Nation and world news in brief for Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2024

Lisa Bonet files for divorce from Jason Momoa 18 years after they became a couple

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lisa Bonet has filed for divorce from Jason Momoa 18 years after the two actors became a couple.

The 56-year-old Bonet, whose legal name is Lilakoi Moon, filed documents to end her marriage to the 44-year-old Momoa in Los Angeles County court on Monday. The filing comes nearly two years after they announced their separation.

The petition cites irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. The filing says neither person should get financial support and that the two have agreed on how to split their assets. The documents say they should have joint custody of their 16-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son.

Momoa is best known for his roles in the “Aquaman” movies and on “Game of Thrones.” Bonet was a star of “The Cosby Show,” its spinoff “A Different World,” and the films “High Fidelity” and “Enemy of the State.”

The two met and started dating in 2005, but did not legally marry until 2017. Their divorce documents gives their separation date as October 2020.

It was the first marriage for Momoa and the second for Bonet, who was previously married to musician Lenny Kravitz.

SCOTUS denies Alaska’s bid to revive copper and gold Pebble Mine proposal

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Alaska’s bid to revive a proposed copper and gold mine that was blocked by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The justices did not comment in turning away the state’s attempt to sue the Biden administration directly in the high court over its desire to revive the proposed Pebble Mine in the state’s Bristol Bay region.

A year ago, the EPA stopped the mine proposal, citing concerns with potential impacts on a rich aquatic ecosystem that supports the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.

States can sue each other and the federal government in the Supreme Court, though the justices typically deal with appeals and hear only a few original cases each year.

Alaska still can try to reverse the decision through the more typical process, starting in a lower court and appealing any unfavorable decisions to the Supreme Court.

Judge in Trump’s DC election case is targeted in latest high-profile swatting

WASHINGTON (AP) — A home owned by the judge overseeing the federal election subversion case against former president Donald Trump was targeted by a fake emergency call Sunday night, the latest in a spate of similar false swatting reports at the homes of public officials in recent days.

Police responded around 10 p.m. to a report of a shooting at a Washington, D.C., home linked in public records to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. But officers quickly found out that no shooting happened, the Metropolitan Police Department said Monday.

Chutkan has received numerous threats since she was assigned Trump’s case last year. In August, a Texas woman was arrested after calling the courthouse and threatening to kill Chutkan and other officials. Investigators traced her phone number and she later admitted to making the threatening call, according to court documents.

Sunday’s incident comes after a spike in swatting directed at high-profile public officials over the holidays.

Those whose homes have been targeted include Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat who removed Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause.

State capitols and courthouses in several states were also targeted by bomb threats last week, prompting lockdowns and evacuations. No explosives were found and the FBI called the threats a hoax.

Swatting refers to prank calls made to emergency services designed to draw a police response, especially from a SWAT team.

Officers investigating apparent altercation between Rep. Boebert, ex-husband

SILT, Colorado (AP) — An investigation is being conducted into an apparent altercation between U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and her ex-husband Jayson Boebert at a restaurant, police in Silt, Colorado, confirmed Sunday.

It’s unclear what happened on Saturday, but Boebert’s campaign released a statement Sunday in which she said she “didn’t punch Jayson in the face and no one was arrested. I will be consulting with my lawyer about the false claims he made against me and evaluate all of my legal options.”

Police Chief Mike Kite confirmed the investigation, but declined to release details, including who called police.

Officers planned to talk with witnesses and ask the restaurant owners for any video that might have captured what happened, Kite said.

Thousands forced from homes by deadly earthquake face stress and exhaustion

WAJIMA, Japan (AP) — Thousands of people made homeless overnight are living in weariness and uncertainty on the western coast of Japan a week after a powerful earthquake left at least 168 dead and dozens missing.

The rescue effort since the magnitude 7.6 New Year’s Day quake has drawn thousands of troops, firefighters and police who picked through collapsed buildings hoping to find survivors.

Authorities warned of the danger of landslides, exacerbated by a heavy snowfall, throughout the quake’s epicenter on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture. At least 323 people are still unaccounted for, a jump from some 100 earlier on Monday as rescuers pour over a list of the region’s population.

Another 565 people were injured, and 1,390 homes were destroyed or seriously damaged.