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In the news
By Times staff writer Cage, Presley split after less than four monthsActor Nicolas Cage has filed for divorce from Lisa Marie Presley less than four months after their romantic wedding in Hawaii. The actor -- filing under his real name, Nicolas Coppola -- cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split in a petition filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. "I'm sad about this, but we shouldn't have been married in the first place. It was a big mistake," Presley said in a statement. Cage's representatives said he declined to comment. Presley, 34, was married previously to musician Danny Keough and pop singer Michael Jackson. It was the second marriage for Cage, 38, who divorced actor Patricia Arquette in 2000. Presley has two children from her marriage to Keough, and Cage has a son from a previous relationship. The two were married Aug. 10 before family and friends at a resort in Hawaii. Blake gets new lawyersActor Robert Blake switched lawyers Tuesday after he told a judge he and longtime defense attorney Harland Braun have irreconcilable differences. Blake, who is charged with killing his wife, told Superior Court Judge Lloyd Nash he remembered the judge suggesting he could get bail once evidence is examined at the preliminary hearing, which has yet to be held. "I've been here a long time," said Blake, who remains jailed without bail. "Seven months later I'm still sitting in a cement box." "Are you telling me there is a breakdown between you and Mr. Braun that is irreconcilable?" Nash asked. "Yes," Blake said. The judge reluctantly allowed Braun to leave. Nash also scheduled a Dec. 6 hearing to set a new date for the preliminary hearing. Blake, 69, star of the old Baretta TV series, is charged with murdering Bonny Lee Bakley, 44, outside a restaurant where they had just dined on May 4, 2001. Blake will now be represented by two highly regarded lawyers, Thomas Mesereau Jr. and Jennifer Keller. Both declined to comment. Wrestler pleads no contest to hitting wife"Stone Cold" Steve Austin suffered a legal smackdown after pleading no contest Monday to a charge of hitting his wife. Austin, 38, one of the biggest stars of World Wrestling Entertainment, got one year of probation, a $1,000 fine, domestic-violence counseling and 80 hours of community service for roughing up his wife, Debra Williams. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound grappler, whose real name is Steve Williams, said: "It's kind of been a drag, but it's over. Don't count on seeing me here again."
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