01:00 AM EST on Friday, February 10, 2006

Ayla Brown, the 17-year-old Wrentham contestant on American Idol, is still in the running on the Fox TV hit, even though viewers caught only a fleeting glimpse of her in Wednesday night's episode. American Idol resumes on Tuesday as the judges work to pare down the contestants to 24 by the Feb. 15 episode.

Meanwhile, if you missed Rhode Islander Ken Maccarone's audition (and testy exchange with American Idol judge Simon Cowell) this week, Maccarone reprises his rendition of Cher's "Believe," and more, against the backdrop of downtown Providence, on projo.com. To check it out, go to projo.com/extra/2006/maccarone

Oprah Winfrey has signed a three-year, $55 million deal with XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. to launch a new radio channel beginning in September, Winfrey and XM announced yesterday.

The new channel, Oprah & Friends, will air programming on fitness, health and self-improvement topics with personalities that appear on Winfrey's TV program, The Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as in O, The Oprah Magazine. It will also feature a weekly radio show with Winfrey and Gayle King, a frequent guest on her TV show.

The $55 million deal is a far cry from the five-year, cash-and-stock deal that rival satellite radio-broadcaster Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. has with morning shock jock Howard Stern. Originally worth $500 million when it was signed in 2004, Stern's deal is now worth $600 million because of appreciation of Sirius' stock price. XM also has signed other big programming contracts, including an 11-year, $650 million deal for Major League Baseball.

Winfrey's new channel on XM will feature personalities that appear on her show and in her magazine including Bob Greene, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Nate Berkus.

Compiled by Lifebeat editor Alexis Magner Miller from staff and wire reports.