Oprah Winfrey, James Earl Jones to receive honorary Oscars

Oprah Winfrey, James Earl Jones and makeup artist Dick Smith have been picked to receive honorary Oscars.The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says the three will be honored with Oscar statuettes at the Governors Awards in November. The academy's Board of Governors voted Tuesday to recognize the entertainment industry veterans.Winfrey will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which honors philanthropic and humanitarian contributions. The 57-year-old media mogul, who was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar for 1985's "The Color Purple," supports various charitable and educational causes, including her own namesake foundations and Academy for Girls in South Africa.Jones and Smith will receive honorary Oscars for their outstanding careers.

Jennifer Lopez says loved herself enough to quit marriage

Jennifer Lopez remains a romantic despite with her husband Marc Anthony. She said finding a way to love herself is what gave her the courage to walk away from the seven-year marriage.In her first interview since announcing their breakup in July, the actress and singer told Vanity Fair magazine that both she and Anthony had worked hard to keep the marriage alive and that he "will always hold a special place in my heart."But it was Lopez who apparently decided to end it."I'm a hopeless romantic and passionate person when it comes to love," Lopez told the magazine in an interview for its September issue."It's not that I didn't love myself before. Sometimes we don't realize that we are compromising ourselves. To understand that a person is not good for you, or that that person is not treating you in the right way, or that he is not doing the right thing for himself if I stay, then I am not doing the right thing for me. I love myself enough to walk away from that now," she added.The marriage was the third for Lopez, 42, and produced twins Emme and Max in 2008.

Maria Sharapova unchallenged as world's top earning female athlete.

 The Russian tennis player  Maria Sharapova remains unchallenged as the world's highest paid woman in professional sports. But  Sharapova may not have won a grand slam title since 2008.For the seventh straight year, Sharapova topped the annual list provided by Forbes magazine, despite failing to add to her three grand slam titles, although she did make the Wimbledon final in July.Sharapova's earnings, mostly off-court endorsements, were estimated at $25 million, twice as much as her nearest rival, Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, the current women's world number one.


Top 10 women earners
1. Maria Sharapova $25 million (Russia, tennis)
2. Caroline Wozniacki $12.5 million (Denmark, tennis
3. Danica Patrick $12 million (U.S., motor racing)
4. Venus Williams $11.5 million (U.S., tennis)
5. Kim Clijsters $11 million (Belgium, tennis)
6. Serena Williams $10.5 million (U.S., tennis)
7. Kim Yuna $10 million (figure skating, South Korea)
8. Li Na $8 million (China, tennis)
9. Ana Ivanovic $6 million (Serbia, tennis)
10. Paula Creamer $5.5 million (U.S., golf)

Jennifer Lopez deal to judge 'American Idol' is done

Jennifer Lopez is returning to "American Idol" to judge for at least another year, TheWrap has learned through two individuals familiar with the deal.Lopez will be returning to the singing competition with a contract with the Fox Broadcasting Network that's "a smidge over" $20 million, according to one of the individuals.Both insiders said the deal is complete but has not yet been signed. The only hurdle left to be cleared in the deal, according to one of the individuals, is scheduling. Lopez will be working on two major productions -- the romantic dramedy "What to Expect When You're Expecting," which is slated for a May 2012 release, and the thriller "Parker," currently in pre-production -- which will most likely necessitate a shift in audition dates for the upcoming season.

TheWrap has also confirmed that Lopez plans to continue with the talent-search series "Q'Viva" The series will feature Lopez and her now-estranged husband Marc Anthony scouring Latin America for the hottest vocal talent in the region. The series is co-created and co-executive-produced by Lopez, Anthony, "American Idol" producer Simon Fuller and Jamie King.

Xbox addict 'dies from blood clot'

The family of a budding computer programmer have launched a campaign to raise awareness about the health risks of playing online computer games after their son died following a marathon session on his Xbox.A post-mortem revealed that 20-year-old Chris Staniforth -- who was offered a place to study Game Design at Leicester University -- was killed by a pulmonary embolism, which can occur if someone sits in the same position for several hours.Deep vein thrombosis normally affects passengers on long-haul flights, but medical experts fear youngsters who spend hours glued to their consoles might also be at risk and have urged them to take regular breaks.Professor Brian Colvin -- an expert on blood-related conditions -- said it was "unhealthy" for youngsters to spend long periods in front of their consoles."There's anxiety about obesity and children not doing anything other than looking at computer screens," he said.David Staniforth has now launched a campaign to warn other parents of the dangers."Games are fun and once you've started playing it's hard to stop."Kids all over the country are playing these games for long periods - they don't realise it could kill them," he said.

Staniforth's distraught father said his son would spend up to 12 hours playing on his Xbox."He got sucked in playing Halo online against people from all over the world."Online computer games are extremely popular as thousands interact in shared science fiction worlds.Reports of gamers collapsing after spending 15 hours in front of video games are fairly common throughout Asia.In 2005, a South Korean gamer died after playing online games for three days without taking a break.Microsoft -- which manufactures the Xbox -- said it "recommend gamers take breaks to exercise as well as make time for other pursuits."