SEATTLE — Ken Jennings just won big — no, it’s not cash from winning another “Jeopardy!” game show, but arguably something better for the Edmonds-born Seattleite: a customized Seattle Mariners jersey.

“I just signed a minor league contract!” joked Jennings, a well-documented M’s fan.

The jersey, along with a short video edited in the style of the show’s opening credits, was part of a special ceremony Tuesday afternoon by the Metropolitan King County Council to officially recognize the author and current host of “Jeopardy!” more than two decades after his stunning 74 consecutive wins on the show in 2004, where he won a grand total of $2,522,700.

“When it comes to local involvement, local charities — Ken Jennings is all in,” said Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer before welcoming Jennings to speak from a podium.

“I’m immensely proud to still be associated with ‘Jeopardy!’ this many years later,” Jennings told the council.

Accompanied by his wife, Mindy, the trip to the King County Courthouse was a short one for Jennings, who lives with his family in Seattle. But the trip to Culver City, California, where “Jeopardy!” is taped every week, is a different story.

“Even though we tape ‘Jeopardy!’ in L.A., I commute,” he said. “I fly down every few weeks. We do five shows in a day. That's kind of the secret — as soon as one game ends, I rush backstage and put on a new tie.”

While he racks up Alaska Airlines frequent flyer miles, Jennings has no plans to move away from the Emerald City.

“I can still live here in my favorite place on Earth, here in beautiful Seattle, Washington,” he said. “It does leave me time to still be part of the Seattle community and help out where I can.”

Helping out includes supporting local pancreatic cancer research and serving on the board of directors for Scarecrow Video. Jennings has shopped at the latter for 25 years, and credits much of his success on Jeopardy! to the education he received from watching films from Scarecrow.

Living in Seattle also means being privy to the sports fever that’s enveloped the city for the past year. While Jennings said he’s a Mariners fan first and foremost, he’s also part of the 12th Man. When asked how he felt about the Seahawks clinching the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed in the conference, Jennings recalled the special bond he formed with his son while attending games during the team’s back-to-back Super Bowl appearances in 2014 and 2015. “I'm a big believer in this team and this defense, and I think it's going to be another Super Bowl (for us),” he said in an interview after the ceremony.

Jennings also alluded to the Seahawks hype as a possible inspiration for future “Jeopardy!” trivia questions: “I think often when Seattle stuff gets slipped into ‘Jeopardy!,’ it is done in hopes that (Seattleites) will notice.” (Just make sure you’re well versed on Seattle lingo, though, because Jennings isn’t afraid to correct you if you’re wrong, as he did in May when a contestant said “Pike’s Place” instead of “Pike Place.”)

As Jennings embarks on his third year as the sole host of “Jeopardy!” — a job he says he can happily continue for decades to come — he reflected on what it means to be a part of one of America’s most beloved game shows.

“‘Jeopardy!’ is kind of a cultural institution,” he said. “It's just so nice that there is this half-hour every night where ‘Jeopardy!’ has a huge and diverse audience. … It's kind of the one remaining public space where everyone kind of agrees that facts matter. You know that questions have the right answers, or in ‘Jeopardy!’s’ case — answers have the right questions. I’m proud we do that on the airwaves today.”

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are divorced and legally single, ending the 19-year marriage of one of entertainment’s most prominent power couples.

A Nashville, Tennessee, judge issued an order at a hearing Tuesday dissolving the marriage of the Oscar-winning actor and the Grammy-winning country singer.

Judge Stephanie J. Williams said in a court filing that the couple’s settlements on splitting assets and child custody are sufficient, and granted them the divorce.

Williams wrote that “there exist such irreconcilable differences between the parties that would render continuation of the marriage impractical and impossible.”

Both Kidman and Urban waived their right to appear at the hearing.

Messages to their representatives seeking comment were not immediately answered.

Kidman filed for divorce in September. The superstar split was a surprise to most of the public, but it had clearly been in the works for a while. All the legal issues involving assets and custody had been settled and signed the day of her filing.

Tennessee requires a 90-day waiting period for couples with minor children before a divorce can take effect.

Kidman and Urban, both 58, have two teenage daughters together. Their divorce filing said they had “marital difficulties and irreconcilable differences.”

The plan they signed states that Kidman would be the primary residential parent to the children. It suggested they would remain living in Nashville as they have all their lives. The filing states that neither parent would need child or spousal support, and lays out a roughly equal division of their joint assets.

