California would sue the Trump administration in federal court. Other states controlled by Democrats are expected to join the effort.

Thousands brave freezing cold in vigil for Illinois shooting victims

More than 2,000 people braved icy rain in sub-freezing temperatures in Illinois on Sunday for a vigil paying respects to five people killed and five police officers wounded by a factory worker who opened fire on Friday after losing his job. Solemn mourners stood before five white crosses with the names of the dead that became a shrine to the victims bearing pictures and hand-written remembrances outside the factory where the shooting took place in Aurora, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Chicago.

Ex-congressman Weiner released from prison after sexting scandal

Anthony Weiner, the disgraced former congressman who helped play a role in Hillary Clinton's defeat in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, has been released from federal prison after serving about 14 months for exchanging sexually explicit texts with a 15-year-old girl. Weiner, 54, has been released from the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Massachusetts, and is under the supervision of a residential re-entry management office in Brooklyn, according to prison records.

Chicago police seek follow-up interview with 'Empire' actor

Chicago police have shifted the direction of their investigation into actor Jussie Smollett's report of a hate-crime assault and are seeking to interview him again, after releasing two men detained for questioning in the probe, a police spokesman said on Saturday. Smollett, 36, an openly gay African-American performer who plays a gay character on the musical hip-hop TV drama "Empire," ignited a furor on social media last month when he reported he had been attacked on the street by two men yelling racial and homophobic slurs.

Acting Pentagon chief not decided yet on funding border wall

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Saturday he had not yet determined whether a border wall with Mexico was a military necessity or how much Pentagon money would be used. President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency in a bid to fund his promised wall at the U.S.-Mexico border without congressional approval.