Two of the biggest stars to come out of Australia in recent decades, Kidman and Urban met in Los Angeles in 2005 and were married in Sydney the following year. They were red carpet fixtures throughout their two-decade relationship, with Urban joining his wife at the Oscars and Kidman attending music events like the Academy of Country Music Awards. The couple had publicly but lovingly described some marital difficulties, yet there were still few outward signs the divorce was coming.

The marriage was the first for Urban and the second for Kidman, who was married to Tom Cruise from 1990 to 200. Kidman also has two older children with Cruise.

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LOS ANGELES — The high-profile private attorney for Nick Reiner was granted a request to be removed from his case Wednesday, but later told reporters that according to California law his client is not guilty of murder in the killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.

“Circumstances beyond our control and, more importantly, circumstances beyond Nick’s control have dictated that, sadly, it's made it impossible to continue our representation of Nick,” lawyer Alan Jackson said as he stood with his team outside a Los Angeles courthouse.

But, Jackson added, after weeks of investigation, “what we’ve learned, and you can take this to the bank, is that pursuant to the laws of this state, pursuant to the law of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder. Print that.”

Jackson would not specify what he meant and took no questions at the brief news conference.

He spoke after a hearing where Nick Reiner was supposed to be arraigned and enter a plea to two charges of first-degree murder. Instead, after meeting with the Judge Theresa McGonigle in chambers, Jackson was replaced by a public defender and Reiner’s plea hearing was postponed to Feb. 23.

Alan Jackson can’t say why he has to quit case

Jackson said that for legal and ethical reasons, he could not reveal why he had to leave the case. He first appeared in court representing Reiner at a hearing a few days after the beloved actor-director and his wife of 36 years were found dead with stab wounds in their home in the upscale Brentwood section of Los Angeles. Jackson did not say how he was hired — or who hired him. Generally, defendants use public defenders when they can't pay for a private attorney.

Jackson has become one of the most prominent defense attorneys in the nation in recent years after defending clients including Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Karen Read at her intensely followed trials in Massachusetts.

After the judge granted Jackson’s request to leave the case, Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene took over as Reiner’s attorney.

“The Public Defender’s Office recognizes what an unimaginable tragedy this is for the Reiner family and the Los Angeles community,” Deputy Public Defender Ricardo D. Garcia said in a rare public statement on a case from the office. “Our hearts go out to the Reiner family as they navigate this difficult time. We ask for your patience and compassion as the case moves through the legal process.”

Nick Reiner appears in jail clothes, without suicide prevention smock

During Wednesday's hearing, Reiner stood behind glass in a custody area of the courtroom wearing brown jail garb and with his hair shaved. Two deputies stood behind him. Jackson and his team stood in front of him on the other side of the glass. At one point, Reiner stood on his tiptoes to peer over the lawyers’ heads to look at the audience. He spoke only to agree to the delayed arraignment.

McGonigle approved the use of cameras inside the courtroom but said pictures could not be taken of the defendant. At Wednesday’s hearing, Reiner did not wear the suicide prevention smock he had on at his initial court appearance on Dec. 17.

Reiner, 32, the third of Rob Reiner’s four children, has been held without bail since his arrest hours after his parents were found dead on Dec. 14.

A Reiner family spokesperson said in a statement after Wednesday's hearing that “They have the utmost trust in the legal process and will not comment further on matters related to the legal proceedings.”

Jackson says he ‘dropped everything’ to represent Reiner

Jackson, a former LA County prosecutor, had given no indication of the plans for his defense.

He said that just hours after the bodies were discovered and Nick Reiner was arrested, he and his team got a call about representing him. He did not say who called him.

“We dropped everything,” Jackson said. “For the last three weeks, we have devoted literally every waking hour to protecting Nick and his interests. We’ve investigated this matter top to bottom, back to front.”

He said they remain “deeply, deeply committed” to him and said, “We’re not just convinced; we know that the legal process will reveal the true facts.”

Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were killed early on the morning of Dec. 14, and they were found in the late afternoon, authorities said. The LA County Medical Examiner said in initial findings that they died from “multiple sharp force injuries,” but released no other details, and police have said nothing about possible motives.

Prosecutors have said they have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty for Nick Reiner.

Rob Reiner was a prolific director whose work included some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable movies of the 1980s and ’90s. His credits included “This is Spinal Tap,” “Stand By Me,” “A Few Good Men” and “When Harry Met Sally…,” during whose production he met Michele Singer, a photographer, and married her soon after.

A decade ago, Nick Reiner publicly discussed his struggles with addiction and mental health after making a movie with his father, “Being Charlie,” that was very loosely based on their lives.